Underground Railroad & the Civil War

On April 12, 1861 the South Carolina militia fired on Fort Sumter – the first shot of the Civil War. Tensions between the states had simmered since the founding of the nation. Citizenship, land ownership, taxation, economic policy – and underpinning all of these slavery, led the country to confrontation.

Enslaved people had limited citizenship and opportunity. As western expansion added new states they were added to the U.S. as “slave” or “free.” But even in free states, like Wisconsin, people could be arrested and enslaved on the suspicion of being a runaway slave.

When war came, Wisconsin lent more than 91,000 soldiers to the Union Army between 1861 and 1864.

In this unit we’ll explore the experience of enslaved people in the United States, the movement of enslaved people called the Underground Railroad, life as a solider, and life on the home front.

WI Content Standards
Intermediate (Grades 3-5): SS.BH1.a & b | SS.Hist1.a & b | SS.PS2.c

Objectives
Students will be able to discuss Underground Railroad and differentiate between recorded events and historic legend.

Explain roles of different people, as soldiers and at home, during Civil War.

Use biographies of individuals to understand national events.

Identify ways that we commemorate the Civil War today.

Video & Recorded Media