Unit 4.2 Classwork & Reading: The Underground Railroad & Black Female Abolitionists

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15 questions

Note from the author:

Content Objective: I will be able to examine the different facets of the Underground Railroad and what and who made it successful.

Standard Objective: I will be able to draw reasonable inferences and logical conclusions from text.

Link to slides from class is here

Instructions

Content Objective: I will be able to examine the different facets of the Underground Railroad and what and who made it successful.

Standard Objective: I will be able to draw reasonable inferences and logical conclusions from text.

Link to slides from class is here

Warm Up: Please rate how well you understood last night's pre-work on a scale from 1 to 4. If you have any questions, drop them in the "Show Your Work" area.

Warm Up: Have you ever followed a rule that you don't believe in? Explain why or why not.

Warm Up: One interesting historical fact I learned from the pre-work is...

Building Knowledge Together: First, let's make sure we're all on the same page regarding vocabulary. Here is a combination of old terms and new terms:

Draggable item		Corresponding Item
Manifest Destiny		The idea that the United States is destined by God to expand and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent
Secession		The time period before the Civil War
Antebellum		The act of separating from a nation or state and becoming independent
The Confederacy		The North
The Union		The South

The Underground Railroad was not actually underground. Rather, the name comes from the idea that it was not openly publicized. It was a _______  network of safe houses and routes of travel established in the U.S. during the early to mid-19th century. African American slaves used this network to flee to free states, Canada and Nova Scotia where they could escape captivity. Some routes also led to Mexico or overseas where slavery was _______ . Although slaveowners were white, not every white person agreed with the practice. Some of the abolitionists and their supporters were white. The term _______  refers to everyone who aided the fugitive slaves in their escape efforts.

A series of symbols was developed as a _______  to fleeing slaves so they would be aware of their surroundings.

Typically, the abolitionists involved in the Underground Railroad were privy to the operation only to the extent that they were _______. Not many of the activists involved knew the entire inner workings of the network. It was far too risky. If one of them had been caught and made to talk, it could have _______  the entire effort.

What do you notice about the symbols used on the Underground Railroad? If you saw one of these symbols, would you be able to infer its true meaning?

Prior to the Underground Railroad, slaves would make their own attempts at freedom. Even after the network was developed, they were on their own until certain points north where it was safer for a station to exist. That being the case, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was enacted. This act had slave bounty hunters coming out of the woodwork trying to cash in on the action.

Today, we are going to learn about spirituals, which are different from hymns and psalms because they were a way of _______  the harsh condition of being a slave. While white plantation owners were content thinking that their slaves were happy and singing in the fields, these lyrics actual served a _______  purpose for fugitive slaves.

Applying Knowledge: Well done! Today, we will apply the new knowledge and vocabulary that we just learned by analyzing a spiritual song that enslaved Blacks would sing. 

Can you decode the "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" spiritual? Try it out!

Draggable item		Corresponding Item
Swing low		Come into slaveholding states
A band of angels coming after me		The Underground Railroad
If you get there before I do, tell all my friends I’m coming too		Take me to freedom in the Northern States or Canada
I looked over Jordan, and what did I see?		I looked over the Mississippi or Ohio River, and what did I see?
But still my soul feels heavenly bound		Workers on the Underground Railroad coming to help me
Sweet chariot,		If I have escaped friends or family, please tell them my escape plan
I’m sometimes up, I’m sometimes down		I have good days and bad days
Comin' for to carry me home...		But I know I will soon escape North on the Underground Railroad

Exit Ticket: How did the enslaved and abolitionists work together to stand up for what they believed in despite the laws in the United States that upheld slavery? Support your answer with at least one specific historical example or fact.

Exit Ticket: Please evaluate how well you understood today’s lesson on a scale from 1 to 4:

That's all for class! Please read Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I A Woman" speech for homework. Next class, you will take guided notes on the Civil War and then watch the film "Glory."

Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) was an African-American women’s rights activist and abolitionist. Truth was born into slavery, but escaped to freedom in 1826. “Ain’t I a Woman?” is her most famous speech. She delivered it without preparation at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in 1851. As you read, pay attention to the methods Truth uses to build her argument.

If you would like to list to Truth's speech, check out this video! 

As used in line 2, "kilter" most nearly means,

Why do you think Truth repeats the phrase "Ain't I a woman?" in this paragraph?

How does Sojourner Truth primarily use religious teachings to make her argument?

Overall, Truth's speech emphasizes what qualities of Black women?

That's all that is due for class on Tuesday, 2/22. You will complete the guided notes on the Civil War in class and then watch clips from "Glory."

Be sure to submit in Formative and in Google Classroom!