Northern Migration of Fugitive Slaves

Overview
Rationale
Background
            The Underground Railroad
            The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
            Canadian Settlements
            Pennsylvania’s Role
Objectives and Strategies
Classroom Activities

Part 1: Primary Resources and Secondary Resources

Activity 2: Evaluating Resources

Appendix 1: Questions for Analyzing Primary Sources

Through the Pittsburgh Teachers Institute, I intend to focus my research on the northern migration of African-Americans during the 19^th century, paying particular attention to the migration of fugitive slaves to Canada via the Underground Railroad. This curriculum unit will go beyond historical figures such as Harriet Tubman who are standard in United States history courses, by looking at the effects of this migration on the daily lives of average individuals within the black community. To do so the individual lessons in the unit will include the use of primary sources in which African Americans provide first hand accounts of events they participated in or observed.

In addition, the lesson plans will have a taste of hometown for those who live in the state of Pennsylvania, particularly the southwest region. However, this local flair will not at all interfere with its value in any United States History classroom.

This curriculum unit will be developed for the average to advanced learner in a high-school level United States history course. The lessons will be teacher friendly by lending themselves easily to modification. Teachers will be able to make minor changes to better suit the needs of their intended audience. In addition, the unit can easily be broken down into daily, non-consecutive lesson plans. Teachers will have the freedom of teaching the whole unit or limiting themselves to a two-day portion of the unit.

Rationale

Textbooks briefly, and I stress briefly, describe the general method of transporting slaves, but rarely stop to consider the effects this migration had on individuals and their families. They do not consider the effects on the community left behind, nor the community which lay ahead. I think it is important to take a more intimate look at this, in order for history students to accept African-American history as “our” history, as American history. Students need to know which slaves had the courage to flee and what these slaves left behind. What were their thoughts and fears?

Despite gains made in multicultural education in recent decades, I feel a strong need for this curriculum unit since textbooks still are not adequately addressing African American history. Chapters will go into great detail, for example, about religion and the shaping of Colonial America, delving into such topics as Penn’s Holy Experiment, the Salem Witch Trials, and the Great Awakening, but fail to discuss religion from the perspective of the African American community. Even when they attempt to cover topics such as this, their approach is often like a “pull-out” program, separating the experiences of African-American men and women from the rest of American history. This can send the message that black lives, as well as the lives of other minority groups, are peripheral.

Another mainstream approach is the tendency to only cover times of great crisis or accomplishment. Although this is common in any history course due to time constraints, it is even more prevalent regarding African American history. Social Studies teachers, including myself, tell the story of one “great woman” or one “great man,” focusing on heroes like Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, and Martin Luther King, then fail to look at the lives of the nameless faceless many that lived among them and endured the same tests of time. What was life like for them? Did African-American life start with Nat Turner’s Revolt and end with Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech”? These approaches provide the impression that there were two worlds in much of American history -- one white, one black -- when in reality, the lives of whites and blacks, though sometimes in conflict and often unbalanced in terms of power, were deeply intertwined and interconnected.1

If these approaches are outdated and do not work, then what approach should we use? It would be more effective to integrate African American history throughout the curriculum, by looking at various topics from their perspective. For example, when textbooks discuss the enactment of the Fugitive Slave Act they focus on the role it played in dividing the nation prior to the Civil War, yet they fail to spend time talking about its role as a catalyst to black migration north. Teachers must take the time to see these events as worthy of historical analysis by the students and ask themselves if there is a way to reframe significant events in history from a different perspective – a minority perspective.

Since textbooks do not readily lend themselves to this approach, one must go beyond the text and seek primary sources such as oral histories, journals, speeches, letters, photographs, audio recordings, literature, etc. Fortunately with the inception of Black History Month organizations are devoting time and money to establishing a bank of primary resources. It is up to the teachers to take these resources and incorporate them into the existing curriculum. This unit will demonstrate this approach by using primary source materials written by African Americans, who “were” a part of American history and saw these events as “significant”.

Although this unit will focus on the African American perspective, I hope it will serve as a springboard for teachers to recognize history from the perspective of all minority groups, allowing them to become an integral part of “American” history and not simply window-dressing. In addition, such an approach will allow students to see history as inclusive, where every student can identify with someone, “someone like me.”2

Migration from place to place has been at the heart of the African American experience beginning with the forced removal of Africans from diverse regions of Africa, Latin American and Caribbean America. Once Africans arrived on the shores of America, due to the harsh conditions of slavery, some blacks immediately sought liberty by any means.

The Underground Railroad was a network of abolitionists who aided in the escape and journey of fugitive slaves to the land of freedom, primarily during the 1800’s. These people, whose conscience told them that every human has the right to be free from bondage, worked together to defy all aspects of the continuance of slavery by helping the escape of fugitive slaves.

The Underground Railroad was neither a railroad, nor was it underground, but it was called this, one can assume, for several different reasons. During this period in history the railroad was a popular means of traversing the United States, which could be said to parallel the movement of fugitive slaves to free land. Charles H. Blockson, an author of several books on the Underground Railroad describes it as a network of paths through the woods and fields, river crossings, boats and ships, trains and wagons.3 The tracks were laid out by “conductors”-- free blacks or white abolitionists who provided shelter for runaways and directed them where to go next. One misconception many people have is that slaves traveled through underground tunnels. In actuality the term underground is used to describe the level of secrecy that was necessary to protect runaways from their masters who were relentless in their efforts to recover their property.

This level of secrecy has also made it very difficult for historians to gather thorough information. In addition, the fact that many Negro slaves of the time lacked the proper education to allow them to tell their stories on paper has contributed to the lack of first hand information.

Through my research I have discovered one very valuable compilation of authentic tales in a book written by William Still, who was a black conductor of the Underground Railroad. His book, as he describes it is

A RECORD
OF
FACTS, AUTHENTIC NARRATIVES, LETTERS, &c.,
NARRATING THE HARDSHIPS HAIR-BREADTH ESCAPES AND DEATH STRUGGLES
OF THE
SLAVES IN THEIR EFFORTS FOR FREEDOM,
AS RELATED
BY THEMSELVES AND OTHERS, OR WITNESSED BY THE AUTHOR;
TOGETHER WITH
SKETCHES OF SOME OF THE LARGEST STOCK-HOLDERS, AND
MOST LIBERAL AIDERS AND ADVISERS,
OF THE ROAD.4

The author served in the position of secretary in the Pennsylvania Abolition Society and chairman of the Vigilance Committee was charged with keeping records. Going beyond record keeping Still wrote in narrative form the stories of both fugitive slaves and conductors who crossed his path.

