When caesar, a slave recently arrived from virginia, tells her about the underground railroad, they take the perilous decision to escape to the north. The underground railroad pulitzer prize winner by colson. The johnson house was home to three generations of quaker families who worked to abolish slavery. By 1780 all quakers in good standing had released their slaves. Welcome to the litcharts study guide on colson whiteheads the underground railroad.
In whiteheads razorsharp imagining of the antebellum south, the underground railroad has assumed a physical form. This book helped me get the overall information on the background information. Resources in the friends historical collection at guilford college supporting. Clarke award and the 2017 andrew carnegie medal for excellence. Start by asking participants what they know about the underground railroad. Through the efforts of such quaker abolitionists as john woolman 17201772, the meetings adopted stricter and stricter policies regarding slave holding. In that image, a clandestine organization of abolitionistsmany of them quaker or. I was surprised to learn that up to the mid18th century some quakers owned slaves. There were those who were actively involved in the underground railroad, along with the freedom seekers themselves. Including real stories about passengers on the railroad, this book chronicles slaves close calls with bounty. Bibliography primary sources the underground railroad.
A quaker girl from england landed up in faithwell, ohio, 1850, right in the middle of the underground railroads path. The perilous lure of the underground railroad the new yorker. A quaker section of the underground railroad in northern ohio siebert, wilbur henry on. But whitehead, whose eclectic body of work encompasses novels zone one, 2011, etc. This book accurately portrays the quaker people and their faith and beliefs. It won the 2017 pulitzer prize for fiction, the 2016 national book award for fiction, the arthur c. Colson whiteheads riveting runaway slave story is an eyeopening, brutal, and remarkable study of tensions that pull in opposite directions. Tracy chevaliers latest book examines the quakers role in the underground railroad during the mid1800s.
The secret history of the underground railroad the atlantic. The underground railroad was a critical and commercial success, hitting the best seller lists and winning several notable prizes. The central item in this lot is an account book kept by shugart from 1838 to 1852 that details his involvement in the underground railroad. Share with participants that quakers played a prominent role in running the underground railroad, the system whereby people who were enslaved were helped to escape to northern states and canada.
In whiteheads ingenious conception, the underground railroad is no mere metaphorengineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the southern soil. Created by the original team behind sparknotes, litcharts are the worlds best literature guides. On the other hand, there were others that were not involved for a variety of reasons. The central character in tracy chevaliers new novel is a quaker girl newly arrived. The underground railroad, by contrast, was personal. The questions, discussion topics, and suggestions for further reading that follow are designed to enhance your groups discussion of the underground railroad, a triumph of a novel by colson whitehead. A quaker section of the underground railroad in northern ohio. He and his wife catherine, also a quaker, helped about 2,000 slaves to freedom, some quakers did not feel that acting outside the law was appropriate, despite their concern for the slaves plight. The following version of this book was used to create this study guide. The novel takes inspiration from the reallife underground railroad, a system of networks, safe houses, and. New novel takes the underground railroad beyond the. If you are interested in the quaker life and the underground railroad, this is a great novel to read. Michael schaub, npr far and away the most anticipated literary novel of the year, the underground railroad marks a new triumph for whiteheada book that resonates with deep emotional timbre. In spite of her dedication to the underground railroad and undoubted.
The abolitionist movement had begun during the colonial era and, thanks to the ministry of the quakers, it spread throughout the states and territories in the early 1800s. Stories of the underground railroad provide the possibility of moral. No one knows where the term underground railroad came fromthere were no trains or tracks, only conductors who helped escaping slaves to freedom. The underground railroad and the war for the soul of america. The meeting house is associated with john hunn 18181894 and john alston 17941874, two underground railroad station masters who were members of the.
The lone exception, of course, is the 780page book underground railroad records, published in 1870 by william still, at first a negro clerk in the philadelphia antislavery society, but later virtually central director of the movement in southeast pennsylvania. This train conveys cora, caesar, and other escapees first to a south carolina also. On the one hand, his depictions of slave life are thoroughly grounded in heartbreaking and hardtotake reality. A quaker section of the underground railroad in northern. Some abolitionists, including some quaker abolitionists, felt as a matter of tactics that efforts to end slavery. Later quakers were active in the underground railroad and the abolitionist movement. Smedley, of west chester, edited after his death by robert purvis, of philadelphia, and the present speaker, was published in 1883.
