African slavery began in North America in 1619 at Jamestown, Virginia. The first American-built slave ship, Desire, launched from Massachusetts in 1636, beginning the slave trade between Britain’s American colonies and Africa (History Net 1). From the beginning, some white colonists were uncomfortable with the notion of slavery. At the time of the American Revolution against the English Crown, Delaware, and Virginia prohibited the importation of African slaves; Vermont became the first of the 13 colonies to abolish slavery; Rhode Island prohibited taking slaves from the colony, and Pennsylvania began gradual emancipation in 1780 (History Net 1). Many men and women committed suicide by jumping off the ships that transported them to the United
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Davids rushed to the Ohio River, which formed the border between the slave state of Kentucky and the free state of Ohio (Haskins 1). David’s master concluded that Tice had escaped on and “underground railroad.” The story spread about the escaped slave who had gained his freedom on an “underground railroad” (Haskins 2). The Underground Railroad was not literally a railroad that was underground; the term fit the way many slaves in the South made their way to the Free states of the North (Haskins 2). The term “underground railroad” first appeared in prints in the 1840’s. The fugitive slaves were referred to as “parcels” and “passengers,” and those who helped the fugitives in one way or another were called, “conductors” (Haskins 2). People who offered their homes as “depots” or “stations” were called, “stationmasters” (Haskins 2). No one knows exactly how many slaves tried to escape, or how many people tried to help them during the two-and-a-half centuries of slavery in the United States. In the early days, the Underground Railroad was a secret activity, and few written records were kept on it (Haskins 3). The names of most of the slaves who escaped, and the names of many people—black and white—who aided them are lost to history. Hundreds of stories have survived and they make a thrilling chapter in the long history of slavery and the attempts to fight it (Haskins
Davids rushed to the Ohio River, which formed the border between the slave state of Kentucky and the free state of Ohio (Haskins 1). David’s master concluded that Tice had escaped on and “underground railroad.” The story spread about the escaped slave who had gained his freedom on an “underground railroad” (Haskins 2). The Underground Railroad was not literally a railroad that was underground; the term fit the way many slaves in the South made their way to the Free states of the North (Haskins 2). The term “underground railroad” first appeared in prints in the 1840’s. The fugitive slaves were referred to as “parcels” and “passengers,” and those who helped the fugitives in one way or another were called, “conductors” (Haskins 2). People who offered their homes as “depots” or “stations” were called, “stationmasters” (Haskins 2). No one knows exactly how many slaves tried to escape, or how many people tried to help them during the two-and-a-half centuries of slavery in the United States. In the early days, the Underground Railroad was a secret activity, and few written records were kept on it (Haskins 3). The names of most of the slaves who escaped, and the names of many people—black and white—who aided them are lost to history. Hundreds of stories have survived and they make a thrilling chapter in the long history of slavery and the attempts to fight it (Haskins