Antebellum United States · 1830-1861

Escaping slavery: the Underground Railroad

Thousands of enslaved people escaped north, some helped by a secret network of Black and white "conductors". Students follow the routes from the slave states to the free states and Canada, and meet Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and William Still.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1850 to AD 1838
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Thousands of enslaved people escaped north, some helped by a secret network of Black and white "conductors". Students follow the routes from the slave states to the free states and Canada, and meet Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and William Still.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain what the Underground Railroad was and how it worked.
  • Describe the escapes and work of Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and Henry "Box" Brown.
  • Explain how the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 pushed many freedom seekers on to Canada.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1850

Slave states and free states

Open the map in 1850 and zoom in on the eastern United States. Find the Ohio River and the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland. Crossing these lines meant leaving a slave state.

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1850

North to Canada

Zoom in on the Great Lakes. Find Detroit and Niagara Falls. Across the water lay British North America. Why was this last crossing so important?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1838

Douglass's escape

Type "How did Frederick Douglass escape from Baltimore?" in Ask the atlas. Follow his route north to New York on the map.

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Most freedom seekers escaped with little or no help, on foot and at night. What would you need to survive such a journey?
  2. Why did helpers use code words like "station", "conductor" and "passenger"?
  3. Harriet Tubman went back again and again, though she could have stayed safe. Why?
  4. Frederick Douglass wrote and spoke about his life in slavery. Why were first-hand stories so powerful?
  5. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made free states help capture people. How did that change how many Northerners felt about slavery?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Abraham Lincoln in Rule History, especially his 1862 round on emancipation. Before it, tell students about Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. Discuss: how did the actions of freedom seekers push the country towards ending slavery?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.