Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad

During the first half of the 19th century, the size and popularity of the railway system in the U.S. contributed to the code names slaves and abolitionists used to describe the operations of the Underground Railroad, such as “passenger”, “cargo”, “station”, “depot”, “stockholder”, and “conductor”. Because many slave and abolitionists were well-versed in the bible, they also used biblical code words, such as “River Jordan”, “Heaven”, “Promised Land”, and “Moses”.

The facilitators, or conductors, of the Underground Railroad, typically comprised free black persons in the North, formerly escaped slaves, and abolitionists of all backgrounds, such as Thaddeus Stevens, William Still, Thomas Garrett, Isaac Hopper, John Brown, Elijah Anderson, Levi Coffin, and, of course, Harriet Tubman. While it was harder to for slaves to flee from the most southern states—like Alabama and Mississippi—because they were surrounded by other slave-holding states, nearly every state had some Underground Railroad activity. Refer to this list of historic Underground Railway locations to see if one is in your area.

According to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, the preferred term for an enslaved person running away from bondage toward freedom is a “freedom-seeker.” The terms “fugitive,” “escapee,” or “runaway” all suggest that the person fleeing forced labor was somehow at fault for seeking liberation.

Similarly a person who kept slaves as property is a “slave holder” and not a “slave master” or “slave owner,” since the latter two terms connote a relationship of superiority over other human beings. These vocabulary terms and others—such as personal liberty laws, redemption, and manumission—can be found on the "Language of Slavery” page hosted by the National Park Service.

NCSS.D2.His.1.9-12. Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.

NCSS.D2.His.2.9-12. Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.

NCSS.D2.His.3.9-12. Use questions generated about individuals and groups to assess how the significance of their actions changes over time and is shaped by the historical context.

NCSS.D2.His.12.9-12. Use questions generated about multiple historical sources to pursue further inquiry and investigate additional sources.

NCSS.D2.His.14.9-12. Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.

NCSS.D2.His.15.9-12. Distinguish between long-term causes and triggering events in developing a historical argument.

NCSS.D2.His.16.9-12. Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources and interpretations into a reasoned argument about the past.

To begin this inquiry lesson, students can construct a timeline from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Library of Congress’s Chronicling America newspaper sources and the Digital Public Library of America. Students might also research people and key phrases around these critical years:

• Eli Whitney, cotton gin (1794)
• Slave Trade Ban (1808)
• Vestal and Levi Coffin initiate escape route for slaves (1820)
• Missouri Compromise, 36’30” (1820)
• Denmark Vesey, Charleston (1822)
• William Lloyd Garrison, The Liberator (1831)
• Nat Turner (1831)
• The American Anti-Slavery Society, Philadelphia (1833)
• Ohio River (1840)
• Railroad terminology (1844)
• Mexican-American War (1846-1848)
• Harriet Tubman (1849)
• Fugitive Slave Act (1850)
• John Brown, Harpers Ferry (1859)
• Fifteenth Amendment (1870)

The conductors of the Underground Railroad knew how to take advantage of all possible angles. Freedom-seekers rested during the day and conducted most of their long-distance travel (5-10 miles) at night when they were less likely to be visible. If daytime travel was unavoidable along the railroad, passengers took up errands and chores to make it appear as though they worked for someone in the area. Although the winter could be a dangerous time to flee due to the bitterly cold climate of the north, it also offered much longer periods of darkness under which to take cover.

Because railroad trips took place in secret, there is little documentary evidence of the trips. However, the Underground Railroad has generated a lot of lore surrounding the signals allies would send to one another. Some believe that songs such as “Follow the Drinking Gourd” was a reference to the Big Dipper and the North Star that led passengers in the direction of free states. For more information about other songs from this era, visit EDSITEment's Music in African American History lesson. Similarly, the EDSITEment lesson entitled Stories in Quilts addresses how quilts may have been used to direct slaves toward stations of safe passage. While historians are uncertain about whether or not songs and textiles could have been used to convey secret messages in the Underground Railroad system, they are nonetheless important aspects of African American culture in the 19th century. Researching and Interpreting the Underground Railroad is a National Park Service resource that provides questions, guidance on conducting primary source research, and addresses the limitations of researching this era in U.S. history. 

For more description of an Underground Railroad site supported by NEH, see The President of the Underground Railroad. 

To learn about resistance stories and analyze thousands of "runaway ads" published in newspapers, see the NEH-funded Freedom on the Move.

Activity 1. The Life of Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman (Araminta Ross) was born in March 1822 in Dorchester County, MD. Her grandmother, Modesty, was brought to America to be enslaved. Of Tubman’s eight siblings, three sisters were sold. As a slave, she performed a variety of tasks, including tending to young children and setting animal traps in the fields. In one childhood incident, a slave manager threw a 2 lbs. metal weight at another slave, but it hit Harriet’s head instead. As a result, Harriet suffered neurological problems for the rest of her life, but she also attributed her injury to contributing to her great courage and sense of purpose. Harriet Tubman is standing to the far left in this family photo.     

