Agents of the Underground Railroad: A Lesson in Civil Disobedience

The lesson includes two parts: (1) Escape to Cass County and (2) The Kentucky Raid.

Goals:

• Provide an example of individuals as creators of history and agents of change.
• Provide a case study that describes the actions of individuals on the Underground Railroad in Michigan.
• Encourage students to use higher level thinking skills such as analysis and evaluation in order to comprehend and interpret history.
• Encourage students to consider the concept of “Civil Disobedience” in the context of the Underground Railroad/

Directions:

After reading Perry’s account, students will answer the following questions either in groups or individually.

Important Vocabulary for this Lesson

Freedom-seeker:	a person seeking freedom or escaping from slavery.
Easter Monday:	the Monday following Easter Sunday.
Fugitive:	one who flees or escapes, in this case people fleeing slavery.
Pass:	written permission to move or travel.
Quakers:	a religious group founded in England. It is also referred to as the Society of Friends. Some, but not all, Quakers were against slavery.
Deep South:	this term refers to Southern states that are beneath those that border Northern states. Deep South states would include Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Michigan Bar Association:	a professional group for attorneys. One exists in each state.
Plantation:	a large farm on which slaves lived and worked. Plantations were owned by a master or mistress.
Allegedly:	an act that has been claimed but not yet proved.

I. Escape to Cass County

Using Logic to Comprehend History

1. After reading Sanford’s account, does escaping from slavery seem a sensible thing to do?
2. How did the group of slaves that Sanford traveled with plan their escape? What were the first two steps they took toward freedom?
3. Why do you think Sanford’s group left on “Easter Monday” and traveled at night?
4. It took the group six hours to travel to Covington, Kentucky, which is on the south side of the Ohio River. Do you think most people today would be willing or able to travel this far on foot? How realistic do you think walking six hours was then? How do you think the fugitives were able to walk so far?

Evaluating History’s Actors

1. According to Sanford, a white man took the group by boat across the Ohio River. This trip placed fugitives in a free state--Ohio. If slavery was legal in Kentucky but illegal in Ohio, did the white man who helped the fugitives cross the river break the law? Did the freedom-seekers break the law? Explain. (Sanford’s group fled before 1850, the year in which the Fugitive Slave Act went into effect. In this case, the white helper can be said not to have broken the later law. There were, however, other fugitive slave acts before 1850. As for the freedom-seeker, he might be said to have stolen himself since he was legally the property of another.)
2. Sanford states that one of his group obtained a pass and also went to Covington to arrange a boat to take the group across the river. Based on this information, would you say that the Underground Railroad started in the South? Explain.
3. In Sanford’s opinion, why do blacks of his day honor Quakers?

Applying the Lesson

Civil Disobedience: The refusal to obey a law out of a belief that the law is morally wrong.

1. In this particular case, what was the end result of the slaves’ and the Underground Railroad agents’ disobedience to the law?
2. Can you think of other examples in history of well-known people who disobeyed the law because they thought it was wrong? What were the outcomes of those examples?

II. The Kentucky Raid

In 1847, a group of slave catchers from Kentucky arrived in Cass County and seized several fugitives at the homes of Cass County Quakers. The Kentuckians were intent on taking the fugitives back to Kentucky, but the Quakers, determined that the slaves would not be returned south, fought to protect the freedom-seekers.

In a strange twist of fate, the Kentuckians were jailed for three days, charged with breaking into the home of one of the Quakers. Three days were just enough time for the Quakers to spirit the slaves on to Battle Creek and eventually to Canada. The Kentuckians later sued the Quakers for damages from the loss of their property.

Through the Michigan Legal Milestone Program, sponsored by the Michigan Bar Association, a marker was placed near the courthouse in Cassopolis to commemorate this event.

Using Logic to Comprehend History

1. Sanford states that he “stopped with John Sugard’s brother, Zach Sugard (one of the Young’s Prairie Six). He also states that Cass County was one of the group’s first stopping places. What do you think Sanford means by “stopping place.” Do you think that the freedom-seekers were safe among the Quaker settlements? Why or why not?
2. Sanford states that slave owners knew that Cass County was the “headquarters for escaped slaves. How do you suppose it came to be so? Why do you suppose slave owners did not more regularly visit Cass County to capture their slaves?

Evaluating History’s Actors

1. Given what Sanford has told us, do you think the fugitives should have “stopped” permanently in Cass County or continued right away on to Canada?
2. Some of the Quakers refused to purchase or use products made from the labor of enslaved people. Such items might include anything made from cotton (e.g. clothing) since slaves in the Deep South tended to work on cotton plantations. Another item might have been sugar since slaves in Louisiana often worked on sugar plantations. Do you think the choice not to use these two products might have had an effect on bringing about the end of slavery?
3. Some would say that the lawmen of Cass County broke the law three times: first when they jailed the Kentuckians, second, when they let the fugitives out of jail so that they could continue their journey to freedom, and, third, when they decided the case on behalf of the fugitives. Today, the State Bar, an organization of Michigan attorneys, has recognized the noble act of Cass County lawmen for decisions that resulted in the fugitives’ eventual freedom. Do you believe the Cass County lawmen were correct in their behavior?
4. Sanford states that somehow the wheels of the wagons of the Kentuckians were removed and thrown into Diamond Lake, where they remain today. Do you think that these agents, who allegedly destroyed the Kentuckians’ property, were correct in their behavior?

Applying the Lesson

1. The Michigan Bar Association chose to commemorate what was an illegal act. Do you think that the state should allow roadside signs that honor illegal acts?
2. Two further acts resulted from the Kentucky Raid:
   1. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which made it the responsibility of all citizens to assist the capture of known fugitives.
   2. Personal Liberty Laws, which directed attorneys to assist freedom-seekers, giving them certain rights including the right to a trial.
   Do you believe there should have been a law requiring citizens to help capture of freedom-seekers?