Visuals
The visual medium used to illustrate this song is pastel chalk and paint on canvas. The artist collected a number of stories, primary materials and illustrations of the period for reference. The painting/illustrations were done on large (48" X 50") surfaces so that the camera could scan and zoom on the images for greater action and details.
Mike Brower, an award winning videographer and art director for films, is also a painter who has exhibited his work for more than twenty years.
| 1793 |
The Fugitive Slave Act passed making it a crime to help an escaped slave or prevent his arrest. |
| 1820? |
Harriet Tubman was born. |
| 1826 |
Secretary of State Henry Clay asks Canada for help returning slaves who have escaped there; the Canadian government refuses. |
| 1831 |
The term "underground railroad" is coined when Tice Davids escapes from his master in Kentucky and disappears in the free state of Ohio. |
| 1840s |
The term "underground railroad" first appears in print. |
| 1845 |
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave is published. |
| 1849 |
Harriet Tubman escapes to the North. |
| 1850 |
The Fugitive Slave Law is passed, denying captured blacks any legal power to prove their freedom and requiring U.S. marshals and deputies to help slave owners capture their "property" and fining them $1000 if they refused. |
| 1857 |
The Dred Scott Decision. The United States Supreme Court rules that blacks, free or slave, are not United States citizens. |
| 1859 |
John Brown's raid. White abolitionist John Brown and 22 black and white followers attempt to seize the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. |
| 1860 |
Abraham Lincoln elected president. |
| 1861 |
Civil War begins. |
| 1862 |
Emancipation Proclamation |
| 1865 |
Lee surrenders. Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which outlaws slavery, is ratified. |
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