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Underground Railroad Facts & Worksheets

The Underground Railroad was the code name for a secret organization that helped slaves escape from the bondage of slavery in the southern slave states to freedom in the free states: Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

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The Underground Railroad is a metaphor for a secret organization made up of people who assisted fugitive enslaved people in escaping to the North and Canada. It was made up of many people, the majority of whom were Black people, but there were also Whites. From 1810 to 1850, it successfully moved hundreds of enslaved people away from the South each year, totaling approximately 100,000 enslaved people.

See the fact file below for more information about the Underground Railroad, or download the comprehensive worksheet pack, which contains over 11 worksheets and can be used in the classroom or homeschooling environment.

Key Facts & Information

The Underground Railroad

  • It also refers to a real network of secret passageways and safe houses built during the nineteenth century to serve as an escape route for enslaved African-Americans aiming for the free states and Canada. Abolitionists mostly assisted the escapees, who were also collectively referred to as the “Underground Railroad.”
  • Canada became a desirable destination for most enslaved people because it had a long border with many access points and was outside the scope of the US Fugitive Slave Acts.
  • In 1833, Britain prohibited the institution of enslavement in Canada and most British colonies.
  • The route had extensions that led to Mexico, where enslavement had already been abolished, and to Caribbean islands that were not involved in the slave trade.
  • Though it was not widely known until the late 18th century, an earlier escape route to Florida under Spanish control existed from the late 17th century until 1790.

Background

  • Because the first literal underground railroad did not exist until 1863. The escape network was neither underground nor a railroad. But it was called that way, most probably because the escapees using the route metaphorically went into the ground as they disappeared from public view when taking their escapes.
  • It had no headquarters or governing body and no published guides or maps, but abolitionists maintained meeting points, secret routes, transportation, and safe houses through communicated word of mouth and a few numeric codes for encrypting messages.
  • Before moving north along the route, the people fleeing enslavement organized in small and independent groups to maintain their secrecy.
  • The majority of the enslaved people who escaped through it aimed to go to Canada, while the others settled in the Northern free states.
  • Thousands of court cases for escaped enslaved people were recorded between the Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and the Civil War (1861–1865).
  • The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 required officials from free states to assist enslavers or their agents in recapturing escapees, but some state legislatures prohibited this. It made recapturing African-Americans easier and inspired abolitionists to help the enslaved even more, resulting in the growth of anti-slavery societies.
  • The 1850 Compromise, which consisted of five bills to resolve disputes over enslavement in new territories following the Mexican-American War, mandated a stricter Fugitive Slave Law.
  • Free Black people were kidnapped and presented as recaptured fugitives under the Fugitive Slave Law, which barely required documentation as evidence. It deprived African-Americans of their right to defend themselves when they were suspected of being fugitives.
  • Public officials were prohibited from capturing or imprisoning formerly enslaved people through some personal liberty laws enacted by the Northern states.
  • The Northern States were thought to have ignored the Fugitive Slave Law and its regulations, leading to secession.

Routes

North to Free States and Canada

  • The route took advantage of the geography of the US-Canada border, which separated Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and most of New York from Canada by water. This circumstance made transportation arrangements more accessible and more secure.
  • Harriet Tubman led the route up the Appalachians via Harpers Ferry, through the Western Reserve region of northeastern Ohio and the vast shore of Lake Erie, and then to Canada by boat.
  • On a route via New York or New England, a few passed Syracuse and Rochester, then crossed the Niagara River or Lake Ontario to reach Canada.
  • Canada could also be reached via the New York Adirondacks via Ogdensburg on the St. Lawrence River.
  • A western route from Missouri was famously used by John Brown, traveling west to free Kansas, then north to free Iowa and east to the Detroit River.

Arrival in Canada

  • Most successful escapees who reached Canada settled in Ontario after crossing the Lakes Erie and Ontario by boat.
  • There were various estimates of enslaved people who escaped to Canada because Southern politicians were accused of exaggerating the records to blame Northerners who interfered with their property rights. Despite this, at least 30,000 enslaved people fled to Canada.
  • Since 1841, the largest settlement, Ontario, has been referred to as Canada West.
  • After 1850, Fort Malden became the main entry point, with approximately thirty people crossing each day.
  • C.W. As captain of the Sultana, Appleby facilitated the transportation of several fugitives by making frequent round trips between Great Lakes ports.
  • Nova Scotia, a Canadian province and territory, was another significant destination first settled by Black Loyalists during the American Revolution.
  • Many freedom seekers were initially disappointed upon arrival in Canada due to the difficulty of life in their chosen destination. As new arrivals sought jobs, competition from mass European immigration increased, and racism was prevalent.
  • When the Civil War broke out in the United States, many Black refugees left Canada to join the Union Army.

