Black Slavery and the Underground Railroad How would you feel if you had an owner?

How would you feel if you had to work 20 hours a day, 7 days a week for mere pennies? And finally, how would you feel if you lived in fearalways in fear of making a mistake and being punished? Ask yourselves these questions and you will be feeling the same as the African slaves in the United States. Good morning/afternoon Mr. Murray and fellow classmates (students staff and judges. Today I am here to talk to you about Black Slaves in the United States, and their salvation; The Underground Railroad. Around the 1600s, plantations began to get bigger, mines needed more able bodies to work in them, and the demand for home servants at an all time high. So the government came up with a solution. They began to travel to Africa and coax the people in poverty to come to America with promises of riches and security and good work and pay. Little did they know that when they arrived in America, they would be auctioned off and sold to the highest bidder. Families were torn apart and were often sent to separate parts of the country. These slaves were then taken to their places of work whether it is at a home or on a plantation. Now I will tell you about the five main slave jobs; -plantation worker -mine worker -home servant -railroad worker -factory worker Plantation workers, mine workers, factory workers and railroad workers worked the longest hours, often laboring from dawn till dusk. These four groups of slaves were probably the most likely to sustain injuries from the lack of experience, training, or from harsh conditions making them vulnerable to diseases. Slaves who worked in large groups with other slaves were dealt with extra harshly to discourage them from rebelling or planning escape.

Home servants did all of the basic jobs in the house that the family did not do for they were thought to be trivial tasks not worthy of their time. These jobs included gathering firewood, cooking, laundry, sweeping, dusting, scrubbing the dishes, feeding the cattle, etc. This group of slaves either lived in a room in the main house or in a bunkhouse on the property. Some of these people were treated with respect and as part of the family while others were treated with harsh living conditions and beatings for mistakes. As early as 1786, people had begun to protest slavery. One such group was the Pennsylvania Abolitionists Group. Some of the members of this group were George Washington, Ben Franklin, Thomas Paine and John Brown. Now I know what you are asking. What is an abolitionist? Well abolitionists back then were people who fought to have the slave laws abolished (see where the word comes from?) Now these people fought on a political level to have the laws repealed, while others worked on the ground helping slaves one by one to their freedom through the Underground Railroad. Now the Underground Railroad wasnt actually a railroad. It was a secret code among many others to keep the real purpose of the organization a secret. Its like making a plan with your sibling to steal all of the cookies from the jar and calling it Operation: Find the teddy bears(but on a much larger scale) While the authorities were looking around for this supposed underground railroad People were sneaking hiding the slaves right under their noses. Some of the other terminology used in this plan consisted of Conductor: meaning the people who were hiding and helping the slaves, and the slaves were called packages or freight or cargo. Soon the plight of the Underground Railroad and the Abolitionists was over with the Emancipation Proclamation that was issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them. The history of slaves in North America has been a big part of our history for the longest time. But do not think of the people who were all for slavery and unfairness. Think of the brave souls who helped the slaves to freedom and use them as an example to stand together in solidarity and fight for what is right. Thank you.