The Underground Railroad “The Underground Railroad was neither underground nor a railroad, but a secret network of safe houses and antislavery activists - black, white, and Native American - who helped slaves escape to freedom.”   http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=584&display_order=7&sub_display_order=24&mini_id=1071

http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/detailedroutes.htm

1. What was the Underground Railroad? 2. Who was Harriet Tubman, and why is this former slave important?  3. About how many slaves did Harriet lead to freedom? 4. Why did so many slaves want to go to Canada and not to the north of USA where there was no slavery? 5. What challenges did the freed slaves face in Canada? 6. A slave from Louisiana using the Underground Railroad to escape would travel through which states?

Winter, Jeanette.(1989). Follow the Drinking Gourd. New York; Dragonfly Books

RESOURCES ABOUT The Underground Railroad http://www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad/ http://education.ucdavis.edu/NEW/STC/lesson/socstud/railroad/Map.htm http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/tubman/ht1.htm http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/undergroundrr/story.html http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/activists/tubman/rail_1

More RESOURCES ABOUT The Underground Railroad http://undergroundrr.kennett.net/ http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/ath/library/webquests/underground/default.htm http://pathways.thinkport.org/about/ http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/special/mlk/gourd2.html

Slaves were forbidden to read and write, they had to communicate their feelings in ways that would not be obvious to their masters. One way was through song. Music was a way of communication

GO DOWN, MOSES Let my people go!

Follow the Drinking Gourd Winter, Jeanette.(1989). Follow the Drinking Gourd. New York; Dragonfly Books

Follow the drinking gourd, Follow the drinking gourd, For the old man is waiting for to carry you to freedom If you follow the drinking gourd. The riverbank will make a very good road, The dead trees show you the way. Left foot, peg foot traveling on, Following the drinking gourd. The river ends between two hills, Follow the drinking gourd, There's another river on the other side, Follow the drinking gourd. When the great big river meets the little river, Follow the drinking gourd. For the old man is waiting for to carry you to freedom If you follow the drinking gourd.

Follow the drinking gourd. Follow the drinking gourd Follow the drinking gourd! Follow the drinking gourd. For the old man is awaiting for to carry you to freedom If you follow the drinking gourd. When the sun comes back and the first quail calls, Follow the drinking gourd, For the old man is awaiting for to carry you to freedom If you follow the drinking gourd. The riverbank makes a very good road, The dead trees will show you the way, Left foot, peg foot traveling on, Following the drinking gourd. The river ends between two hills, Follow the drinking gourd, There's another river on the other side, Follow the drinking gourd. Where the great big river meets the little river, Follow the drinking gourd, The old man is awaiting for to carry you to freedom If you follow the drinking gourd http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~afam/go_down_moses.htm

1. What theme did many of the songs have in common?  2. What purpose did some of the slave songs serve? 3. Read the lyrics to Follow the Drinking Gourd and Go Down Moses.  What is the significance of the words in these songs? 

Resources Conklin, Joe, Wayne Elliott, Kris Myers, and Lucky Abu. (1999). Suggested games, poem, songs and activities for for elementary and secondary students and teachers. Monmouth University, NJ. Retrieved on June 2007 from  http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~afam/activities1.html Encyclopedia: Lincoln, Abraham. (2004). The History Channel website. Retrieved on June 10, 2007 from http://www.historychannel.com/thcsearch/thc_resourcedetail.do?encyc_id=214843. Shull, Carol. ( ). Aboard the Underground Railroad National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, in cooperation with the National Conference of State Historic. Retrieved on June 10, 2007 from http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/detailedroutes.htm Winter, Jeanette.(1989). Follow the Drinking Gourd. New York; Dragonfly Books Copyright © 2007 by Janette Gonzalez Reference Librarian Library Media Specialist