1. The Underground Railroad
Lesson 1
“Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt”
Learning Team C
Yasheika Benford, Susan Highfield, Ryan Keller,
Karla Lewis, and Shay Sing

2. “Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt”
by Deborah Hopkinson
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson. Illustrated by James Ransome. (New York: Alfred Knopf, 1993.)
Students will read
“Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt”

3. Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
Slaves in Virginia
1862
The book is the story of an African American girl's escape from slavery on a southern plantation.

4. Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
Slaves picking cotton before the Civil War
At a very young age, Clara is taken from her mother and put to work on the cotton plantation.

5. Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
Harriet Tubman (far left)
and family
It wasn't so easy to gain freedom for a slave. There was a time in our American history when slavery was considered acceptable. We have spent a week starting to understand the feelings of a slave may have felt. Our new unit will show us some of the ways that slaves struggled to gain freedom.
Like most slaves, Clara longs for freedom and, in her case, yearns to be reunited with her mother.

6. Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
When the rigors of cotton-field labor overwhelm Clara, a kindly woman she calls Aunt Rachel trains the girl to be a seamstress in the main house.
How did you feel doing someone else's work? Let's list those feelings.
Why did this experience make you uncomfortable
What did those feelings make you want to do? (List those feelings, too.)
Do you think that's a little like how slaves might have felt in the days before the Civil War?

7. Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
Clara begins to put together a map-quilt, stitching in any information she learns from conversations about an escape route to Canada.
Quilt making was an important activity for slaves. Bring a quilt into the classroom and show it to the students. “I'm going to show you a quilt that isn't old but we will be able to see the detail and skilled work that goes into making one. Look at all the little pieces of fabric and the tiny stitches.”

8. Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
Will the quilt help Clara escape to freedom and be reunited with her mother?

9. Quilt Project
Identify landmarks in the story that Clara could use on her quilt
Each student will create a quilt that describes the journey Clara might have taken
Identify various uses for quilts and describe the significance of Clara’s quilt
Identify landmarks in the story that Clara could use on her quilt.
Identify the various uses for quilts and describe the significance of Clara's quilt.
Create a quilt that describes the journey Clara might have taken

10. The Underground Railroad Quilt Code
Monkey Wrench Prepare the tools you’ll need for the long journey, including the mental and spiritual tools. Or (as a Ship’s Wheel), the pilot is prepared to begin the transport.
Wagon Wheel Load the wagon or prepare to board the wagon to begin the escape.
Bear’s Paw Take a mountain trail, out of view. Follow the path made by bear tracks; they can lead you to water and food.
Bowtie Dress in a disguise, or put on a change of clothes.
Verbiage from slides 10, 11, and 12: (Adapted from Ozella McDaniel Williams, as reported in “Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad” by Jacqueline L. Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard. Published by Doubleday in Softcover edition by First Anchor Books, 2000.)
Quilts and quilt-making have a unique place in American culture, especially that of African Americans. There is increasing evidence that quilt patterns were used as a secret code system to aid fugitive slaves on their journey of escape via the Underground Railroad.

11. The Underground Railroad Quilt Code
Crossroads Refers to Cleveland, Ohio, a destination offering several routes to freedom. It also signifies reaching a point where a person’s life will change, so one must be willing to go on.
Log Cabin A secret symbol that could be drawn on the ground indicating that a person is safe to talk to. It also advises seeking shelter.
Shoofly Possibly identifies a friendly guide who is nearby and can help.

12. The Underground Railroad Quilt Code
Flying Geese Points to a direction to follow, such as where geese would fly during spring migration.
Drunkard’s Path Create a zig-zag path, do not walk in a straight line, to avoid pursuers in this area.
Star Follow the North Star. Worked in conjunction with the popular song, “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” a reference to the Big Dipper constellation.
How did Clara decide which designs to sew in her quilt?

13. Leaders of The Underground Railroad
Levi Coffin
(“President” of the Underground Railroad)
Students will record at least two facts about these leaders of the Underground Railroad learned from each of the web sites (for a total of at least 8 facts) and submit their papers to the teacher.
Explain that the Underground Railroad was not a train that ran on a track: rather it was a way for slaves to travel from one safe house to the next on their way to the Free states and Canada. The people who helped the runaway slaves were called 'Conductors.'

14. Mr. Coffin in his later years
Levi Coffin ( )
Levi Coffin was a prominent member of the Underground Railroad which secretly helped tens of thousands of slaves escape from the South to the North in the years of slavery using a number of safe houses, called Stations. By his own estimate, Levi Coffin was involved in the escape of about 2,000 slaves. The Coffin’s house became known as Grand Central Station in the Underground Railroad. Coffin was often referred to as the "President of the Underground Railroad". He came to be called this by a slave-catcher who said, "There's an underground railroad going on here, and Levi's the president of it."
Questioned about why he aided slaves, Coffin said "The Bible, in bidding us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, said nothing about color, and I should try to follow out the teachings of that good book."
young
Levi Coffin
Mr. Coffin in his later years

15. Leaders of The Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman
(“Moses” of the Underground Railroad)

16. Mrs. Tubman in her later years
Harriet Tubman (1820–1913)
Born into slavery, she escaped to Philadelphia in 1849, and subsequently became one of the most successful “conductors” on the Underground Railroad. Returning to the South more than a dozen times, she is generally credited with leading more than 300 slaves (including her parents and brother) to freedom, sometimes forcing the timid ahead with a loaded revolver. She became a speaker on the anti-slavery lecture circuit and a friend of the principal abolitionists, and John Brown almost certainly confided his Harpers Ferry plan to her. During the Civil War, Tubman attached herself to the Union forces in coastal South Carolina, serving as a nurse, cook, laundress, scout, and spy, and in 1863 she played an important part in a raid that resulted in the freeing of more than 700 slaves. At Auburn, N.Y., her home for many years after the war, the Cayuga co. courthouse contains a tablet in her honor.
(The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press.
young
Harriet Tubman
Mrs. Tubman in her later years

