the UNDERGROUND RAILROAD THESTORYOFFREEDOMSTRAIL In 1926, an African-American historian named Carter G. Woodson had an idea to organize an annual celebration to commemorate the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. President Lincoln, of course, freed the slaves, while president, with the Emancipation Proclamation. Douglass was an escaped slave who bought his freedom and spoke against slavery. People such as Douglass were called abolitionists because they wanted to abolish, or do away, with slavery. Carter G. Woodson called his celebration “Negro History Week.” Ever since its beginning, Americans have been celebrating the contributions of African- Americans each year. Today, this celebration occurs during the month of February as Black History Month. This special student guide was developed as part of the cel- Frederick ebration. It tells the story of the Underground Railroad. It is dedicated to those Douglass African-Americans who fought for their freedom and the freedom of others. is known 4 Richard Allen and as one of A Taste of History The Free African Society the most The Underground Railroad: The Story of Freedom's Trail tells of the peo- important ple, places and events involved in the Underground Railroad. Each page fea- 6 Diary of a African- tures writings and pictures to study. Many of these writings are from actual Fugitive’s Fate American historic documents. 7 Women’s Roles abolitionists Historians use these kinds of materials to learn about the past. We encour- during age you to become historians by doing the activities Father of the on each page that will help you understand the topic in a fun and interesting 8 the 1800s. Underground Railroad way. These activities are called A Job for the History Detective. Get started, and good luck in your detective work! 9 Underground Railroad Code Words 10 Abolitionist Robert Purvis 11 Burning of Teachers: Pennsylvania Hall During the month of February, this section can be used as an 12 Henry “Box” Brown’s introduction to the topic of the Underground Railroad for Black History Story of Freedom Month. It can also be used to complement a unit on the Underground Railroad in history or social studies texts at other times. It is not meant 13 The Other to be used in just one class period, but to be saved and enjoyed over Underground Railroad a longer period of time. Students can use the pages for group activities, 14 Harriet Tubman individual reading, or as homework assignments. Escapes to Freedom 15 The Drinking Gourd 2 The Underground Railroad was developed around 1831 by abolitionists, the people who fought slavery through action and worked to abolish it. Some abolitionists gave anti-slavery speeches or published anti-slavery newspapers. Some worked on the Underground Railroad as conductors, guiding slaves along secret routes to the North. The Railroad's stations were safe houses along the way where, against the laws that existed at the time, conductors secretly fed, sheltered, and advised runaway slaves. These abolitionists were both black and white, men and women. It was the combined efforts of all abolitionists that finally made possible the complete emancipation of Southern slaves.

Long before the Civil War, attitudes about slavery divided the North and the South. Attitudes also were divided by geography along a boundary known as the Mason-Dixon Line. This line was actually the border between the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland. It got its name from the men who had surveyed and mapped the land. But this line took on greater impor- tance as the debate over slavery heated up. It came to be regarded as the boundary between free states in the North and slave states in the South. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln led the North in its efforts to end slavery in the South. Jefferson Davis, president of the Southern states’ Confederacy, led the South Abraham Lincoln became a hero to in its efforts to continue slavery. abolitionists by freeing slaves with the Lincoln, however, was still recognized as the official President of the United States of America Emancipation Proclamation in 1862. during this time. States that were a part of the Union either abolished or ended slavery. African- Americans living in these states became freemen.