As a conductor himself, his house was one of the busiest stations. He was awakened hundreds of times during the night to provide fugitives with the food and clothing. Still interviewed the fugitives and kept careful records of each. He hoped that his collection of slave stories might help reunite long-lost kinfolk. This desire to reconnect families and friends came from his own emotional experience of being reunited with his brother, Peter Still, in the streets of Philadelphia. By publishing his records, Still hopes families and friends will be able to trace their paths back to each other after years of separation. Therefore in 1872 his years of concealed records were revealed in a book titled The Underground Railroad.

Still’s book offers a valuable collection of primary sources to be used in the classroom. By having students analyze selected readings from William Still’s daily record, they will witness the kindness of the white abolitionists who risked their lives to clothe, feed and guide the escaped slaves. In the very first chapter Seth Concklin, a white abolitionist, is described as the following:

In the long list of names who have suffered and died in the cause of freedom, not one, perhaps, could be found whose efforts to redeem poor family slaves were more Christ- like than Seth Concklin’s…5

The chapter, through an exchange of personal letters, reveals the fate of Seth Concklin, who is captured while trying to assist in the reuniting of Still’s family.

Concklin was arrested and sent south for trial, but his body was subsequently found floating in the Tennessee River, hands bound, and skull crushed. This is one example of how white abolitionists, too, risked their lives.

The reading of slave narratives not only will open students’ eyes to the role of the white abolitionist, but they will also gain a greater understanding of the bravery of fugitive slaves who risked everything for freedom. They waded through swamps, concealed themselves in the hulls of ships, hid on the backs of carriages, and navigated circuitous routes by using the North Star at night. 6 One of the most repeated stories is the dramatic escape of Henry Brown; Brown escaped from slavery by shipping himself in a crate from Virginia to an anti-slavery office in Philadelphia. Twenty-seven hours and 350 miles later, Brown stepped out of his box to begin a new life.

Henry "Box" Brown escapes slavery by having himself nailed into a small box and shipped from Richmond to Philadelphia.

He was decidedly an unhappy piece of property in the city of Richmond, Va. In the condition of a slave he felt that it would be impossible for him to remain. Full well did he know, however, that it was no holiday task to escape the vigilance of Virginia slave- hunters, or the wrath of an enraged master for committing the unpardonable sin of attempting to escape to a land of liberty. So Brown counted well the cost before venturing upon his hazardous undertaking. Ordinary modes of travel he concluded might prove disastrous to his hopes; he, therefore, hit upon a new invention altogether, which was to have himself boxed up and forwarded to Philadelphia direct by express. The size of the box and how it was to be made to fit him most comfortably, was of his own ordering. Two feet eight inches deep, two feet wide, and three feet long were the exact dimensions of the box, lined with baize. His resources in regard to food and water consisted of the following: One bladder of water and a few small biscuits. His mechanical implement to meet the death- struggle for fresh air, all told, was one large gimlet. Satisfied that it would be far better to peril his life for freedom in this way than to remain under the galling yoke of Slavery, he entered his box, which was safely nailed up and hoped with five hickory hoops, and then was addressed by his next friend, James A. Smith, a shoe dealer, to Wm. H. Johnson, Arch Street, Philadelphia, marked, "This side up with care." In this condition he was sent to Adams' Express office in a dray, and thence by overland express to Philadelphia. It was twenty- six hours from the time he left Richmond until his arrival in the city of Brotherly Love. The notice, "This side up, etc.," did not avail with the different expressmen, who hesitated not to handle the box in the usual rough manner common to this class of men. For a while they actually had the box upside down, and had him on his head for miles. A few days before he was expected, certain intimation was conveyed to a member of the Vigilance Committee that a box might be expected by the three o'clock morning train from the South, which might contain a man.

All was quiet. The door had been safely locked. The proceedings commenced. Mr. [J.M.] McKim rapped quietly on the lid of the box and called out, "All right!" Instantly came the answer from within, "All right, sir!"

The witnesses will never forget that moment, Saw and hatchet quickly had the five hickory hoops cut and the lid off, and the marvelous resurrection of Brown ensued. Rising up in the box, he reached out his hand, saying, "How do you do, gentlemen?" the little assemblage hardly knew what to think or do at the moment. He was about as wet as if he had come up out of the Delaware. Very soon he remarked that, before leaving Richmond he had selected for his arrival hymn (if he lived) the Psalm beginning with these words: "I awaited patiently for the Lord, and He heard my prayer." And most touchingly did he sing the psalm, much to his own relief, as well as to the delight of his small audience.

In 1850, with the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act, it became apparent to many refugees that fleeing to the free states of the north would not be enough to secure freedom.

As tensions were building between the north and south prior to the Civil War, slavery became a heated issue between the two regions. In order to prevent the outbreak of war, legislatures agreed to the conditions set forth under the Compromise of 1850, which included the offensive piece of legislation known as the Fugitive Slave Act. This law required commissioners and persons responsible for justice to take all steps necessary in carrying out and ensuring the successful capture and return of all fugitive slaves to their rightful owner. In addition, all good citizens of the United States had to cooperate in the prompt and efficient execution of the law. Should they commit any act meant to obstruct the claimant in his arrest of a fugitive, or any attempt to rescue, harbor, or conceal the fugitive, shall be subject to fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months.

$100 REWARD- Ran away from the subscriber living in Baltimore County, on Friday night or Saturday morning, October 2d 1852, a NEGRO WOMAN, MINTY JOHNSON, aged twenty-four years, about five feet five inches high, dark chestnut color; when spoken to she has a downward look; large wide teeth, wide apart. When she left home she had on a light calico dress, straw bonnet, with blue plaid ribbon. She took no other clothing with her. The above reward of One Hundred Dollars will be given if she is taken out of the State, and Fifty Dollars if take in the State and lodged in Baltimore jail so that I get her.

