harriet tubman
A mystic railroad without tracks wound its way across America over one hundred and fifty years ago. The railroad, nicknamed the Underground Railroad, was a misnomer because it was neither underground nor a railroad. The name was a secret codeword invented for the escape route used by southern slaves in the pre-Civil War days. The slaves were aided by thousands of "conductors" who used covered wagons or carts with false bottoms to carry slaves from one "station" to another. With the help of 3,000 conductors over 100,000 slaves escaped to freedom. Escaping slaves were called "passengers" or "merchandise" on their journey to freedom. One enterprising slave really did qualify for the nickname of merchandise. Henry "Box" Brown had himself nailedin a wooden box and mailed from Richmond to Philadelphia on a real train. He mailed himself to a well-known "brakeman," William Still, the author of a book entitled "Underground Railroad." Despite a hard trip (for part of the journey Brown's box was set upside down which made for less than ideal traveling comfort!), when Still opened the box, out popped Henry Brown. Among the more famous conductors were: Salmon P. Chase, who as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court would later preside over Andrew
Harriet Ross was born into slavery in 1819 or 1820, in Dorchester County, Maryland. Given the names of her two parents, both held in slavery, she was of purely African ancestry. She was raised under harsh conditions, and subjected to whippings even as a small child. At the age of 12 she was seriously injured by a blow to the head, inflicted by a white overseer for refusing to assist in tying up a man who had attempted escape. At the age of 25, she married John Tubman, a free African American. Five years later, fearing she would be sold south, she made her escape. Tubman was given a piece of paper by a white neighbor with two names, and told how to find the first house on her path to freedom. At the first house she was put into a wagon, covered with a sack, and driven to her next destination. Following the route to Pennsylvania, she initially settled in Philadelphia, where she met William Still, the Philadelphia Stationmaster on the Underground Railroad. With the assistance of Still, and other members of the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society, she learned about the workings of the UGRR. In 1851 she began relocating members of her family to St. Catharine's, (Ontario) Canada West. North Street in St. Catharine's remained her base of operations until 1857. While there she worked at various activities to save to finance her activities as a
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 904
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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