1
Seward House Museum
Abolition and Emancipation
Resource Kit
Table of Contents
Letter of Welcome……………...………………………….…………....3
Tour Focus………………………………………………........................4
Student Objectives..……………………………………….………..…...4
Core Alignment for 7th & 8th Grade Social Studies & English Language
Arts…...........................................................................................….5 - 18
Museum Guidelines..……………………………….…………….....…19
Introduction to Seward Family Home……………...…………………..20
Letter From Fanny……………………………………………..………21
William & Frances Seward Biographies……………………….....22 - 23
Timeline…………………………………………………………...24 - 25
Key Themes & Vocabulary……………………………………….26 -30
Pre-Visit Activity: Map of Underground Railroad.................................31
Pre-Visit Activity: Slave Narrative……………………...………………....32 - 34
Post-Visit Activity: Civil War Book List for Students…….……...35 - 37
Post Visit Activity: Book Report for a Civil War..……………...…......38
Post Visit Activity: Essay……………..……………..………..……….39
Post Visit Activity: Analyzing Primary Sources ………………....40 - 41
Post Visit Activity: Role Playing………………………………………42
Post Visit Activity: Cause & Effect Timeline…………………..……..43
Works Consulted……………………………………………………….44
Acknowledgements……………………………………………..……...45
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Dear Teachers,
I want to take a moment to personally welcome you and your class to the Seward House
Museum. Your visit gives you the opportunity to walk through the pages of history and
experience the lives of William Henry Seward and his family. Throughout his life, Mr. Seward
was well known for his gracious hospitality. Continuing in this tradition, the Seward House
Museum hosts 16,000 visitors a year, but by far our favorite guests are the 3,000 school children
whose eyes light up when they walk through the home for the first time.
We have created this Seward House Museum Slavery to Emancipation Resource Kit to provide
information about the home, the family and the time period. This Kit, with its corresponding
activities, is designed for 7th and 8th grades Unite 6: Division & Reunion the Civil War We invite
you to utilize the portions that are relevant to your curriculum, as it will enrich your tour
experience.
Stepping into the Seward home, you will savor a taste of 19th century life as you discover the
period furnishings, interiors and objects. The experience will encourage a reflection on the
importance of the Seward family’s contributions to our nation’s history and the experience of
living in the 19th century. This theme tour experience allows students to engage with the
transformative political and social history that the Sewards contributed to via their anti-slavery
activities. Students should emerge with an enhanced understanding of these events and their
historical impact.
Please take some time to review the material enclosed in this packet as preparation for your visit.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Yours sincerely,
John Kingsley
Director of Education
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Slavery to Emancipation Tour Focus
The Slavery to Emancipation tour will focus on the following:
 The conditions of human bondage (physical, emotional, social, economic, and
intellectual)
 William and Frances Seward’s role in the Underground Railroad
 Historic perspectives (global, political, and personal) on slavery, abolition, and
emancipation
 The progressive social and legal actions and their effects in the U.S. to free slaves in the
United States during 1850-1865
 Historic figures who influenced the country’s journey from slavery to emancipation
Student Objectives
After completing the Slavery to Emancipation tour and classroom activities, the students
will be able to:
 Demonstrate historic understanding of the country’s philosophical, economic, and
political beliefs
 Identify the risks that the Seward Family took and the sacrifices they made to help move
our country from slavery to freedom
 Compare and contrast the various forms of human behavior of slaves and their masters
during 1850 - 1865
 Discuss the spectrum of viewpoints of important historical figures who influence the
course of history during this time
 Understand the political, social, economic, and cultural factors that lead to the abolition
of slavery
4
Seward House Museum
And
New York State Common Core Social Studies Framework
Grade 7
Key Ideas
Content Understanding
 Seward House Museum
Application
7.5 THE CONSTITUTION IN PRACTICE: 7.5c While the Constitution provides a formal
The United States Constitution serves as the process for change through amendments, the
foundation of the United States Government Constitution can respond to change in other
ways. The New York State Constitution
and outlines the rights of citizens. The
Constitution is considered a living document changed over time with changes in the early
19th century making it more democratic.
that can respond to political and social
Through the perspective of Mr. Seward’s
changes. The New York State Constitution
career, students learn about the political and
also has changed over time.
social events: the abolition movement, the
Underground Railroad, Compromise of 1850,
publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, sectional
crisis, Emancipation Proclamation. Through
guided questioning, students reflect on how
these events led to the 13th Amendment to the
Constitution and the abolition of slavery.
5
7.6 WESTWARD EXPANSION: Driven by
political and economic motives, the United
States expanded its physical boundaries to
the Pacific Ocean between 1800 and 1860.
This settlement displaced Native Americans
as the frontier was pushed westward.
7.6a Conflict and compromise with foreign
nations occurred regarding the physical
expansion of the United States during the 19th
century. American values and beliefs such as
Manifest Destiny and the need for resources
increased westward expansion and settlement.
