Underground Railroad

Take your students on a trip on the Underground Railroad, the loosely organized routes to freedom used by fugitive slaves before and during the Civil War. This extraordinary collection of fourteen primary source documents graphically illustrates the political, economic, and human aspects of slavery as well as the courage and ingenuity of runaway slaves and those who helped guide them to freedom. Documents include narratives by Underground Railroad conductors and runaway slaves; an Antebellum map showing slave and free states; runaway slave advertisements and a reward flier; a freedom certificate; a front page of The North Star; abolitionist broadsides; and a plan of the Canadian Elgin Settlement. A comprehensive timeline of events from 1619 to 1879 summarizes the experience, making many details easily comprehensible. This portfolio includes a Study Guide with reproducible student activities. 4 Illustrated Broadsheet Essays: * "Negroes for Sale": A Brief History of Slavery in the United States * Laying Tracks for an Underground Railroad * Fighting Slavery Above Ground * The Train to Freedom 14 Primary Source Documents: * Runaway Slave Reward Poster, 1847, and Runaway Slave Advertisements, 1736 and 1831 * Anti-Abolition Handbill, 1837 * First Page of "Song of the Abolitionist" by William Lloyd Garrison, 1841 * Front Page of The North Star, June 2, 1848 * Certificate of Freedom of Harriet Bolling, 1851 * Anti-Slave Catchers' Mass Convention Broadside, 1854 * Broadside Warning "Colored People of Boston" of Slave Catchers, 1851 * Antebellum Map Showing Free and Slave States, 1856 * Page from the Boston Vigilance Committee Handbook, 1854 * Excerpt from The Underground Railroad by William Still, 1879 edition * Detail from the Elgin Settlement Plan, 1866 * Excerpt from Reminiscences of Levi Coffin by Levi Coffin, 1876 * Joint Resolution of Congress Submitting the Proposed Thirteenth Amendment to State Legislatures for Ratification, February 1, 1865 * Photo-poster: "Underground Railroad: The Train to Freedom"