On March 1, 1780, Pennsylvania passed the Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery. This act con- demned slavery in the State of Pennsylvania, making that state one of the first in the new nation to do so. The law stated that no child born after this date could Newspapers are the first rough draft be a slave, and that children born to slaves before this of history. You can learn much from date were bound to service only until they were 28 them about great issues. Consider years old. freedom. What does freedom mean It also stated that all slaves had to be registered and that African-Americans charged with crimes to you? There are signs, symbols and were to be tried in courts just as anyone else living in words of freedom all around you. Pennsylvania. This Act was amended on March 29, Scan today's Houston Chronicle and 1788, to include the following: make a list of things that show the . Slaves of immigrants were freedoms Americans have. Note the to be freed page numbers and discuss the sym- bols as a class. Then clip out the signs . Slaves were not to be removed from their homes without giving their con- and words of freedom you found. sent before two justices Assemble the words and images into an art collage titled Freedom. . Children who had to do service until Display your collages on a bulletin they were 28 years old were to be reg- board. istered and were not to be separated from their parents . Slave trading was against the law 3 The Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church was founded by the Reverend Richard Allen in 1787. It is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal church established by African-Americans in the United States. It is located in Philadelphia. The same year of the church's founding, Richard Allen joined two other prominent African-Americans, James Forten and Absalom Jones, to found the Free African Society. This society fought for the rights of African-Americans to worship freely in Philadelphiaat that time. The Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church was also an important Underground Railroad stop.

The Reverend The Christian Recorder was the official newspaper of the Mother Bethel Richard Allen A.M.E. Church. The newspaper published articles for its members about co-founded the Underground Railroad, the abolition of slavery, and religion. the Free African One of the things that gave Southern slaves hope was that attitudes in Society to fight for the North started changing early about slavery. Early Northern slave own- the right of African- ers sometimes freed, or emancipated, their slaves. On the facing page is an Americans to article from the Christian Recorder about emancipated slaves. worship freely.

4 l. What year was the article written? ______

2. What is the article about? ______

3. How many slaves were emancipated?______

4. Why were the slaves freed?______

5. Who owned the slaves and where did he live?______Historical documents give us clues about the ______past and important 6. What did the slave owner leave to his slaves when he died?______information about a historical topic. Answer ______these questions about the ______article from the Christian 7. What were some of the jobs of the slaves?______Recorder on the lower right about emancipated ______slaves. Doing this history 8. Where were the slaves relocated and how did they get there? detective work will help you learn how some ______slaves were freed by ______their owners. 9. Do you think it was common for owners to free their slaves?______

FREEDOM in the news

Freedom of speech is a very important part of being free. Freedom of the press allows people to print or broadcast their free speech. Slaves had neither of these freedoms. Freedom of speech is often used to speak out for people’s rights. Find a story in the Houston Chronicle in which newsmakers are working to protect people’s rights. Write a sentence stating what rights are involved. Write a second stating why these rights are important to freedom.

5 DIARY OF A FUGITIVE’S FATE In this excerpt from her diary, Charlotte Forten describes what it was like during the trial of a fugitive slave in 1859. Charlotte Forten was granddaughter of James Forten, one of the founders of the Free African Society. In her diary, Charlotte Forten mentions Robert Purvis, who is her uncle and an impor- tant abolitionist. She later marries, becoming Charlotte Forten Grimke. She became one of the first teachers to work in the schools for freed slaves in the Monday, April 4 South during the Civil War. Heard to-day that there has been another fugitive Quaker Lucretia Mott founded the arrested. There is to be a Wednesday, April 6 Pennsylvania Female Anti-Slavery trial. God grant that the Good News! After waiting with intense and painful anxiety for the Society on December 9, 1833. poor man may be released result of the three days’ trial, we are at last gladdened by the news from the clutches of the that the alleged fugitive, Daniel Dangerfield, has been released. The slave-hunters. Mr. P(urvis) Commissioner said that he released him because he was not satisfied of has gone down. We wait his identity. anxiously to hear the results Others are inclined to believe that the pressure of public sentiment— of the trial. How long, oh, which was strange to say, almost universally on the right side—was too how long shall such a state overwhelming for the Com(missioner) to resist, particularly as his own of things as this last? family, even his wife, it is said—declared that they could only discard him if he sent the man into slavery… Last night the court sat for fourteen hours, the longest session that has ever been held in this city. Many ladies stayed during the whole night, FREEDOM among whom was the noble and venerable Lucretia Mott, untiring and in the news devoted to the last.