 Students are introduced to the concept
of westward expansion through
Jefferson’s purchase of the Louisiana
Territory, and how Mr. Seward
continues the momentum of Manifest
Destiny through purchasing the
Alaskan territory from Russia.
7.6b Westward expansion provided
opportunities for some groups while harming
others.
 Students learn about the sectional crisis
that developed as slavery extended into
the western territories and the struggle
to maintain the balance of power
between the slave and Free states via
Mr. Seward’s role in the Compromise
of 1850.
 Students learn about Mr. Seward’s
endorsement and subsequent travels on
the Transcontinental Railroad via a ring
melted down from a commemorative
golden spike used to dedicate the
completion of the project.
 Students learn of Mr. Seward’s support
of the Erie Canal as governor, and his
initiative to build railways through
disparate parts of New York State to
connect them to the canal. Through
examining the details in a reproduction
of Thomas Cole’s landscape painting
Portage Falls on the Genesee River,
students observe and recall details from
the painting to describe what the
natural landscape was like before the
railways were put through.
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7.7 REFORM MOVEMENTS: Social,
political, and economic inequalities sparked
various reform movements and resistance
efforts. Influenced by the Second Great
Awakening, New York played a key role in
major reform movements.
7.7b Enslaved African Americans resisted
slavery in various ways in the 19th century. The
abolitionist movement also worked to raise
awareness and generate resistance to the
institution of slavery.
 Students visit the basement kitchen of
the Seward’s that was a Underground
Railroad. Students. Students observe
and recall details of their surroundings
to make inferences on what the fugitive
slave experience at the Seward House
was like.
 Through a roleplaying activity, students
assume the roles of pro-slavery,
abolitionists and those seeking
compromise. In character, students
react to questions about political,
economic and social impacts of slavery.
 Students are introduced to Uncle Tom’s
Cabin though Fanny Seward’s personal
copy in the home’s library and contrast
the popularity and impact of that novel
to works they are familiar with.
7.7c Women joined the movements for
abolition and temperance and organized to
advocate for women’s property rights, fair
wages, education and political equality.
 Frances Seward was peripherally
connected to the women’s rights
movement through acquaintances with
Lucretia Mott, Martha Coffin Wright,
and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Students
are asked to compare the rights they
have now, with the rights Frances, her
daughter Fanny, and sister Lazette had,
or did not have. Students learn how the
Seward women leveraged their
resources and relationships to have a
voice without having the vote.
 Students assess the risks that Mrs.
Seward took to use her home as a
station on the Underground Railroad
and place her anti-slavery activities in
the spectrum of activism for that time
period.
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7.8 A NATION DIVIDED: Westward
expansion, the industrialization of the
North, and the increase in slavery in the
South contributed to the growth of
sectionalism. Constitutional conflicts
between the advocates of States rights and
supporters of federal power increased
tensions in the nation; attempts at
compromise ultimately failed to keep the
nation together, leading to the Civil War.
7.8a Early United States industrialization
affected different parts of the country in
different ways. Regional economic differences
and values, as well as different conceptions of
the Constitution, laid the basis for tensions
between states’ rights advocates and supporters
of a strong federal government.
 Students compare and contrast the
industrial economy and paid labor of
the northern states with the agrarian
economy and slave labor of the
southern states through Mr. Seward’s
concerns in his Irrepressible Conflict
speech of 1858. In this speech, Seward
cautioned that the different economic
systems were in conflict with one
another and ultimately only one could
exist.
 Students learn about Mr. Seward’s
High Law speech as part of the
Compromise of 1850. Seward posits
that although the Constitution was
nebulous on the issue of slavery and
could be interpreted either way, there
was a higher philosophical law than the
Constitution that was in direct conflict
with slavery, thus settling the question.
7.8b As the nation expanded geographically,
the question of slavery in the new territories
and states led to increased sectional tensions.
Attempts at compromise failed all together.
 Students learn about Mr. Seward’s
Higher Law speech as part of the
Compromise of 1850 that tried to halt
slavery’s expansion into the western
territories and the success in having
California enter as a free state.
7.8c Perspectives on the causes of the Civil
War varied based on the geographic region, but
the election of a republican president was one
of the immediate causes for the secession of
the Southern states.
 Students learn how Abraham Lincoln
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

and Mr. Seward vied for the
Republican presidential nomination in
1859, and how Lincoln won because
Mr. Seward’s stance on slavery was
considered too progressive. Lincoln
wins the presidency and appoints Mr.
Seward as Secretary of State.
Students utilize a timeline activity in
the Resource Kit to reflect on key
political and social events occurring
during Mr. Seward’s lifetime (Fugitive
Slave Law, publication of Uncle Tom’s
Cabin, Irrepressible Conflict Speech,
etc.) and their effect on the nation as
the Civil War approaches.
Students learn about New York’s
contribution to the war effort, via Mr.
Seward’s son, William Jr., who led the
9th New York Heavy Artillery
Regiment.
