The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was an organization of quakers that believed differently from the Southern states of the United States of America. It began when people of the country started to lose slaves, and were confused about that- More and more slaves started to go missing, and more and more people joined the organization of quakers. It grew so large that it needed a name, which was come to be The Underground Railroad. The "railroad" part of the word is meant to signify how they moved slaves to and from different "safe houses," which were stations that slaves took breaks at, and traveled to in the night. It was very dangerous though, because if anyone who was with the Underground Railroad was caught, they would have been tortured, prisoned, or even fined up to $1,000. The other part of the word is “underground,” and that signifies how it was secret, and the slave holders didn’t even know that their slaves were being taken until they went to check on them. The southern states of America were bigger in slavery, and disagreed with the northern states, which was also one of the leading causes of the American Civil War. Some people from the Underground Railroad fought in the American Civil War, like Harriet Tubman, who was a very successful woman. Even though she began with the freedom of her own family, she eventually saved over 700 slaves, and possibly even 1000. She was also the first woman to lead an armed military raid, and helped Colonel James Montgomery and his 2nd South Carolina black regiment up the Combahee River, routing out Confederate outposts, destroying stockpiles of cotton, food and weapons, and saving slaves along the way. Harriet Tubman also served as a spy and a nurse in the American Civil War. She was so successful at helping slaves, that she gained a nickname: “Modern Moses.”

Saving slaves was hard work, and they moved at night to avoid people catching them. They had to walk through harsh conditions, or paddle in boats and ride horses if they could find them. They even had to change their appearance, and use their limited money supply, because some people around them would get suspicious of black people with ragged clothing. After getting to a safe house, the safe house keeper would feed them, and give them all of the necessities they needed. The safe house keepers would also send a letter to the next safe house, to make sure that they were ready for the next group of slaves to come there. If you’re wondering if Harriet Tubman was a safe house keeper, you’re wrong. Harriet Tubman was a conductor, which was a person who guided and led slaves to each safe house. Harriet Tubman and other conductors had to go through the same harsh conditions that slaves did, and were risking their lives for others. Even though they only saved a small percentage of all the slaves in the south, they still believed it was important to save the slaves’ lives. They had to travel from southern states on foot or other small vehicle, and go all the way north to Canada. Why not the northern states? It is that, because if slaves and conductors were caught in the northern states, the slave owners will still have the right to take their property back. So Harriet Tubman took many trips back and forth from Canada to the South, and liberated many slaves as well. 

Even though I’ve mentioned Harriet Tubman as the real hero of the Underground Railroad, there were many others risking their lives as well. One of which was Levi Coffin, who helped more than 2,000 slaves. This does not mean he brought them all the way to Canada, but still means he helped them. He was also a conductor, who traveled in and out with all of the slaves.

Child Labor During The Industrial Revolution

Child labor was very big during the industrial revolution. Many families were poor at that time, so their only option was to have their children work. 

Even though the children often died in factory accidents or got seriously injured it wasn’t a big deal to the families because they had so many children and it was unlikely that they would live very long either way. Some children would start working at the early age of six or even younger. The young children were too young to work the machines so they worked as assistants to other factory workers.
 

 The factories these children worked in often treated the children cruelly along with having extremely dangerous working conditions. They worked in factories such as cotton mills, coalmines, and glass factories. Children commonly worked over sixteen hours a day non stop. many people during that time were very against these laws, that there were children being allowed to work. but the owners of the factories didn't care because it made their jobs much easier. In 1833 the factory act was passed stating that the children under nine years old were not allowed to work, and children of ages 9-13 were only allowed to work 12 hours a day, even that still a lot of time, it was definitely an improvement.

Slavery in The Civil War Era

The Thirteenth Amendment spoke, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." There is a long past of history of slaves in the United States. In the beginning it was introduced in the Colonial times, from 1619 - 1790. It was in the independence and Civil War era, lasting from 1790 - 1865. Slavery was a part of pretty much all the colonies, due to the independence. Although, The Northern colonies didn't really have a need for the slaves. By 1820, there were around 3,000 slaves in the Northern colonies. Most of the 3,000 were working on farms in New Jersey. Slavery was not vital part of the Northern economies, so therefore there were less slaves. Slavery could be abolished way easier in the North, then in the South. Another reason why the people in the south needed slaves more, was because they grew cotton. They needed people to grow and look after the cotton. 