The passing of the Fugitive Slave act eradicated the hopes for improved conditions on U.S. soil. With reward money dangling in front of them, slave-hunters were relentless -- stalking their prey-- hiding outside the homes of abolitionists. The constant risk of being captured by these headhunters and sent back to slavery is evident in the following interview of ex-slave Patrick Snead,

“My master refused to buy me new tools after my old ones were worn out--said I dressed better than he, and must buy tools for myself. I thought this ought not to do, and I made up my mind, "it sha' n't do either." I had now come to a resolution, and I started for a land of liberty. I left in July 1851, at 3 on a Monday morning. I reached Canada safely, and had no difficulty until two years had elapsed. Then I was employed in the summer of 1853 as a waiter in the Cataract House, on the American side of the falls. Then a constable of Buffalo came in, on Sunday after dinner, and sent the barkeeper into the dining-room for me. I went into the hall, and met the constable,--I had my jacket in my hand, and was going to put it up. He stepped up to me. "Here, Watson," (this was the name I assumed on escaping,) "you waited on me, and I 'll give you some change." His fingers were then in his pocket, and he dropped a quarter dollar on the floor. I told him, "I have not waited on you--you must be mistaken in the man, and I don 't want another waiter's money." He approached,--I suspected, and stepped back toward the dining-room door. By that time he made a grab at me, caught me by the collar of my shirt and vest,--then four more constables, he had brought with him, sprung on me,--they dragged me to the street door--there was a jam--I hung on by the doorway. The head constable shackled my left hand. I had on a new silk cravat twice round my neck; he hung on to this, twisting it till my tongue lolled out of my mouth…”7

The above excerpt was taken from Benjamin Drew’s book, The North Side View of Slavery. Drew was a Boston abolitionist acting in cooperation with officers of the Canadian Anti-Slavery Society. Drew was able to interview a large number of these refugees in various towns of Upper Canada around the middle 1850's.8

The Fugitive Slave Act brought about many controversial issues, starting with the fact that it required citizens to assist in the recovery of fugitive slaves. Once recovered basic liberties were stripped away. The local courts did not determine whether a person was a slave or not, instead federal commissioners came in and heard the testimony of the claimant. Yet it was against the law for the slave to testify on his own behalf or request a jury trial. Once the commissioners heard the slave master’s testimony they would determine whether or not he were believable. All of this was done with a monetary incentive to deem the slave a fugitive. Commissioners were paid $5 if the alleged fugitive was released, but $10 if returned to the south to the owner. With no legal right to plead their cases, the slaves were completely defenseless. With all degrees of liberty again dashed fugitives used the Underground Railroad to reach Canada, activity reaching its peak between 1850 and 1860 as blacks fled the United States borders.

With the many unjust and oppressive laws of the United States, emigration now went beyond the borders of the United States, and many sought refuge by escaping from the south to Mexico, north to Canada, and even back to Africa. Canada was a natural attraction; in 1834 the British Empire had abolished slavery there. The promise of legal protection, Canada's refusal to sign extradition treaties, and favorable reviews from the Black underground press were the main catalysts behind this emigration to Canada. Approximately three thousand came in the first month after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. Most traveled north along the eastern border of the Appalachian Mountains, often crossing into Canada via the narrow strip of land between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario or through Montreal.

Blacks fled to Canada not only expecting liberty, but also expecting equal treatment, but this would not be the case. By the 1840’s the Negro found himself unwelcome in many areas. According to Robert Wink’s research on Blacks in Canada, there were a few major reasons for this. First, because blacks began coming in large numbers prejudice began to rise, and knowing this, earlier Negro arrivals tried to slow the flood of new arrivals, which then caused a division among the Negroes. This helped to confirm the white belief that blacks were incapable of self-leadership. Second, blacks appeared too transient, returning to the U.S. as soon as an opportunity appeared. Third, British Canada had to face the legal and moral implications of harboring fugitives. British Canada’s desire to demonstrate its superiority regarding liberty over America, kept Canadian borders open.9

In 1681, William Penn, was granted the proprietary rights of Pennsylvania. With him he brought the religious beliefs of the Quakers. They believed that all people were equal in God’s eyes, and every human being was capable of receiving the "light" of God’s spirit and wisdom. Therefore they were one of the first groups of white men to question the morality of slavery.

The very first antislavery petition in the New World was drafted in 1688 by Dutch-speaking Quakers who lived in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Their ancestors had been tortured and persecuted for their religious beliefs, and they saw a striking similarity between their ancestors' sufferings and the sufferings of slaves. They charged that Africans had been seized illegally from their homelands, shipped across the Atlantic against their will, and sold away from their families.10

It is useful to read the following excerpt from the Germantown Quaker Petition of 1688 and identify the reasons why they opposed slavery:

"There is a saying, that we should do to all men like as we will be done ourselves; making no difference of what generation, descent, or colour they are.... To bring men hither [to America], or to rob and sell them against their will, we stand against. In Europe there are many oppressed for conscience-sake; and here there are those oppressed which are of a black colour....Pray, what thing in the world can be done worse towards us, than if men should rob or steal us away, and sell us for slaves to strange countries; separating husbands from their wives and children."

Quaker religious philosophy laid the groundwork for the antislavery movement. By 1775, the Quakers founded the first American anti-slavery group, and by 1780 Pennsylvania was the first state to abolish slavery by legislation—An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery (see Appendix 2). The Pennsylvania Assembly voted 34 to 21 in favor of gradual abolition.

By completing this curriculum unit students will gain a greater insight into history by analyzing primary resources. First they will understand the role of Pennsylvania in leading the abolition movement by reviewing what they already know about the history of Pennsylvania, then reading and analyzing the Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act of Pennsylvania. Students will gain an understanding of how the Underground Railroad lead to free soil in the north -- a secret network of people that assisted slaves on their quest for freedom. Then we will see how the sectional dispute between the north and the south leads to the Compromise of 1850, which included the Fugitive Slave Act. Students will relate this historical event to the shaping of the migration of blacks to the northern region of the United States and even beyond the borders to Canada. Through the use of slave narratives and other primary resources, it should help students to identify as precisely as possible with men, women and children who had escaped slavery.