Discrimination is any action Friday, April 8 that takes away freedoms and Long, long to be remembered. This eve. attended a very large Anti-Slavery meeting rights because a person is part at Samson Hall celebrating Daniel’s release. A crowd of Southerners was present, and ere the meeting had of a particular group. African- progressed far, they created a great disturbance, stamping, hallooing, groaning, etc., so that it was impos- Americans, women, ethnic sible to hear a word the speakers were saying. In vain did the President strive to preserve order—the tumult groups, and people of particular increased every moment, and at one time there was a precipitate rush forward. I was too excited to think of religions have been discrimi- fear... At last the police arrived. Many of the disturbers were arrested. nated against in this country at different times. We now have laws to prevent discrimina- Saturday, April 9 Saturday, April 23 tion. As a class, discuss some of The hero of the last few days came here to-night. D(aniel) has left us and we these laws. Then see if you can He is a sturdy, sensible seeming man. It makes my heart beat quickly hear with joy that he is safe in find an example in the Houston to see one who has just had so narrow an escape from the door far Canada. Oh, stars and stripes, Chronicle of the law at work. darker and more terrible than death. Nor is he quite safe yet, for we that wave so proudly over hear that there are warrants out for his re-arrest. Poor Man! There mockery of freedom, what is can be no rest for his weary feet nearer than the free soil your protection? of Canada. We shall be obliged to keep him very close. 6 The church was an important “We are sometimes told that females should have part of the lives of freed African- nothing to do with the business of the Church. Americans. It was a center from But they have yet to learn [that] when female labor which people established schools, literary societies, mutual aid and is withdrawn, the Church must cease to exist. fraternal organizations. Upon our doings greatly depends the future pros- Women's groups were a large part perity of the young. By our decision in all impor- of the churches’ activities. In the tant matters, will they direct their future course. message at right, Mary Still urges As it is women who give impress to society; and the women of the Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church to become her who teaches the young mind how to shoot, and more involved in the church’s how to articulate its earliest thoughts. activities and to support the How important, then that we should decide wise- Christian education of its youth. ly and judiciously upon a subject that involves the Mary Still was a relative of William interest of so many intelligent beings. There are Still, who is considered the “Father of the Underground Railroad.” many temples of learning established in different Mary Still’s words were part of a sections of the country, where children and youth much larger appeal she was making may be prepared to fill respectable situations in to the women of Mother Bethel A life. But they need the encouragement of their M.E. Church. seniors. Therefore, let us encourage learning in all of its branches. We should be careful to aid religious and beneficent institutions with Christian fidelity. “We should be careful also to have our conduct modest and our conversation chaste, that our fruit may be unto holiness and that the scrutinizing eye of the world which is no friend in our progress is upon us, and the claims of the Church call for our help; and angels are waiting our decision.”

Imagine your name is Elizabeth Daly. You were a slave in Maryland and escaped to freedom in the North by way of the Underground Railroad. As a slave, you worked in the fields with others harvesting the crops. Your master was very cruel. You were sold at a slave auction when you were very young for about $150 and you never saw your mother or father again. You have two children of your own but had to leave them behind when you decided to escape. Your plan is to help free them soon with the help of the abolitionists. Your master’s wife was kind and secretly taught you basic reading. You have found some work but are worried that someone will find out you are an escaped slave and try to return you to your former master. You joined Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church and feel relief in prayer and the sense of community. You read Mary Still’s appeal and have some thoughts of your own. You have been asked to respond to the passage above from her appeal. What will you say? On a separate sheet of paper, write your reply.

