THE BATTLES CONTINUE
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     Abraham Lincoln won the election for the presidency in 1860, despite the fact that he was not on the ballet in many southern states, His election culminated many years of what came to be known as “sectionalism” (meaning loyalty to the interest of ones own district rather to the nation as a whole), especially over the issue of slavery.

      Lincoln’s election  ultimately spurred ten states of the “Deep South” to  declare its secession from the United States.. South Carolina (December 20,1860), Mississippi (January 9, 1861) Florida (January 10,1861), Alabama (January 11, 1861), Georgia (January 19,1861), Louisiana, (January 26, 1861), Texas, (February 1, 1861), Virginia (April 17,1861, Arkansas, May 6,1861, North Carolina, May 20, 1861, Tennessee June 8, 1861), formed what came to be called The Confederate States of America.  Four slave holding states,Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware and Missouri  did not declare secession and remained loyal to the United States.  A portion  of Virginia broke away, remained loyal to the United States union, and became a new state known as West Virginia.

    The Civil War began after the attack and capture by Confederates of the US federal Forth Sumter on April 12, 1861.  The war lasted until 1865 and was one of the bloodiest wars ever fought by Americans, and the third war fought on American soil. (The Mexican War of 1848 was technically fought on Mexican territory which was annexed to the United States at the end of the war.) Enslaved people were freed as a result of the Civil war. The thirteenth amendment to the Constitution forbids slavery in the United States.

    Harriet Tubman was an active participant in the Civil War. Having had experience as conductor on the Underground Railroad, she knew her way around the land, how to hide, how to disguise herself.  She was an expert organizer and had many scouts working with and for her. She was also a nurse who knew  natural  remedies, for example, some home remedies for dysentery  which was a common ailment among union soldiers. Her courage and determination were extremely helpful to the Union.

Harriet Tubman continued her activism after the Civil War. She was especially dedicated to the cause of Woman’s Rights in general and the woman’s suffrage movement in particular. She spent her last years building and working at a home for the elderly. She died in Auburn New York in 1913. Her gravestone reads:

Harriet Tubman Davis, Heroine of the Underground Railroad,
nurse and scout in the Civil War. Born about 1820 in
Maryland, died March 20, 1913 at Auburn,NY.

“SERVANT OF GOD, WELL DONE.”

INSTRUMENTAL

LYRICS

 

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The civil war a  long time fought

Misery is what it wrought

Nursing the wounded, the hours were long

A spy for the union my will was strong.

The war  now over, the slaves free at last.

Now we must move from an ugly past,

Though it’s time to lay down the gun,

Other battles continue more to be done.

I’ll fight those fights for humankind,

Devote my heart and the whole of my mind,

Helping people take a stand,

Pushing for justice in our land.

I “ll  crusade  both day and night

The battles continue, turn wrong to right,

Has always been my destiny,

It’s my mission, always  shall be

IMPROVISATION, BY BERNIE KATZMAN

BREATHE FREE   

Although Jim and Sarah are fictional characters, their situation represents the reality of enslaved people. Jim and Sarah married according to a traditional African custom. But their lives were not their own. As so often happened, families were split up as one member of the family was "sold."  The expressions, "sold south" and "sold down the river" come from this era.  Needless to say, it was a tragedy for those involved.

Communication was usually severed and it was not uncommon for a family members never to hear from those sold away ever again. In this segment, Jim heard that he was to be sold. He decides to run away. He promises to come back for Sarah and their child..but he was captured, and sold anyway.

LYRICS

Jim's part

Sarah, Sarah, Sarah my darlin'..

Just as soon as the  sun sets in the sky.

I must go, I must run away to night.

It's mighty hard, so hard to say good-bye.

Sarah's Part

Jim, Jim, Jim my darlin,

Though we promised, from the very start.

That we would stay, together forever.

We would never, never ever part.

And yet I know, I know it to be true.

That if you stay, I fear what they will do.

They'll sell you down south, so far away from me.

Then neither one of us would ever breathe free.

Jim's Part

Remember, Sarah, Sarah my darlin,

I promise this, it's what I plan to do.

I somehow will,  I'll come back here for you.

And our child, come back for her too.

Cause I'll find a way to rescue you.

 Then both of you, like me, will breathe free air too.