As stated previously the following lesson plans can be used as a unit or as individual self-contained lessons. They are designed for a high school Unites States History course, with a closer look at Pennsylvania’s history. Teachers should also find it easy to modify the lessons to meet the needs of learners at various ability levels.

The objectives of this lesson are for students to be able to define and give examples of primary resources and secondary resources. Then once they are able to distinguish between the two they will learn the tools for evaluating the validity of a resource, as well as how to assess whether or not it is suitable for their particular research.

Teachers should select resources that reflect the content of the course they are presently teaching, when using this lesson plan. Simply select one primary resource and one secondary resource. It is also recommended to guide the students through analyzing a resource that can qualify as both a secondary and a primary source.

Primary Resources are a great way for teachers to go beyond the textbook. By analyzing diaries, letters, newspapers, speeches, etc. students can investigate a subject and evaluate the source, grapple with its meaning, and attempt to interpret it and place it in its historical context. Research proves that student learning is enhanced when teachers guide students through the steps of developing their own understandings, rather than lecture and simply present the facts.

In the 21^st Century students are bombarded with information. Radio, television, films, and other forms of electronic media influence our children’s thoughts and perceptions. Educators and parents must pay particular attention to the pervasiveness of mass media. Recognizing, that newspaper articles, television programs, movies, commercials, and even religious functions have agendas, or hidden motivations for presenting material in a particular way. It is our responsibility to provide children with the tools necessary for critically evaluating various sources of information.

Critical thinking skills include the ability to define and clarify problems, to judge information related to a problem, and to solve problems and draw conclusions. Historical literacy is the development of a keen sense of historical empathy, understanding the meaning of time and chronology, analyzing cause and effect, understanding the reasons for continuity and change and recognizing history as a common memory, with political implications.11

Ask students what the words “primary” and “secondary” mean to them, of course they will refer to order. Then ask them how these terms may apply to resources they discover when conducting research. Teachers should guide the discussion through a general understanding of the difference between a primary and a secondary resource. Then ask the students to give examples of each.

Next display the following definitions of primary and secondary resources, which have been taken from the library web site of the University of California, Berkeley:

WHAT ARE PRIMARY SOURCES?

Primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to what actually happened during an historical event or time period. A primary source reflects the individual viewpoint of a participant or observer.

Sometimes a broader definition of primary sources, which may include some of the types of materials listed below..

· Diaries, journals, speeches, interviews, letters, memos, manuscripts and other papers in which individuals describe events in which they were participants or observers.

· Memoirs and autobiographies. These may be less reliable than diaries or letters since they are usually written long after events occurred and may be distorted by bias, dimming memory or the revised perspective that may come with hindsight. On the other hand, they are sometimes the only source for certain information.

· Records of or information collected by government agencies. Many kinds of records (births, deaths, marriages; permits and licenses issued; census data; etc.) document conditions in the society.

· Records of organizations. The minutes, reports, correspondence, etc. of an organization or agency serve as an ongoing record of the activity and thinking of that organization or agency.

· Published materials (books, magazine and journal articles, newspaper articles) written at the time about a particular event. While these are sometimes accounts by participants, in most cases they are written by journalists or other observers. The important thing is to distinguish between material written at the time of an event as a kind of report, and material written much later, as historical analysis.

· Photographs, audio recordings and moving pictures or video recordings, documenting what happened.

· Materials that document the attitudes and popular thought of a historical time period. If you are attempting to find evidence documenting the mentality or psychology of a time, or of a group (evidence of a world view, a set of attitudes, or the popular understanding of an event or condition), the most obvious source is public opinion polls taken at the time. Since these are generally very limited in availability and in what they reveal, however, it is also possible to make use of ideas and images conveyed in the mass media, and even in literature, film, popular fiction, textbooks, etc. Again, the point is to use these sources, written or produced at the time, as evidence of how people were thinking.

· Research data such as anthropological field notes, the results of scientific experiments, and other scholarly activity of the time.

· Artifacts of all kinds: physical objects, buildings, furniture, tools, appliances and household items, clothing, toys.

WHAT ARE SECONDARY SOURCES?

A secondary source is a work that interprets or analyzes an historical event or phenomenon. It is generally at least one step removed from the event. A recent article that evaluates and analyzes the relationship between the feminist movement and the labor movement in turn-of-the-century England is an example of a secondary source; if you were to look at the bibliography of this article you would see that the author's research was based on both primary sources such as labor union documents, speeches and personal letters as well as other secondary sources. Textbooks and encyclopedias are also examples of secondary sources.

The University of California, Berkeley library goes on to discuss primary resources even further, their web site can be located at:

Activity 2: Evaluating Resources

Through this activity students will gain the skills of a responsible reader, viewer, consumer, and, as a result, true thinker and speaker—“a critical consumer of information.” Students need to be given the tools for evaluating a source, by knowing what questions to ask, when grappling with its meanings, and attempting to interpret it and place it in its historical context.

To evaluate the resources you have selected, have students complete the worksheet (see Appendix 1). This can be done as group work or individually. It works best if done first in a group activity setting, then move on to independent work as explained in Activity 3. Once activity 3 has been completed return to activity 2, having students select primary sources of their own and independently evaluate them using the worksheet. This will force students to be able to recognize and select primary sources, and evaluate them relation to their purpose and use. In addition, this activity will serve as a student evaluation.

Ask students to share their results in a group discussion setting. Through group discussion you will be able to judge whether or not students have achieved the stated objectives. Students can submit the completed worksheet for further evaluation.

To introduce this unit have students investigate and determine which state was the first to abolish slavery. They should be instructed to write the answer on a small sheet of paper as soon as they enter the class the following day. Once you have collected the answers, share with the students that Pennsylvania is the correct answer. As an anticipatory set ask the class why they think Pennsylvania was the first state. Encourage them to recall what they have already learned about the state of Pennsylvania, referring to colonial history.