7 William Still is sometimes called the “Father of In 1847, he got a clerk’s job at the Pennsylvania the Underground Railroad.” Anti-Slavery Society in Philadelphia and later He was born in 1821 in the Pine Barrens forest served as the secretary of the Philadelphia Vigilance of New Jersey. He was the youngest of 18 children Committee. This committee helped fugitive slaves born to Levin and Charity Still, who were former find shelter on their way to safe places in the North slaves. or to Canada. William’s father, Levin, bought his freedom William Still helped as many as 60 runaways a from a Maryland farmer and moved to New Jersey. month and kept careful records William’s mother, Charity, had twice escaped from of his secret activities. He often hid fugitives in his the same farmer to join her husband. Once, she home. changed her name so the slave catchers wouldn’t In 1872, he published a book, The Underground find her. Railroad, which is a record of all these accounts. In 1844, William Still moved to Philadelphia. He Below are letters included in The Underground worked for a wealthy widow, worked Railroad. The letters are written by fugitive slaves as a waiter, and worked in a brickyard. and Underground Railroad conductors.

William Still died in 1902. The next day’s New York Times described him as the “Father of the Underground Railroad.”

FREEDOM in the news

William Still helped form the network that took slaves to freedom. What leaders of today have formed groups to help people? Find a newsmaker in the Houston Chronicle today and write a paragraph stating how this person is helping others. 8

AGENT: A person who plotted the course of escape for fugitive slaves BAGGAGE: Escaping slaves BLACK GRAPEVINE: A method of communication in the black community BRAKEMAN: Person in charge of making contacts to fugitive slaves BYPASS OR RUNAROUND: A diverted escape route CONDUCTORS: People who directly transported slaves DRINKING GOURD: The North Star FLYING BONDSMEN: The number of escaping slaves On a separate sheet of paper, try FORWARDING: Taking fugitive slaves from station to station to decode the following messages: FREEDOM LINE: The route of travel for an escaped slave FRENCH LEAVE: Secret departure 1. I picked up the baggage from the jump- JUMPING-OFF PLACE: A place of shelter for fugitives ing-off place. I am forwarding it to the pilot, LOAD OF POTATOES: A wagon load of fugitive slaves who will know what to do. In addition, Mrs. hidden under the farm produce Allen has a load of potatoes on your wagon OPERATOR: A person who aided fugitive slaves as a that was given to her by some shepherds last conductor or agent on the Underground Railroad week. She informed me that they should be PATTER ROLLER: A bounty hunter hired to capture slaves; from “patroller” given immediately to the brakeman as a gift. PILOT: A person serving as a guide for runaways 2. Good morning, Mrs. Douglas. The wind SANCTUARY: A hiding place blows from the South today. The station- SCATTERED WAY WAGONS: A number of hiding places master had a bit of a problem this morning. SHEPHERDS: People who entice slaves to escape I suggested that due to the rains, he should STATION: A safe place where fugitives could be sheltered take French leave and bypass the next town STATIONMASTER: A person in charge of a hiding place until we find a useful road. STOP AND START: A place of shelter and a course of escape 3. I have three travelers who are lost. TRAVELERS: Runaways I need an operator to help them find “THE WIND BLOWS FROM THE SOUTH TODAY”: A warning to a way station so they may rest. Underground Railroad workers that fugitive slaves were present in the area. Using the lines below, try writing your own secret message and see if anybody can FREEDOM decode it. in the news ______1. William Still was a great African-American leader of his day. Who are African-American leaders in the Houston Chronicle today? ______Pick one and write a paragraph describing how this person came to be a leader. Are there other ways to become leaders? How? ______

