318 • Chapter 9 Section 2

Section 2The Antislavery

Movement

The Antislavery Movement2

Setting the Scene From his modest secondhand clothing store nearBoston harbor, a 44-year-old free black man named David Walker fought slav-ery in a unique way. He bought clothes from sailors returning to port. In thepockets of the pants and jackets, he placed copies of his 1829 antislavery pam-phlet, Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World. Then he resold the garments to

other sailors departing for southern ports. Walker’s message began to circulate: White people should coop-

erate so that all Americans could “live in peace and happinesstogether.” But if they would not listen, he warned, then “We mustand shall be free . . . in spite of [white people]. . . . [F]or America isas much our country, as it is yours.”

An Antislavery Movement ArisesIn response to this and other antislavery activities, enraged south-ern states banned antislavery publications and made it illegal toteach slaves to read. Yet fighters in the abolitionist movement,the movement to end slavery, continued their work in the face ofsouthern opposition and even personal danger. In 1830, the yearafter he published his essay, Walker died in the streets of Boston,possibly poisoned to death.Walker became one of the heroes of the abolitionist movement.

Started by a group of free African Americans and whites, the movement gainedmomentum in the 1830s. The debate over ending slavery created steadilyincreasing tensions between the North and the South.

The Roots of Abolitionism The movement against slavery did not spring upovernight. Even during colonial times, a few Americans in both the North and

MAIN IDEA

A small but committed antislavery movement arose in the early- tomid-1800s. Leaders, both blacks and whites, used a variety oftactics to combat slavery, facing great dangers in their struggle.

READING FOCUS

• How did the antislavery movement ariseand grow?

• What contributions did FrederickDouglass make to the antislaverymovement?

• What caused divisions to arise amongabolitionists?

• How did the Underground Railroadoperate?

• How did some Americans demonstrateresistance to abolitionism?

KEY TERMS

abolitionist movementemancipationUnderground Railroadgag rule

TARGET READING SKILL

Identify Supporting Details Copy the chartbelow. As you read, fill in the blanks withinformation on the antislavery movement.

318 Chapter 9 • Religion and Reform

Characteristics Antislavery Movement• William Garrison••

•••

•••

•••

Key leaders

Tactics

Divisions

Resistance

David Walker slipped this pamphletinto the pockets of clothing he soldin Boston to sailors, thus spread-ing his antislavery message farand wide.

SECTION OBJECTIVES

1. Learn how the antislavery movementarose and grew.

2. Find out about contributions madeby Frederick Douglass to the anti-slavery movement.

3. See what caused divisions to ariseamong abolitionists.

4. Discover how the UndergroundRailroad operated.

5. Understand how some Americansdemonstrated resistance toabolitionism.

BELLRINGER

Warm-Up Activity Ask students forwhat act the biblical Moses is mostremembered. How do they think thename “Black Moses” might apply toHarriet Tubman? Ask them to explainwhat they think the nickname means.

Activating Prior Knowledge Dostudents know the meaning of theword “abolitionist”? Ask them if theycan identify the root word in the term.

TARGET READING SKILL

Ask students to complete the graphicorganizer on this page as they read thesection. See the Section ReadingSupport Transparencies for a completedversion of this graphic organizer.

RESOURCE DIRECTORYTeaching ResourcesGuided Reading and Review booklet, p. 38Learning with Documents booklet (Visual

Learning Activity) Countrymen in Chains,p. 48

Other Print ResourcesNystrom Atlas of Our Country A Divided Nation,

pp. 26–27.

TechnologySection Reading Support TransparenciesGuided Reading Audiotapes (English/Spanish),

Ch. 9Student Edition on Audio CD, Ch. 9Prentice Hall Presentation Pro CD-ROM, Ch. 9Companion Web site, www.phschool.com

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Chapter 9 Section 2 • 319

the South had spoken out against slavery. In addition, some slaves had peti-tioned colonial legislatures for their freedom—mostly without success.

The earliest known antislavery protest came from the Mennonites, aChristian sect of German immigrants, who declared in 1688:

“ There is a saying, that we should do to all men like as we will be doneourselves; making no difference of what generation, descent, or colourthey are. And those who steal or rob men, and those who buy or pur-chase them, are they not all alike?”

