the underground railroad. the underground railroad wasn’t actually underground or a railroad. it...
TRANSCRIPT
The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad wasn’t actually underground or a railroad. It was a hidden escape route to Canada for black slaves in United States.
Heritage Minute
Background
Remember this?
Slaves often resisted their owners by:– Performing tasks slowly– Keeping their real names– Keeping their culture– Running away
Hundreds of slaves managed to escape North to freedom every year. It infuriated their masters.
Free States
Territories not yet part of the USA
Slave States
The territories caused a dispute… would they join the union as Slave states or Free states?
Adds like these ones didn’t help slave owners much if their slaves had already reached the free states.
The Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act declared that all runaway slaves be brought back to their masters. Those who were caught helping them would be prosecuted.
Abolitionists nicknamed it the "Bloodhound Law" for the dogs that were used to track down runaway slaves.
What is an abolitionist?
An abolitionist is a person who demanded immediate emancipation of slaves.
Emancipation = Freedom
Poster warning black people in Boston about policemen acting as slave catchers
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
• Lived from 1818-1895• After escaping from
slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement
• Wrote several autobiographies describing his life as a slave and his struggles to be free
BrainPop: Frederick Douglass
The Journey
The Journey
Underground Railroad Code
People involved in the Underground Railroad used code in order to keep their actions secret and their members safe.
Underground Railroad Code
Freedom Train - code name for the Underground Railroad
Heaven or Promised Land - Canada
Agent – the coordinator or the one who plotted the course of escape and made contacts
Underground Railroad Code
Preachers - leaders/speakers of the Underground Railroad
Stockholder - donor of money, clothing, or food to the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad Code
Shepherds or Conductors - people who escorted the slaves
Station - a safe house
Station Master - the keeper of a safe house
Underground Railroad Code
"The wind blows from the south today" - A warning that slave bounty hunters are nearby
“A friend of a friend" - A password used to signal the arrival of fugitives with an Underground Railroad conductor
A package, parcel, bundle, etc – fugitives to be expected
Underground Railroad Code
Drinking Gourd - Big Dipper and the North Star. Since slaves traveled at night, they could use the constellation as a marker to avoid getting lost.
Underground Railroad Code
Henry “Box” Brown
Henry “Box” Brown
• Lived from 1815 to 1879• A Virginia slave who escaped to freedom by
arranging to have himself mailed to Philadelphia abolitionists in a wooden crate
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman
• Lived from 1820-1913• Born a slave in Maryland• Escaped to freedom and later led more than
300 other slaves to Canada to their freedom• The best-known conductor on the
Underground Railroad• She spoke against slavery and for women's
rights.
Harriet Tubman as "Conductor" with escaped slaves at an Underground Rail Road station
Cartoon Time
Underground Railroad BrainPop