History

• What is the Confederacy?


  The 11 states that left the Union (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia)
• What is a fugitive?

  A runaway slave.
• What was the Emancipation Proclamation?

  It was Abraham Lincoln's order to free all slaves in Confederate states. It took effect on Jan. 1, 1863.
• How did the North Star help runaway slaves?

  They usually walked, guided only by the North Star. By following the North Star, runaways knew they were headed in the right direction. On cloudy starless nights, they used tree moss as a guide (such as Harriet Tubman). Moss grows on the north side of tree trunks.
• What were some of the hiding places for runaway slaves?

  It included houses, farms, barns, caves, and secret compartments. Sometimes graveyards served as hiding places.
• What were some of the dangers faced by runaway slaves traveling to the North?

  If caught, they often were beaten and their wounds were washed with salt and water to cause them further pain. Sometimes slave owners cut off fingers or toes as punishment for running away.
• What were the methods abolitionists used to end slavery?

  They wrote about their cause in books, pamphlets, and newspapers. Some spoke at public meetings.
• Who were Quakers?

  Quakers were members of a religious group that believed all people should be equal. They spoke against holding African Americans as slaves.
• When did some Northern states free its slaves?

  After the American Revolutionary War (17750-1783), Vermont freed its slaves. Pennsylvania and other Northern states soon freed their slaves, as well.
• What were the conditions in which many slaves lived and worked?

  They often did not get enough to eat. They lived in small, shabby log or board cabins. The floors were made of dirt. Sometimes 15 or more slaves lived in these drafty places. Most slaves worked from dawn until after dark. Many slaves had diseases and tooth decay because of hard work, poor living conditions, and unhealthy diet. Slaves were beaten, bound in chains, or starved for misbehavior or even small deeds such as talking back or working slowly. Runaways who were caught received beatings so severe that many died.
• What were plantations?


  They were large farms that sprang up in the South. Farmers grew crops such as cotton, tobacco, rice, sugar, and indigo. Indigo is a plant used to make blue dye. Slaves cleared the land and planted, tended, and harvested the crops.
• When were indentured servants considered slaves?

  In 1641, Massachusetts passed a law that allowed slavery of Africans. In 1660, Maryland and Virginia passed similar laws. A child born to an African slave remained a slave for life. By 1755, all 13 colonies had slavery laws.
• What were indentured servants?

  These people agreed to serve a master in America for a set time, usually 7 years. Poor Europeans and Africans worked in the colonies as indentured servants. In 1619, the first African indentured servants arrived in Jamestown, Virginia.
• How did we end up with slavery in America?

  Beginning in the 1500's, slave hunters sailed to Africa and took men and women as prisoners. The traders then packed the prisoners into ships bound for the American colonies. The trip to North America lasted 6 - 10 weeks. Many African prisoners died from disease while on the ship. Those who made it through the trip were sold as slaves to people throughout the colonies.
• What were some different routes slaves took to escape to freedom?

  Runaways traveled through back roads, waterways, mountains, swamps, forests, and fields to escape.
• Was slavery legal in Canada?

  No, it was illegal in Canada.
• What happened to Harriet Tubman when she was 13 years old?

  She tried to stop an overseer on the plantation from attacking a fellow slave who had tried to run away. The overseer threw a 2 pound weight at the runaway slave, but it hit Harriet instead, tearing a hole in her skull. It almost killed her. For the next almost 80 years, Harriet suffered from severe headaches and sleeping spells.
• When was the fight to free slaves over?

  In 1865, the North won the Civil War. The Underground Railroad stopped running. Slavery was no longer allowed in the United States.
• What did a brightly colored quilt hung on a clothesline mean?

  It was used as coded directions. A family might hang a quilt out a window or on top of a fence to air. The pattern of a particular quilt might be a signal such as a bear claw pattern might mean slaves were to follow bear tracks over the mountains. A quilt with a house and smoking chimney told slaves that they were by a safe house.
• What did they refer to as "jumped the broom"?

  Slaves weren't allowed to marry. So they "jumped the broom" instead. A broom was laid on the floor. The couple jumped over it. When they landed, they were husband and wife.
• What is known about Harriet Tubman's childhood?

  She was born Araminta Ross in about 1820. As a child she was called Minty. Later she took the name Harriet. She was born a slave on a tobacco plantation in Maryland.
• Who was Henry "Box" Brown?

  He was a slave who arrived in Philadelphia, having traveled in a box for 350 miles from Richmond, Virginia. He was known as the man who mailed himself to freedom.
• What was the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850?

  It was a law passed in 1850 that made it legal to arrest runaway slaves anywhere in the United States. The slaves could be returned to their owners. A person who helped runaway slaves faced fines and jail time.
• About how many miles would the slaves move in one night?

  About 15-20 miles.
• Who was Samuel Burris?


  He was a free black man who was born in Delaware. In 1845, he started helping slaves who were fleeing Delaware and Maryland. When the Civil War was over, he raised money to aid free blacks.
• How many slaves did Thomas Garrett help?

  over 2,700 slaves
• Who was Thomas Garrett?

  He became a famous abolitionist. He was born in 1789 in Pennsylvania to a Quaker family. When he was young, he rescued a free, black who worked in his family home, but had been kidnapped to be forced into slavery. After freeing her, he devoted his life to the freedom of all. He paid more than $8000 in fines for helping runaway slaves.
• Where did the underground railroad begin?

  Dover, Delaware.
• What did they refer to as "Station Masters"?

  These were people who kept the escaped slaves hidden until it was safe to travel north for freedom.
• Who was William Still?

  He was a well-known abolitionist who was often called "the father of the Underground Railroad." He helped hundred of slaves to escape.
• About how many slaves did Harriet Tubman rescue?

  She rescued over 300 slaves using the network established by the Underground Railroad between 1850 and 1860.
• How many trips on the Underground Railroad did Harriet Tubman make?

  After she escaped from slavery, she made at least 19 trips on the underground railroad to help others escape.
• Who was Harriet Tubman?

  She was one of the most famous abolitionists who helped the Underground Railroad (a "conductor"). She was a Union spy and nurse during the Civil War. She was known as the "Moses of Her People."
• What were abolitionists?


  People who aided slaves in their escape. They were people who supported the movement to end the slave trade and free slaves in Western Europe and the United States.
• About how many people escaped through the use of the underground railroad?

  Historians believe between 60,000 and 100,000 slaves escaped to freedom, traveling on what was called the Underground Railroad.
• When was the Underground Railroad most used?

  It started before the civil war and was still running during the civil war. It was most used from 1810-1850.
• What was the Pearl Escape?

  It was a large escape in which a large group of slaves escaped together.
• What did they refer to as "stations" or "depots"?


  These stops were places where escaping slaves could rest. These were homes where slaves would hide. The slaves would hide in the barns or in secret places in the house.
• What did they refer to as "conductors"?


  They were the guides that led the slaves from one stop to another.
• What did they refer to as "passengers"?

  They were slaves that were fleeing the South.