Final answer:
The Spiritual was a key aspect of the Underground Railroad, providing both an emotional support system and a means of coded communication for escape plans. Harriet Tubman and other abolitionists used spirituals like "Go Down Moses" to signal and direct those seeking freedom.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Spiritual played a critical role in the Underground Railroad, acting as a tool for communication and a source of emotional support and hope for freedom among those enslaved. Despite the emphasis by slaveholders on a message of obedience and a better life awaiting in heaven, enslaved individuals often focused on the more empowering message of being freed from bondage. Spirituals such as "Go Down Moses," famously used by Harriet Tubman, held dual meanings - while on the surface they told religious stories, they also held deep allegorical significance, giving coded messages about escape plans and contributing to a covert form of resistance.
Moreover, the escape network of the Underground Railroad used a variety of tactics to stay covert. This included the organization into small, independent groups and the avoidance of written directions to reduce the risk of infiltration. Visual and audible clues were used, such as the lyrics of spiritual songs, to provide directional cues for the movement of fugitives to safety.