Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
A Nation Divided
(1840-1861)

Underground Railroad

Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
Black History and Blacks in U.S. History


Underground Railroad
Print Underground Railroad Reading Comprehension


Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 7 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.93

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    proslavery, slaver, sympathizers, yoke, bondage, helping, pity, majority, successful, highly, various, capable, vast, improvement, leading, unable
     content words:    Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman, Fugitive Slave Law, Reverend Josiah Henson, Nova Scotia, Josiah Henson, African American, Frederick Douglass, Susan B., Austin Steward


Underground Railroad
By Mary L. Bushong
  

1     What do you think of when you hear the words "underground railroad"? Perhaps a train that runs deep under the ground? Actually, it was nothing like that. There were no engines or passenger cars, conductors or train stations like you would find with a real train. Instead, it was a loose system of people helping other people.
 
2     You might wonder how this organization got its name. It was first described as a railroad in some printed material in the early 1840s. Passengers were runaway slaves. The shelters where they rested were the stations, and those who led them were conductors. It was not a highly organized system. Sometimes it was simply a stranger taking pity on another stranger, giving food, shelter, or a ride for a short time.
 
3     Many of those who played major parts in the Underground Railroad were free blacks living in both the North and South. Sometimes escaping slaves received help from slaves on another plantation. The majority of help was not available until they reached a "free" state. On reaching the larger northern cities, the railroad became much more highly organized.
 
4     Abolitionists of every race were the main sympathizers of the Underground Railroad. They were committed to ridding the country of slavery any way they could. While they did not help vast numbers of people to escape bondage, the steady trickle of escapees was more than irritating to the slave owners.
 
5     It is estimated that of the approximately one million slaves, only a few thousand escaped every year between 1840 and 1860. Though small in number, the daring escapes were often exaggerated when reported in the various newspapers.

Paragraphs 6 to 11:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable



Weekly Reading Books

          Create Weekly Reading Books

Prepare for an entire week at once!


Feedback on Underground Railroad
Leave your feedback on Underground Railroad   (use this link if you found an error in the story)



Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
             Black History and Blacks in U.S. History


A Nation Divided
(1840-1861)

             A Nation Divided
(1840-1861)



More Lessons
             Harriet Tubman Activities, Worksheets, Printables, and Lesson Plans


United States
             United States


    American Government  
 
    Black History and Blacks in U.S. History  
 
    Children in History  
 
    Government Careers  
 
    Hispanic Heritage  
 
    How Can I Help?  
 
 
    Immigration  
 
    National Parks and Monuments  
 
    Native Americans  
 
    Presidents of the United States  
 
    Women's History  
 


United States History
    A Nation Divided
(1840-1861)
 
 
    A New Nation
(1776-1830)
 
 
    After the Civil War
(1865-1870)
 
 
    American Revolution  
 
    Cold War
(1947-1991)
 
 
    Colonial America (1492-1776)  
 
    Lewis and Clark
(1804-1806)
 
 
    Pearl Harbor  
 
    Spanish American War (1898)  
 
    The 1890's  
 
    The 1900's  
 
    The 1910's  
 
    The 1920's  
 
    The 1930's  
 
 
    The 1940's  
 
    The 1950's  
 
    The 1960's  
 
    The 1970's  
 
    The 1980's  
 
    The 1990's  
 
    The 2000's  
 
    The Civil War
(1861-1865)
 
 
    The Great Depression
(1929-1945)
 
 
    The United States Grows
(1865-1900)
 
 
    The War of 1812  
 
    Wild, Wild West  
 
    World War I
(1914-1918)
 
 
    World War II  
 


50 States

             Fifty States Theme Unit


Document Based Activities
      Document Based Activities



Copyright © 2018 edHelper