Underground Railroad, Slavery and Slave Narratives
See Also the Travel Section,
as many states are developing Underground Railroad itineraries you can download
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Slavery still flourishes in many parts of the world
and slave labor produces some of the items we use in the United States...
like chocolate.
Learn what you can do to help eradicate slavery by visiting
iAbolish: The Anti-Slavery
Portal at http://www.iabolish.org/ and
Free The Slaves http://www.freetheslaves.net/
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Underground Railroad (DVD) The History Channel Available at Amazon.com
No records were kept, but historians believe more than 100,000 slaves tried to escape their bondage before the Emancipation Proclamation. Alfre Woodard links together interviews with historians, contemporary photographs, drawings, and dramatic reenactments to show the terrors of slavery and the travails of escape, exploding many of our myths along the way. The emphasis is placed on the fact that this was the first integrated movement for civil rights, created by thousands of unknown heroes.
Roots of Resistance, Produced for the American Experience (PBS) Amazon.com
Men and women, black and white, risked their lives to carve an elaborate network of escape routes out of slavery. PBS site has Teacher's Guide and other resources.
National Underground
Railroad Freedom Center
The Center includes a museum, exhibitions, performances and more. At their website, you'll find Web quests, lesson plans, "Freedom Stations," information and links about the Underground Railroad, plus a calendar of related events nationwide. Been There! See my full review
SlaveryImages.org The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
"The 1,280 images in this collection have been selected from a wide range of sources, most of them dating from the period of slavery. This collection is envisioned as a tool and a resource that can be used by teachers, researchers, students, and the general public - in brief, anyone interested in the experiences of Africans who were enslaved and transported to the Americas and the lives of their descendants in the slave societies of the New World."
Slaves and
the Courts, 1740-1860
This online exhibit displays about 100 pamphlets,
books, speeches, court transcriptions and other documents regarding the
experiences of slaves in the American colonies and the U.S. Part of the
American Memory
Collection at the Library of Congress.
A
Slave's Legacy: His 2 Sons file lawsuit for reparations
Timothy Hurdle, 83, of San Francisco, and
his brother Chester, 75, of Sacramento are among the few living children
of slaves. In the twilight of their lives, they are among dozens of descendants
of slaves to file lawsuits seeking reparations from major corporations
(like insurance and tobacco companies) which benefited from slavery. San
Francisco Chronicle, October 21, 2002. Page A-13.
Aboard the
Underground Railroad: National Register Travel Itinerary
An excellent introduction, with a map and list of National Park Service
historic sites associated with the movement.
National
Underground Network to Freedom - Coordinated by the National Park Service
"The National Park Service is implementing a national Underground
Railroad program to coordinate preservation and education efforts nationwide
and integrate local historical places, museums, and interpretive programs
associated with the Underground Railroad into a mosaic of community, regional,
and national stories.
"The NPS project builds upon and is supported by community initiatives
around the country as well as legislation passed in 1990 and the National
Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998. Historic places and
educational or interpretive programs associated with the Underground Railroad
will become part of a network, eligible to use or display a uniform network
logo, receive technical assistance and participate in program work shops.
"The Network will also serve to facilitate communication and networking
between researchers and interested parties, and aid in the development
of statewide organizations for preserving and researching Underground Railroad
sites."
Underground
Railroad Bike Route - Adventure Cycling Association
In association with the Center for Minority Health, the Adventure Cycling
Association is developing this route. At their website you can learn more
about the plans, and even take part in the discussion through their forums.
Follow
the Drinking Gourd
History and lyrics for the slave song, "Follow the Drinking Gourd."
Educator's
Guide to Follow the Drinking Gourd
Includes connections to astronomy.
Harriet
Tubman
A site by kids, for kids about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad!
It has a timeline, character sketches, quiz and a crossword puzzle, all
created by the students in Mrs. Taverna's second grade class at Pocantico
Hills School in Sleepy Hollow, NY.
- Did you know: When Harriet Tubman died March 10, 1913, she was buried
with military honors in Auburn, NY. This recognized her service to the
Union Army during the Civil War, where for three years she served as a
spy, and led commando raids with the all-black Second South Carolina Volunteers.
Yale, Slavery
and Abolition
While several noted abolitionists were associated with Yale, this graduate
project explores the connection between Yale's founders and funders, most
of whom made their money in the slave trade.
Born
in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938
A joint presentation of the Manuscript and Prints and Photographs Divisions
of the Library of Congress. More than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery
comprising over 9,500 page images with searcheable text, bibliographic
records and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves, more than
200 of which are made available to the public for the first time. The photographs
of former slaves are linked to their corresponding narratives.
The Federal Writers' Project (FWP) originally made no plans for collecting
slave autobiographies and reminiscences. Interviews with former slaves
were undertaken spontaneously after the inception of the FWP and were included
among the activities of several Southern Writers' Projects for almost a
year before these isolated efforts were transformed into a concerted regional
project, coordinated by the national headquarters of the FWP in Washington,
D.C. On April 1, 1937, the collection of slave narratives formally began
with the dispatch of instructions to all Southern and border states directing
their Writers' Project workers to the task of interviewing former slaves.
Today, the Slave Narrative Collection provides a unique and virtually unsurpassed
collective portrait of a historical population.
This online collection features an extensive introductory essay which
includes information about the interviewers, the people interviewed, and
the processes of collection and compilation, as well as a wealth of fascinating
stories
African
American Odyssey: Slavery, The Peculiar Institution
Section one of a nine section exhibit featuring digital documents (posters,
paintings, prints, letters, etc) in the Library of Congress. Provides background
information and documents of The Atlantic Slave Trade and Liberation
Strategies.
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