Unit 3: The Secret Road to Freedom (1ère Générale)

Unit 3: The Secret Road to Freedom

How did a chain of diverse people save thousands of slaves from the Deep South?

Axes: Identity and Exchanges – Diversity and Inclusion

 

Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.

The document under study is a painting showing a black family in the woods at night, they seem to be trying to escape from someone.

We can also see a woman heading the group holding a rifle, helping and guiding the group to escape from something by protecting them (stretching her left arm). We can deduce that this woman is the famous Harriet Tubman, an African-American woman who escaped from/ ran away from/ fled slavery in the South of the USA to go to up North/ to the northern states. Then, she came back several times in order to free other slaves. Therefore, on this painting we can see a family of fugitive slaves escaping from slavery in the 19^th century.

Running away from slavery was not easy, the fugitives slaves took great risks assumed by the use of a firearm. Indeed, it was dangerous as they were chased by slave-catchers who could be very violent with runaways. Despite the dangerousness of the situation, there were families, as we can see it on the painting with the little baby, who were ready to take any risks to go away from slavery.

To conclude, this painting represents the process of escaping through the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman was a conductor on the Underground Railroad.

Homework: Learn the lesson.