—Resolutions of Germantown Mennonites, 1688

During the late 1700s, several antislavery societies formed in the North,while abolitionist newspapers appeared in both the North and the South. From1777 to 1807, every state north of Maryland passed laws that gradually abolishedslavery. The legal importing of slaves to the United States also ended in 1808.

At first, most antislavery activists favored amoderate approach. One of the most importantof these early abolitionists was a Quaker namedBenjamin Lundy. In 1821, Lundy founded anantislavery newspaper in Ohio called The Geniusof Universal Emancipation. The newspaper calledfor a gradual program for the emancipation, orfreeing, of enslaved persons. He favored stoppingthe spread of slavery to new states and ending theslave trade within the United States as first stepstoward full emancipation.

Free blacks had actively opposed slavery longbefore white reformers became involved in theabolitionist movement. By the end of the 1820s,nearly 50 African American antislavery groupshad formed throughout the nation.

The Colonization of Liberia In the early1800s, some abolitionists favored colonization, aprogram to send free blacks and emancipated slaves to Africa. Convinced thatAfrican Americans would never receive equal treatment in American society,these antislavery advocates founded the American Colonization Society in 1817.To pursue their plan of colonization, the society established the West Africancountry of Liberia (its name taken from liberty) in 1822. A white American,Jehudi Ashmun, founded the new refuge. In six years, Ashmun created a trad-ing state with a government and a set of laws. Liberia’s first black governor wasJoseph Jenkins Roberts, a free black man born in Virginia in 1809.

White supporters of colonization did not all believe in racial equality. Manywere eager to rid the United States of both slavery and African Americans.Some southern planters backed colonization as a way to eliminate the threat offree blacks who might encourage slaves to revolt.

The colonization plan offended most African Americans. They consideredthemselves and their children to be as American as any white people. Theywanted to improve their lives in their homeland, not on a faraway continentthey had never seen.

Such opposition doomed colonization to failure. By 1831, only about1,400 free blacks and former slaves had migrated to Liberia. By that time, both

Chapter 9 • Section 2 319

In this illustration, two white chil-dren hand an antislavery petitionto a gentleman standing beside apleading slave in chains.

LESSON PLAN

Focus Explain that in the 1830s theslavery debate created tensions withinboth the nation and the abolition move-ment itself. Ask students to describethe nature of the divisions within themovement.

Instruct Discuss some of the argu-ments for and against abolition. Whatwere people’s motives for supportingor rejecting abolition?

Ask students to identify people orgroups who favored immediate aboli-tion, gradual abolition, or slavery. Havethem analyze which approach theythink would have been best for thenation and why.

Assess/Reteach Have students list, in order of riskiness, the tacticsemployed by abolitionists in the mid-nineteenth century.

ACTIVITY

Connecting withHistory and Conflict

Have each student write an article foran abolitionist newspaper. Tell studentsto support their arguments against slav-ery with facts about the way in whichslaves were treated. Suggest that somestudents write for a northern newspa-per while others write for a southernpaper. When students finish writing,invite volunteers to read their articlesaloud. (Verbal/Linguistic)

CUSTOMIZE FOR ...Less Proficient Readers

Have students list the main reasons people sup-ported or opposed the abolition of slavery. Havethem identify whether each reason was primarilymoral or economic.

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320 • Chapter 9 Section 2

black and white abolitionists were adopting a more aggressivetone in their fight against slavery.

Radical Abolitionism One of the most famous of the radi-cal abolitionists was a white Bostonian named William LloydGarrison. In 1831, Garrison began publishing The Liberator,an antislavery newspaper supported largely by free AfricanAmericans. Garrison denounced moderation in the fightagainst slavery:

“ I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with modera-tion. . . . I am in earnest—I will not equivocate—I willnot excuse—I will not retreat a single inch—AND I WILLBE HEARD.”

—William Lloyd Garrison, in the first issue of The Liberator, 1831

In 1833, with the support of both white and African American abolitionists,Garrison founded the American Anti-Slavery Society. As the decade progressed,more middle-class white Northerners began to support the immediate end of slav-ery. By 1835, the American Anti-Slavery Society had some 1,000 local chapterswith roughly 150,000 members. With agents traveling throughout the North, thesociety distributed more than one million antislavery pamphlets a year.