  
IMPROVISATION,by Bernie Katzman
 

Please click the music below for the entire transcription

 
-- WHAT YA' DOIN' MINTY

As a young girl, Minty  was often "hired out." This means she was put to work for other families in some capacity. In one case, for example, she was hired out to a weaver...a woman who mistreated her terribly. Minty was beaten  on a regular basis.  At one point she had the measles, but was still made to work. It was at this time she was able to get back to her mother who nursed her back to health.

 Although some enslaved people found ways of making a little money, most were penniless. There were a few people who, with some meager savings and money donated by abolitionists, were able to buy their freedom..but this was rare. 

Many of the "owners" of enslaved people were small  farmers, "owning" two or three people.  The larger plantations might have had many workers. There were some Black slave "owners", probably accounting to fewer than 2%. These were free Black people living in the south as well.  Though some "owned" the enslaved people for commercial reasons,  a good many  were known as "benevolent slave owners." They bought slaves to enable  them a better, more tolerable life;  they bought family members, to keep them together; they bought them in order to free them (manumission.) 

The facts of Minty's early life are sketchy. A few incidents are known however.. Harriet herself retained some memories and was known, in her senior years, to speak to children about her life . One of her distinct memories was of an infant's bed, carved out of a tree, presumably by her father. She also remembered, as a young child , being played with (tossed up and down) by some white  girls.

  As a child, Minty/Harriet was severely injured when a hard object  thrown towards another enslaved person,  accidentally hit her head leaving a  physical scar . Fainting spells plagued her for the rest of  her life. Beatings, mutilations and other severe treatment was suffered by the enslaved people if they committed even the most minor  of offenses.

In this song, Minty is refusing to go to her assignment. Her mother and an older sister are terrified that she will get a beating--once again-- so they are urging her to get up and go to work. There is no record of this event actually happening.  There is no indication anywhere that the event described in the song ever happened. I made the incident up, it is not even legend.  However, the song represents the love and concern family members had for each other.


    Minty replies by telling her mother and sister about her longing to be free, and her intentions to break away from her present condition. She tells them that it is not just a dream, but is on her mind as a reality for the future. This song represents both the feelings of hopelessness and yet the yearnings to be free in spite of despair. The song, therefore, is symbolic.

In actuality, as far as we know, Minty's mother, Rit, had a strong , courageous, rebellious spirit of her own as did so many of the enslaved people. It is thought that when her youngest son, Harriet's brother, was to be "sold", Rit
hid him for a month until the "sale" was abandoned.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE ORANGE CIRCLE WITH THE WHITE ARROW TO HEAR THE MUSIC FOR THE SONG. THE LYRICS FOLLOW.

 

Lyrics

.....MOTHER'S PART

......What ya doin' Minty, Sittin' in the corner?
......Get yourself goin', There's work to be done.

......The missus don't like ..........No lazy slave girl , 
......There aint no rest here,  Never fun.

.......MOTHER'S AND SISTER'S PART

.......Com-on,  Minty, Get ya-self movin' 
.......Life don't change,  oh can't ya' see, 
.......Plantations for us is sure not free, 
.......And won't ...............never be.

......MINTY'S PART

......It aint no fair mama,  workin' like a cart horse 
......Livin' for the big house, night and day.

,,,,,,I needs to be free, be my own master, 
,,,,,,For me, it's the only way. 

......I know in my heart......I'm headin' for freedom 
,..,,,Ain't just a dream, ....it's on my mind

......May not be today's or tomorrow's plan, 
,,..,,But it's freedom for me......that's what I'll find.


Improvisation by Bernie Katzman


Click on the  song notation below to see larger view.

..

Click on the notation below to see the entire transcription,as

done by Dylan Roberts

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sdsfWhat Ya Doin' Minty: Improvisation by Bernie Katzman by Susan Maskin

-- SOLILOQUY

  Living conditions for most enslaved people were terrible. They usually lived in one room, dirt floor shacks, usually without windows.  They ate poorly and  wore shabby clothing and often wore no shoes. ( One spiritual,GOING  TO SHOUT ALL OVER GOD'S HEAVEN, has the following verse:

I’ve got shoes, you’ve got  shoes All of God’s children got shoes
When I get to Heaven goin’ to put on my shoes
Goin’ to walk all over God’s Heaven

Disease was common. People worked long days, from "day clean to day gone."--and when there was a full moon, sometimes into the night. A prominent thought on the enslaved person's mind was freedom.  In this song, Harriet  expresses her feelings of anger and misery over of her situation and emphasizes her continual determination to be a free person, as she knows she should be.  

