Social studies- Music through time

 Social studies- Music through time 

This term for social studies we learnt about slaves and all about how they used songs as a way of communicating with one another. What is a slave? a slave is a person who is another persons property slaves have to work for the person who owns them. 

Life in the plantations

• Their job was to pick cotton 
• The hardest working slaves were usually the field hands 
• Field hands worked 16 hour days, 6 days a week while being supervised by their overseer
• Field hands also worked worked harder then any other slave clearing lands, planting, and harvesting while below the sun. 
• The average lifetime of a slave was 25 years

Music:

This type of music was called spirituals this is what slaves used to hide secret messages to help other slaves with escaping, there's one spiritual called "swing low sweet chariot" and it was made to help slaves locate the underground railways to safety. 

(Sweet Chariot)

Swing low, swing chariot

Comin' for to carry me home!

I looked over Jordan and what did I see? 

Comin' for to carry me home!

A band of angels comin' for me,

Comin' for to carry me home!

(Codes)

Swing low = come down to the north (there was no slavery in the north)

Sweet chariot = the "underground railroads"

Home = freedom

Moses = was the nickname for Harriet Tubman who helped many slaves escape on the underground railways 

Jordan = the river

Angels = workers on the underground railroad

Who was Harriet Tubman? and what was the underground railways?

Harriet Tubman was born into slavery and started working at the age of 5 as a house servant. Harriet had escaped slavery and went back to sneak other slaves out of slavery using the Underground railroad. she did this knowing her own life was at risk. She was known as the Moses of her time because she led her people out of slavery into their promise land, Harriet also sang songs that were in code that other slaves would understand to escape.

The Underground Railroad is not a real Railroad, he underground railroad helped slaves from South get to freedom in the North. Slaves ran on the Underground Railroad to stay safe while escaping. Sometimes they got help to hide but sometimes they had to hide alone. The station masters made the slaves comfortable whey they were there. They disagreed with slavery. The Station Masters let them sleep and fed them. The railroad workers and conductors led you to the next station. This is how slaves got freedom. Slaves would have to hide somewhere for days or maybe weeks or even months before they could come out of their hiding spot. The slaves would need a signal so they know it was safe to go and they have help.

Map of the slave trade triangle