Escape to Freedom
Once they sang there songs in order to read their maps it was time to leave. Slaves would go to great length to escape the masters. Do you think they were scared? Do you think they were nervous? Once they left their master there was no going back. They didn't know what to expect or who to trust once they go to the Underground Railroad. For the first time they needed to trust the very people they were running away from, the white man. They would only travel at night and stay in specific places on the way. Usually these homes were equipped with secret passages and rooms. They would use their spirituals as comfort during these time and also as guides to get them through the night.
Source: Runaway Slaves. Drawing that shows a group of slaves trying to escape to freedom.
Source: Fugitive slaves escaping to freedom on the Underground Railroad. Photograph that shows groups of runaway slaves climbing up a river bank.
Source: $150 Reward Newspaper Ad from 1838. Ads were taken in local newspapers for runaway slaves.
Source: Boston Slave Catcher Warning Poster to warn runaway slaves that people were coming to take them back to their masters. Under law free states had to let them in to find slaves and return them to their masters
Source: Map of Slave Movement on Underground Railroad. Blue arrows showed general movement of the slaves to free states.
Source: x "EFFECTS OF THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW" Lithograph (New York: Hoff & Bloede, 1850) SOURCE: The Library of Congress Collection.
Source: Charles Stearns and Henry Box Brown. (1849). Statement of Facts Made by Himself. With Remarks Upon the Remedy for Slavery.
Source: "Resurrection of Henry Box Brown" Engraving by John Osler, published in William Still, The Underground Railroad (Philadelphia, 1872) depicting the famous incident described on pages 81-84.
Directions: Answer the following questions about the previous document set.
If you were a slave would you risk everything to escape? Why or Why not? Give evidence to support answer.
What do you think is going through the slaves' minds while they are trying to escape to freedom?
In the first drawing, who do you think is these people are in the picture and how are they feeling?
Who do you think is helping the slaves up the riverbank in the second photograph?
What do you think the slave owners would do with slaves when they go them back?
What do you think is going through the slaves' minds while they are trying to escape to freedom?
In the first drawing, who do you think is these people are in the picture and how are they feeling?
Who do you think is helping the slaves up the riverbank in the second photograph?
What do you think the slave owners would do with slaves when they go them back?