9.2: The Underground Railroad

Multiple Choice

How did the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 inadvertently contribute to the growth of the abolitionist movement?

• It made slavery legal in all states and impossible to ignore.

• It outraged people in the north, spurring them to action.

• It provided more rights to enslaved people, leading them to advocate for themselves.

• Its harsher punishments decreased the number of runaway slaves.

Multiple Choice

What was the primary purpose of the personal liberty laws passed by some Northern states?

• To enforce the Fugitive Slave Act

• To protect the rights of slave owners

• To obstruct the implementation of the Fugitive Slave Act

• To increase slave patrols in Northern states

Multiple Choice

What was the significance of William Still's documentation of the Underground Railroad?

• It provided entertainment for readers

• It was used by slave catchers to find escaped slaves

• It preserved first-hand accounts of escaped slaves for historical record

• It was a work of fiction based on rumors

Addendum About Songs on the Underground Railroad

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot was written sometime shortly after the Civil War by Choctaw Freedmen Wallace and Minerva Willis. That's not to say that nobody ever sang the song before then, only that the Willises were the ones credited with writing it. It is possible that the song existing in oral tradition for a long time before they wrote it down.

The underlying point, however, is accurate either way…albeit with different songs. For example, Harriet Tubman is known to have used Go Down Moses and Bound For the Promised Land, changing the songs’ tempo to tell whether or not it was safe to come out.

Quilt Codes on the Underground Railroad – A Caveat

​Take the previous two slides with a slight grain of salt. Some argue that the idea of the quilt code to guide escaping slaves to freedom was invented long after slavery ended. The idea was popularized by book, Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad, published in 1999. That book cited the oral history of one woman’s family. 

Underground Railroad Quilt Code and Quilt Myth #2: Quilts Helped African-American Slaves Escape argue that having a “universal code” would be difficult, as different regions called the same pattern by different names, that the available cloth varied by region, that some of the commonly-cited patterns don’t seem to have existed prior to the Civil War, and other things make the use of a quilt code to guide escaping slaves unlikely. Additionally, according to those sites, there is no known contemporary documentation (e.g. a recently-escaped former slave telling their story involving quilts) or any of the quilts themselves to corroborate their use. 

Quilt Codes on the Underground Railroad – A Caveat

On the other hand, absence of evidence is not the same as evidence of absence.

One of the authors of Hidden in Plain View argued against claims that his book lacks evidence, pointing out that he used significant amounts of oral history. "Who is going to write down what they did and what it meant … [if] it might fall into the wrong hands?" It does seem logical that those who knew of such a code wouldn't commit that knowledge to writing that could be found by eager slavecatchers, and that after the war when it would be safe write it down, people just wanted to move on with their new, free lives.

The actual truth? 🤷‍♂️

This is another example that what we call history is the best guess we have at what actually happened based on the evidence we have available.

Quilt Codes on the Underground Railroad – A Caveat

For a discussion about the issue and the role of belief (i.e., whether or not there was a quilt code, it’s significant that so many believe that there was), read Underground Railroad Quilt Codes: What We Know, What We Believe, and What Inspires Us and The Enduring Story for Underground Railroad Quilts.

As one quilt historian put it, "It's appealing to Black people because it gives them the idea of agency, that your ancestors had some way of dealing with their situation."

A quilt store owner (who sells "coded quilts") put it this way: "We all have something we try to hold onto. A lot of the history of African Americans has been erased. What else can you tell me? You can't tell me my history because it was taken from me."

My best guess is that a quilt code existed for a limited time and in a limited space (perhaps one, maybe two plantations), and someone learned of this and extrapolated that it must have been widespread.

Multiple Choice

How did the use of quilts contribute to the operations of the Underground Railroad?

• They were used to make warm blankets for escaping slaves

• They conveyed secret messages and directions to escaping slaves

• They were sold to raise funds for the abolitionist movement

• They had no significant role in the Underground Railroad

Multiple Choice

Which statement best describes the overall effect the impact of the Underground Railroad on the institution of slavery.?

• It had no significant impact on slavery

• It ended slavery in the United States

• It made slavery more profitable for Southern plantation owners

• It challenged the system by helping some enslaved people escape

Multiple Choice

How did the Underground Railroad contribute to the development of early American concepts of civil disobedience and social justice movements?

• It established a legal framework for protest movements

• It demonstrated the power of organized, principled resistance to unjust laws

• It led to the formation of the first political parties in the United States

• It resulted in the creation of the first labor unions

Multiple Choice

What impact did the story of Eliza's escape in Uncle Tom's Cabin have on readers?

• It made them sympathize with slave catchers

• It had no significant emotional impact on readers

• It created excitement and sympathy for escaping slaves

• It was seen as an unrealistic portrayal of escape attempts

Multiple Choice

What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of using literature, such as "Uncle Tom's Cabin," as a tool for social change?

• Benefits: Reaching a wide audience; Drawbacks: Potential for oversimplification

• Benefits: Immediate legal changes; Drawbacks: Limited readership

• Benefits: Scientific accuracy; Drawbacks: Lack of emotional appeal

• Benefits: Government support; Drawbacks: Censorship

Multiple Choice

How did the concept of the Underground Railroad influence later civil rights movements in the United States?

• Its failure caused later movements to focus exclusively on legal challenges to discrimination

• It led to the formation of separatist African American communities

• It inspired nonviolent resistance strategies in the 20th century civil rights movement

• It was rejected by later activists as too militant

Multiple Choice

How did the Underground Railroad influence the development of African American spirituals and other forms of music?

• It caused African American music to be banned in Southern states

• It infused songs with coded messages and themes of freedom, influencing the development of spirituals

• It resulted in the abandonment of traditional African musical styles

• It led to the creation of purely secular music among African Americans

Multiple Choice

How did the experiences of fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad contribute to the development of African American cultural identity?

• They caused African Americans to reject all aspects of American culture

• They fostered a sense of shared struggle and resilience that influenced African American culture

• They resulted in the abandonment of African cultural practices

• They led to the creation of a standardized African American dialect

Multiple Choice

How did the Underground Railroad challenge traditional gender roles in 19th century American society?

• It led to women being accepted as clergy in most Christian denominations

• It provided opportunities for women to take on leadership roles in a dangerous, politically charged movement

• It promoted women's education in Southern states

• It allowed women to vote for the first time