Escape from Slavery

The United States banished slavery on this date in 1865 with the proclamation of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

Section 1 of this amendment reads:
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude … shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

For decades, abolitionists rallied for this national legislation, which was possible only after a bitter civil war (1861–65). One of the most famous abolitionists is Harriet Tubman, shown in this painting by William H. Johnson.

After her own escape from slavery in 1849, Harriet Tubman (1821–1913) began helping other African American slaves flee to the northern states and Canada. She used a loosely constructed and secret network of escape routes and people called the Underground Railroad. Her dangerous forays into the South resulted in freedom for more than two hundred slaves. Johnson's expressive portrait of Harriet Tubman includes references to the secretive and treacherous nature of the Underground Railroad.

Source: A Journey through Art with William H. Johnson (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian American Art Museum) at http://americanart.si.edu/johnson/intro3.html.

Pictured: William H. Johnson, 1901–1970, Harriet Tubman, about 1945, oil on paperboard, 29 3/8 x 23 3/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation.