Question #1. What is the underground railroad?*
The underground railroad was a SECRET system for the slaves to use to get
to freedom- places where you weren’t allowed to own slaves. At first, they
would ESCAPE to the northern united states, but then the law changed and
they had to go ALL the way to Canada for freedom.
Question #2. Why is it called the underground railroad?
The underground railroad wasn’t really underground. In this case,
underground means secret. We aren’t sure how the name got started, but it
was said that the people who used it disappeared so quickly it was like
they had really gone underground.
The underground railroad used a code to stay safe. The slaves were
passengers, the paths they would take north were called lines, the safe
houses to stop at were called stations, and the people who helped along the
way were called conductors.
Question #3. When was the underground railroad used?
The underground railroad was used from around 1831 to 1865.
Question #4. Who needed to use the underground railroad?
The underground railroad was used by black people who were slaves in the
southern United States.
Question #5. How did the railroad work in the first place?
The railroad was made of trails that the RUNAWAY slaves could follow. The
trails lead to the free states or Canada. Along the trails there were
safehouses, called stations, where slaves could hide, rest, and get
supplies. The stations were RUN by “conductors,” who were people, both
black and white, who wanted to help the slaves reach the freedom.
Question #6. How did slavery work in the United States?
Around 400 years ago, white people started going to Africa, kidnapping
black people, and bringing them to America to sell them as slaves. They
brought them over to America on BOATS. The conditions on the boats were SO
BAD that sometimes a third of them died.
When they got to America, they were sold to white Americans,
especially in the south.
Question #7. How did the American slave owners treat their slaves?
The slave owners treated the slaves TERRIBLY. Most slaves worked on cotton
plantations. They worked very hard for very long hours every day. Most of
them lived in VERY bad conditions and weren’t given ENOUGH food. The slave
owners often beat or whipped the slaves. That’s BAD.
Question #8. Who was Harriet Tubman?
Harriet Tubman was a black woman in the United States. She was born a
slave. That’s BAD. When she grew up, she escaped slavery. After she
escaped, she wanted to help other people escape too. She worked on the
underground railroad for around 10 years and helped to free over 100
slaves.
Question #9. Who was Harriet Tubman’s husband?
Harriet Tubman married John Tubman around 1844. He was a free black man, and he
didn’t want to move north when she escaped slavery, so she moved without
him.
Question #10. How was Harriet Tubman connected to the underground railroad?
She travelled between Canada and the United States for the underground
railroad many times. She did that to help other people get to their
freedom. That’s NICE.
Question #11. How many people did Harriet Tubman help out?
Harriet Tubman went on at least 13 missions back to Maryland and freed
almost 100 slaves.
Question #12. What did Harriet Tubman do when she was a kid?
Harriet Tubman was born a slave. By the time she was 6 years old, she
already had to help the slave owners take care of their baby. She watched
the baby while it slept, and if the baby woke up crying she would be
beaten.
Question #13. Where was Harriet Tubman born?
Harriet Tubman was born in Maryland.
Question #14. When was Harriet Tubman born?
Harriet Tubman was born around March, 1820. We don’t know EXACTLY what
year and date.
Question #15. How long did Harriet Tubman live for?
She lived to be around 93 years old. She died in 1913.
Question #16. Did she have any disabilities?
Harriet Tubman had epilepsy.
Question #17. How did Harriet Tubman get epilepsy?
When she was 12, around 1832, she got in the way of an iron weight being
thrown at another slave. It hit her in the head and she almost died. The
injury left her with epilepsy, which causes seizures.
Question #18. When did Harriet Tubman escape from slavery?
She escaped in 1849.
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