Exploring the Underground Railroad
APUSH activity 1
Background Information
Being sent over from Africa you traveled on a cramp boat with hundreds of other darkies. Once arriving in the black belt of the United States of America you are sold to a farmers in a huge plot of land and hundreds of slaves. You reported to the overseer and if you do not work efficiently you received a flogging. Working sun up to sun down for years. There are rumors of a way to freedom for slaves. It is known as the Underground Railroad.
How to find North
To find the North Star look for the big or Little Dipper in the night sky and from the constellation find the brightest star in the sky. This is the star you must walk towards. If the sky is cloudy or you travel during the day look for moss on the trees. They grow facing North. Escaping the peculiar institution is starting to be possible. But you still have a long journey ahead.
Escaping the slave catchers
Slave catcher were usually bounty hunters who were hired to return slaves to their owners in the south. To avoid the slave catchers you can hide under brush or blend in with the land. You can also find safe houses through locations all the way up to Canada.
Harriet Tubman
Led 19 missions to help slaves escape the South.
Denmark Vesey
Planned a slave revolt but when plans were found out he and other slaves were planning and they were arrested and executed.
Nat Turner
Led a slave revolt that ended with 60 whites dead. The whites responded killing 200 blacks. He was convicted, sentence to death and hanged.
Final Stop
Once you have made your way through the North you must cross Lake Erie to reach Canada and become a free black.