The Underground Railroad for Kids: From Slavery to Freedom with 21 Activities (For Kids series)

177 Pages·2005·38.31 MB·English

by  Mary Kay Carson

T H E
Underground
Railroad
F O R
From Slavery to Freedom Kids
with 21 Activities
Mary Kay Carson
Library of Congress Cataloging- Cover design: Joan Sommers Design, Chicago
in-Publication Data Interior design: Monica Baziuk
Carson,Mary Kay. Interior illustrations: Laura A. D’Argo
The Underground Railroad for kids : from
Images: Image courtesy ofCollins Fine Art: front cover (Harriet Tubman’s Underground Rail-
slavery to freedom with 21 activities / Mary Kay
road by Paul Collins) F Photographs courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints & Photo-
Carson.
graphs Division: p. xii, lc-b8171-152-a; p. 1, lc-usz62-7816; p. 5, lc-usz62-28351; p. 6, lc-
p. cm.
usz62-41678; p. 7, lc-usz62-10293; p. 14, lc-b8171-0159; p. 20, lc-usz62-31864; p. 21, lc-b8171-
Includes index.
3608; p. 25, lc-b8171-152-a; p. 31, lc-usz62-39380; p. 40, lc-uszcn4-250; p. 46, lc-uszc4-6165
ISBN 1-55652-628-8
dlc; p. 109, lc-b8171-2297; p. 130, lc-b811-2597B; p. 140, lc-b8171-0518; p. 141, lc-b811-2597b;
1.Underground railroad—Juvenile literature.
p. 142, lc-usz62-67819; p. 144, lc-b8171-7890 dlc; p. 155, lc-dig-ppmsca-02909-dlc; back
2.Underground railroad—Study and teaching—
cover (“Am I Not a Man and a Brother?”), lc-uszcn4-250. F Photographs courtesy of Tom
Activity programs—Juvenile literature.
Uhlman: p. 2; p. 12; p. 62; p. 69; p. 70; p. 76; p. 77; p. 84; p. 98; p. 99; p. 100; p. 103; p. 110; p.114;
3.Fugitive slaves—United States—History—
p. 152; back cover (view of woman from cellar). F Photographs taken by Tom Uhlman,
19th century—Juvenile literature. 4.Antislavery
courtesy of the collection of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County: p. 22,
movements—United States—History—
p. 43. F Image courtesy of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Patent
19th century—Juvenile literature. I.Title.
# 442,538: p. 76. F Original artwork courtesy of Megan Kelley: p. 75. F Photographs cour-
E450.C45 2005
tesy of Robert Sexton: p. 104; p. 139. F Photographs courtesy of the National Archives
973.7(cid:2)115—dc22 004002466
of Canada, William King fonds MG24 J 14, p. 863: p. 125.
u
© 2005 by Mary Kay Carson
All rights reserved
First edition
Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
814 North Franklin Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
ISBN 1-55652-554-0
Printed in the United States of America
5 4 3 2 1
X
To all the unnamed heroes of the Underground Railroad,
especially the thousands of enslaved African Americans
who risked everything for a chance at freedom.
And to the Africans who endured the harrowing
forced journey across the Atlantic. By choosing to survive,
they gave our nations the great gift of their descendants.
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Contents
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi
NOTE TO READERS vii
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TIME LINE viii
PREFACE u A Narrow Escape and a Secret Network x
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S 5
S 1 Passengers
1
Fleeing a Life of Bondage
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Print Adinkra Cloth 4
Homemade Hoecakes 23
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Storytelling Griots 24
S Rubber Band Banjo 26
2 Ticket Agents and Railroad Operators
Make a Paper Quilt Block 105
29
Fighting for Abolition and Aiding Runaways Light a Lantern 107
Silver Seminole Gorgets 37
Antislavery Handbill 45 5 Brakemen
Write and Decode Underground Railroad Messages 54 111
Making a Life in Freedom
Singing to Freedom 56
Canada Today 127
3 Conductors
6 End of the Line
59
Transporting Illegal Cargo
131
War,Emancipation,and Equality
Candle in a Cup 63
Civil War in Your State 143
Pack Up and Go 65
Wartime Wrappings 146
Visit an Underground Railroad Station 71
Juneteenth 150
Navigate by the North Star 81
Follow the Drinking Gourd 83
5
4 Stationmasters
85
Hiding Passengers from Slave Catchers
EPILOGUE u The End of Harriet’s Journey 154
Get Lost in Disguise 91 GLOSSARY 156
Design a Hiding Place 94 RESOURCES 158
Shake on It 97 INDEX 161
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Ack nowledg ments
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Most of the modern-day photographs in this book were made possible through the talents of
photographer Tom Uhlman, who deserves special thanks. Thanks also to Robert Sexton for con-
tributing photographs. Artist Megan Kelley has my deepest gratitude for creating and contribut-
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ing a portrait of John P. Parker. Many thanks to Underground Railroad historian Henry Robert
Burke for his inspiring research. Thanks also to Dave Uhlman for his expertise on Native Ameri-
cans. And a very special thanks to Jerry Pohlen, a patient, attentive, and supportive editor.
