Curated OER
Silent Signals
Third graders discuss the frustrations of navigating the Underground Railroad and list the symbols and signs used to communicate on the Underground Railroad.
Curated OER
People and Places in Indiana's Underground Railroad
Fourth graders use an Indiana map to explain why Indiana's geographic location was important to its role in the UGR. They experience personal stories and feelings of the people involved in UGR through role-play and literature.
Curated OER
Hidin' Out
Fourth graders draw three major Underground Railroad routes crossing Indiana on an outline map and include habitats and towns. They produce an oral history involving at least three natural habitats and one human habitat.
Curated OER
Escape to Freedom
Students read 'They Called Her Moses," create a wanted poster for Tub man, compose a journal entry imagining they are William Still, and in groups, create a newspaper depicting the incident of the runaway slaves and events from the time...
Digital History
Digital History: Radical Reform and Antislavery
Find a comprehensive history of the anti-slavery movement and how it fit into the larger reform movements of the first half of the 19th century.
University of Virginia
Virginia Center for Digital History: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia
A digital collection of advertisements for runaway and captured slaves in the period before the American Civil War. In addition, there are historical documents related to slavery. Gives the option of browsing or doing a detailed search....
Other
Abolitionists, Free Blacks, and Runaway Slaves: Surviving Slavery in Maryland
Read about the groups of people who lived on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the mid-1800s and fought against slavery: the Quakers, former slaves, and fugitive slaves. This article describes the efforts of both whites and blacks, who...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Slavery and the Making of America: Slave Responses to Enslavement
Using primary documents, oral histories, and other historical resources, learn how African Americans responded to enslavement prior to the Civil War. Includes interactive exercise.
New York Times
New York Times: Harriet Tubman's Path to Freedom
[Free Registration/Login Required] This site tells the story of Harriet Tubman's life and the development of the Underground Railroad. The author takes us on a journey to sites along the Underground Railroad, beginning at the farm where...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Kentucky's Underground Railroad
Discover what the Underground Railroad was, the role it played in our county's history, and why Northern Kentucky was such a key location. In this interactive lesson plan, students will develop a written response to questions.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Making of African American Identity: Canada
Descriptions of fugitive slave communities in Canada and comments from those who escaped to these locations as well as welcoming statements to fugitive slaves in the mid-nineteenth century.
University of Groningen
American History: Documents: Excerpts From "The Fugitive Slave Act"
This site titled, "From Revolution to Reconstruction," provides excerpts from the text of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, part of the Compromise of 1850.
National Women's Hall of Fame
National Women's Hall of Fame: Mary Ann Shadd Cary
The National Women's Hall of Fame provides a brief biography of Mary Ann Shadd Cary, an educator, abolitionist, editor, attorney, and feminist of the Civil War era.
University of Richmond
History Engine: Escape Through Death: The Story of Fugitive Margaret Garner
Retells the story of fugitive slave, Margaret Garner, who cut the throat of her three year old child in order to save her from a life of slavery.
US Senate
U.s. Senate Art and History: : Roger Brooke Taney
Provides information on the life of Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney. In particular, it describes his judicial career.
Other
African American Registry: The Moving Sacrifice of Margaret Garner
Read the tale of Margaret Garner, a runaway slave who took the life of her own child rather than see her returned to slavery. Click on Learn More to get the complete story.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Boston African American National Historic Site
A tour and commentary about the many sites in Boston where abolitionists lived and worked. Click on the links to find out about these brave souls, both black and white, who fought against slavery.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of San Francisco: African American Rights Gold Rush Era
Provides information concerning African American rights in the California gold country before the Civil War.
Other
Cincinnati History Library and Archives: Margaret Garner
Detailed account of the life of fugitive slave Margaret Garner who mudered her child rather than see it returned to slavery. Her story is the basis for the 1987 novel, Beloved, by Toni Morrison.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Escaping Slavery: Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
Contains plans for three lessons that use the internet and the book Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson to learn about the Underground Railroad. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains...
PBS
Africans in America: Runaways 1740 1783
This website gives a rough idea of how many slaves were present in the South and what happened to many who ran away.
Ohio History Central
Ohio History Central: Margaret Garner
Brief biographical sketch on Margaret Garner, a fugitive slave woman who murdered her daughter and tried to kill her other childern so they wouldn't be returned to a life of slavery.
Kentucky Educational Television
Ket: Kentucky's Underground Railroad: Passage to Freedom
Kentucky Educational Television presents this PBS Award Winning special about the Underground Railroad in Kentucky. Video clips, songs, and excellent research make this site comprehensible and very useful to ELL students and any student...
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Underground Railroad Map
Detailed Underground Railway map provides information on the free states and slave states and shows routes to freedom.