Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad

Old Rit and the other slaves are afraid of their loved ones being sold to the “chain gang.” White people referred to this as a drove or coffle, but the slaves called it the chain gang since slaves were chained together in pairs of two and then to a long chain that connected them to other pairs. Slaves would endure these conditions while being marched down to cities such as New Orleans, Louisiana, or Natchez, Mississippi, where they would be sold to plantations in the deep South.

Abolitionists disagreed with the practice of slavery. In addition to Tubman, Petry references many abolitionist activists in her work, such as William Still, John Brown, Nat Turner, and Denmark Vesey. These people agitated for the end of slavery through their writing, speaking, uprisings, or contributions to the Underground Railroad.

Slave owners hired patrollers specifically to hunt runaway slaves and return them to the plantation owners. Their cruel treatment of slaves made them a frightening presence around plantations and served as a deterrent to running away.