Ships from: Chatham, NJ
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Imagine escaping from the terrors of plantation slavery, only to live for years in a swamp full of biting insects and deadly snakes. Picture yourself making a dangerous journey to freedom, guided by nothing but courage and the North Star. Think of beginning a new life in a new country, only to fall prey to bounty hunters.
The stories of the people who made up the Underground Railroad, that amazing network of quiet farm houses, peaceful country lanes, and busy city streets that reached from the slave-owning areas of the southern United States to the free states of the north and on to Canada, are among the most moving in our history.
Meet some of the men and women who planned daring and ingenious ways to escape slavery, such as the resourceful Henry Box Brown, who mailed himself to Philadelphia's Anti-Slavery Society in a box, and the strong-willed Harriet Tubman, who fled with nothing more than a scrap of bread and the clothes on her back, and then returned to the south year after year to help others find their way to freedom.
North Star to Freedom draws on the stories of the Underground Railroad's courageous passengers, whose extraordinary spirit broke their own chains, and the brave conductors, who risked their lives to help others simply because they believed that every person had the right to live free. More than just a book about the worst injustices of slavery, North Star to Freedom is ultimately about resourcefulness, compassion, and hope.
Period posters, photographs, and paintings help to make North Star to Freedom a living history for readers of all ages.
Details the history of the Underground Railroad from the roots of slavery through the post-Emancipation era by focusing on the lives of the participants.
Through conscientious research, Gorrell traces slavery's origins as far back as ancient Egypt and Greece, showing just how deplorable the policies of the US were: In ancient societies, slaves were eventually permitted to buy their freedom, after paying off debts, but in this country, the dark color of Africans was used as "proof" of their "natural inferiority." Students who take democratic liberties for granted will gain a more immediate, emotional sense of slavery's horrors from the brief first-person introductions in each chapter. Throughout, Gorrell intelligently explains the economic realities of slavery and its role in the rise of the southern states' aristocracy; she shows how this issue essentially divided the country for years, making armed conflict inevitable. The chapters on the Underground Railroad are full of intriguing facts about secret hiding places and codes, but most riveting of all are the true stories of slaves who escaped their captors: Henry "Box" Brown, who shipped himself in a crate to free Philadelphia; William and Ellen Craft, a married pair of slaves who disguised themselves as a slave and his rich male owner and traveled to freedom. With numerous black-and-white photos and period line drawings, this is an indispensable and inspirational tool in any classroom.
Overview
Imagine escaping from the terrors of plantation slavery, only to live for years in a swamp full of biting insects and deadly snakes. Picture yourself making a dangerous journey to freedom, guided by nothing but courage and the North Star. Think of beginning a new life in a new country, only to fall prey to bounty hunters.
The stories of the people who made up the Underground Railroad, that amazing network of quiet farm houses, peaceful country lanes, and busy city streets that ...