On June 15th,1789 in Charles County, Maryland, a slave was born. His name was Josiah Henson. Similar to the thousands of African-Americans enslaved during this time, Josiah grew up to be a man. A man who envisioned a life of freedom. And like thousands of slaves during this era, Josiah Henson found this freedom in Upper Canada.
*Freedom and hope. Words that had only been thought of and never said by slaves throughout the Americas. With Canada being one of the few places of hope, many fleeing slaves were traveling north in the anticipation of becoming free. During the late 1700’s to the early 1800’s, Upper Canada found itself the safe haven for thousands of African American slaves fleeing from the Americas. With its ruling in 1793, the Act to Limit Slavery permitted any slave who reached Upper Canada to become free upon arrival. Therefore, with the help of many dedicated people, both black and white, all of which risking their lives, the Underground Railroad was created. The Underground Railroad was made up of a secret network of safe houses and routes from the slaveholding American states, all the way to the freedom in Upper Canada. *Then in 1833, the Slavery Abolition Act was established. Despite its creation to abolish slavery throughout the British Empire, the Act merely resulted in the liberation of slaves as it only emancipated …show more content…
That was what Josiah Henson grew up being. Someones’ property. Specifically, the property of a man by the name of Isaac Riley. To be bought and sold. In 1825, Josiah Henson attempted to buy his freedom from Mr. Riley. Unfortunately, Mr. Riley had no intention of freeing any of his slaves. Desperate for freedom, and seeing no other option for his family and himself, Josiah Henson fled with his wife and four children. In 1830, with the help of the Underground Railroad, Josiah Henson and his family made it to freedom in Upper Canada. Josiah Henson may have been born into slavery, but he would not allow himself to die a