Underground Railroad Research Paper

BACKGROUND

Between the years 1830 and 1860 thousands of slaves escaped to freedom on the Underground Railroad. Consisting of a vast network of trails, safe houses, churches, and hideouts, the Underground Railroad provided routes from the southern slave states to the north and Canada. Many people, both black and white, served as conductors along the way.

BROWSE FOR BOOKS ON THE SHELF USING THESE CALL NUMBERS

973.049–973.0496

973.711

326.0973

LOOK UNDER THE FOLLOWING SUBJECTS IN THE CATALOG (CARD OR COMPUTER)

Underground railroad

Fugitive slaves—United States

Anti-slavery movements

Abolitionists

USE PAMPHLET FILE (ALSO CALLED VERTICAL FILE) UNDER THE HEADING

Underground Railroad

REFERENCE MATERIALS THAT MAY HELP (BOOKS OR CD-ROMS)

Adler, Mortimer J., ed. The Negro in American History, 1969.

Blockson, Charles L. Hippocrene Guide to the Underground Railroad, 1994.

Low, W. Augustus, and Virgil A. Clift, eds. Encyclopedia of Black America, 1984.

Williams, Michael W., ed. African American Encyclopedia, 1993.

General encyclopedias

PERIODICAL INDEXES TO SEARCH (BOOKS OR CD-ROMS)

EBSCO Magazine Article Summaries

InfoTrac

Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature

SIRS (Social Issues Resources Series)

WILSONDISC

ONLINE DATABASES TO SEARCH

Dialog

Internet
KEY WORDS AND DESCRIPTORS FOR PERIODICAL INDEX AND ONLINE SEARCHES

Underground Railroad

Slavery

Abolition

VIDEOTAPES ON THIS TOPIC

Follow the Drinking Gourd: A Story of the Underground Railroad. Rabbit Ears Production, 1992.

Voice of the Fugitive. National Film Board of Canada, 1978.

FICTION BOOKS RELATING TO TOPIC

Armstrong, Jennifer. Steal Away, 1992.

Beatty, Patricia. Jayhawker, 1991.

————. Who Comes with Cannons, 1991.

Meltzer, Milton. Underground Man, 1972.

Stolz, Mary. Cezanne Pinto: A Memoir, 1994.

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION TO CONTACT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

African-American History Association, P.O. Box 115268, Atlanta, GA 30310.

SUGGESTIONS FOR NARROWING THIS TOPIC

Choose a particular route to describe.

Describe the procedure typically followed in helping a slave travel the

Underground Railroad.

Investigate the development of the Underground Railroad.

Research the music and poetry of the Underground Railroad.

What was the role of the Quakers in the success of the Underground Railroad?

Write about one of the famous “conductors” or “passengers” on the Underground Railroad.

SUGGESTIONS FOR RELATED TOPICS

Abolition movement

Civil rights movement

Frederick Douglass

Harriet Tubman

Levi Coffin

This RESEARCH TOPIC GUIDE is intended to help the library user find information and materials on a particular topic in many sources throughout the library. Resources on this topic are not limited to those described and availability will depend upon the individual library. Feel free to ask a librarian for assistance.