Frederick DouglassOne of the most popular speakers and a key leader of the American Anti-SlaverySociety was a former slave, Frederick Douglass. (See American Biography on thefollowing page.) A prominent publisher and brilliant writer, Douglass’s accom-plishments are all the more impressive considering how he obtained his education.

The son of a white father whom he did not know and a slave mother fromwhom he was separated as an infant, Douglass was raised by his grandmother.At age 8 he was sent to Baltimore as a house slave. Although Maryland law pro-hibited the education of slaves, his new owner’s wife disregarded the law and

320 Chapter 9 • Religion and Reform

INTERPRETING GRAPHSThe population of both free andenslaved African Americans roseduring the first half of the 1800s.Analyzing Visual Information Whichpopulation rose more rapidly?

VIEWING HISTORY Abolition-ist Frederick Douglass is shownhere speaking at an antislaverymeeting. Formulating QuestionsWrite down four or five questionsyou might have wanted to askDouglass if you had attendedthis meeting.

Num

ber

of p

erso

ns(in

mill

ions

)

4.03.53.02.52.01.51.00.5

01820 18401830 1850 1860

Free and Enslaved Black Population, 1820–1860

SOURCE: Historical Statistics of the United States,Colonial Times to 1970

Year

Free

Enslaved

Interpreting Graphs The enslaved population.

Viewing History Sample questions:How has your life changed since youbecame free? Are most slaves treatedas poorly as you were? What do youthink is the best strategy for abolishingslavery? Do you think the United Statescan abolish slavery without eruptinginto war? What would happen toslaves once they became free?

CAPTION ANSWERS

ACTIVITY

Connecting withEconomics

Engage students in a discussion aboutwhy some abolitionists called for animmediate end to slavery while otherscalled for a more gradual approach.(Verbal/ Linguistic)

Out of Africa!On December 1, 1822, in what isnow Monrovia, Liberia, three dozenformer American slaves desperatelyfought off an armed assault by 1,000native-born Africans determined to reclaim their land. In 1821, theAmerican Colonization Society hadforced a local king at gunpoint todeed them a 130-mile strip of coast-land in return for a few cartloads of hardware and household goods(including place settings for twelve,complete with wineglasses). Eversince, his subjects had been wait-ing for a chance to expel the inter-lopers. When fever had killed orweakened a sufficient number, theystruck. Some of the warriors carriedspears. Others bore large-calibermuskets, which they loaded withfoot-long copper and iron slugs forclose-range use. But the settlers had artillery, which made up for theirnumerical disadvantage. Despiterepeated attacks, the colony contin-ued for three more decades until theCivil War made it irrelevant. By thattime a mere 15,000 blacks had beenresettled. Source: Frederick D.Schwarz, “The Time Machine,”American Heritage® magazine,December, 1997.

From the Archives of®

RESOURCE DIRECTORYTechnologySounds of an Era Audio CD The Narrative of the

Life of an American Slave, FrederickDouglass (time: about one minute)

Literature Activity Lifeas a Freedman, found on TeacherExpress™,presents a passage from Narrative of the Lifeof Frederick Douglass to give insight into theviews of the prominent African Americanabolitionist.

Exploring Primary Sources in U.S. History CD-ROM Meaning of Fourth of July for theNegro, Frederick Douglass

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Chapter 9 Section 2 • 321

tutored the intelligent young boy. After the owner forbade his wife toteach Douglass, he taught himself, getting help from white children.

Cruel experiences under slavery toughened Douglass’s will andwould later make him the nation’s most influential African Americanabolitionist. At 17, he was considered unruly, so he was sent to a “slavebreaker,” a man skilled in punishing slaves to make them passive andcooperative. Subjected to whippings and backbreaking labor for endlesshours and days, Douglass did indeed become broken in body and spirit.But after one particularly brutal beating, Douglass reached what hecalled a “turning point” in his life. He fought back, attacking the slave-breaker with such ferocity that the man never again laid awhip to him. This, Douglass said later, was the story of“how a man became a slave and a slave became a man.”

