The Underground Railroad

Underground Railroad Is the first great freedom movement in the Americas and the first time people of different races and faiths worked together for freedom and justice. It was a secretive and effective organization. Peak time for the movement was between 1820 and 1865. Some people actually believe it was an actual train running underground from south to north

The Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was actually an above-ground series of escape routes for slaves traveling from the South to the North trying to gain their freedom. Slaves traveled by foot, wagons, boats, and trains. Slave runaways would usually travel by the light of night and hide during the day in places known as stations. These were safe houses owned by abolitionists.

Abolitionist Abolition-The movement to end slavery Abolitionist – a person who worked to end slavery. People against slavery

Terminology Secrecy was very important, therefore they used railroad terms to maintain secrecy and confuse others Tracks-fixed routes by abolitionists. Stations or depots- hiding places. Terminal, heaven, Promised Land- Canada or free states. Station masters- those who hid slaves in their homes. Passengers, cargo, freight- escaped slaves The Drinking Gourd- Big Dipper constellation

Henry Box Brown

Would you take the risk??? If the slaves were caught, they were sold or beaten with a whip; sometimes they were lynched.

Conductors were the people who led the runaways to freedom Could not carry a lot of supplies, slaves depended on conductors for meals, clothes, shelter and a bath when hiding in a shelter. When in the woods or wilderness, that had to hunt, forage and use creative ways to find food.

Famous Conductors

Harriett Tubman

Harriet Tubman was born a slave in Maryland. When she learned that her owner was going to sell her, she decided to escape. Tubman made 13 journeys from the South to the North as a Conductor on the Underground Railroad.

Harriet Tubman Southern Plantation owners offered $40,000 for the capture of Harriet Tubman. Plantation Owners also offered rewards for the return of runaway slaves.

Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth was born a slave in New York, and she fled to live with Quakers. Truth spoke for abolition and women’s rights. North imported slaves/some of the biggest slave traders from the north but the north gradually began to abolish slavery in the 1800’s(19th Century). The laws provided for gradual abolition=keep existing slaves and their children for example. It took many years to rid the north of slaves( as late as the outbreak of the Civil War there were still slaves in the north)

William Lloyd Garrison Abolitionist Published an antislavery newspaper The Liberator that reached thousands worldwide. He was loved and hated by many Americans because of his outrage against slavery. Founded the New England Anti-slavery society, He was dragged through the streets in Boston and nearly killed. A bounty of $4000 was placed on his head. He lived to see the 13 amendment take effect.(abolishment of slavery)

Fredrick Douglass Abolitionist Speaker Published an autobiography Former slave At 23 started speaking about abolishing slavery. Born a slave(Frederick Bailey), Father was white didn’t know who he was. Sent to Baltimore at 8 to work with a ship carpenter, who taught him how to read. He was sent back to country at 18 where he was treated brutally, whipped daily and barely feed, decided to escape, put in jail when his plan was discovered. 2 years later while working at a shipyard in Baltimore, he fled the city by train, steamboat, train and landed in NYC married and with his new name.

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 Dealt a severe blow to the movement. It meant slave owners could could pursue and arrest fugitives anywhere in the U.S. Slave hunters did not discriminate between free blacks and runaways, took both back to the south. Land and water travel became more efficient All types of boats were used Expanding railroad was sympathetic to the movement-allowed to travel as passengers or hide in freight cars, baggage cars or with livestock. Many members of black community fled NY to Canada, waiters in Pittsburgh headed for Canada to avoid being captured even though they were free.

Routes to Freedom

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

4 main routes 1. North along the Mississippi & Ohio Rivers to the north and Canada. 2. South to Florida and refuge with Seminole Tribe and Bahamas. 3. West along the Gulf of Mexico and into Mexico. 4. East along the seaboard into Canada.

Activity Watch clip on William Still http://video.pbs.org/video/2181724307/ Use map and plot out your escape route as a group. Draw an arrow connecting plotted points, then compare paths. Assign different starting points for each group.

Routes 1. Montgomery, AL-Philadelphia, PA-Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 2. Richmond, VA-Philadelphia, PA-Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 3. Savannah, GA- Philadelphia, PA-St.Catherines, Ontario, Canada. 4. Jackson, Mississippi- Detroit, Michigan-Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Vicksburg, MS – Philadelphia, PA- Canada

Routes Which path is the shortest route? How many miles is each route? What rivers did you have to cross? What other cities did you stop in? How long do you think it would take?

Codes Word of mouth, codes in newspapers and letters, bulletins, storytelling and songs helped the travelers cross the 49th parallel. They learned that the Detroit River was not 5,000 miles wide and that crows in Canada did not peck out their eyes.

Spiritual song lyrics informed the travelers on the Underground Railroad

Spirituals Spirituals like “Wade in the Water”, “The Gospel Train” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” directly refer to the Underground Railroad. Spirituals gradually evolved to serve a variety of purposes in the fight for freedom: 1) Singing as an expression of values 2) Singing as a source of inspiration or motivation 3) Singing as an expression of protest 4) Singing as a communication tool (codes)

Swing Low Sweet Chariot Play the song and have students fill out worksheet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw6N_eTZP2U http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4etFQIOUpI