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The woman that sang The Cherokee Morning Song sang that song very beautifully. Literally, her voice is so GOODDDD!!

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The songs are calm and good and show emotion

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Follow The drinking gourd has nice vocals and you could tell they were trying to tell you something with the drinking gourd

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people are folowing the music sheet to make tones with there body

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the song is timed perfectly and sounded in sync

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Abolitionism & the Underground Railroad In the 1830s in Springfield Massachusetts

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Read each of the articles below, and be ready to respond to questions from them.

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Why do you think humans make songs/complex music?

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Why do you think humans make songs/complex music?

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Respond below

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Directly in the column below, add  a post with your found code song, and your analysis of the lyrics.

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Pick 2 clips from below, then respond using the comment feature, to the examples citing specific songs and ideas. These responses should include any ideas you have about the meanings of lyrics or musical settings

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Code songs, also known as secret songs, were created by enslaved Africans to communicate and resist during slavery. These songs had hidden messages that allowed enslaved people to talk without slaveholders or overseers knowing. Here are some important things to know about code songs:

1. Purpose and Function: Code songs were a secret way for enslaved Africans to share information about escape routes, safe houses, and other important details for freedom. By hiding their messages in the lyrics and melodies of spirituals, they could communicate without raising suspicion.

2. Hidden Messages: The lyrics of code songs often had double meanings or secret language that talked about escape plans or warned about dangers. The messages were understood by the enslaved community, but seemed innocent or religious to others.

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Respond to each question in the comment section of that post.

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How did the experiences of women and children in colonial America differ based on their ethnicity, social group, and the colony they lived in?

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What were some of the harsh conditions and challenges faced by Africans in colonial America?

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How did Africans in colonial America maintain their cultural heritage and identity despite the hardships of slavery?

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Why was slavery particularly important to the economy of the Southern colonies?

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This spiritual song is another significant example of music sung by enslaved Africans. It draws inspiration from the biblical story of Moses leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. The lyrics of the song reflect the desire for liberation and the hope for a better future. "Go Down Moses" served as a source of strength and resilience for the enslaved community, reminding them of their shared history and the belief in divine intervention.

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1. Slavery - the system in which individuals are owned and forced to work without pay or freedom.
2. Fugitive - a person who is running away or escaping, in this case, referring to runaway slaves.
3. Plantation - a large agricultural estate where crops are grown, often using slave labor.
4. Abolitionist - a person who supports the complete end of slavery.
5. Lynch mobs - a group of people who take the law into their own hands and engage in violence, often resulting in death.

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Read this article and be prepared to answer questions

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Read this article and be prepared to answer questions

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https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/lincolns-underground-railroad/

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In colonial America, women and children had varying experiences based on factors such as ethnicity, social group, and colony, with European women in the Southern colonies contributing equally to men in farming and settlement projects, while white women in all colonies managed households and had limited rights, and children were taught skills and prepared for adulthood.

Article in Arabic:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13VJAEE8LUzNUwnRmCysaS_ZqKLWlmiKDXUbTwH1yAgM/edit?usp=sharing

Alternative Level:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bB-d_JIa_u4Kf11FgbYWqGOl8ox5kSrIVSES4kz9xn0/edit?usp=sharing

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The text explains that colonies are groups of people who live in a foreign place but still have connections to their home country, and it discusses the 13 British colonies in North America during the 17th century, which had special agreements from the King of England called charters that allowed them to stay there, with three main types of charters: royal, proprietary, and joint-stock.

Article in Arabic:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SpIbsReQxepjW6KnZPh-kq4uHscRSZYEeMWTi4rq2W8/edit?usp=sharing

Alternative Level:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c4-RB8iclQn-F5O1uOrEcCmdNzFxcOSNhlwipSF3_bY/edit?usp=sharing

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Resource

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

A colony is a country or area under the full or partial political control of another country, typically a distant one, and occupied by settlers from that country.

Subjects

Social Studies, World History

Image

Rhode Island Charter

All 13 of the British North American colonies were granted a contract, called a charter, from the King of England allowing its people to stay there. This image depicts Roger Williams, who founded the Rhode Island colony, being welcomed as he brought the royal charter to establish the colony.