In 1838, the 21-year-old Douglass, working in a ship-yard, disguised himself as a sailor and escaped to NewBedford, Massachusetts. Asked to describe his experiences asa slave to an antislavery convention in 1841, Douglassspoke, unprepared, with passion and eloquence. The eventlaunched Douglass’s career with the American Anti-SlaverySociety. He wrote and spoke publicly, enduring verbal andphysical threats from opponents of abolition.

Douglass also faced skeptics who refused to believe that a slave couldbe such an articulate spokesperson. This skepticism prompted Douglassto publish his autobiography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. Thebook named his former master, so to avoid capture, Douglass went toEurope to continue raising support for the abolitionist movement.

While abroad, Douglass also raised the money to purchase his free-dom. He then started an abolitionist newspaper, the North Star, whichhe published from 1847 to 1860. Although Douglass opposed the useof violence, he also believed that slavery should be fought with deeds aswell as words:

“ They who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate [criticize] agi-tation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, theywant rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean withoutthe awful roar of its many waters.”

—Frederick Douglass

Divisions Among AbolitionistsWhile abolitionists shared a common goal, they came from diverse back-grounds and favored a variety of tactics. It is not surprising, therefore, that divi-sions appeared within the antislavery movement.

Divisions over women’s participation One of the first splits occurred over women’sparticipation in the American Anti-Slavery Society. At the time, Americans ingeneral did not approve of women’s involvement in political gatherings. WhenGarrison insisted that female abolitionists be allowed to speak at antislaverymeetings, some members resigned in protest.

Two of the most prominent women speakers were Sarah and AngelinaGrimké, white sisters from South Carolina who moved north, became Quakers,and devoted their lives to abolitionism. In 1836, Angelina’s pamphlet, AnAppeal to the Christian Women of the South, and Sarah’s Epistle to the Clergy of

Chapter 9 • Section 2 321

The brilliant abolitionist writer andspeaker Frederick Douglass was bornFrederick Augustus Washington Baileyin Maryland, a slave state, in 1817.

First a house slave andthen a field hand, Douglassendured abuse that steeledhis determination toescape his servitude. In1838, at age 21, Douglassfled to New Bedford,Massachusetts, where hechanged his name fromBailey to Douglass toavoid capture. He soonbegan lifelong work as anagent of the American

Anti-Slavery Society. His autobiography,Life and Times of Frederick Douglass,sold thousands of copies.

During the Civil War, Douglassserved as an advisor to PresidentAbraham Lincoln. After the war, hefought for the rights of freed slaves, thepoor, and women until he died in 1895.

Frederick Douglass • 1817–1895

TEST PREPARATIONHave students read the quotation from FrederickDouglass on this page. Then have them answerthe question below.What is the closest paraphrase to Douglass’s words?

A Achieving freedom will be difficult.B No one should criticize abolitionists.C It is unrealistic to imagine achieving

freedom without struggle.D Freedom must be achieved without struggle.

ACTIVITY

Connecting withHistory and Conflict

Divide the class into groups. Have eachgroup conduct research to locate thetext of one of Frederick Douglass’s pow-erful speeches, and provide a dramaticreading of it for the class. (Bodily/Kinesthetic)

BACKGROUND

Geography in HistoryWhile some slaves escaped to theNorth, others were sent southwardfrom Virginia and Maryland. Two cen-turies of tobacco farming had worn outVirginia’s soil, and plantations theresold many of their slaves to estates inthe deep South, where laborers wereneeded. A common punishment forslaves who tried to revolt or escapewas to be “sold South,” where the cli-mate was hotter and free territory toofar away to encourage runaways.

BACKGROUND

InterdisciplinaryThe colonization of Liberia was sup-ported by the most prominent slave-holders of the day, among them John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, and AndrewJackson. Ironically, they supported thefreedom Liberia would offer as a wayto ensure the existence of slavery inthe United States: they feared a largepopulation of free black people wouldthreaten the institution of slavery.

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322 • Chapter 9 Section 2

the Southern States prompted southern officials to ban and burnthe publications.

