Why did slaves try to escape? Well it was very simple. For the Same reason that a captured animal escapes. It is usually treated badly. Many slaves were beaten not because they did something wrong, but because one of them in their group was "misbehaving". Some people can endure pain themselves but hate to see something or someone they love be beaten, so slave owners would sometimes punish a Innocent slave to get the one who was in trouble to "behave". Many slaves escaped and even were able to murder their "master". On occasion, slaves that were not mistreated ran away just for the reason that they wanted more. This most often lead to a wicked beating or even their death. Large plantations usually did most of the killing for they could better afford the cost of a new slave, and smaller businesses and small farms had a few slaves at most. Some escaped slaves would try to join the Indians in the land, but some were killed because they were trying to join warrior tribes and some were killed because they were unwanted. only a very few were able to join and live with the Indians.

Around this time, other slaves were brought to America from Asia. Japanese and Chinese people, though thinly spread through the nation, were enslaved and wished to end slavery. I know this from reading "One Woman's West" from last semester. The older TV show "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" that I occasionally watch also lead to my knowledge about Asian slaves. These slaves usually worked in mines and quarries for they were mostly small and could fit in mine shafts easier. Not to mention that they had some trouble speaking English so African-American slaves who could speak English were more suitable for in home and partner work. It also cost the slave owners more money to transport Asian Slaves to America because Asia and those regions are further away. Another reason that they sere sparse is because African-American slaves were already taught to speak "good" English and they would have to reteach the English language to Asian slaves. That is why today we see more African-American people than Asian People in The United States. There were actually more Hispanic people than Asian people in America and I believe that that is still the case for African-American and Hispanic people.

John Brown joined a group of English missionaries and formed a group called the Secret Six. They held meetings and devised plans to abolish slavery. John and the Secret Six successfully attempted to free slaves and relocate them. Slaves were relocated in a number of places, one of which was Canada. Frederick Douglas was a free black man who became friends with John Brown and helped along the cause to abolish slavery. One day in October 1859, Brown and an army of 21 armed men lead an attack on Harpers Ferry. This attack occurred over the issue of weapons to aid Brown and his followers in the cause. John Brown did however fail in this mission to invade Harpers Ferry. Brown succeeded in taking the armory, however he made the mistake of hesitating during his escape. Two of John Browns sons were killed and John himself was injured during this movement. On September 2nd, John Brown was convicted and sentenced to death. Brown's accomplishments paved way to many other intellectual abolitionists that attempted and succeeded in abolishing slavery.

Here's a video about the life of john brown and Harpers Ferry.

Though most people usually focus on slavery itself, there were also many anti-slavery acts that happened. Frederick Douglass and William Wells Brown were two fugitive slaves that provided compelling anti-slavery testimony against white slave owners. As this was going on, woman's rights acts were being considered and some passed. African-American women also joined the battle for anti-slavery, but it was hard enough for them to battle for woman's rights, let alone an African-American woman. Because of the opposition black women faced, they often raised money and encouraged others by teaching and spreading the word that slavery should be abolished. Men were usually the only black people at anti-slavery meetings and conventions, for their wives were often holding down the fort, however few women did attend these meetings and conventions. Black people were not the only ones to fight slavery, Many sympathizers also attended meetings to abolish slavery, and treated black people with the respect that they deserved. These sympathizers were called Abolitionists, and were sometimes treated as slaves were. They were often "taught a lesson" by people who were for slavery.  These "lessons" often involved beatings, lashings, or even death of the abolitionist. These people were shunned and lost many so-called friends, but they were doing good by fighting for freedom.

http://americanabolitionist.liberalarts.iupui.edu/brief.htm

The book of Midnight Rising by Tony Horwitz is about an abolitionist by the name of John Brown in the United States. This book follows the life of Mr. Brown and his family through the ups and downs of their lives. The definition of an abolitionist is "someone how is against the act of slavery". Throughout the age of slavery, there have been enforcers and sympathizers, many of which are mentioned in the book Midnight Rising. The Underground railroad played a very large part throughout this time. The underground railroad was not really underground, nor was it really a railroad, it was just a path that abolitionists used to help slaves escape their brutal lives. Slaves were bought like animals and used to work for the people who bought them. Female slaves usually washed clothes, made dinner and picked crops, while males usually preformed more labor intensive jobs such as plowing, planting, herding, and of course picking crops.The life of a slave was not pleasant, for they were beaten if they misbehaved or even if the slave owner felt like beating them.This is however not true for all of the slaves and owners, for some owners respected slaves and gave them good lives and something more to look forward too.