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Unit 4.2 Classwork: The Underground Railroad & the Fugitive Slave Act

Last updated over 1 year ago
11 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.
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.
0

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

1

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

1

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 itemCorresponding 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
The Confederacy
The time period before the Civil War
Secession
The act of separating from a nation or state and becoming independent
Antebellum
The North
The Union
The South
Abolitionist
Someone who is anti-slavery
1
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.
1
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.
1

Try to draw the symbol that is most interesting to you. Show your table!

1

What do you notice about the symbols used on the Underground Railroad? Do you think you would risk your life to try to escape using the underground railroad? Why or why not?

1
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.
1

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

Draggable itemCorresponding Item
Comin' for to carry me home...
Come into slaveholding states
But still my soul feels heavenly bound
The Underground Railroad
I looked over Jordan, and what did I see?
Take me to freedom in the Northern States or Canada
Swing low
I looked over the Mississippi or Ohio River, and what did I see?
Sweet chariot,
Workers on the Underground Railroad coming to help me
If you get there before I do, tell all my friends I’m coming too
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
A band of angels coming after me
But I know I will soon escape North on the Underground Railroad
1

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.

0

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