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Recommended: Compare and evaluate the treatment of slaves from the late 17th century to the mid-19th century
The first railways were created in England and involved horse drawn carriages that moves along rails imbedded in the street. The English Richard Trevithick built the first full scale steam powered locomotive in 1802, it then proceeded to spread quickly throughout England becoming the quickest mode of long distance transportation. It wasn’t until 1830 that the US first started to develop steam powered locomotive of their own, before that the US had to import locomotives from Great Britain. Subsequent to seeing the immense potential of a railroad industry in America, locomotives and tracks began to be constructed seemingly overnight.
Transcontinental Railroad Tera Richardson, 4336787 History 102 B008 Sum 17 Professor Traci Sumner American Military University July 22, 2017 Abstract The transcontinental railroad was one of the biggest advocates for the industrial economy and westward expansion. The railroads could transfer goods and people across the country with ease, and quickly. While some bad came from this miraculous progression, such as the panic of 1873 and a yellow fever epidemic, the good outweighed the bad as it enabled the United States to fulfill its Manifest Destiny through westward expansion.
The Underground Railroad was one of the more popular ways slaves could escape from their bondage and obtain their freedom. Many people would not assume that New York City was an important station on the Underground Railroad. Eric Foner, a professor and prominent historian from Columbia University, has published a monograph about the Underground Railroad. His monograph, titled Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad describes how New York City “was a crucial waystation in the metropolitan corridor through which fugitive slaves made their way from the Upper South” (Foner, 2015, pg. 7). Foner also explains about how the fugitive slaves issue affected the coming of the Civil War and the national debate about it.
Despite the term used to refer to it, the Underground Railroad was not an actual railroad nor it was underground; rather, it was a network of persons devouted to help fugitive slaves on their path to freedom, especiallly to northern states and Canda. However, the given name may be appropriate as it unveils the secrecy, darkness and disguise characterizing the
The Abolitionists were people that were against slavery, and the group was dedicated to the cause of getting rid of it. Most of abolitionists were from the North, and the Abolitionist movement started in the 1830s. The Underground Railroad is the most thought of when we think of the Abolitionist Movement. The Underground Railrod helped fugitive slaves from the south, get to the North. Most of the slaves that went through this process made it to their destination, and became free African Americans like they had wanted to be.
Can you imagine being ripped from your family, without warning? The act of slavery brought about abundant despair, great heartache, and death for millions across the United States. Perhaps that is an inconceivable idea for most; however, that very uncertainty is what slaves
The Transcontinental Railroad The completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad was an important event in the United States history. There were many challenges in building it, but after it was finished, it connected the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast. The railroad took three whole years to build, with the help of two railroad companies and thousands of other hired workers.
Douglass’s influence for the Underground Railroad also reflected in his book and newspaper. For example, he pointed out his position against the revealing of Underground Railroad clearly in his Narrative book, which published in 1845. He said, “ I, however, can see very little good resulting from such a course [revealing the secret of the Underground Railroad system], either to themselves or the slaves escaping; while, upon the other hand, I see and feel assured that those open declarations are a positive evil to the slaves remaining, who are seeking to escape”. (7, 87). Keeping the conductors in dark protected both the agents and the slaves, and Douglass was very serious about it.
In the beginning of the novel, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, Mabel is constantly represented as an awful mother when described by her daughter, Cora. Mabel spends her whole life on the Randall Plantation before one day running away, leaving Cora behind. Cora perceives this as an act of selfishness and is furious that Mabel didn’t say goodbye. Cora thought “it was incomprehensible that Mabel had abandoned her to that hell” (Whitehead 98). If the plantation was bad enough for Mabel to leave, it must be just as bad for Cora
Literature is often credited with the ability to enhance one’s understanding of history by providing a view of a former conflict. In doing so, the reader is able to gain both an emotional and logistical understanding of a historically significant event. Additionally, literature provides context that can help the reader develop a deeper understanding of the political climate of a time period. Within the text of The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead’s, the use of literary elements such as imagery, metaphor, and paradox amplifies the reader’s understanding of early 19th century slavery and its role in the South of the United States of America. Throughout the novel, Whitehead utilizes a girl named Cora to navigate the political and personal consequences of escaping slavery, the Underground Railroad, and her transition
The Tremendous Impact of Railroads on America In the late 19th century, railroads propelled America into an era of unprecedented growth, prosperity, and convenient transportation. Prior to the building of the railroads, America lacked the proper and rapid transportation to make traveling across the country economical or practical. Lengthy travel was often cumbersome, costly, and dangerous.
Just as the resistance movement in France, Belgium and Poland in World War offered a safe harbor for fugitive Jews, the Underground Railroad offered safety for fugitive slaves. Both of these movements were to protect those who needed safety from being oppressed by their captors; for the Jews the government, for the slaves all those who where pro-slavery. The resistance movement for the Jews offered a chance to get to a place where the Germans had not yet occupied and thus get to safety from the Nazi’s. For the slaves the Underground Railroad offered the slaves an opportunity to get to Northern Lands were the people were against slavery. Both the Under Ground Railroad and the resistance movement of the Jews where begun by those who opposed
In Colson Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad,” white supremacy is portrayed as a pervasive and destructive force that shaped the lives of African Americans. Through vivid depictions of brutal violence and systematic oppression portrayed through various chapters, Whitehead reveals two distinct but similar ways white supremacy perpetuated slavery. White hegemony and White fear displayed how white supremacy was used to justify the violence and exploitation against African Americans. Whitehead demonstrates how white supremacy permeates every aspect of American society.
The Underground Railroad. A metaphor as it was, it was neither a railroad nor was it even underground. In the time where slavery became a divided issue with the status of legality in various parts of the country, the underground railroad found its beginnings through collective organized efforts from abolitionists and allies alike to help enslaved African americans to escape to territories and states where they could be free from slavery. It was a loosely-developed system that also included series of routes led by “conductors” such as Harriet Tubman, for escaping slaves, or “passengers”.
The novel The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead is full of ahistorical elements. In a book about slavery in America, his use of ahistorical elements results in a commentary on racial discrimination and abuse in a unique, narrative way. He portrays every state differently, using each of them as an example of a different type of discrimination. South Carolina is represented as a “progressive” and modern state, with new and innovative ideas on how to treat slaves. It even has the Griffin Building to represent its modernism, even though that wasn 't built historically until 1910.