In the 1840s, a powerful crusader joined the abolitionistcause: Sojourner Truth. Truth was born Isabella Baumfree inUlster County, New York, in 1797. Freed from slavery in 1827,she found work as a domestic servant in New York City andsoon became involved in various religious and reform move-ments. In 1843, she took the name Sojourner Truth becauseshe believed her life’s mission was to sojourn, or “travel up anddown the land,” preaching the truth about God at revival meet-ings. That same year she visited a utopian community inNorthampton, Massachusetts, where she learned of the aboli-tion movement and took up the cause.

Divisions over race Racial tensions further divided the move-ment. For African Americans, the movement to end slavery hada personal dimension and an urgency that many white peoplecould never fully understand. In addition, some black reformersfelt that white abolitionists regarded them as inferior.

This treatment insulted Martin Delany, an abolitionist whowas also one of the first African American students to graduatefrom Harvard Medical School. In the 1840s, Delany founded a

highly respected newspaper, the Mystery, and worked closely with FrederickDouglass. A supporter of colonization and a frequent critic of white abolition-ists, Delany noted:

“We find ourselves occupying the very same position in relation to ourAnti-Slavery friends, as we do in relation to the pro-slavery part of thecommunity—a mere secondary, underling position.”

—Dr. Martin Delany, African American abolitionist

Tensions such as these helped lead Frederick Douglass to break with Garrisonin 1847 and found, with Delany, his antislavery newspaper, the North Star.

Divisions over tactics A third source of tension among abolitionists was politicalaction. Garrison believed that the Constitution supported slavery. Thus, he rea-soned, attempting to win emancipation by passing new laws would be pointless,since any such laws would be unconstitutional.

Abolitionists who disagreed, such as Arthur and Lewis Tappan, broke withGarrison to follow a course of political action. Together with former slaveownerand abolitionist James Birney, the Tappans formed the Liberty Party in 1840.The Liberty Party received only a fraction of the presidential vote in 1840 andin 1844. Yet it drew off enough support from the Whig Party in such key statesas Ohio and New York to give the 1844 election to James K. Polk, a Democrat.

The Underground RailroadSome abolitionists insisted on using only legal methods, such as protest andpolitical action. But with tremendous human suffering going on, other peoplecould not wait for long-term legal strategies to work. They attacked slavery inevery way they could, legal and illegal.

A Dangerous Operation Risking arrest, and sometimes risking their lives,abolitionists created the Underground Railroad, a network of escape routes

322 Chapter 9 • Religion and Reform

William Lloyd Garrison, an uncom-promising abolitionist, grew increas-ingly stern in his statements. In1844 he proposed the peacefulsecession of the North from theslaveholding states of the South.

ACTIVITY

Connecting withCulture

Ask students to write an editorial forthe abolitionist newspaper of eitherWilliam Lloyd Garrison or FrederickDouglass. Students should first con-sider the likely audience for the news-paper and tailor their argumentsaccordingly. The editorials shouldattempt to stir readers to specificactions. (Verbal/Linguistic)

BACKGROUND

Recent ScholarshipRecent research, including Philip D.Morgan’s Black Culture in theEighteenth-Century Chesapeake andLow Country and Ira Berlin’s ManyThousands Gone: The First TwoCenturies of Slavery in North America,is shedding new light on the variationsamong regions in the practice of slav-ery. For instance, the lives of slaves inthe Chesapeake Bay region werepainful and demeaning, but not nearlyso difficult as the lives of slaves inSouth Carolina’s Low Country. There,slaves were likely to have worse food,clothing, shelter, and far shorter lives.Yet in one way the slave populations ofboth regions were much alike. In bothplaces they struggled to live decent,full lives under the dehumanizing orderof slavery.

RESOURCE DIRECTORYOther Print Resources

American History Block SchedulingSupport “Come Along to Freedom”:

The Underground Railroad, found in theExpansion, Reconstruction, and Immigrationfolder, includes interdisciplinary lesson sug-gestions and activities for Geography andHistory, Primary Sources, Biography, andLiterature.

TechnologyColor Transparencies Historical Maps, A17

Biography William LloydGarrison, found on TeacherExpress™, profilesthe man known as the conscience of the aboli-tionist movement.

