Teacher's Guide for DIG ^TM Tracking the Underground Railroad

root cellar * bounty hunter * fugitive * freedmen * satellite imagery * core drillings * palm thatch huts * coal chute * water channel * conductor * coffle * abolitionist * safe house * iron foundry * iron slag * sanctuary * archives * congregation * confectionery * city directory * historical society * voter records * census records * documentation * public records * meeting house * remote-sensing device * waste brick * dormitory *infirmary * dormant * roadbed * borrow-pits * brickmason * cisterns * cowrie shells

John Parker was born into slavery in Virginia and sold at the age of eight into slavery in Alabama. He eventually purchased his freedom and settled in Ripley, Ohio. He was a successful businessman who helped as many as 1,000 people escape to freedom. How do you think he used his business activity to support the Underground Railroad?

John Rankin was a white minister in Ripley, Ohio. His father was a blacksmith. Rankin moved to Ohio from his home in the slave state of Tennessee. Rankin and Parker worked together in Ohio on the escape network. Do you think it was easy for them to trust each other? What would have been some challenges they would have had to over come?

Additional Reading:

Many Thousand Gone: African Americans from Slavery to Freedom by Virginia Hamilton (Knopf, 1993)

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland. He became one of the most well-known figures in the movement to abolish slavery. He toured the United States and Europe, speaking out on his experiences and condemning slavery. Why do you think he had such appeal?

Additional Reading:

Frederick Douglass in Voice of Freedom: A Story About Frederick Douglass by Maryann N. Weidt (Carolrhoda, 2001)
Frederick Douglass -- In His Own Words edited by Milton Meltzer (Harper, 1995)

Web Sites:

"The Frederick Douglass Museum and Cultural Center" - www.ggw.org/freenet/f/fdm/
"American Visionaries: Frederick Douglass" - www.cr.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/douglass/
"The Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress" - http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/doughtml/doughome.html

Although many African Americans lived on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, Absalom Boston was the only black whaling captain in the town. His first voyage was a failure - he and his men returned with not a single whale. But the whaling expeditions that followed were quite successful. How did he use his commercial success to support the development of Nantucket's African American community?

Additional Reading:

Black Hands, White Sails: The Story of African-American Whalers by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack (Scholastic Press, 1999)

Web Sites:

"Heroes in the Ships: African Americans in the Whaling Industry" - www.whalingmuseum.org/kendall/heros/index_h.html
"African Americans in New Bedford" -

Harriet Tubman was also born into slavery. As a conductor on the Underground Railroad, she helped more than 300 people escape to freedom. Tubman lived the last years of her life in upstate New York. It's said that she never lost her Dutch accent! Many Dutch people had settled in New York and New Jersey. How do you think slavery was different in the North than in the South?

Additional Reading

Harriet Tubman: Freedom's Trailblazer by Kathleen Kudlinski (Aladdin Paperbacks, 2002)

Web Sites:

"The Harriet Tubman Home" - www.nyhistory.com/harriettubman/

Take a look at a map of the United States and locate the following cities:

• St. Augustine, Florida
• Ripley, Ohio
• Syracuse, New York
• New Bedford, Massachusetts

Use atlases and other sources to answer questions about Underground Railroad activity in these areas. Where are the water sources near these cities and towns? Are they heavily forested? What kinds of animals lived here? What kind of edible plants were available? What was the weather like during winter, spring, summer, and fall? Did farming or manufacturing (or another business activity) take place in these areas? If you can, describe the makeup of the population like in these areas. Would fugitives have been able to blend in or would they have been noticed?

People of African descent resisted enslavement from its beginning. Many who lived in Virginia and the Carolinas escaped to the swamps of the surrounding areas. Some established communities in the swamp. These folks were known as "maroons." Others made their way to Florida. Why do you think they were able to live successfully in the swamp? Why do you think the American Indians helped them? Explain why you would have chosen to live as a maroon in the swamp or travel to Florida.

Many slaves who escaped were young men between 18 and 30 although men and women from the ages of 14 through 60 made the perilous journey. In fact, some mothers risked the journey with their small children. Escapes tended to take place in the spring or summer. Why do you think most fugitives were young men? Why do you think fugitives chose to escape in the spring or summer? Would you have been willing to go it alone or would you have preferred to escape with a group of people? And, if you were going to escape with a group of people, please explain if you would have preferred to escape with people you knew or people you didn't know.

Slavery was legal in the United States. Escaping slavery or helping someone escape was against the law. Suppose that you are a fugitive who has arrived at your destination safely. Are you willing to help others escape? How would you participate in the Underground Railroad? How would you support others who wanted to escape slavery? Give an example from your own life of helping someone who needed help desperately.

John Parker's house in Ohio has survived time and weather; his iron foundry has survived below ground. Similarly, the discovery of clay faces in the underground tunnel of a church in Syracuse, New York changed a businessman's plans to demolish a location and develop business opportunities for the community. Do you think it's important to preserve historic buildings and sites related to an illegal activity? Why?

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Updated: 9/2/10 10:38 am
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