2. “Conductors” on the Underground Railroad used code words to con- ceal what they were doing. Review the list above. Then look through the ______headlines of today’s Houston Chronicle for some different code words you could use if the Underground Railroad were running today. Make a master list for the class. 9 Abolitionist Robert Purvis made his mark by running the Underground Railroad stations that led escaped slaves to freedom. The following is an excerpt describing Purvis from William Still’s The Underground Railroad. “Robert Purvis was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on the 4th day of August, 1810... Purvis and his two brothers were brought to the North by their parents in 1819. In Pennsylvania and New England he received his scholastic education, finishing it at Amherst College. Since that time his home has been Philadelphia, or in the vicinity of the city... He was a member of the Convention held in 1833, which formed The American Anti-Slavery Society; and among the signatures to its Declaration of Sentiments, the name of Robert Purvis is to be seen; a Abolitionist Robert record of which his posterity to the latest generation may be justly proud. Purvis ran an During the whole period of that Society’s existence, he was a member of it; and was also an active mem- Underground Railroad ber and officer of The Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. To the cause of the slave’s freedom he gave with station from his home, all his heart his money, his time, his talents. Fervent in soul, eloquent in speech, most gracious in manner, and helped found the he was a favorite on the platform of Anti-Slavery meetings. High-toned in moral nature, keenly sensitive American Anti-Slavery in all matter pertaining to justice and integrity, he was a most valuable coadjutor with the leaders of an Society. unpopular reform; and throughout the Anti-Slavery conflict, he always received, as he always deserved, the highest confidence and warm personal regard of his fellow-laborers. His faithful labors in aiding fugitive slaves cannot be recorded within the limits of this sketch. ... His house was a well-known station on the Underground Railroad; his horses and carriages and his personal attendance were ever at the service of the travelers on that road. He has lived to witness the triumph of the great cause to which he devoted his youth and manhood; to join in the jubilee song of the American slave; and to testify that the work of his life has been one ‘whose reward is in itself.’ ” FREEDOM in the news

Editorial cartoons use art and wit to state opinions. Find one in the Houston Chronicle, and decide the point of the cartoon. Then draw an editorial cartoon Pretend of your own about a free- you are dom that is important to a slave you. Think about what and see you want to say about if you can that freedom. Cartoonists find your sometimes use animals to way to represent different ideas. freedom. Is there an animal that would be a good symbol of freedom to you?

10 Activities of abolitionists inspired strong feelings—for and against. Pennsylvania Hall was meant to be a place where abolitionists could speak freely about ending slavery and hold meetings to organize their events. Unfortunately, it was burned to the ground on May 17, 1838, shortly after the first anti-slavery meeting was held there by The Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women. It was set on fire by a mob of angry people who supported slavery and opposed the beliefs of the abolitionists. The Library Company of Philadelphia

1. Is the image a drawing or photograph? 5. What would you use as a different caption for ______this picture? How can you tell? ______Looking at old pictures ______and photos can give us lots ______of information about past ______events, places, and people. 6. Can you identify the feelings of the people in the Becoming a good history 2. Is there any information about who drew the pic- detective means learning ture? ______picture? How does the artist illustrate them? ______how to examine these items 3. What is happening in the picture? ______for clues about the past. Use ______these questions to discover ______information about the image ______of Pennsylvania Hall and its ______burning. 4. Why do you think the picture was drawn?______11 One of the most unusual escapes from slavery was made by Henry “Box” Brown. He traveled to freedom from Richmond, Virginia, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in a box only 3 feet long, 2 1/2 feet deep and 2 feet wide. William Still, in his book The Underground Railroad, describes his escape.