Exploring Primary Sources in U.S. History CD-ROM First Issue of the Liberator, WilliamLloyd Garrison

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Chapter 9 Section 2 • 323

ACTIVITY

Connecting withGeography

Challenge students to locate the direc-tion north by using the “DrinkingGourd” (The Big Dipper) to find the“North Star” (Polaris). Explain that theline formed by the two stars that formthe outer side of the Big Dipper’s cuppoints directly toward Polaris (in thedirection “up” from the cup). Polaris isabout five times the distance from thetop of the cup as the distance betweenthe two stars that make up the outerside of the cup. Have students report tothe class how easy or difficult it wasfor them to find the direction north by“following the drinking gourd.” (Bodily/Kinesthetic)

BACKGROUND

BiographyHarriet Tubman (1821–1913) was one of11 children born into slavery. She ranaway to the North alone, later saying,“There was no one to welcome me tothe land of freedom. I was a stranger ina strange land.” By the beginning ofthe Civil War in 1861, Tubman hadescorted over 300 slaves to freedom,including her brothers, sisters, andparents. Then, as a scout for the UnionArmy, she helped free more than 750 slaves. In 1896, Tubman foundedthe National Association of ColoredWomen.

that provided protection and transportation for slaves fleeing north to freedom.The term railroad referred to the paths that Africans Americans traveled, eitheron foot or in wagons, across the North-South border and finally into Canada,where slave-hunters could not go.

Underground meant that the operation was carried out in secret, usually ondark nights in deep woods. Men and women known as conductors acted asguides. They opened their homes to the fugitives and gave them money, sup-plies, and medical attention. Historians’ estimates on the number of slaves res-cued vary widely, from about 40,000 to 100,000.

A Courageous Leader: Harriet Tubman African Americans, some withfriends and family still enslaved, made up the majority of the conductors. By farthe most famous was a courageous former slave named Harriet Tubman.

Tubman herself escaped from a plantation in Maryland in 1849 and flednorth on the Underground Railroad. Remarkably, she returned thenext year to rescue family members and lead them to safety. Thereafter,she made frequent trips to the South, rescuing more than 300 slavesand gaining the nickname “the Black Moses.” (The name refers to theBible story of the prophet Moses leading Jewish slaves out of captivityin Egypt.)

The River Route On a map, the routes of the Underground Railroadlook like a tangled clump of lines. (See the map on page 309.) One ofthose pathways came from the West, where the Mississippi River valleyoffered a natural escape route. Some slaves managed to get a ticket forriverboat passage northward. If they were lucky, they could reach theUnderground Railroad routes that started in western Illinois.

The Mississippi River route was dangerous, however. Slave hunters,who often received generous payments for their work, stalked the river-boat towns and boarded the ships looking for slaves on the run.

Through the Eastern Swamps The East Coast, by contrast, had aphysical feature that offered protection from human pursuers, but posedserious natural dangers. This feature was the string of low-lying swampsstretching along the Atlantic Coast from southern Georgia to southernVirginia. Fugitives who traveled north through the swamps could link upwith one of the eastern Underground Railroad routes to Canada,shown on the map. The travelers faced hazards, however, such as poi-sonous snakes and disease-bearing mosquitoes.

The Mountain Route The physical feature that most influencedthe choice of a route was the Appalachian Mountains. The moun-tain chain, extending from northern Georgia into Pennsylvania,has narrow, steep-sided valleys separated by forested ridges.

The Appalachians served as an escape route for two reasons.First, the forests and limestone caves sheltered fugitives as theyavoided capture on their way north. Second, the Appalachiansacted as a barrier for western runaways, leading them northwardinto a region of intense Underground Railroad activity.

A Refuge for Runaways The center of Underground Rail-road activity included Ohio and parts of two states that border it,Indiana and Pennsylvania. This region shared a long boundarywith two slave states, Virginia and Kentucky.

Chapter 9 • Section 2 323

A Path to Freedom African Ameri-cans escaping slavery knew that free-dom lay to the north, in the freenorthern states or in Canada. With nomaps to guide them, they followed theNorth Star. More detailed instructionscame in the form of a song passedsecretly among some slaves, called“Follow the Drinking Gourd”:

“When the sun comes back and the first quail calls,

Follow the Drinking Gourd.For the old man is waiting

for to carry you to freedom,If you follow the Drinking Gourd. . . .”