Workers in a cotton field

Being a slave was no fun of course. You were over worked and rarely paid. You really had no choice though. There was multiple punishments including, whippings, threatening to sell there families, and short rations. Although, many of the slaves didn't have families, since they had been sold, or torn about due to lack of work. Slaves were not allowed to testify in court, to earn their freedom. If you were lucky enough you would sleep in a hut, with about 10 - 12 other slaves. You would have been treated like a object. Slaves would be bought, sold, or even given away as a gift. 

Slaves being sold

Slaves first arrived to America in Jamestown, New jersey 1619. There was about 20 of them. People realized that it was nice having a helping hand around decided they wanted more. Between the 16th and 19th century fifteen million more slaves were imported.  In the 1820’s there were 1,538,022 slaves in America. Starting just from the few 20. It's almost sick to think about, all of those innocent people, being worked for other peoples use. After the gin cotton was invented, the demand for slaves was even higher. A well built could be sold for $500.00 a pop. Eventually that man would be worth $1,800.00. 


We have all heard about the underground railroad. If you haven't, it's time you learn. This place was a environment where you could be free.  It was a place where slaves would run to and travel at night. They would move in to slave free states or Canada. Sometimes, your salve owner would catch you, or somebody else. 50,000 to 100,000 were believed to have used the underground railroad on their road to freedom. A person called Harriet Tubman was known for helping about 300 salves into their freedom. *The rail road was used mainly in Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania.*

Slaves using the underground railroad

 

I chose the video below because it has no words. It really lets you think. Don't worry there is captions telling you what is going on. Enjoy!

The Effects of The Cotton Gin

            Change is inevitable in our world. People continue to invent great things that cause our world to change. Some of these inventions cause change for the better, and others cause change for the worse. Some inventors do both, without meaning to. When someone invents something revolutionary, they are usually trying to make life easier or better in some way. They have no idea that their invention could negatively affect peoples lives at all. 

One of those inventions is the cotton gin. When Eli Whitney invented it in 1794, all of the cotton owners agreed that it was a magnificent, revolutionary invention. It caused major changes in the cotton industry. People no longer had to pick the cotton seeds out of the cotton by hand, which was a very slow and tedious task. People could simply put the freshly picked cotton with the seeds in it in one end, turn the handle, and the cotton would come out the other end with no seeds in it! Although this may not sound very amazing to us, because of all of the incredible inventions from our time, this invention shaped more than just the cotton industry. Cotton could be separated 50 times faster with the cotton gin than by hand, which caused the industry to explode. 

For many families in the South during the 1790s, cotton was their livelihood. Children grew up on cotton plantations, and many would eventually become the owners. Families depended on cotton for their income. If I were growing up in a family like that, the cotton gin would have been an important, exciting invention for me. My family would be able to process cotton 50 times faster, and expand our plantation. But more cotton means more work. We would have to hire people to help us, and the only solution to that would be hiring slaves. 

    I and many other southern cotton owners were against slavery, but it was a tough decision to make. People had to support their families, and their only means of doing that was with cotton. Eli Whitney’s cotton gin caused such a massive explosion in the industry, that cotton owners had to keep up with everything by growing more and more cotton. They needed slaves to work in order to support their families. What would they do?

    Many people, even though they were against slavery, chose to give in and hire slaves in order to expand their plantation and support their families. More and more slaves were hired everywhere in the south. This affected all of their lives, and many people who were against slavery were forced to hire slaves.
     Although Eli Whitney’s cotton gin really was a revolutionary invention, there were some negative affects from all of this change. When Whitney invented the cotton gin, he most likely wanted to make it easier to process cotton. He did not expect that his invention could change so many people’s lives in good and bad ways. It is amazing that one invention could change so much.