In 1844, Tubman married John Tubman, a free man, and she changed her first name to Harriet, after her mother. When her owner died, she and two of her brothers, Ben and Henry, fled to free territory. After seeing a fugitive slave ad, the brothers returned, taking a reluctant Harriet with them. Eventually, with the help of Quakers from Maryland, Tubman sought freedom again, this time crossing the Choptank River into Pennsylvania. Later, she returned to Maryland to find that her husband had remarried, so she decided that she would continue helping slaves cross into free territory as her personal mission.

As Harriet herself said, she never lost a passenger. Her methods were clever and determined. Because those who knew Tubman believed her to be illiterate, she would hide behind a newspaper or book when she was at risk of being identified. When freedom-seekers got cold feet and requested to turn back, she would threaten to kill them, chastising them for cowardly putting the entire group in danger.

Learn more about the life of Harriet Tubman from these selected articles from Chronicling America, this BackStory interview with Rochelle Bush, a trustee and historian at Salem Chapel Church in St. Catherines, Ontario, and from this Biography video.

Students may consider the following questions as they learn about Tubman:

1. What characteristics or qualities did Tubman possess that made her a particularly good leader in the Underground Railroad?
2. Who were Tubman’s allies and how did they help her?
3. Why should Tubman be considered an important woman in the history of the United States?

Activity 2. Conducting the Underground Railroad

Students can work in pairs or small groups to analyze the primary sources and respond to the corresponding questions. The letters and documents used during this activity can be incorporated into the mapping activity and assessment. 

Group 1.

Discuss the following questions after reading this letter from Frederick Douglass to Harriet Tubman.

1. What does Douglass say is the difference between himself and Tubman?
2. What does Douglass's letter reveal about what he thinks about Tubman’s deed?
3. Why does Douglass want to recognize Tubman?

Group 2.

Discuss the following questions after reading this letter from Thomas Garrett to Harriet Tubman.

1. What does Garrett say about Tubman’s character?
2. What information does Garrett provide about helping freedom-seekers escape from bondage?
3. How does Garrett feel about Tubman? Find evidence and also infer from his tone.

Group 3.

Discuss the following questions after reading about Harriet Tubman’s involvement in the Civil War and then the documents related to her struggle to receive payment for her services.

1. What roles did Tubman play in the Civil War?
2. How did her experience as an Underground Railroad conductor help her?
3. What did she seek after the completion of her service?
4. What difficulties did Tubman face in receiving what she asked for?
5. What was the outcome of this struggle?
6. Why did Tubman encounter these difficulties? Can anything be done to fix the situation?

Activity 3. Mapping the Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad developed many routes in nearly all directions. Some were more successful than others. Using the following resources and the handout provided, detail one route of the Underground Railroad and provide information about that route, including:

• Free and/or slave states in the route
• Climate in each state during the winter months
• Terrain (mountains, hills, lakes, rivers, etc.)
• How many miles from start to finish
• Notable cities, if applicable

In addition to using Google maps of the Underground Railroad, students should consult the Historic Hudson's People Not Property. This interactive website details what enslavement looked and felt like, as well as explains the consequences and trade-offs that enslaved persons constantly had to negotiate in their effort to resist oppression.

A list of Underground Railroad preserved sites in each state is provided below under Lesson Extensions. In addition, read about the route to Mexico in South to Freedom.     

In order to synthesize the information they have learned about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, students will write a proposal to Congress, urging their representatives to dedicate a monument to Harriet Tubman, or one of her contemporaries, in a way that they feel appropriately encapsulates that person's accomplishments. Some possibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Depicting Harriet Tubman on U.S. currency
• Naming a highway or other public site in her honor
• Erecting a statue or monument
• Declaring an annual national holiday

Using primary sources as evidence, students will argue for Tubman’s important place in history, what kind of honor she should receive, and why a particular day/location/medium was chosen. Their proposal should be accompanied by a prototype, mock-up, or simulation to provide Congress with an idea of the honor. After a teacher’s review, students can send their proposals to their representatives.

Historic Underground Railroad Sites

The National Park Service has compiled a list of historic sites known to be stations or important meeting points on the Underground Railroad. You may be surprised to find that the network extended all the way to Hawai’i and the U.S. Virgin Islands! Look up your state or region here for images, videos, and educational information, including detail about student visits. Select sites offer K-12 lesson plans as well.

National Archival Collections

The National Park Service has put together an aid to using primary documents (spirituals, almanacs, diaries, gazettes, calendars, maps, etc.) in Researching and Interpreting the Underground Railroad.

The Library of Congress has assembled a Harriet Tubman Research Guide for further investigation of her life and times.

The National Archives video “Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad” with Eric Foner, author of Gateway to Freedom; Edna Greene Medford, professor of history at Howard University; and Adam Rothman.

Freedom on the Move is an NEH-funded database of testimonials, resistance stories, and "runaway ads" published in newspapers in an attempt to locate fugitives.

Regional Archival Collections

This is a small sample of universities, humanities centers, and historical societies that provide digital images and information regarding items related to the Underground Railroad. Check your local libraries, museums, and similar institutions for information about this era of U.S. history in your area of the country.

Delaware

Florida

Illinois

Massachusetts

New York

Ohio

Pennsylvania

NEH and State Humanities Council-funded Encyclopedias