ANIMOTO VIDEO

The Underground Railroad is a network of people who arranged transportation and hiding places for African American slaves who wanted to escape from slavery.

Many of the routes on the Underground Railroad went to the North. All of them went away from the south. Slavery was more common in the southern states so slaves would usually travel from the southern states to the northern states or Canada. Pennsylvania was the most common state for fugitives to travel to because it was a free state that bordered the south. There were a lot of abolitionists there who supported the Underground Railroad.

Slaves always traveled at night so that their masters wouldn’t see them and they could follow the North Star. During the day, they stopped to rest at abolitionist’s homes. The abolitionists let the fugitives stay in barns or attics in case someone came looking for them. Some abolitionists who had slaves at their house often even had secret rooms for the escaped slaves. They would let each other know when a group of fugitives was leaving their house and were on their way to another house.

The fugitives traveling on the Underground Railroad and the abolitionists helping them used lots of code words so that people wouldn’t know where they were from, who they were, or where they’re headed. Most of the code words were words having to do with a real train or railroad. Can you guess what these words mean? 1.Lines -the routes they traveled on 2.Freight or Packages -the fugitives traveling on the Underground Railroad 3.Stations -the abolitionist’s houses they stayed in 3.Conductors -the abolitionists who helped them along the way

Harriet Tubman was called “Moses” by the fugitives trying to escape to freedom. She escaped 1843, and left behind her husband, her parents, her brothers, and her sisters. She led over 300 slaves to freedom and never lost one. Because of this, many people wanted her to be captured or even killed. Once, people offered $40,000 for her capture.