Have students read the Pennsylvania Act that called for the gradual abolition of slavery (See appendix 2). I recommend allowing the students to either work in pairs or in small groups, they may need help, for legal language as well as the language of the 18^th century can be a bit confusing for the average student. To ensure that all the students have a general understanding of the document in groups they will (1) define some of the terms found in the document that may be new to them, (2) discuss and list the reasons the authors use to support their argument for the gradual abolition, and (3) list in general terms how the act will be carried out. Use their answers and bring the groups together to share their lists. This may take one full period.

To encourage students to process facts in order to draw conclusions, students will answer the following questions:

1. If you were a slave in the south how would you have reacted to the passing of the Gradual Abolition of Slavery in Pennsylvania? What thoughts would cross your mind if you were a (a.) slave, (b.) slave master and (c.) resident of Pennsylvania? What action, if any, would you take as a (a.) slave? (b) slave master? (c) resident of Pennsylvania?

2. What problems/issues do you see arising from this act? Be sure to consider all stakeholders: (a) slaves, (b) masters, (c) Pennsylvania’s governing bodies, and (d) other slave states.

Students can work individually on these questions in class or as a homework assignment. Or students can work in small groups. I prefer the small groups, the interaction and discussion among the students helps them to delve further into the subject by drawing from and reacting to each other’s input. Once these questions are completed, bring the students together as a whole class and share their results in a guided discussion. The teacher will want to complete the lesson by explaining to the students how the passing of this act in Pennsylvania would lead the way for other states in the north to follow in abolition movement. Explain that slaves began running from their free states to seek liberty in the north.

Begin by giving a general lecture on the role of the Underground Railroad, and how it functioned. Have students color an outline map distinguishing the slave states v. free states in 1850. Identify the Border slave states, the Great Lakes, Canada and major mountain ranges. Using the map the students generated, ask students what route they would take to freedom. (Or use a physical map from their textbook) What obstacles do they think they would run into?

Display want ads offering rewards for the capture of fugitive slaves. Then have the students read selected slave narratives, which demonstrate the strength of black slaves, the help provided by white abolitionists and the risk of being recaptured. All students should read the story of Henry “Box” Brown. Students will write a short reaction essay to the required readings and be prepared to share with the class.

The teacher then will guide the discussion through the “sectional issues” of the United States and how the issue of slavery begins to divide the nation among regional lines – North versus South. This becomes a state versus state issue- whose job is it to settle disputes between states? -- Congress.

Use the antebellum map from showing the free and slave states, which can be found at the Library of Congress, African American Odyssey collection. “The growing sectionalism that was dividing the nation during the late antebellum years is documented graphically with this political map of the United States, published in 1856. Designed to portray and compare the areas of free and slave states, it also includes tables of statistics for each of the states from the 1850 census, the results of the 1852 presidential election, congressional representation by state, and the number of slaves held by owners.” 12

Students should read the Fugitive Slave Act (See Appendix 2). Have students research in their history text or online: The events that lead to the Compromise of 1850; the reason why the Fugitive Slave Act o f 1850 was passed; and how this law prevented the country from dividing. Also consider these questions: What happened to escaped slaves as a result of this law? What happened in Kansas because of this law? Also look at how the act was carried out and destroyed any type of justice for blacks living in the north. The teacher should then guide the discussion explaining how fleeing to the free states of the North was no longer a refuge by referring to the readings in Lesson 5. Stressing that in order to be really safe the fugitive slaves needed to flee to Canada.

1 Walbert, Kathryn L. Beyond Black History Month: Teaching the history of all Americans, all year round. the beacon LEARN North Carolina. February 2002

2 Ibid 1

3 Blockson, Charles The Escape from Slavery: The Underground Railroad The National Geographic Magazine, vol. 166, no. 1, July 1984, pp. 3-39

4 Still, William The Underground Railroad Chicago, Johnson Publishing Co. 1970.

5 Ibid 4

6 Microsoft Encarta. Africana.com web site

7 Drew, Benjamin. A North-side View of Slavery John P. Jewett and Company. 1856.

8 The American Revolution - an .HTML project by the The Alfa-Informatica department. http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1826-1850/slavery/fugit01.htm

9 Winks, Robin W. The Blacks in Canada: A History Yale University Press. 1971.

10Gilder Lehrman History Online http://www.gliah.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=45

₁₁UCLA Institute on Primary Resources http://ipr.ues.gseis.ucla.edu/classroom/

12 Library of Congress. African American Odyssey online

Annotated Bibliography

Underground Railroad: Books for both Teachers and Students:

· Blassingame, John. Slave Testimony: Two Centuries of Letters, Speeches, Interviews, and Autobiographies Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1977.

Collections of Slave Narratives, Letters, Speeches, Editorials, and Newspaper Accounts

· Blockson, Charles L. The Underground Railroad: Dramatic Firsthand Accounts of Daring Escapes to Freedom. (Prentice Hall 1987; Berkeley Books 1989, 1994. )

An excellent and well-respected compilation of documented Underground Railroad stories organized by state and region. Blockson is a leading historian on this and other African-American history subjects.

· Cohen, Anthony. The Underground Railroad in Montgomery County: A History and Driving Guide. Montgomery County Historical Society, Rockville, Maryland.

· Douglass, Frederick . Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave The Anti-Slavery Office 1845; Penguin Classics 1986

Unequalled in his day and virtually peerless in times since, Frederick Douglass -slave, statesman, abolitionist, and champion of women's rights -- recalls his life from slavery to manhood in this American classic. A self-taught intellectual giant, Douglass draws us into the well of despair which was American slavery.

· Drew, Benjamin. A North-Side View of Slavery: The Refugee: Or, The Narratives of Fugitive Slaves in Canada. Boston: J.P. Jewett & Co., 1856

· Franklin, John Hope and Alfred Moss, Jr., From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans 7th ed. , New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., 1994.

· Mulane, Deidra. Crossing the Danger Water : Three Hundred Years of African-American Writing New York: Anchor Books, 1993.

Three Hundred Years of African-American Writing; a collection of poetry, prose, speeches, songs, documents and letters by and about African-Americans, from pre-colonial times to the present.

· Rawick, George P., ed., The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1972-79).