Lyrics

I wake each mornin'.... feelin'blue..

Moanin'; and groanin' 'bout what I gotta do.
Go up to the big house, work mornin' til night..

Doin' what they say to do with never a fight.

Workin' and workin' the way I be told..
And always a-fearin', I gonna be sold.

The Missus think that I'm property.

But I got feelin's that she ain't never see.
 I be a  slave...  just to push around.
To her just a bug to crawl on the ground.

That's my life, don't belong to me.

But only for now...I soon will be free.

That day will come, cause I'm really mad.

Livin' this way is awefully sad.
It's no life for me, not at all.

I'll stand up for myself...really tall.

Cause I.... Know I'm a woman, a woman who.

Can be my own person, with so much more to do.

I'll help myself and my people too..

Have a better life,  a life brand new.

That's why I decided, I gonna see.

Me, and my brothers and sisters be free...

Click the music for the entire   song

Transcription by Dylan Roberts

Where My Soul will Be Free
Improvisation by Bernie Katzman, of a song by Susan Maskin
Lyrics by Susan Maskin

Frederick Douglass, an enslaved African who escaped to freedom and later became an abolitionist, implied in his autobiography,  Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,  that some of the spirituals sung by the enslaved people contained coded messages which helped the enslaved to escape.  He stated that songs had "multiple uses." There is  probably no clear written documentation that supports the claim that  some of these songs were instructions, though  legends do indicate that songs such as "Follow the Drinking Gourd," "The Gospel Train," "Steal Away," "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,"  "Wade in the Water," and some others were actually partial guides  for those escaping bondage.  "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot might  have referred to the Ohio River and the safe haven of Ripley Ohio. (for more information check out this wonderful website: http://www.negrospirituals.com/    ) There is controversy over whether in fact these songs actually did have  codes or instructions for those trying to escape. However, since a variety of  ways for sending messages and communicating were used, it is quite possible, perhaps probable, that these spiritual songs might have had this function or at least, been used as inspiration to escape. In addition, since many legends are at least loosely  based on something factual, I believe songs were possibly used. Whatever is true regarding coded messages,  the "spirituals" were  religious songs and a source of hope and support for the enslaved people.

It is important to note that some well-known spirituals were written by identifiable composers after the Civil War.
See: http://www.negrospirituals.com/composers.htm

The song below ,"Where My Soul Will Be Free" is not a pre-Civil War spiritual, but is composed with those songs in mind. 

note: follow the minutes and seconds at the left side of the song bar to know the place in the song which match the lyrics.



Instrumental

Lyrics

Introduction

(starts at 15 seconds into the music)
I looked toward the sky,
I stood  to pray.
Pray for some angels,
To take me far away.

To the promise land, where my soul would be free.
Maybe today, they're comin' for me.

(starts at  44 seconds)
I'll look for  angels..
Search day and night..
They're comin' for me..
To help me see the light.
The Promise land,  is waitin' on me.
I'll get there someday,  it's gonna be.

(starts at 1 minute 13 seconds)
And so I know, I got  to go.
I must  get ready, Can't never be slow.
The Lord is watchin', He's waitin' for me.
In the promise land,  my soul  can be free.

( starts at 1 minute 43 seconds)
I'll look for  angels..
 I'll search day and night..
They're comin' for me..
To help me see the light.
In the promise land,  it's  waitin' on me.
I'll get there someday,  it's gonna be.


 (starts at 2minutes, 19 seconds)
Instrumental--dance sequence to

(stats at 3 minutes 26 seconds)
And so I know, gotta   go.
I must be ready, Can't never be slow.
The Lord is watchin', He's waitin' for me.
In the promise land,  In the promise land, In the promise land,
In the promise land...

That is where my soul .......................be free.