The “Drinking Gourd” is the BigDipper, which points to the North Star.

The first line of the song tellsslaves to leave in the winter,when the sun is higher in thesky and quail have migratedto the South. Departing in thewinter would give them timeto reach the Ohio River by thefollowing winter and cross iton foot over the ice. The“old man” is a man namedPeg Leg Joe, who taughtslaves the escape routedescribed in the song.

CUSTOMIZE FOR ...Gifted and Talented

Have students research one of the routes on theUnderground Railroad and report their researchto the class. The report should include visualssuch as photographs, maps, or posters.

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324 • Chapter 9 Section 2

Once the fugitives crossed into Ohio, they found themselves in a regionwith some measure of safety. Southern Ohio was home to Quakers and otherswho volunteered their houses as depots, or stations. There, too, lived free blacksas well as whites who had left the South because they opposed slavery. Somewhite people in the northern and eastern parts of Ohio were antislavery advo-cates who had resettled from New England. “It is evident,” wrote one slaveowner, “that there exist some eighteen or nineteen thoroughly organized thor-oughfares through the State of Ohio for the transportation of runaway andstolen slaves.” Nevertheless, most white Ohioans held deep hostility towardblacks.

Southern Illinois, on the other hand, was an even more dangerous regionfor fugitives. Settled largely by Southerners, this region remained proslavery.Abolitionists in that area often provided tickets for fugitives on a real railroad, theIllinois Central, for transit to Chicago. From there they continued on towardCanada, often on foot, following the North Star as it marked their route to free-dom. (See Focus on Geography, page 323.)

Meanwhile, enraged slave owners offered a $40,000 reward for the captureof Harriet Tubman. Yet she continued. Armed with devout faith—and a handyrevolver—she required strict discipline among her escapees, even threateningthose who wavered. Tubman later boasted: “I never run my train off the track,and I never lost a passenger.”

Resistance to AbolitionismThe activities of the Underground Railroad generated a great deal of publicity andsympathy. Yet the abolition movement as a whole did not receive widespread sup-port. In fact, it provoked intense opposition in both the North and the South.

Opposition in the North In the decades before the Civil War, most whiteAmericans viewed abolitionism as a radical idea, even in the North. Northernmerchants, for example, worried that the antislavery movement would furthersour relations between the North and South, harming trade between the tworegions. White workers and labor leaders feared competition from escapedslaves willing to work for lower wages. Most Northerners, including some whoopposed slavery, did not want African Americans living in their communities.They viewed blacks as socially inferior to whites.

324 Chapter 9 • Religion and Reform

VIEWING HISTORY In thisscene depicting the UndergroundRailroad, weary fugitive slaves dis-embark from boats and are whiskedinto waiting carriages for the nextleg of their journey to freedom.Analyzing Visual Information Whatimpressions or feelings do youthink this picture evokes?

READING CHECKHow did the UndergroundRailroad operate?

Viewing History Sample answers:fear, tension, relief, danger, darkness,haste.

CAPTION ANSWERS

ACTIVITY

Connecting withCitizenship

Tell students to imagine that they arefugitive slaves. Have them write a poemor song that expresses their experi-ence. Suggest that students think abouthow they feel toward those who arehelping them escape. Have studentspresent their finished work to the restof the class. (Musical/Rhythmic)

RESOURCE DIRECTORYTeaching ResourcesUnits 3/4 booklet

• Section 2 Quiz, p. 27Guide to the Essentials

• Section 2 Summary, p. 48

READING CHECKA network of escape routes pro-vided protection and transportationfor slaves fleeing north. Men andwomen known as conductorsacted as guides, opening theirhomes to the fugitives and givingthem money, supplies, and medicalattention while helping to shepherdthem to freedom.

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2Section Assessment

Reading Comprehension

1. Protest, political action, publishing,forming groups and societies, devel-oping a colonization program, theUnderground Railroad.

2. William Lloyd Garrison: published anewspaper, denounced moderation,founded American Anti-SlaverySociety; Frederick Douglass: greatspeaker and writer, started newspa-per, opposed violence; Grimké sisters:involved women by speaking andwriting pamphlets; Harriet Tubman:Herself an escaped slave, Tubman ledmany other slaves to freedom.