An entire collection of narratives can be found in

· Siebert, Wilbur. The Underground Railroad: From Slavery to Freedom, (New York; Arno Press, 1968)

Documents the general routes of the UGRR in the north. In the back of his book, he lists the names of UGRR operators in the US and Canada by state and county. Over 3,000 names are listed. Look up your county and see who is mentioned.

Pamphlet and Map:

· Underground Railroad, Official National Park Handbook, No. 156, Division of Publications, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1998.

· Underground Railroad, Official Map and Guide, Division of Publications, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1996

Electronic sources:

The Underground Railroad

URL: http://education.ucdavis.edu/NEW/STC/lesson/socstud/railroad/contents.htm

Taking the Train to Freedom The National Park Service

URL: http://www.nps.gov/undergroundrr/contents.htm

The National Underground Freedom Center

URL: http://www.undergroundrailroad.org/main.asp

Menare Foundation, Inc. North Star Website
URL: http://www.ugrr.org

Appendix 1

Name Date Period

Questions for Analyzing Primary Sources

Answer the following questions on composition paper. Be sure to number your answers as they correspond to the questions.

Be thorough in your answers! EXPLAIN! Do not rely on “yes” or “no”

1. Who is the author of the source? (name and description if available) What are the author’s credentials, education, background?

2. What kind of source is it? Was it created on a spur of the moment or a deliberate process?

3. Did the recorder have firsthand knowledge of the event? Or, did the recorder report what others saw and heard?

4. Was the recorder a neutral party, or did the creator have opinions or interests that might have influenced what was recorded? If they had influences what do may have some of them been?

5. Did the recorder produce the source for personal use, for one or more individuals, or for a large audience?

6. Was the source meant to be public or private?

7. Did the recorder wish to inform or persuade others? (Check the words in the source. The words may tell you whether the recorder was trying to be objective or persuasive.) Did the recorder have reasons to be honest or dishonest?

8. When was the source published? Was the information recorded during the event, immediately after the event, or after some lapse of time? How large a lapse of time?

9. How could you use this source?

Questions taken from Middle Web at http://middleweb.com/index.html

Appendix 2

An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery

SECTION 1. WHEN we contemplate our abhorrence of that condition to which the arms and tyranny of Great Britain were exerted to reduce us; when we look back on the variety of dangers to which we have been expofed, and how miraculously our wants in many inftances have been fupplied, and our deliverances wrought, when even hope and human fortitude have become unequal to the conflict; we are unavoidably led to a ferious and grateful fence of the manifold bleffings which we have undeservedly received from the hand of that Being from whom every good and perfect gift cometh. Impreffed with there ideas, we conceive that it is our duty, and we rejoice that it is in our power to extend a portion of that freedom to others, which hath been extended to us; and a releafe from that state of thraldom to which we ourfelves were tyrannically doomed, and from which we have now every profpect of being delivered. It is not for us to enquire why, in the creation of mankind, the inhabitants of the feveral parts of the earth were diftinguifhed by a difference in feature or complexion. It is fufficient to know that all are the work of an Almighty Hand. We find in the distribution of the human fpecies, that the moft fertile as well as the moft barren parts of the earth are inhabited by men of complexions different from ours, and from each other; from whence we may reasonably, as well as religiously, infer, that He who placed them in their various situations, hath extended equally his care and protection to all, and that it becometh not us to counteract his mercies. We efteem it a peculiar bleffing granted to us, that we are enabled this day to add one more ftep to univerfal civilization, by removing as much as poffible the forrows of thofe w ho have lived in undeferved bondage, and from which, by the assumed authority of the kings of Great Britain, no effectual, legal relief could be obtained. Weaned by a long courfe of experience from thofe narrower prejudices and partialities we had imbibed, we find our hearts enlarged with kindness and benevolence towards men of all conditions and nations; and we conceive ourfelves at this particular period extraordinarily called upon, by the bleffings which we have received, to manifeft the fincerity of our profeffion, and to give a Substantial proof of our gratitude.

SECT. 2. And whereas the condition of thofe perfons who have heretofore been denominated Negro and Mulatto flaves, has been attended with circumftances which not only deprived them of the common bleffings that they were by nature entitled to, but has caft them into the deepeft afflictions, by an unnatural feparation and fale of hufband and wife from each other and from their children; an injury, the greatnefs of which can only be conceived by fuppofing that we were in the fame unhappy cafe. In juftice therefore to perfons So unhappily circumftanced, and who, having no profpect before them whereon they may reft their forrows and their hopes, have no reasonable inducement to render their fervice to fociety, which they otherwise might; and also in grateful commemoration of our own happy deliverance from that ftate of unconditional fubmiffion to which we were doomed by the tyranny of Britain.

SECT. 3. Be it enacted, and it is hereby enacted, by the reprefentatives of the freeman of the commonwealth of Pennfylvania, in general affembly met, and by the authority of the fame, That all perfons, as well Negroes and Mulattoes as others, who fhall be born within this ftate from and after the paffing of this act, fhall not be deemed and confidered as fervants for life, or flaves; and that all fervitude for life, or flavery of children, in confequence of the flavery of their mothers, in the cafe of all children born within this ftate, from and after the paffing of this act as aforefaid, fhall be, and hereby is utterly taken away, extinguifhed and for ever abolifhed.

SECT. 4. Provided always, and be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That every Negro and Mulatto child born within this ftate after the paffing of this act as aforefaid (who would, in cafe this act had not been made, have been born a fervent for years, or life, or a flave) fhall be deemed to be and fhall be by virtue of this act the fervant of fuch perfon or his or her affigns, who would in fuch cafe have been entitled to the fervice of fuch child, until fuch child fhall attain unto the age of twenty eight years, in the manner and on the conditions whereon fervants bound by indenture for four years are or may be retained and holder; and fhall be liable to like correction and punifhment, and entitled to like relief in cafe he or fhe be evilly treated by his or her mafter or miftrefs, and to like freedom dues and other privileges as fervants bound by indenture for four years are or may be entitled, unlefs the perfon to whom the fervice of any fuch child fhall belong fhall abandon his or her claim to the fame; in which cafe the overfeers of the poor of the city, township or diftrict refpectively, where fuch child fhall be So abandoned, fhall by indenture bind out every child fo abandoned, as an apprentice for a time not exceeding the age herein before limited for the fervice of fuch children.

