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Unit 3.7 Classwork: Harriet Tubman & the Underground Railroad

By Haiyen Truong
Last updated 5 months ago
9 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.

Absent? Just want to review the guided notes? Slides are linked here and here.
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.

Absent? Just want to review the guided notes? Slides are linked here and here.
Required
1.

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

Required
2.
Though Blacks accounted for 75% of the population in some parts of the deep South, only about 1 in 4 white southerners actually owned slaves or belonged to a slaveholding family.
The enslaved had no political or civil _______ and were forbidden to testify in court. They were not allowed to read and write because masters believed that reading brought new _______ that might lead to discontent.

The enslaved often fought the system of slavery through passive resistance (e.g. slowing down the pace of their labor) and active resistance (e.g. banding together to _______. With the help of abolitionists, many ran away to the _______ to escape where slavery was illegal. Most notably, Nat Turner's Rebellion in 1831 mobilized as many as 70 slaves who were able to kill over 50 of their _______ .
Required
3.
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.
Required
4.
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.
5.

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?

Required
6.
Prior to the Underground Railroad, slaves would make their own attempts at freedom. Even after the _______ was developed, runaways were on their own until certain points North where it was safer for a station to exist. This led to further rising _______ between Northern and Southern states. Consequently, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was enacted to _______ Northerners to return runaway slaves to the South. This act had bounty hunters coming out of the woodwork trying to cash in on the action.

In order to help one another, enslaved people on plantations sang _______ , which are different from hymns and psalms sung in church. While white plantation owners were content thinking that their slaves were happy and singing in the fields, these lyrics actually served a _______ purpose that was separate from chronicling the harsh condition of being a slave.

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.

Required
7.

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

Come into slaveholding states
The Underground Railroad
Take me to freedom in the Northern States or Canada
I looked over the Mississippi or Ohio River, and what did I see?
Workers on the Underground Railroad coming to help me
If I have escaped friends or family, please tell them my escape plan
I have good days and bad days
But I know I will soon escape North on the Underground Railroad
Required
8.

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? Your answer should include at least one specific historical example or fact.

Sentence Starter: Despite the slavery laws in the United States, enslaved people and abolitionists worked together to stand up for what they believed in by...

9.

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