Painting from North Wind Picture Archives

A colony is a group of people who inhabit a foreign territory but maintain ties to their parent country. While the group of people can be considered a colony, so too can the territory itself.

The 13 British colonies founded in North America during the 17th century are perhaps the most well-known colonies in the history of the United States. British colonies in North America included settlements in regions like New England and the Chesapeake Bay. Each colony was granted a type of charter, or contract, from the King of England, which allowed its people to remain in the area. Royal, proprietary, and joint-stock were the three most common types of charters given to those looking to colonize the New World in the name of the mother country.

A royal charter was administered under leadership of the crown but occurred through indirect means. The colony was then often ruled by a royal governor with a council. A proprietary charter was granted to an individual as a direct result of their relationship with the king. This would result in the individual, or Lord Proprietor, governing the colony in their own way but still under the flag of the mother country. Finally, a joint-stock colony (also known as a charter colony, or corporate colony) was a combined venture between investors in the hope of obtaining a return on their investment of funds in the colony. Investors were granted a charter to the colony by the crown, and as a result of that relationship, would establish rules of self-government. These colonies also entered into a financial agreement with a (joint-stock) company that invested funds in exchange for stock in the colony, with hopes of eventually obtaining profit.

People within each of these colonies lived, worked, sourced for food, and developed a culture together as a community. Colonies were a way for the mother country to engage in the practice of mercantilism, or increasing their power by creating a source for exports and raw materials.

While Great Britain was not the only world power to engage in the practice, they were one of the most successful. During the Age of Imperialism in the late 19th century, many colonies existed as a result of competition between world powers. Present in Africa and Asia, European Powers, and later the United States, attempted to obtain economic power and military strength under the guise of humanitarian efforts. Today colonies are rare, but still exist as non-self-governing territories, as categorized by the United Nations. Examples include Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands, to name a few.

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Director

Tyson Brown, National Geographic Society

Author

National Geographic Society

Production Managers

Gina Borgia, National Geographic Society

Jeanna Sullivan, National Geographic Society

Program Specialists

Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society, National Geographic Society

Margot Willis, National Geographic Society

other

Last Updated

October 19, 2023

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Text

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A colony is a country or area under the full or partial political control of another country, typically a distant one, and occupied by settlers from that country.

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5. How did the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 make it harder for slaves to escape?

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4. Why did some runaway slaves choose to seek refuge in cities or establish encampments in rural areas?

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3. How did plantation owners try to find their runaway slaves?

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2. What were some of the risks faced by runaway slaves?

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1. Why did African Americans flee slavery in the South?

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Pick 2 clips from below, then respond using the comment feature, to the examples citing specific songs and ideas. These responses should include any ideas you have about the meanings of lyrics or musical settings

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Response goes here

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Sweet Honey in The Rock - Wade in the Water

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"Wade in the Water": This spiritual song was sung by enslaved Africans and held deep religious and symbolic meaning. The lyrics contain references to water as a metaphor for baptism and escape. It was believed that following the waterways, such as rivers, would lead to freedom. The song provided hope, encouragement, and a sense of community among the enslaved population.

ادخل في الماء: كانت هذه الأغنية الروحية تُغنى من قِبَل الأفارقة المستعبدين وتحمل معانٍ دينية ورمزية عميقة. تحتوي كلماتها على إشارات إلى الماء كمجاز للمعمودية والهروب. كان يعتقد أن اتباع المسالك المائية، مثل الأنهار، يؤدي إلى الحرية. قدمت الأغنية الأمل والتشجيع وشعورًا بالمجتمع بين السكان المستعبدين.

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Sweet Honey in The Rock - Wade in the Water

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Wade in the Water
The ladys voice are make one of the voices higher than others and make it stand out and they talk about history.

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This song served as a coded message for enslaved Africans seeking freedom on the Underground Railroad. The "drinking gourd" referred to the Big Dipper constellation, which was used as a guide to navigate northward towards freedom. The song provided directions and encouragement to those seeking to escape the bonds of slavery.

