On a map of the United States, trace the Underground Railroad from various points in the South all the way to the end in Canada.
- Were other states sometimes involved besides the ones mentioned in GLORY ROAD!?
- What might have happened if a slave had wanted to turn back along the road?
- Who else besides Quakers helped runaway slaves?
Organize a debate between a southern plantation owner and a Quaker.
- What were some of the main reasons Southerners thought they had to maintain slavery?
- In the minds of Southerners, was there anything “good” about slavery? What?
- What were some Quaker beliefs that made them against slavery?
- Why were some people, even Quakers, afraid to come out against slavery?
- Why didn’t slaves simply revolt against their masters?
- Why did it take such a long time and a bloody war for slavery to be abolished?
Writing Exercises:
- Write a letter to Harriet Tubman asking her to come rescue you and your family. How would you get it to her?
- Analyze some of the songs composed by slaves to help with the Underground Railroad. What are the hidden meanings in the lyrics?
- Make up your own song that slaves might have sung to each other about the Underground Railroad or escaping. See if you can write it so the “master” wouldn’t understand.
- Pretend some member of your family, or your spouse, had refused to run away with you. Write them a letter from Canada telling them all about freedom. Try to persuade them to run away with you if you come back to get them.
- Write a speech in which you denounce slavery.
