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The Underground Railroad. 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, and boats. It was not a real railroad!
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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, and boats. It was not a real railroad! • 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 • Slaves would hide in various places. • Abolitionist – a person who believed and worked for the ending of slavery.
Henry Box Brown • Henry Brown convinced Samuel A. Smith to pack him in a box and ship him to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. • Henry Box Brown’s trip to Philadelphia was grueling, in tight quarters. • Brown was set free in Philadelphia and eventually made his way to Boston, where he helped fellow escapees on the Underground Railroad.
Would you take the risk??? • If the slaves were caught, they were sold or beaten with a whip; sometimes they were lynched.
Conductors • Conductors were the people who led the runaways to freedom.
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 19 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.
Susan B. Anthony • Fought for women’s suffrage in the 20th Century • She worked for temperance and anti-slavery movements
Jonathan Walker • Jonathan Walker became a national hero in 1844 when he was tried and sentenced as a slave stealer following an attempt to assist seven runaway slaves find freedom. He was branded on the right hand with the letters SS signifying "Slave Stealer".
Josiah Henson • Josiah Henson was one of the first slaves to write his memoirs after escaping to freedom. • Harriet Beecher Stowe acknowledged that Henson's writings were the inspiration for her 1852 novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin
Songs • Songs 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
Quilts • During the time of the Underground Railroad fugitive slaves would use quilts as a means of communication. • Quilts were used by conductors to help fugitive slaves flee the South and arrive safely in the North.
Quilt Usage in the Underground Railroad • This Quilt represented the NORTH STAR
Quilts • This quilt was the symbol for the wagon wheel
Quilts • This Quilt symbolized a log cabin
Quilts • This quilt symbolized a crossroads