Click on the music below to enlarge 
Notation done by Dylan Roberts

THE DEAL

Harriet Beecher Stowe started Uncle Tom's Cabin with a deal made between a plantation owner and a slave trader.It is a most tragic event, as every aspect of slavery was.  In this song, Mr.  Edward Brodess (the owner of the plantation in Maryland where Harriet Tubman was born)  meets with a fictitious slave trader named Mr. Len.  Although this song narrative is partially fictitious, it represents the actual events that happened all to often.  Some of the plantation owners went into debt and needed to raise money. They did so by either hiring out their enslaved people (as Harriet/Minty was hired out) or by selling them. The music represents the tragedy of the events. It is cruelly ironic that the two men were "animated," while eating a  sumptuous meal. They were quite satisfied with their "business deal".

The Song

Instrumental





 Lyrics

Today, in the big house,
There were two men.
One Mr. Brodess, the other Mr. Len.
They sat at a table,they ate a sumptuous meal.
Both men were animated, talking with zeal.

Mr. Len was a broker, came a long way.
to purchase some slaves,
For which he would pay,
As little as possible, 'cause 
What he did feel..
As a slave trader, his object,
Get a good deal.

So Brodess told Len, 
That he has this slave, Jim.
Real  strong and quite able,
not many like him.
Then Len said to Brodess, he must add to the lot..
Throw a child into the deal..
He could take it or not.

In no time they agreed,
A fair price for the pair.
No matter who suffered,
Wretched despair.
They're slaves, after all, who cares how they feel,
So long as some money, changed hands in the deal.

And that's what went on, in the gloom of that room.
An agreement was made, that sealed another's doom.

CLICK ON THE MUSIC BELOW FOR THE ENTIRE TRANSCRIPTION

Improvisation, by Bernie Katzman

-- JUMP THE BROOM

Although enslaved house servants were, on some occasions, allowed to marry in some sort of religious ceremony, ( and even then, according to Ken Burns CIVIL WAR documentary, the preacher might have changed the vows to "until death or distance do us part") it was not common  and improbable for field workers to have the same privilege. Many southern states prohibited legal marriage  of enslaved people, claiming that they were property without legal status. This was reinforced on the national level with the Dred Scott decision of 1857 in which  Chief Justice Taney ruled that   enslaved people of African descent are not citizens of the United States and are therefore not allowed to enter into a court  process, or  have any rights allowed United States citizens.  

A custom common among some peoples especially in western Africa was  to have a wedding ceremony in which the bride and groom would  jump over a broom . This custom was retained in the culture of the enslaved people of America.   In this song, two plantations workers, Jim and Sarah are marrying in this way.  They are fictitious characters though many enslaved people like them "jumped the broom."

The song is sung by Sarah with Jim joining in at the end.  In the middle of the song is an improvised  dance instrumental. In the  fictitious portion of the story, Sarah and Jim pledge to be together for always.. Tragically, shortly after Sarah gives birth to their first daughter, Brodess  (the plantation owner) decides to sell Jim ..illustrating the enforced breakup of families which was common before the Civil War.

The song is a  momentary happy time for these two young people showing, all the more, the horrific tragedy of  loving human beings  perceived as chattel property,  not only by their masters  but by United States and State law. In the song, tobacco picking is mentioned. Although plantations in Maryland did grow tobacco, this crop was being gradually discontinued over the years.

Song with narrated lyrics-- (written lyrics below)

or

Version 1..Shorter instrumental--listen and read lyrics below

My man is very special......Ma’ darlin’ Jim.

That’s why today I gonna jump the broom with him..

Ain’t got no doubts about it. Our love is real.

You folks can see our carin’...done never been a whim.

The minutes passin'; Too slow for me.

I'm so impatient....for me and Jim to be…....

Together..

I thinks there’s somethin’.....There’s somethin’ more..

-no life- tobacco pickin’....There’s love we’re livin’ for

INSTRUMENTAL DANCE

Jim’s part

singing  resumes at 1 minute 47 seconds into the song.

Today  ain't  got no troubles, Ain’t got no care.

We feel much better, cause

We’re a lovin’ pair---

Jim and Sarah, and chorus

The sun above is shinin’...The flowers’ in bloom.

....We’re now together on this...Joyous afternoon

(short instrumental)

 WE JUMPED THE BROOM

Longer version

Click on the music below for the notation of the whole song.

. 

Version 2- with longer dance sequence

  A few words are sung by Bernie Katzman to indicate where the singing begins again after the improvisation/dance section. The singing resumes differently from version 1.

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