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vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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Note to Readers
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Many slaves who escapedhad little or no help. In this book, the term “Underground Railroad”
is used to describe the complete range of ways and means that slaves fled bondage.
Harriet Tubman’s life story is featured in chronological installments at the beginning of each
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of this book’s six chapters. While Tubman is perhaps the most famous member of what came to
be known as the Underground Railroad, this amazing woman was only one of the hundreds of
men and women who offered assistance, safe harbor, and guidance to runaways seeking freedom
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from slavery. Look for the “Hero of Freedom” heading throughout the book to learn about others.
Readers should be warned that some of the images and several of the directly quoted terms,
phrases, and descriptions included in this book can be considered racially offensive by today’s SS
standards. These historical materials were left unchanged so that readers can experience for them-
selves the era they represent. Likewise, outdated, unusual, or phonetic spellings of quoted words
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have also been left unchanged. The dates stated in many of the stories and quoted slave narratives
are best approximations.
The glossary on page 156 explains terms included in this book. There is a list of books to read,
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videos and DVDs to watch, and Web sites to explore starting on page 159. These will help you learn
more about the Underground Railroad and discover places, possibly in or near your own home-
town, to visit.
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NOTE TO READERS vii
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T ime L ine
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o
S s
Jamestown,Virginia,settled by English colonists 1607 s
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s
Twenty captured Africans become indentured servants in Jamestown 1619
s
1640–1710
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Slavery becomes a legal institution in British North American colonies s
Africans and their children become lifelong slaves s
S
Declaration of Independence proclaims “All men are created equal” 1776 s
s
S 1777–1804
Vermont,Pennsylvania,Massachusetts,New Hampshire,Connecticut,Rhode Island,
s
New York,and New Jersey ban or phase out slavery
S s
United States of America wins its independence,but slavery remains legal 1783
s
S Northwest Ordinance bans slavery in territories that will become Ohio,Indiana, 1787 s
Illinois,Michigan,and Wisconsin
s
S New U.S. Constitution does not end slavery,as some had hoped 1788
s
U.S. population of 3.9 million includes 700,000 enslaved persons 1790
s
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First fugitive slave law established. Slavery phased out in Canada 1793 s
viii TIME LINE s
s
s
s
Importation of slaves to the United States becomes illegal 1808
s
1820 Missouri Compromise admits Missouri
s
Benjamin Lundy begins publishing the Genius of 1821 as a slave state and Maine as a free state
Universal Emancipation
s
1829 The Appeal,by David Walker,urges slaves to revolt
s
First National Negro Convention 1830
1830s First uses of the term “Underground Railroad”
s
William Lloyd Garrison begins publishingThe Liberator 1831
s
Nat Turner Rebellion in Virginia
1833 American Anti-slavery Society founded
s
Slavery banned in the British Empire 1834
s 1842 Dawn settlement founded
Frederick Douglass begins publishing the North Star 1847 s
1849 Harriet Tubman escapes slavery
s
Compromise of 1850 admits California as a free 1850 Elgin settlement founded
state and establishes a harsher fugitive slave law s
1852 Uncle Tom’s Cabin,by Harriet Beecher Stowe,published
s
Kansas-Nebraska Act leads to “Bleeding Kansas” 1854
s 1857 U.S. Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision declares that blacks
John Brown leads a failed raid on Harpers Ferry 1859 are not citizens
s
s 1860 U.S. population of 31.4 million includes 4 million enslaved persons
Civil War begins after southern states secede from the Union 1861
s Abraham Lincoln elected the sixteenth U.S. president
Emancipation Proclamation frees slaves in rebel states 1863
s
1864 Congress rules that black soldiers must receive the same
Black soldiers allowed into the Union army
s pay as white soldiers
Union wins the Civil War 1865 s
1868 Fourteenth Amendment grants African Americans U.S. citizenship
Abraham Lincoln assassinated s
1870 Fifteenth Amendment grants African American men voting rights
Thirteenth Amendment abolishes slavery s
o TIME LINE ix