Many of the slaves in the United States during the 1800’s were from Africa. The white men brought black people from Africa and forced them to work without pay. Some people that were slaves got free by escaping. One slave named Henry Box Brown escaped from slavery by getting in a box with food and water and mailed himself to a free state.

In the 1800’s Maine was a free state. The citizens of Maine did not believe in slavery. Many people helped black slaves escape to freedom.

Harriet Beecher Stowe, from Maine, wrote a book about slavery called Uncle Tom’s Cabin . The book showed that slaves were treated unfairly and should be treated like human beings. She was able to convince people that slavery was not fair.

One of Harriet's sons fought in the Civil War, which was about the fight to free the slaves. President Abe Lincoln was elected president of the USA in 1820. He helped stopped slavery along with thousands of soldiers who fought in the war.

Between fifty and seventy thousand runaway slaves found freedom on the Underground Railroad. Another brave women, Harriet Tubman led the slaves to the underground railroad were she fed them and gave them a place to sleep a place to bathe. Many of these slaves settled in Maine for freedom and the right to live as they chose to. Maine offered them many resources such as land, food, and jobs in order for them to begin new lives.

Sarah and Chelsea March 12, 2003 4A

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