Slavery was one of the most disturbing acts to ever happen to African Americans. It was considered inhumane by Northern abolitionists. Slave owners and Southerners would use the Bible to justify their despicable actions. It all began when slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia, to help produce crops such as tobacco. Slaves endured many hardships such as being raped, beaten, and overworked by their masters. They were hardly considered a people by white Americans. Slavery was ubiquitous throughout the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. The slaves would be frustrated by the abuse they received and would try to escape to the North, where African Americans could become free citizens. The North abolished slavery later in time because it was not as dependent on it as the South. The spirituals sung by slaves were vital to the escape of fugitive slaves. Evidence of a slave's knowledge that would help support what is said is that most slaves could not read or write, so they used song to communicate without the help of their slave owners. understand what was being said. This would inadvertently allow slaves to speak to each other via codes. Different songs told the slaves specific things about how to escape or what to look for. This was an advantageous way of communicating without their masters understanding the codes. Without the slave masters knowing the slaves' plan, they had a better chance of escaping unnoticed until daylight. Types of Songs Slaves would have two types of signals through Negro Spirituals. The two types of spirituals coded were signal songs and map songs. In a signal song, a singer or group of singers communicated in code that…half of the paper…and the meaning of the music to the end of the slave's life. “Wade in the Water” is a perfect example of codified Negro Spiritual. His code basically tells the slaves when you manage to escape the plantation and are trying to connect to the next landmark on the Underground Railroad, make sure you wade through water to chase the hounds off your scent. When slave masters discovered a slave's escape, they usually fled on horseback with weapons and bloodhounds. The hounds would smell one of the slave's personal items so they could recognize its scent. The use of bloodhounds was an effective way to find fugitives. Once found, their masters brutally whipped the slaves to the brink of death. To get around these problems, this song would instruct the slaves on what to do once they get past the "escape" part and help them orient themselves north..