“He was decidedly an unhappy piece of property in the city of Richmond, Va. In the condition of a slave he felt that it would be impossible for him to remain. Full well, he did know, however, that it was no holiday task to escape the vigilance of the Virginia slave hunters, or the wrath of an enraged master for committing the unpardonable sin of attempting to escape to the land of liberty. So Brown counted well the cost before venturing upon this hazardous undertaking. Ordinary modes of travel, he concluded, might prove It took 26 disastrous to his hopes; he, therefore, hit upon a new invention hours for altogether, which was to have himself boxed up and forwarded Henry Brown to Philadelphia direct by express. to go from The size of the box and how it was to be made to fit him Richmond, most comfortably was of his own ordering. Two feet eight Virginia to inches deep, two feet wide, and three feet long were the exact Philadelphia, dimensions of the box, lined with baize. Pennsylvania. His resources with regard to food and water consisted of the following: One bladder of water and a few small biscuits. His mechanical implement to meet the death struggle for fresh air, Can you find the Underground Railroad all told, was one large gimlet. [A gimlet is a tool with a spiral words hidden below? They are forwards, up cutting edge used for boring holes through wood.] and down, or diagonal. Satisfied that it would be far better to peril his life for freedom in this way than to remain under the galling yoke of slavery, he entered his box, which was safely nailed up and r N s J OU r N e Y Q t H hooped with five hickory hoops, and was addressed by his next F e OL t C K i MC s t M friend, James A. Smith, a shoe dealer, to Wm. H. Johnson, s O W r AA HP s i UUJ Arch Street, Philadelphia, marked, ‘This side up with care.’ ABOLITIONIST A r ZA t V d X NO UUF In this condition he was sent to Adams’ Express office in a CAPTURE day, and thence by overland express to Philadelphia. It was CONDUCTOR NU ZK r H e O s Z N d U twenty-six hours from the time he left Richmond until his ESCAPE CN VP A d i O e d WJ G arrival in the City of Brotherly Love.” FUGITIVE t A U d d t G e WZ PY i HIDING JOURNEY UW d i i N s C s N OZ t NORTH AA OL i e FY FC e F i SANCTUARY r Y O d t O AH MO A r V SLAVE OWNER YB i U QB UZ r s t P e SOUTH REWARD AH OC AP t U r e XM e ROUTES N r N N C ON d U C t O r RUNAWAY 12 Imagine you are an abolitionist working hard to free Southern slaves. It is your job to create a poster encouraging people to join the effort to end slavery and to help fugitive slaves gain their freedom by stopping the slave catch- ers like those described to the left. What will you say on your poster and how will it be designed? (Remember, you cannot include any information about the Underground Railroad. Those are secrets only you and the other abo- litionists know about!) Write three topics you need to include on your poster in the space provided below. Then, compare with a partner, and create a large poster.

______

______On September 18, 1850, the U.S. slavery, they weren’t even allowed a jury Congress approved the Fugitive Slave Law trial or the right to testify on their own ______as part of a compromise to allow California behalf. to enter the Union as a free state. In cities located close to the ______The law stated that any African- American Mason-Dixon line, many innocent freed living in the United States could be accused African-Americans were returned to slavery. ______of escaping slavery and brought before a Kidnapping rings also thrived. Many commissioner, a government official. If the young, poor, male African-Americans were accuser swore to be the African-American’s kidnapped and taken against their will to the legal owner, the commissioner could return South. Once in the South, they were sold to him or her to slavery. slave owners and often never returned to the FREEDOM Those who tried to defend the accused North. Many remained slaves for the rest of African-American or aid him or her in an their lives. escape could be fined $1,000 and jailed for Kidnapping freed African-Americans in the news six months. If the so-called fugitive resisted from the North and taking them secretly to Kidnapping freed African-Americans from the North being taken into slavery, the alleged owner the South was sometimes referred to as “The and taking them secretly back to the South was an could secure a guard to accompany him or Other Underground Railroad.” example of people taking the law into their own her back to the South. hands. This sometimes happens today. Find an exam- This law made many free African- ple in the news of someone breaking a law. Why did Americans feel that their freedom was in the person act this way? Is there ever a time when it danger. If they were accused of escaping would be OK to take the law into your own hands? 13 Born into slavery in 1820, Harriet Tubman escaped from a Maryland farm to the North by using the Underground Railroad stations. Her name was changed from Harriet Ross when she married John Tubman, a free black. (However, her husband refused to help her escape to freedom.) As a slave, Harriet was treated cruelly by her master. She worked in the fields, split fence rails, and loaded timber all day long. Unable to accept her life as a slave, in 1849 Harriet began planning her escape. When she escaped, she did not know in which direction to go and had no compass to help guide her. Her father had taught her to recognize the Big Dipper constellation, known to slaves as the “Drinking Gourd.” The gourd’s handle pointed straight to the North Star. Once Harriet located the North Star, she knew in which direction to go for freedom and began her journey. When she crossed the Mason-Dixon Line, Harriet Tubman had this to say:

“When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through the trees; I felt like I was in heaven. I was free; but there was nobody to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land; and my home, after all, was down in Maryland; because my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters and friends were there. But I was free, and they should be free. I would make a home in the North and bring them there, God helping me. I said to the Lord, ‘I’m going to hold steady on you, and I know you’ll see me through.’ ” After winning her own freedom, Harriet Tubman made 17 trips back to the South to free other slaves using the Underground Railroad.