Using the Railroad

Terminology

  • People facilitating and using it often used metaphors to maintain its secrecy, including the following:
    • Agents or shepherds referred to people who helped the enslaved people in finding the railroad
    • Conductors referred to guides
    • Stations referred to as hiding places
    • Station masters referred to those who hid the escaping enslaved in their homes
    • Passengers referred to the people escaping enslavement
    • Freedom train referred to the Railroad
    • Promised Land referred to Canada and other probable destinations
  • William Still, dubbed the “Father of the Underground Railroad,” assisted hundreds of enslaved people in escaping by allowing them to hide in his Philadelphia home. He recalled sending an encoded message that only railroad workers could understand, saying, “I have sent via at two o’clock four large hams and two small hams,” in which adults and children were referred to as large and small hams, respectively, and the “two o’clock” referred to the train’s destination from Harrisburg to Philadelphia.

Traveling Conditions

  • Freedom seekers occasionally traveled by boat or train, but they usually traveled on foot or by wagon, lying down while covered with hay or other similar products, either individually or in groups of three escapees.
  • Larger groups, such as Abolitionist Charles Turner Torrey and his colleagues, rented horses and wagons that could transport 15 to 20 people at a time.
  • Some of the ships that escapees rode on were provided by successful escapees who took jobs as mariners while they were providing them information on the safest escape routes and on-land locations.
  • African-American mariners guided Harriet Tubman in her rescue missions one way by providing her with information about the best escape routes.

Reverse Underground Railroad

  • Capturers kidnapped healthy Black people, whether formerly enslaved or free Black people, and sold them into enslavement as high-valued commodities.
  • The well-documented case of Solomon Northup was strong evidence of this. Southern enslavers kidnapped the free Black born in New York. His “Certificate of Freedom,” which would prove his freedom, offered little protection because it was easily destroyed.
  • The Crenshaw House in southeastern Illinois, as well as some other structures, were regarded as the Reverse Underground Railroad because they housed free Black people who were enslaved.

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

  • Another Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850, stating that once presented to a special magistrate known as a commissioner, suspected fugitives could not self-testify or even conduct a jury trial.
  • The recapturer only needed to swear an oath for him to be provided a writ of replevin for the “return of property.”
  • This became law because Congress was dominated by Southerners who were dissatisfied with the public assistance given to fugitives.
  • Because most Northern states did not tolerate this, recapturers frequently required police protection in some parts of the North.

Legacy

National Underground Railroad Network

  • In 1990, legislation was approved permitting the National Park Service to present a special resource study of the Underground Railroad.
  • In 1998, President Bill Clinton signed the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act, introduced by the 105th Congress the previous year. It enabled the United States National Park Service to launch the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program.
  • Sites related to the Railroad were located, conserved, and publicized, as well as the stories of persons participating in it.
  • The National Park Service annually organizes symposiums about the Underground Railroad in May or June.

Underground Railroad Worksheets

This bundle includes 11 ready-to-use Underground Railroad worksheets that are perfect for students to learn about the Underground Railroad, which was the code name for a secret organization that helped slaves escape from the bondage of slavery in the southern slave states to freedom in the free states: Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

  • The Underground Railroad Facts
  • W’s
  • Slave Law
  • Railroad Terms
  • Escape
  • Describe it!
  • Acrostic
  • Famous People
  • Transportation
  • Word Jumble
  • Slavery

Frequently Asked Questions

Who started the Underground Railroad and why?

In the early 1800s, the Underground Railroad began as a network in Philadelphia set up by Quaker abolitionist Isaac T. Hopper to help the enslaved people who wanted to escape.

What was the Underground Railroad, and how did it work?

The Underground Railroad is a metaphor for a secret organization made up of people who assisted fugitive enslaved people in escaping to the North and Canada. It was made up of many people, the majority of whom were Black people, but there were also Whites.

Does the Underground Railroad still exist?

It enabled the United States National Park Service to launch the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program.

Sites related to the Railroad were located, conserved, and publicized, as well as the stories of persons participating in it.

Is Underground Railroad based on a true story?

It also refers to a real network of secret passageways and safe houses built during the nineteenth century to serve as an escape route for enslaved African Americans aiming for the free states and Canada. Abolitionists mostly assisted the escapees, who were also collectively referred to as the “Underground Railroad.”

Canada became a desirable destination for most enslaved people because it had a long border with many access points and was outside the scope of the US Fugitive Slave Acts.

Who was the most famous person on the Underground Railroad?

Harriet Tubman led the route up the Appalachians via Harpers Ferry, through the Western Reserve region of northeastern Ohio and the vast shore of Lake Erie, and then to Canada by boat.

African-American mariners guided Harriet Tubman in her rescue missions one way by providing her with information about the best escape routes.

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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