17. Would You Have Helped?
Discuss whether you think you would have assisted in helping the slaves to freedom if you had been a free individual at that time.
Consider the pros and cons of your decision, including the dangers for yourself if you decided to help.
Are you sure?
Read the text of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850:
Lead a classroom discussion about the rewards and dangers faced by those who assisted escaping slaves.
Have students read the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 online. “any person who shall knowingly and willingly obstruct, hinder, or prevent such claimant, his agent or attorney, or any person or persons lawfully assisting him, her, or them, from arresting such a fugitive from service or labor, either with or without process as aforesaid, or shall rescue, or attempt to rescue or shall harbor or conceal such fugitive, so as to prevent the discovery and arrest of such person be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months and shall moreover forfeit and pay, by way of civil damages to the party injured by such illegal conduct, the sum of one thousand dollars for each fugitive so lost”
What is a slave? What do you think is the difference between a slave and a servant? How do you think it would feel to be a slave? How do you think the slaves in the early times of our country felt doing lifetimes of hard work for others? A slave is expected to do much more work than you do, and to do it all day and even at night many times with out being paid or having vacations. During those few hours they were not working in the fields or working in the house they were trying to sew their own clothes or grow vegetables for meals. At night many slaves hunted to be sure families wouldn't be hungry. Did any of these people choose to become a slave? If you had been a slave, do you think you might have tried to escape to freedom?

18. Play the following interactive game . . .
The Slave Escape Route
Play the following interactive game . . .
Follow the journey of escaping slaves as they make their way through the Underground Railroad by clicking on this link:
Have students report how they did with the game – were they successful at deciding what choices to make?
Ask students why many slaves escaped to Canada rather than to Union states in the North.

19. Map of Escape Routes

20. How Did The Various People Work Together?
The routes from safe-house to safe-house (houses where fugitive slaves were kept) were called 'lines'.
Stopping places were called 'stations'.

21. How Did The Various People Work Together?
Those who aided fugitive slaves were known as 'conductors'.
In order to keep terms as clandestine as possible, the fugitive slaves were known as 'packages' or 'freight'.

22. Music of the Underground Railroad
Slaves were told to "Follow the Drinking Gourd" (the Big Dipper) to freedom. Look at the lyrics to this spiritual in the link below and see if you can decode the directions contained within.
Other slave songs include:
Steal Away
Songs mentioning Canada

23. Music of the Underground Railroad (cont.)
To listen to an example of the slave song, “Hoe Emma Hoe,” click this link and press the “Music On” button:
Slave Work Songs Songs are a very important part of our history. They tell us a great deal about people of the past—how they worked, how they entertained themselves, and what their daily lives were like. You can analyze these songs with your students to help them better understand the attitudes, feelings, and beliefs of people from the past.
"Hoe Emma Hoe" is a work song that was collected from the folk tradition by Colonial Williamsburg in 1960 and used in the film The Music of Williamsburg. Slave work gangs used these kinds of call-and-response work songs to regulate the pace of their work. These songs also became an opportunity for slaves to talk about their masters, their overseers, and their condition. Of course, slaves had to be careful about expressing their own opinions so they often "coded" their improvised lyrics.
Caller: Hoe Emma Hoe, you turn around dig a hole in the ground, Hoe Emma Hoe.
Chorus: Hoe Emma Hoe, you turn around dig a hole in the ground, Hoe Emma Hoe.
Caller: Emma, you from the country.
Caller: Emma help me to pull these weeds.
Caller: Emma work harder than two grown men.
Chorus: Hoe Emma Hoe, you turn around dig a hole in the ground, Hoe Emma Hoe. (Repeat)
Caller: Old Joseph was a wood workin' man.
Caller: When he got old he lost his way.
Caller: Makes that boss man right mad.
Caller: Needs a young man to learn his trade.
Caller: Now see that possum he works hard.
Caller: But he cain't work as hard a me.
Caller: He sits a horse just as pretty as can be.
Caller: He can ride on and leave me be.
Retrieved from “Colonial Williamsburg” web site: Slave Work Songs.

24. Conclusion
The Underground Railroad was not an actual railroad. It was a complex network of individuals who worked together in secret to help slaves make their way to freedom. It was a process that required a coordinated effort from many brave people working together across the country to end unfair and cruel slavery practices.

25. References
Colonial Williamsburg web site: Slave Work Songs. Retrieved March 13, 2007 from
Hopkinson, Deborah Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. Illustrated by James Ransome. New York: Alfred Knopf.
Indiana Historical Society Indiana’s Popular History:: Levi Coffin. Retrieved March 12, 2007 from
Info Please Harriet Tubman. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. Retrieved March 11, 2007, from

26. References (cont.)
Levi Coffin House, State Historic Site Retrieved March 12, 2007 from
National Geographic web site The Underground Railroad. The Journey. Retrieved March 13, 2007 from
Pocantino Hills School Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. Retrieved March 13, 2007 from
Signs in Stiches and Song Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. Retrieved March 12, 2007 from

27. References (cont.)
Tobin, Jacqueline L. and Raymond G. Dobard Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad. Doubleday Publishing.
UGRR Menu Rail. No date. Music of the Underground Railroad. Follow the Drinking Gourd. Retrieved March 12, 2007 from
U.S. Constitution Online Fugitive Slave Act. Retrieved March 12, 2007 from
Women of the Hall. No date. Harriet Tubman. Retrieved March 13, 2007 from
Mrs. Sing's Third Grade Class Web site