In "the negro speaks of rivers," what does the poet use rivers to symbolize?

The poet uses rivers to symbolize history of the negro. some could see this as the history of the negro being long like a river.

the federalist party which advocated strong centralization dominated the united states government till 1800. so 1800 election transformed the power from one party to another party for the first time and was thus a turning point in american history. so jefferson called it "revolution of 1800".

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