ترجمة هذا النص إلى العربية:
هذه الأغنية كانت رسالة مشفرة للأفارقة المستعبدين الذين يبحثون عن الحرية على السكة الحديدية السرية. تشير "القدرة على الشرب" إلى كوكبة الدب الأكبر، التي استُخدمت كدليل للتوجه نحو الشمال باتجاه الحرية. قدمت الأغنية توجيهات وتشجيعًا لأولئك الذين يسعون للهروب من قيود العبودية.

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Yankee Doodle Went To Town | Nursery Rhyme  | HooplaKidz

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This song originated during the colonial era and was used by the British to mock the American colonists. However, the colonists embraced the song and turned it into a symbol of their resistance and patriotism during the American Revolution. It represents the spirit and determination of the European colonists in their quest for independence.

ترجمة هذا النص إلى العربية: هذه الأغنية نشأت خلال فترة الاستعمار واستُخدمت من قبل البريطانيين للسخرية من المستعمرين الأمريكيين. ومع ذلك، قبل المستعمرون الأمريكيون هذه الأغنية وحولوها إلى رمز لمقاومتهم وحب الوطن خلال الثورة الأمريكية. إنها تمثل روح وعزيمة المستعمرين الأوروبيين في سعيهم للحرية.

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HooplaKidz - Official Nursery Rhymes Channel

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Yankee Doodle Went To Town | Nursery Rhyme  | HooplaKidz

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the people singing the song had different and the same tones

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I liked how they were singing together

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The song sounded really good and the song was nice and calm

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Song is nice, i like the way it sounded :)

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Wade in the water - Jovani, Steve, Aimee

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Wade in the water - Jovani, Steve, Aimee

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Very vocal, smooth, gentle, like instructions. Sign language looks to have been directing too.

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perfect voices and perfectly time and good sounds for no instruments

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Interesting high flutes. Sounds very organized

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The contributions of Africans in colonial America were crucial to the prosperity of the Southern colonies, despite their lack of social and political power, as they provided labor for the plantations and developed a vibrant culture that persists in African-American culture today.

Article in Arabic:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/14XpxrqoYbWKVBVrBjdErjeZr4MFn-L7cIGdoNDUpAWE/edit?usp=sharing

Alternative Level:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OaT39SNVlKEDaI3oG9T6AubQYhlQDzs1-b__oMyEpSU/edit?usp=sharing

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Social Studies, U.S. History

Image

Photograph by H P Moore

While Africans in colonial America held very little social or political power, their contributions not only supported the Southern colonies but led to their eventual prosperity.

The first Africans brought to the colonies of what would be the United States had been enslaved by the Portugese. In the British colonies, they maintained a legal status similar to white indentured servants. Unlike the white indentured servants, however, the enslaved Africans did not volunteer their labor.

However, the Africans' status in the United States slowly deteriorated over the course of the century, as colonies slowly added laws to permit slavery and restrict the rights of Africans. There are two examples of this shift from indentured servitude to the institution of legal slavery for blacks in the British-American colonies. One is the story of John Punch, a black indentured servant who ran away from his boss along with two white indentured servants in 1640. All were captured. While the white indentured servants had their terms extended by four years each, Punch had his term of service extended to the rest of his life.

The second example is the case of John Casor. He was an indentured servant who had fled from his boss, Anthony Johnson (who, ironically, had also been among those first African captives brought to the 13 colonies until he earned his freedom and bought his own piece of land). In 1654, Johnson took Casor to court to force him back into servitude. Casor claimed he had earned his freedom, but the court did not agree-and went a step further to declare that Casor would be Johnson's property for the rest of his life.

These decisions laid the legal foundation for lifetime servitude. More laws followed, including one in 1662 that said children were born into slavery if their mothers were enslaved, and one in 1705 that declared all non-Christian servants brought to the colonies would automatically be enslaved.

