Process
Step #1: Choose a Role
Each person is assigned to a group of three students and will be taking on a specific role that has its own unique job to go along with it. Listed below are the three role choices. Please select your job carefully. By reading the different descriptions you will have a better understanding of what each role will involve.
Role #1: The Station Master
This is a picture of the Honorable Josiah W. Begole. His home in Flint was the headquarters for the Underground Railroad in Flint, Michigan. He was a fierce abolitionist and once said "Let no man suffer while I have money." Mr. Begole went on to become the 19th Governor of Michigan. He was also a Station Master on the Underground Railroad.
The Station Master's job on the Underground Railroad was as the keeper of the "Safe House" for Escaped Slaves. As the Station Master of this group, it will be your job to design a message using the code of the Underground Railroad for the Escaped Slaves to give to the next Station Master at the next stop on their journey to Canada. You will also be required to make a list of supplies for the rest of their journey. You must remember that they can only take what they are able to easily carry.
The Station Master's job on the Underground Railroad was as the keeper of the "Safe House" for Escaped Slaves. As the Station Master of this group, it will be your job to design a message using the code of the Underground Railroad for the Escaped Slaves to give to the next Station Master at the next stop on their journey to Canada. You will also be required to make a list of supplies for the rest of their journey. You must remember that they can only take what they are able to easily carry.
Role #2: The Agent
As an Agent on the Underground Railroad, your job is to plot a course of escape for the Runaway Slaves. You will be looking at maps of Michigan from 1863 as a guide for the map you will be drawing for the Slaves to carry should they be separated from their Conductor. It was also the job of the Agent to make contacts with other Abolitionists to make sure the journey to freedom for the Escaped Slaves was a safe one. The map the Agent creates should use as much of the Underground Railroad Code as possible in case it is found by the Fugitive Slave Catchers. The seal on the left is the Abolitionists Emblem. This emblem says, "Am I not a man and a brother." Most Agents and Abolitionists were very religious people who truly believed that slavery was wrong and that we are all part of the family of God.
Role #3: The Conductor
This is a picture of Harriet Tubman. She is a very famous Conductor on the Underground Railroad. She was born a slave in the State of Maryland and escaped to freedom in Philadelphia when she was twenty-seven. She almost immediately returned to Maryland to help the rest of her family escape. She went on to help at least seventy other Slaves escape to freedom in her lifetime.
As the Conductor in this group you will be required to learn and be able to use the Code of the Underground Railroad. You will be the main author of the story of how you and your group helped the Escaped Slaves on their journey to freedom. Your group as a team will tell the story of your journey to a group of Abolitionists. You must convince them of the importance of helping your fellow man no matter his skin color. It would be helpful to describe the bravery and perseverance the Slaves showed on their dangerous journey.
As the Conductor in this group you will be required to learn and be able to use the Code of the Underground Railroad. You will be the main author of the story of how you and your group helped the Escaped Slaves on their journey to freedom. Your group as a team will tell the story of your journey to a group of Abolitionists. You must convince them of the importance of helping your fellow man no matter his skin color. It would be helpful to describe the bravery and perseverance the Slaves showed on their dangerous journey.
Step #2: Background Information on the Underground Railroad
Below are a list of Links to Websites that you will use to understand just exactly what the Underground Railroad is and how is worked. Be sure to read the information carefully because you will be given a quiz on the subject. Be sure to read the books that are sitting right beside the computer as well. You will find the books on the list below. They will also be helpful to you especially when you are ready to complete your jobs as Agent, Conductor, and Station Master.
Click here for Activity Pages that should help you keep your Research Information organized. Print out the pages and write down the important information!
Book List for Underground Railroad Research
1. Follow the Drinking Gourd, by Jeanette Winter
2. Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad, by Pamela Duncan Edwards
3. If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad, by Ellen Levine
4. Life on a Plantation, by Bobbie Kalman
5. Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman, by Alan Schroder
6. Now Let Me Fly: The Story of a Slave Family, by Dolores Johnson
7. Pink and Say, by Patricia Polacco
2. Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad, by Pamela Duncan Edwards
3. If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad, by Ellen Levine
4. Life on a Plantation, by Bobbie Kalman
5. Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman, by Alan Schroder
6. Now Let Me Fly: The Story of a Slave Family, by Dolores Johnson
7. Pink and Say, by Patricia Polacco
Website List for Underground Railroad Research
1. This Smithsonian Institute site gives you background information on the Underground Railroad. Be sure to click on the words at the bottom that say "Read more about the Underground Railroad.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/ourstory/activities/slavelife/index.html
2. This National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Timeline is very useful in understanding how the slave trade and finally freedom for the slaves progressed.