Others may have been willing to aid a fugitive, but the opportunity to do so seldom or never arose. After carefully reading through the information, test your knowledge of the underground railroad with the activities throughout the book. The appoquinimink friends meetings house, erected in 1783, is located in a community where a strong quaker antislavery movement existed. Books quakers, slavery, and the underground railroad. What was the underground railroad quakerbooks of fgc. Whitehead writes in underground railroad that nobody wanted to speak on the true disposition of the world.
The underground railroad, the latest selection of oprah winfreys book club, chronicles the life of a teenage slave named cora, who flees the georgia plantation where she was born, risking. The underground railroad and the war for the soul of america, published by amistad press. Heartsick and homesick, honor haymaker struggled to wrap her mind around the slavery laws of america and the way it was applied in the northern states. Support of the underground railroad merion friends meeting. A few made the underground railroad their lifes work. From the arrival of the quakers in the seventeenth century to the enforcement of. Dated in the quaker style, it begins while shugart was still in indiana, but the majority of the entries date from his time in michigan. The johnson house is philadelphias only accessible and intact stop on the underground railroad. Aboard the underground railroad appoquinimink friends. One quaker, a wilmington businessman named thomas garrett, claimed to have assisted. This secret network of hidden, safe places relied on abolitionists and kind communities to aid runaways on their journey northward. Tracy chevaliers new novel deals with the quakers extensive work on the underground railroad.
Chester county quaker helped underground railroad and. A novel by colson whitehead similarly bring us face to face with our history, however we define thatethnic, national, or global. Use your notes to create a poster, a journal with a minimum of 6 entries, or add words to tell the story of the book unspoken. Read this book and over 1 million others with a kindle unlimited membership. The storys main narrative, set in the southern united states during the slavery era the early 1800s, is introduced and occasionally interrupted. New novel takes the underground railroad beyond the metaphor nprs scott simon speaks with colson whitehead about his new book, the underground railroad, in.
Resources in the friends historical collection at guilford college supporting research and topics relating to quakers, slavery, antislavery efforts, and the underground railroad with special focus on guilford county and north carolina connections. Tracy chevaliers novel on ohios underground railroad. I am a bit biased i must confess, as this book relates to me on a very personal level. Some quakers participated in loosely organized underground railroad networks. New york times bestselling author of girl with a pearl earring tracy chevalier makes her first fictional foray into the american past in the last runaway, bringing to life the underground railroad and illuminating the principles, passions and realities that fueled this extraordinary freedom movement. The underground railroad was a network of people, african american as well as white, offering shelter and aid to escaped slaves from the south. The underground railroad is an american masterpiece, as much a searing document of a cruel history as a uniquely brilliant work of fiction. Including real stories about passengers on the railroad, this book chronicles slaves close calls with bounty hunters, exhausting struggles on the road, and what they s. Quakers and the underground railroad world history. In 1753, the friends book of discipline stated let us make his the slave cause our own and in 1754, philadelphia. The important themes of the book slavery and the resistance. For thousands of escaped slaves in the 18 th and 19 th centuries, the underground railroad represented hope for a new life. The epic story of the underground railroad, americas first civil rights movement. We have taken a closer look at the underground railroad, significant men and women of the time, and several factors that have impacted the end of slavery.
Quaker levi coffin 1798 1877, based in cincinnati, ohio, was known as the president of the underground railroad. Thomas garrett 1789 1871 a quaker, is reputed to have helped over 2,700 slaves to escape and was known as the station master of the final underground railroad station which was in wilmington delaware. I hope the author my cousin will write more about our quaker ancestors. The underground railroad essential civil war curriculum. Ex slave and founder of the underground railroad, harriet tubman far left. Youth learn about the quaker connection to the underground railroad.
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