How Did Landscape Affect Harriet Tubman? The Outdoors, Slavery, & the Underground Railroad

BRIdge from the Past: Art Across U.S. History is a new YouTube series for students that explores an important historic image every episode to gain insights into the culture, politics, and society of a particular time in U.S. history. Host Mary Patterson will explain how each primary source is its own “window to the past,” revealing new areas for contemplation and discussion.

How did Harriet Tubman act responsibly by helping many people escape slavery?

How were the Civil War and the question of slavery related to differing interpretations of a pro-slavery or anti-slavery Constitution? In this video, two-time Lincoln Prize winner, James Oakes, and BRI Senior Teaching Fellow Tony Williams discuss his new book, “The Crooked Path to Abolition: Abraham Lincoln and the Antislavery Constitution.” Oakes explores what role the Constitution played in abolishing slavery and how the Civil War accelerated this process. Why did Lincoln view the Constitution as an anti-slavery document? In what ways were Lincoln’s opinions different from his contemporaries? In what ways were they similar?

How can images help us understand the role of African American women in the abolitionist movement? In this episode, Mary explores an image of Sojourner Truth. Born into slavery in New York, she dedicated her life to abolition and equal rights for women and men. How did her famous "Ar'nt I a Woman?" speech convey her life-long commitment to the ideals of liberty and equality? *The source we reviewed used the phrase "Ar'nt I a Woman?" but Sojourner Truth's speech is often also titled "Ain't I a Woman?"