The past two days in class, we focused on slavery and how slaves escaped their horrendous predicament. In the early stages of slavery, slaves worked on plantations that farmed cotton, tobacco, rice and other crops. However, when the cotton gin was introduced, the plantation owners focused their attention on cotton, as they could produce more at a time thus making the production more profitable and making the slave owners wealthier. Today we learner about the emancipation, or freeing, of slaves. Most slaves wanted freedom from thei masters, and some, in order to obtain this freedom, ran away. While some did it independently, others relied on the Underground Railroad, which was a system that transported slaves from the south to the free north. Along the trail, there were many stops where black slaves could stay on their journey. These houes were owned by abolitionists, people that wanted to end slavery.


My goal is not going so well. I often find myself feeling that sleep is more important.