SECT. 5. And be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That every person, who is or fhall be the owner of any Negro or Mulatto flave or fervant for life or till the age of thirty one years, now within this ftate, or his lawful attorney, fhall on or before the faid firft day of November next deliver or calm to be delivered in writing to the clerk of the peace of the county, or to the clerk of the court of record of the city of Philadelphia, in which he or fhe fhall respectively inhabit, the name and furname and occupation or profeffion of fuch owner, and the name of the county and townfhip, diftrict or ward wherein he or fhe refideth; and alfo the name and names of any fuch flave and flaves, and fervant and fervants for life or till the age of thirty one years, together with their ages and fexes feverally and refpectively fet forth and annexed, by fuch perfon owned or ftatedly employed and then being within this ftate, in order to afcertain and diftinguifh the flaves and fervants for life, and till the age of thirty one years, within this ftate, who fhall be fuch on the faid firft day of November next, from all other perfons; which particulars fhall by faid clerk of the feffions asked clerk of the faid city court be entered in books to be provided for that purpofe by the faid clerks; and that no Negro or Mulatto, now within this ftate, fhall from and after the faid firft day of November, be deemed a flave or fervant for life, or till the age of thirty one years, unlefs his or her name fhall be entered as aforefaid on fuch record, except fuch Negro and Mulatto flaves and fervants as are herein after excepted; the faid clerk to be entitled to a fee of two dollars for each flave or fervant fo entered as aforefaid from the treafurer of the county, to be allowed to him in his accounts.

SECT. 6. Provided always, That any perfon, in whom the ownerfhip or right to the fervice of any Negro or Mulatto fhall be vefted at the paffing of this act, other than fuch as are herein before excepted, his or her heirs, executors, adminiftrators and affigns, and all and every of them feverally fhall be liable to the overfeers of the poor of the city, townfhip or diftrict to which any fuch Negro or Mulatto fhall become chargeable, for fuch neceffary expence, with cofts of fuit thereon, as fuch overfeers may be put to, through the neglect of the owner, mafter or miftrefs of fuch Negro or Mulatto; notwithfhanding the name and other defcriptions of fuch Negro or Mulatto fhall not be entered and recorded as aforefaid; unlefs his or her maftcr or owner fhall before fuch flave or fervant attain his or her twenty eighth year execute and record in the proper county a deed or inftrumcnt, fecuring to fuch flave or or fervant his or her freedom.

SECT. 7. And be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That the offences and crimes of Negroes and Mulattoes, as well flaves and fervants as freemen, fhall be enquired of, adjudged, corrected and punifhed in like manner as the offences and crimes of the other inhabitants of this ftate are and fhall be enquired of, adjudged, corrected and punifhed, and not otherwife; except that a flave fhall not be admitted to bear witnefs againft a freeman.

SECT. 8. And be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That in all cafes wherein fentence of death fhall be pronounced againft a flave, the jury before whom he or fhe fhall be tried, fhall appraife and declare the value of fuch flave; and in cafe fuch fentence be executed, the court fhall make an order on the ftate treasurer, payable to the owner for the fame and for the cofts of profecution; but cafe of remiffion or mitigation, for the cofts only.

SECT. 9. And be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That the reward for taking up runaway and abfconding Negro and Mulatto flaves and fervants, and the penalties for enticing away, dealing with, or harbouring, concealing or employing Negro and Mulatto flaves and fervants, fhall be the fame, and fhall be recovered in like manner as in cafe of fervants bound for four years.

SECT. 10. And be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That no man or woman of any nation or colour, except the Negroes or Mulattoes who fhall be regiftered as aforefaid, fhall at any time hereafter be deemed, adjudged, or holden within the territories of this commonwealth as flaves or fervants for life, but as free men and free women; except the domestic flaves attending upon delegates in congrefs from the other American ftates, foreign minifters and confuls, and perfons paffing through or fojourning in this ftate, and not becoming refident therein; and feamen employed in fhips not belonging to any inhabitant of this ftate, nor employed in any fhip owned by any fuch inhabitant. Provided fuch domeftic flaves be not aliened or fold to any inhabitants nor (except in the cafe of members of congrefs, foreign minifters and confuls) retained in this ftate longer than fix months.

SECT. 11. Provided always; And be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That this act or any thing in it contained fhall not give any relief or fhelter to any abfconding or runaway Negro or Mulatto flave or fervant, who has absented himfelf or fhall absent himfelf from his or her owner, mafter or miftrefs refiding in any other ftate or country, but fuch owner, mafter or miftrefs fhall have like right and aid to demand, claim and take away his flave or fervant, as he might have had in cafe this act had not been made: And that all Negro and Mulatto flaves now owned and heretofore refident in this ftate, who have abfented themfelves, or been clandeftinely carried away, or who may be employed abroad as feamen and have not returned or been brought back to their owners, mafters or miftreffes, before the paffing of this act, may within five years be regiftered as effectually as is ordered by this act concerning thofe who are now within the ftate, on producing fuch flave before any two juftices of the peace, and fatisfying the faid juftices by due proof of the former refidence, abfconding, taking away, or abfence of fuch flaves as aforefaid; who thereupon fhall direct and order the said flave to be entered on the record as aforefaid.

SECT. 12. And whereas attempts maybe made to evade this act, by introducing into this ftate Negroes and Mulatoes bound by covenant to ferve for long and unreafonable terms of years, if the fame be not prevented:

SECT. 13. Be it therefore enacted by the authority aforefaid, That no covenant of perfonal fervitude or apprenticefhip whatfoever fhall be valid or binding on a Negro or Mulatto for a longer time than feven years, unlefs fuch fervant or apprentice were at the commencement of fuch fervitude or apprenticefhip under the age of twenty one years; in which cafe fuch Negro or Mulatto may be holden as a fervant or apprentice refpectively, according to the covenant, as the cafe fhall be, until he or fhe fhall attain the age of twenty eight years, but no longer.