During her life, Harriet Tubman helped to Solve the mystery of what letters belong in the free more than 300 Southern slaves. On the Underground boxes. Use the definitions as clues. Railroad, she was known as the “Moses of her people.” Slaves often used biblical stories and songs (1) A slave escaping for his/her freedom for encouragement and as escape messages. The following song is about Harriet Tubman. Use the word key to dis- G I V E cover its message.

(2) Someone who looks for fugitives Go down, Moses, to return them to slavery Way down in Egypt’s land, Tell old Pharaoh, let my people go... L A E No more shall they be in bondage toil, N T Let my people go. Let them come out with Egypt’s spoil, (3) A long trip Let my people go.

O U N E WORD KEY (4) State of living with no constraints and having one’s own free will Moses = Harriet Tubman Pharaoh = Slave Owners F O Egypt = The South 14 This was a song slaves sang about escaping to the North by following the “Drinking Gourd,” which is the the Big Dipper constellation.

Follow the Drinking Gourd Follow the Drinking Gourd Follow the Drinking Gourd 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 The river ends between two hills There’s another river on the other side When the great big river meets the little river Follow the Drinking Gourd For the old man is A-waiting for to carry Can you find you to freedom the “Drinking If you follow the Gourd” and Drinking Gourd the North Star? What other constel- lations can you find in the night sky?

Credits FREEDOM in the news The Underground Railroad—Story of Freedom’s Trail was created by the Connecting With the Classroom program for 1. Harriet Tubman was an African-American woman who the Philadelphia Daily News. It is syndicated by agreement became a leader for her work with the Underground by Hollister Kids. All rights reserved. Railroad. What women are in the news today? Pick one you admire, and write her a letter based on the reason she is Portrait photos featured on pages 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, courtesy in the news. Write out two questions you would like her to of the LIbrary Company of Philadelphia. The designer was answer about her life or activities. Kimberly Rogers of Hollister Kids. The writer was Rachel M. Griffin, education projects coordinator for Connecting With the 2. The right to a fair trial is one of the great freedoms in the Classroom. The editor was Peter Landry of Hollister Kids. The United States. Fugitive slaves often were denied this right Hollister Kids website www.hollisterkids.com in the 1800s. Divide into groups. In the Houston Chronicle, find a story about a trial. Brainstorm three things you think would be necessary for a fair trial. Does the news story show that these things are present in your case? 15

Maps are an important tool for reporting the news. They show readers things in ways that words can’t by themselves. Look at the map of the Underground Railroad routes at left. On a piece of paper, write three things the map shows more clearly than words alone could do.

Slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad had to deal with many natural features in the landscape—from rivers and swamps to mountains. Natural features often make news. Rivers may overflow their banks, for example, and flood neighborhoods. Look through the photos and stories in the Houston Chronicle for news made by natural features. Pick one and write a summary of what made news.

Look at the weather map in the Houston Chronicle. Then look at the map of the Underground Railroad. Mark the map at left with the state that has the coldest temperature today. Mark the state with the warmest temperature.Which direction would you have to go to travel from the cold city to the warm city? Why do you think the warm city is warmer?

The borders on maps are either formed by nature, or created by people. List three states that have borders formed by nature. Which has the longest natural border? Which has the shortest? Which state has the longest manmade border?

Escaping to freedom on the Underground Railroad was an emotional journey. arrows indicate general movement Study the map at left. Then write a haiku poem about the journey from the point of view of a slave who is trying to escape. A haiku has 17 syllables: five in the slave states first line, seven in the second line, and five in the third line. railroad routes free states

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