http://www.freedomcenter.org/underground-railroad/timeline/
3. This PBS site has a very short video that gives you a good overview of the Underground Railroad.
http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/video/1-2_underground_railroad.html
4. This PBS website has more detailed information about the process necessary for slaves to escape.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2944.html
5. This site is about a man named Levi Coffin who helped escaped slaves in Newport, Indiana. Levi Coffin had just moved to Newport, Indiana, an ideal location from which to help fugitive slaves. Despite being born and raised in the slave state of North Carolina, Coffin was an adamant opponent of slavery. In 1826 he and his wife welcomed into their home and aided their first fugitive slaves. Word of his help spread, and he soon "became extensively known to the friends of the slaves." Levi Coffin would ultimately help over 3,000 slaves escape bondage. In this passage, taken from Reminiscences of Levi Coffin, the abolitionist describes his arrival in Indiana.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2946t.html
6. Here is a list of Code words used by the people who helped run the Underground Railroad.
http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Alongthetracks/codes.html
7. Check this one out for sure. Scholastic has come up with an activity on this website for you to understand what it felt like to be a slave and escape from your owner. Be sure you read through all the text and click on all the buttons before you move on to the next stage of the journey.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/underground_railroad/index.htm
http://americanhistory.si.edu/ourstory/activities/slavelife/index.html
2. This National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Timeline is very useful in understanding how the slave trade and finally freedom for the slaves progressed.
http://www.freedomcenter.org/underground-railroad/timeline/
3. This PBS site has a very short video that gives you a good overview of the Underground Railroad.
http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/video/1-2_underground_railroad.html
4. This PBS website has more detailed information about the process necessary for slaves to escape.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2944.html
5. This site is about a man named Levi Coffin who helped escaped slaves in Newport, Indiana. Levi Coffin had just moved to Newport, Indiana, an ideal location from which to help fugitive slaves. Despite being born and raised in the slave state of North Carolina, Coffin was an adamant opponent of slavery. In 1826 he and his wife welcomed into their home and aided their first fugitive slaves. Word of his help spread, and he soon "became extensively known to the friends of the slaves." Levi Coffin would ultimately help over 3,000 slaves escape bondage. In this passage, taken from Reminiscences of Levi Coffin, the abolitionist describes his arrival in Indiana.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2946t.html
6. Here is a list of Code words used by the people who helped run the Underground Railroad.
http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Alongthetracks/codes.html
7. Check this one out for sure. Scholastic has come up with an activity on this website for you to understand what it felt like to be a slave and escape from your owner. Be sure you read through all the text and click on all the buttons before you move on to the next stage of the journey.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/underground_railroad/index.htm
Underground Railroad Quiz
Click on the title above and print out your Quiz Page. Take a few minutes to complete this Quiz about the Underground Railroad. If you do not understand the facts about the Underground Railroad now it will be difficult for you to complete the Steps that follow.
Step #3: Research Michigan's Role on the Underground Railroad
Website List for Michigan's Role in the Underground Railroad
1. Here is a brief description of the Underground Railroad and how Michigan played a part in helping escaped slaves.
http://www.michiganopera.org/mg_ed/educational/UndergroundRR.html
2. Here is a video that talks about how Michigan helped with the Underground Railroad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgEwDnQpcd8
3. This is an interactive map of Michigan that show the cities and the homes that were Station Stops along the Underground Railroad. Look for Schoolcraft, Michigan because that is the city you are helping your slave family travel from to Detroit and on into Canada.
http://www.albion.edu/library/JAT/MIUGR.htm
4. This site tells you about the roles Michigan played on the Underground Railroad. Be sure to look at the map and read all the text below it.
http://shelbyhistory.tripod.com/id17.html
5. Here is a site about Michigan and the Underground Railroad developed by the Michigan History Museum.
http://www.hal.state.mi.us/mhc/museum/explore/museums/hismus/prehist/civilwar/undergro.html
6. This site shows us pictures of people who helped run the Underground Railroad in Michigan.
http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/ohiopix/search.cfm?searchfield=LCSubject&searchterm=Underground%20Railroad%20--%20Michigan
7. This is the most important site you will look at in this section. Make sure you click on all the buttons at the bottom to get the whole story.
http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/travel/underground/slvtrade.htm
8. Then click on this last one which is VERY IMPORTANT. #1 below is the home of the Station Master in your group. The home is located in Schoolcraft, Michigan and is an actual station on the Underground Railroad. #2 is the last stop before Canada on the road to freedom for your slave family. It is the Second Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan and also the place you are going to help your family of slaves escape to from Schoolcraft, Michigan.