SECT. 14. And be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That an act of affembly of die province of Pennfylvania, paffed in the year one thousand Seven hundred and five, intitled, "an Act for the trial of Negroes;" and another act of affembly of the faid province, paffed in the year one thousand feven hundred and twenty five, intitled, "An Act for the better regulating of Negroes in this province; " and another act of affembly of the faid province, paffed in the year one thousand feven hundred and fixty one, intitled, .. An Act for laying a duty on Negro and Mulatto flaves imported into this province; " and also another act of affembly of the faid province, paffed in the year one thousand feven hundred and feventy three, inititled, "An Act making perpetual an Act laying a duty on Negro and Mulatto flaves imported into this province, and for laying an additional duty faid flaves," fhall be and are hereby repealed, annulled and made void.

JOHN BAYARD, SPEAKER

Enabled into a law at Philadelphia, on Wednefday, the firft day of March, A.D. 1780

Thomas Paine, clerk of the general affembly.

Appendix 3

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the persons who have been, or may hereafter be, appointed commissioners, in virtue of any act of Congress, by the Circuit Courts of the United States, and Who, in consequence of such appointment, are authorized to exercise the powers that any justice of the peace, or other magistrate of any of the United States, may exercise in respect to offenders for any crime or offense against the United States, by arresting, imprisoning, or bailing the same under and by the virtue of the thirty-third section of the act of the twenty-fourth of September seventeen hundred and eighty-nine, entitled "An Act to establish the judicial courts of the United States" shall be, and are hereby, authorized and required to exercise and discharge all the powers and duties conferred by this act.

§ 2. And be it further enacted, That the Superior Court of each organized Territory of the United States shall have the same power to appoint commissioners to take acknowledgments of bail and affidavits, and to take depositions of witnesses in civil causes, which is now possessed by the Circuit Court of the United States; and all commissioners who shall hereafter be appointed for such purposes by the Superior Court of any organized Territory of the United States, shall possess all the powers, and exercise all the duties, conferred by law upon the commissioners appointed by the Circuit Courts of the United States for similar purposes, and shall moreover exercise and discharge all the powers and duties conferred by this act.

§ 3. And be it further enacted, That the Circuit Courts of the United States shall from time to time enlarge the number of the commissioners, with a view to afford reasonable facilities to reclaim fugitives from labor, and to the prompt discharge of the duties imposed by this act.

§ 4. And be it further enacted, That the commissioners above named shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the judges of the Circuit and District Courts of the United States, in their respective circuits and districts within the several States, and the judges of the Superior Courts of the Territories, severally and collectively, in term-time and vacation; shall grant certificates to such claimants, upon satisfactory proof being made, with authority to take and remove such fugitives from service or labor, under the restrictions herein contained, to the State or Territory from which such persons may have escaped or fled.

§ 5. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of all marshals and deputy marshals to obey and execute all warrants and precepts issued under the provisions of this act, when to them directed; and should any marshal or deputy marshal refuse to receive such warrant, or other process, when tendered, or to use all proper means diligently to execute the same, he shall, on conviction thereof, be fined in the sum of one thousand dollars, to the use of such claimant, on the motion of such claimant, by the Circuit or District Court for the district of such marshal; and after arrest of such fugitive, by such marshal or his deputy, or whilst at any time in his custody under the provisions of this act, should such fugitive escape, whether with or without the assent of such marshal or his deputy, such marshal shall be liable, on his official bond, to be prosecuted for the benefit of such claimant, for the full value of the service or labor of said fugitive in the State, Territory, or District whence he escaped: and the better to enable the said commissioners, when thus appointed, to execute their duties faithfully and efficiently, in conformity with the requirements of the Constitution of the United States and of this act, they are hereby authorized and empowered, within their counties respectively, to appoint, in writing under their hands, any one or more suitable persons, from time to time, to execute all such warrants and other process as may be issued by them in the lawful performance of their respective duties; with authority to such commissioners, or the persons to be appointed by them, to execute process as aforesaid, to summon and call to their aid the bystanders, or posse comitatus of the proper county, when necessary to ensure a faithful observance of the clause of the Constitution referred to, in conformity with the provisions of this act; and all good citizens are hereby commanded to aid and assist in the prompt and efficient execution of this law, whenever their services may be required, as aforesaid, for that purpose; and said warrants shall run, and be executed by said officers, any where in the State within which they are issued.

§ 6. And be it further enacted, That when a person held to service or labor in any State or Territory of the United States, has heretofore or shall hereafter escape into another State or Territory of the United States, the person or persons to whom such service or labor may be due, or his, her, or their agent or attorney, duly authorized, by power of attorney, in writing, acknowledged and certified under the seal of some legal officer or court of the State or Territory in which the same may be executed, may pursue and reclaim such fugitive person, either by procuring a warrant from some one of the courts, judges, or commissioners aforesaid, of the proper circuit, district, or county, for the apprehension of such fugitive from service or labor, or by seizing and arresting such fugitive, where the same can be done without process, and by taking, or causing such person to be taken, forthwith before such court, judge, or commissioner, whose duty it shall be to hear and determine the case of such claimant in a summary manner; and upon satisfactory proof being made, by deposition or affidavit, in writing, to be taken and certified by such court, judge, or commissioner, or by other satisfactory testimony, duly taken and certified by some court, magistrate, justice of the peace, or other legal officer authorized to administer an oath and take depositions under the laws of the State or Territory from which such person owing service or labor may have escaped, with a certificate of such magistracy or other authority, as aforesaid, with the seal of the proper court or officer thereto attached, which seal shall be sufficient to establish the competency of the proof, and with proof, also by affidavit, of the identity of the person whose service or labor is claimed to be due as aforesaid, that the person so arrested does in fac

Part 1: Primary Resources and Secondary Resources

Activity 2: Evaluating Resources

Appendix 1: Questions for Analyzing Primary Sources

Rationale

WHAT ARE PRIMARY SOURCES?

WHAT ARE SECONDARY SOURCES?

Activity 2: Evaluating Resources

An entire collection of narratives can be found in

Taking the Train to Freedom The National Park Service

Name Date Period

Questions for Analyzing Primary Sources