Spirituals

 Spirituals

Spirituals are songs made my enslaved Africans and who were sold to work in households and farms. These songs were used to give hidden messages to the others who were also enslaved. They were used to communicate, give others hope and give secret messages to help them escape from into free states.

Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist and political activist. Born into slavery and enslaved. She helped other slaves gain freedom and escorted them to the Underground Railroad. 

The Underground Railroad was a system of secret routes and safe houses made in the United States before the Civil War. It was used by Enslaved African Americans to escape into Canada and free states. It was calculated that about 100,000 slaves escaped using the Underground Railroad.

Follow the Drinking Gourd
I When the Sun comes back

And the first quail calls

Follow the Drinking Gourd.

For the old man is a-waiting for to carry you to freedom

If you follow the Drinking Gourd.

The riverbank makes a very good road.

The dead trees will show you the way.

Left foot, peg foot, travelling on,

Follow the Drinking Gourd.

The river ends between two hills

Follow the Drinking Gourd.

There’s another river on the other side

Follow the Drinking Gourd.

When the great big river meets the little river

Follow the Drinking Gourd.

For the old man is a-waiting for to carry you to freedom

If you follow the drinking gourd.

The Message: This song is saying that they should escape during spring because the days get longer. The drinking gourd is a water dipper code name for the Big Dipper which points towards the north. Moss grows on the north of side trees, so if the Big Dipper is not in sight for them, the dead trees a sign to go North

The Significance:
These events are significant today because America still talks about the impact of slavery. In America, the Black Civil Rights & Black Lives Matter movements use slavery and unfairness in their protests.