Month 2--Civil War studies The Underground Railroad

Learning about the Underground Railroad....

This is a quilt sampler made by Sister Sarah Campbell.  She said it took her only 2.5 months to complete!  Each of the squares represent a certain command or path to follow that the runaway slaves could use to find their way to freedom.

To learn about the Underground Railroad Jen created a list of clues and readings that our young scholars used to navigate through a 'hunt' to 'freedom'.

The readings and clues:

Sometimes a candle in the window or a lantern on a hitching post were the only way to identify a safe house, but these were common ways to light houses in the mid 1800s.  Imagine that you are a slave who has been traveling for 20 miles on foot and you come to a house with a candle in the window or a lanter on the hitching post.  Would you have been brave enough to knock on a white person's door just because there is a candle or a lantern there?  Write down “yes” or “no” and put it in the bowl.

The slaves had to Put on a disguise and come up with a fake name and then write it on a name tag to be their false identification.

Stationmasters would hide slaves to keep them safe from slave catchers. Sometimes slaves would hide in attics, basements, or barns and other out of the way places until it was time to move to the next station.  Some houses had secret rooms hidden behind bookcases or stairwells for hiding slaves.  Sometimes slaves had to endure some scary hiding places, like hiding in graveyards or even being hidden in a coffin and carried in a hearse. Pick someone to be a slave catcher and the rest of you go find places to hide.  The slave catcher will count to 100 then see if they can find all the “slaves.”

Bodies of water like streams, rivers, and lakes played an important role on the Underground Railroad.  Slaves would walk through streams because dogs couldn't track their scents and they would leave no tracks.  For those escaping into Ohio or Indiana, the Ohio River marked the beginning of the Underground Railroad as it was the border between the northern and southern states, but many slaves had to find their own way there first.  Once they reached the Great Lakes, they had to cross them to get into Canada where they were free from the laws of the United States that would sent an escaped slave back to their owner. Get a drink of water as you think about how important water was to escaped slaves.

Slaves followed the North Star at night to know which direction was North.  The North Star could be found at the tip of the big dipper which was also called “The Drinking Gourd.”  Listen as someone reads the book, “Follow the Drinking Gourd.”

Another way escaped slaves would use to find the North was by looking for moss growing on trees.  Since moss typically grows on the North side of trees it served as a compass during the day or on cloudy nights when they couldn't find the North Star.  Use these compasses to go outside and see if you can find which way is North, do you see any moss on any of the trees on the North side?

Sometimes conductors used horse-drawn wagons to carry slaves from one safe house to another.  If the wagon didn't have a cover the slaves could be hidden under hay or bags or crates.  Some wagons even had secret compartments hidden in the bottom.  Pair up in twos and have a youth transport a younger child from the front of the house to the back of the house in the wagon.

For the hundreds of slaves that escaped there were only a few who were able to make it to safety without being caught by slave catchers.  Many used disguises, fake names and carried false papers to provide cover for these risky methods of escaping.  Put on a disguise and come up with a fake name and write it on a name tag to be your false papers.

Tradition and folklore tell us that quilts were an important part of the Underground Railroad.  Slaves would stitch quilt patterns to show the way and give secret messages.  Sometimes the stitching on a quilt would be a map or the distances between ties would tell the distance between safe houses.  Patterns like Log Cabin, Drunkard's Path, Crossroads, Wild Geese Flying and the North Star would show the way.  In most Log Cabin quilt patterns the centers are red to represent home and hearth, but in  quilts where the centers were dark blue, the quilt indicated that the home was a safe place for runaway slaves.  Listen as Sis. Campbell tells you about her Underground Railroad quilt.

My beds are full of colorful rows of sleeping children.  Children who are waiting for you to wake them and bring them to life.  When you look at them they will tell you stories about things fact or fiction, things fantasy, mysterious or even historical.

I'm tall when I'm young and I'm short when I'm old. As I die I give you light. My body is like a home for bees.  I live in a home that is clear and hard.

I am flowing through you day and night.  I have been around since the creation of the earth. I come in all shapes and forms, gas...liquid..solid.  You need me.

I am constant and unchanging. Maybe you have heard these lines from a song about me: “When President Hinckley was a boy, he slept outside for fun. He noticed all the stars would move, except for one.” I am not usually here during the day, but today I am hiding on something warm and purple.

Although I am small, I have a face that will lead and guide you when you are lost.  I have been trusted by sailors and Boy Scouts. 

finding the compasses.

I am old and have changed over the years. I have been big and small. First I was wood, then I was metal, now I am plastic.  Your ancestors used me for work and transportation, now you use me for play.

Little boys and girls love me. When you are bored you will come to me and your whole world will change.  You can become anyone you want to be...I help you fulfill your dreams.  Do you want to be a princess, or a knight, or maybe a superhero, or a cat? Just put me on and it will be.