3. Leaders disagreed over whether ornot to employ illegal tactics, such ashelping slaves to escape, and somemale members disagreed overwhether or not to allow women toplay prominent roles in the movement.

4. Northern merchants, white workersand labor leaders who feared compe-tition, most southerners, and publicofficials in the South; held violentdemonstrations, murdered Lovejoy,and passed the gag rule.

Critical Thinking and Writing

5. It was a broad act that preventedany action in Congress on antislav-ery for a period of eight years.

6. (a) The Underground Railroad ledto safety in Canada. The MississippiRiver provided a natural escape routeNorth; the swamps of the AtlanticCoast allowed slaves to hide; theAppalachian Mountains providedshelter for fugitives. (b) TheMississippi River was dangerousbecause slave hunters stalked theriverboat towns; the swamps held dan-gers such as poisonous snakes; moun-tains created a challenging barrier.

Chapter 9 Section 2 • 325

For: An activity on the Underground

Railroad

Visit: PHSchool.com

Web Code: mrd-3092

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2 Assessment

Opposition to the abolitionists even-tually boiled over into violence. At publicevents on abolition, people hurled stonesand rotten eggs at the speakers or tried todrown them out with horns and drums. In1835, an angry Boston mob assaultedWilliam Lloyd Garrison and paraded himaround the city with a rope around hisneck. A new hall built by abolitionists inPhiladelphia was burned down, as werehomes of black residents.

The most brutal act occurred in Alton,Illinois, where Elijah P. Lovejoy edited theSt. Louis Observer, a weekly Presbyteriannewspaper. In his editorials, Lovejoydenounced slavery and called for gradual emancipation. Opponents repeatedlydestroyed his printing presses, but each time Lovejoy resumed publication. Onthe night of November 7, 1837, rioters again attacked the building. Lovejoy,trying to defend it, was shot and killed.

Opposition in the South Most Southerners were outraged by the criticismsthat the antislavery movement leveled at slavery. Attacks by northern abolition-ists such as Garrison, together with Nat Turner’s 1831 slave rebellion, mademany Southerners even more determined to defend slavery. During the 1830s,it became increasingly dangerous and rare for Southerners to speak out in favorof freeing the slaves.

Public officials in the South also joined in the battle against abolitionism.Southern postmasters, for example, refused to deliver abolitionist literature. In1836, moreover, Southerners in Congress succeeded in passing what North-erners called the gag rule. It prohibited antislavery petitions from being reador acted upon in the House for the next eight years. Abolitionists pointed tothe gag rule as proof that slavery threatened the rights of all Americans, whiteas well as black.

READINGCOMPREHENSION

1. What tactics did the abolitionistmovement use to achieve theemancipation of slaves?

2. Name four abolitionist leaders anddescribe their contributions to themovement.

3. Why did divisions emerge within theabolitionist movement?

4. What groups resisted the efforts ofabolitionists, and what types ofresistance did they carry out?

CRITICAL THINKINGAND WRITING

5. Identifying Central Issues Explainwhy the passage of the gag rulewas an extraordinary and historicallysignificant act by Congress.

6. Writing to Inform Describe howgeography (a) affected the course ofthe Underground Railroad and(b) presented challenges to travel-ers along the routes.

Chapter 9 • Section 2 325

VIEWING HISTORY A whitemob destroys the printing press ofabolitionist Elijah Lovejoy in Alton,Illinois, on November 7, 1837.Recognizing Bias Why did manywhites in the North oppose theabolitionist movement?

Viewing History Some northern whitemerchants feared a disruption of North-South trade. Some white workers fearedcompetition from freed slaves. Otherwhite northerners felt that AfricanAmericans were inferior to them.

CAPTION ANSWERS

CUSTOMIZE FOR ...ESL

Have students reread the section “Opposition inthe South” on this page. Then have studentsexplain the meaning of the word “gag” and why“gag rule” was an appropriate term for the rulepassed in the Congress.

Typing the Web Code when promptedwill bring students directly to detailedinstructions for this activity.

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