While slavery existed in every colony at one time or another, it was the economic structure of farming in the South that depended on slave labor to prosper. A large labor force was needed to work the large plantations that grew labor-intensive crops like tobacco and rice. That labor demand was filled by the forced labor of Africans. While most enslaved people worked in the field, others were used in the enslavers' homes, assisting the owners in running the plantation and household as manservants, maids, cooks, and nannies. As enslaved people became more and more in demand in the South, the slave trade that spanned from Africa to the colonies became a source of economic wealth as well.

Working long hours, living in crude conditions, and suffering abuses from their owners, African captives faced harsh conditions in colonial America. Families were often broken apart, with husbands and wives sold to different owners than their children. For those enslaved during this time, there was little hope of escape from slave life. None of the colonies outlawed slavery prior to the Revolutionary War, so running away to freedom was extremely difficult. There was a small chance a captive would be freed when their enslaver died, but it was equally likely that their family would be split up to surviving family members. Still, the enslaved resisted their bondage, with uprisings like the Stono Rebellion in 1739.

Despite these hardships, Africans in colonial America developed a vibrant culture that embodied a combination of resistance against their enslavers, adopted Christian worship, and customs from their native Africa. Storytelling was an art form as well as a means of sharing critical information about survival for the enslaved, and since they were not allowed to read or write, it was the primary way African-American history was passed down. Music and dance, which was central to African life, became sustenance for slaves' emotional lives in America, especially in their prayer and worship practices. Many cultural elements from colonial America still exists in African-American culture today.

Director

Author

National Geographic Society

Production Managers

Program Specialists

Last Updated

October 19, 2023

For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

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Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.

Interactives

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While Africans in colonial America held very little social or political power, their contributions supported the Southern colonies and led to their eventual prosperity.

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Trooping The Colour 2012 - The British Grenadiers

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This English marching song was popular among the British soldiers during the colonial period. It was often played during military parades and served as a rallying cry for the British troops. It reflects the perspective of the British colonizers and their military presence in the American colonies.

ترجمة هذا النص إلى العربية: كانت هذه الأغنية العسكرية الإنجليزية شهيرة بين الجنود البريطانيين خلال الفترة الاستعمارية. كانت غالباً ما تعزف خلال الاستعراضات العسكرية وتستخدم كصرخة تحشيد للقوات البريطانية. إنها تعكس وجهة نظر المستعمرين البريطانيين ووجودهم العسكري في المستعمرات الأمريكية.

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Trooping The Colour 2012 - The British Grenadiers

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This song, sung by the Cherokee tribe, reflects their cultural practices and traditions. It was often performed as a morning ritual to greet the new day and express gratitude for the natural world. The song represents the spiritual beliefs and values of the Cherokee people during the colonial period.

هذه الأغنية المغناة من قبل قبيلة تشيروكي تعكس ممارساتهم الثقافية وتقاليدهم. كانت تؤدي في كثير من الأحيان كطقوس صباحية لتحية اليوم الجديد والتعبير عن الشكر للعالم الطبيعي. تمثل الأغنية المعتقدات الروحية والقيم لشعب تشيروكي خلال الفترة الاستعمارية.

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"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" | First Ever Recording (1909)  + Powerful Pictures of Slavery/Segregation

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This spiritual song is one of the most well-known and widely sung songs by enslaved Africans. It is believed to have originated in the mid-19th century and holds deep religious and symbolic meaning. The lyrics depict the longing for freedom and the hope for deliverance from the hardships of slavery. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" became an anthem for the Underground Railroad, serving as both a coded message and a source of inspiration for those seeking freedom.

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"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" | First Ever Recording (1909)  + Powerful Pictures of Slavery/Segregation

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/171KpU-DQnQDegBCLT4cYgq1yWPP4jpdtXyOUog1tPls/edit?usp=sharing

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The Lakota Four Directions Song  [ Lyrics ]

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This traditional Native American song represents the connection to nature and the spiritual beliefs of Native American tribes during the colonial era. It reflects the reverence for the natural world and the belief in the interconnectedness of all living beings. The song symbolizes the cultural practices and traditions of Native American tribes.

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The Lakota Four Directions Song  [ Lyrics ]