1. http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/travel/underground/mi1.htm
2. http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/travel/underground/mi2.htm
http://www.michiganopera.org/mg_ed/educational/UndergroundRR.html
2. Here is a video that talks about how Michigan helped with the Underground Railroad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgEwDnQpcd8
3. This is an interactive map of Michigan that show the cities and the homes that were Station Stops along the Underground Railroad. Look for Schoolcraft, Michigan because that is the city you are helping your slave family travel from to Detroit and on into Canada.
http://www.albion.edu/library/JAT/MIUGR.htm
4. This site tells you about the roles Michigan played on the Underground Railroad. Be sure to look at the map and read all the text below it.
http://shelbyhistory.tripod.com/id17.html
5. Here is a site about Michigan and the Underground Railroad developed by the Michigan History Museum.
http://www.hal.state.mi.us/mhc/museum/explore/museums/hismus/prehist/civilwar/undergro.html
6. This site shows us pictures of people who helped run the Underground Railroad in Michigan.
http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/ohiopix/search.cfm?searchfield=LCSubject&searchterm=Underground%20Railroad%20--%20Michigan
7. This is the most important site you will look at in this section. Make sure you click on all the buttons at the bottom to get the whole story.
http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/travel/underground/slvtrade.htm
8. Then click on this last one which is VERY IMPORTANT. #1 below is the home of the Station Master in your group. The home is located in Schoolcraft, Michigan and is an actual station on the Underground Railroad. #2 is the last stop before Canada on the road to freedom for your slave family. It is the Second Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan and also the place you are going to help your family of slaves escape to from Schoolcraft, Michigan.
1. http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/travel/underground/mi1.htm
2. http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/travel/underground/mi2.htm
Step #4: Start the Map
Show them the way to freedom.
Using the Map of Michigan from 1858 create a simple map for the fugitive slaves to carry in case they should be separated from their Conductor. The use of code and symbols will be important as most Slaves cannot read or write. Be as creative as you can while keeping the map simple as well. This map should be drawn by the Agent, but the Conductor and Station Master should help by brainstorming ideas about how the map should be drawn and what route to Detroit from Schoolcraft is best to take. Feel free to go back to the different websites for help.
Click on this link to take you to a map of Michigan that will help you plot your course:
http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu:9001/StyleServer/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=States/Michigan/Michigan1858a.sid&wid=500&hei=400&props=item(Name,Description),cat(Name,Description)&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl
Click on this link to take you to a map of Michigan that will help you plot your course:
http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu:9001/StyleServer/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=States/Michigan/Michigan1858a.sid&wid=500&hei=400&props=item(Name,Description),cat(Name,Description)&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl
Step #5: Start the Coded Note for the Next Station Master
Keep it simple and secret.
Start the coded note for the next Station Master with directions for the next stage of the Slave's journey and any important information that will be necessary for their safe passage. It would be best if the group came up with a safe way for the Slaves to carry both the map and the coded note so that if they are caught those two things will not be discovered. The final part of Step 5 is to figure out how long the Slaves and Conductor will have to travel to their next Station. For instance, are they going to get rides hidden in wagons or will they walk most of the way, because that will change the amount of time they will travel. Work together to make up a list of supplies that they can carry on their trip to Detroit. Remember they can only take what they can carry in a small bundle. This step should be written out by the Station Master but the rest of the group needs to help him brainstorm.
Click the link below for a website that will tell you the distance between Schoolcraft, Michigan and Detroit, Michigan:
http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/calculate-distance.html
NOTE: The average human walks about 4 miles per hour
The speed of a wagon in 1858 was about 7 miles per hour
Click the link below for a website that will tell you the distance between Schoolcraft, Michigan and Detroit, Michigan:
http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/calculate-distance.html
NOTE: The average human walks about 4 miles per hour
The speed of a wagon in 1858 was about 7 miles per hour
Step #6: Write an Account of the Journey to Freedom
Tell us what happened.
It is now time for the Conductor to write an account of his trip with the Runaway Slaves. This document will be important for future generations to read and understand all the effort and bravery that went into saving the Escaped Slaves and traveling with them to Canada and into Freedom. Be as descriptive as you can about your journey: How long did it take? What kind of troubles did you experience? How did you feel as you helped these people escape from a life of slavery?
Check out this website by National Geographic. It is a great example of what a trip on the Underground Railroad would have been like. This informative website should give you some ideas about what the story of your trip should look like.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad/index.html
Check out this website by National Geographic. It is a great example of what a trip on the Underground Railroad would have been like. This informative website should give you some ideas about what the story of your trip should look like.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad/index.html
Step #7: Convince More People to Help with the Underground Railroad.
We need your help too.
The picture on the left is an actual safe house that was used on the Underground Railroad. Now considered derogatory by many African Americans, hitching posts sometimes served The Underground Railroad as signals to Runaway Slaves that this was a safe place for them to stay.
In this Step you will need to present the information you have developed in this project to the rest of the class as if you were at an Antislavery Meeting. You need to make a case for people to give their time, their money, or even to allow the Underground Railroad to use their home as a safehouse like the one above. People need to see the good you are doing by helping Runaway Slaves find freedom in Canada.
In this Step you will need to present the information you have developed in this project to the rest of the class as if you were at an Antislavery Meeting. You need to make a case for people to give their time, their money, or even to allow the Underground Railroad to use their home as a safehouse like the one above. People need to see the good you are doing by helping Runaway Slaves find freedom in Canada.