7.8d The course and outcome of the Civil War
were influenced by strategic leaders from both
the North and South, decisive battles, and
military strategy and technology that utilized
the region’s geography.
 Students learn about Mr. Seward’s role
behind the strategy of delaying the
Emancipation Proclamation until after a
string of Union victories to avoid losing
some of the Border States.
7.8e The Civil War impacted human lives,
physical infrastructure, economic capacity,
governance of the United States.
 Students learn about the effect of the
war on the Seward family via the roles
played by Mr. Seward (Secretary of
State), and his sons: Fred (Assistant
Secretary of State), Will Jr. (Brigadier
General, NY Heavy Artillery
Regiment), and Augustus (Paymaster in
the Pay Corps) during the war.
 Students learn about how John Wilkes
Booth’s dissatisfaction with the Union
victory led to his assassination plot
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
targeting President Lincoln, Vice
President Johnson and Secretary
Seward, as an attempt to topple the
Northern government.
Students learn about opportunities for
African American soldiers during the
war through the son of Mr. Seward’s
servants, Willis Bogart, who joined
Company B, 29th Regiment, U.S.
Colored Infantry during the Civil War.
10
Seward House Museum
And
New York State Common Core Standards for
English Language Arts & Literacy
Grade 7
Reading Standards for Literature
Seward House Museum Application
2. Determine a theme or central idea of a
2. The Resource Kit provides a series of short
text and analyze its development over the
biographies of the Seward family members and
course of the text; provide an objective
friends, along with a slave narrative and booklist.
summary of the text
Short answer questions following the slave
narrative and book report require students to
isolate and discuss the central ideas of these texts.
9. Compare and contrast a fictional
9. The Resource Kit provides a book list and book
portrayal of a time, place or character and a report format through which students are prompted
historical account of the same period as a
to contrast historical fiction about the period with
means of understanding how authors of
the history provided in the tour of the museum and
fiction use or alter history.
biographies, timelines and vocabulary of the
Resource Kit.
Seward House Museum
And
New York State Common Core Standards for
English Language Arts & Literacy
Grade 7
Reading Standards for Information
Seward House Museum Application
3. Analyze the interaction between
3. In the Resource Kit, students read a fictional
individual, events and ideas in a text (e.g.
slave narrative, biographies of the Seward family,
how ideas influence individuals or events,
and complete a book report for a historical fiction
or how individuals influence ideas and
novel. In the activities associated with these texts,
events)
students answer questions to analyze the causality
in interactions between individuals, events and the
ideas of the 19th century.
11
Seward House Museum
And
New York State Common Core Standards for
English Language Arts & Literacy
Grade 7
Writing Standards
Seward House Museum Application
1. Write arguments to supports claims with 1. A post-visit activity in the Resource Kit
clear reasons and relevant evidence.
is an essay in which students evaluate three
a. Introduce the claim(s) acknowledge milestones in Seward’s life for their impact
alternative or opposing claims and organize on the Seward family and the nation, and
the reasons and evidence logically.
assert which of them had the greatest
b. Support claim(s) with logical
impact, using relevant evidence and credible
reasoning and relevant evidence, using
sources from their tour experience and
accurate, credible sources and
Resource Kit .
demonstrating an understanding of the
topic and text.
e. Provide a concluding statement or
section that follows from and supports the
argument presented.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to
examine a topic and convey ideas,
concepts, and information’s through the
selection, organization and analysis or
relevant content.
b. Develop the topic with relevant facts,
definitions and concrete details, quotations
or other information’s and examples.
d. Use precise language and domain
specific language to inform about or
explain the topic.
f. Provide a concluding statement or
section that follows from and supports the
information or explanation presented.
3. Write narratives to develop real or
imagined experiences or events using
effective technique, relevant descriptive
details and well-structured event sequence.
a. Engage and orient the reader by
establishing a context and point of view
and introducing a narrator and/or
characters; organize an event sequence that
unfolds naturally and logically.
2. Using the material from Writing
Standard 1, plus the short biographies,
timelines, vocabulary list, and booklist, the
students will be able to write an
informative/explanatory text to examine a
topic, as listed in the SHM Application for
Writing Standard 1.
3. With the knowledge acquired from the
Seward House Museum Tour, the students
will have the information necessary to write
a narrative using the map in the Resource
Kit to get the Freedom Seekers from the
South to the North.
12
Seward House Museum
And
New York State Common Core Standards for
English Language Arts & Literacy
Grade 7
Speaking & Listening Standards
Seward House Museum Application
1. Engage effectively in a range of
1. Before their tour, students receive an
collaborative discussions (one-to-one, in a
orientation that empowers them in roles as
group, and teacher led) with diverse,
active listeners and respectful contributors
partners on grade 7 topics, texts and issues, to discussions. Responsibilities include:
building on others’ ideas and expressing
raising a hand for questions, waiting until
their own clearly.
their guide is finished speaking to ask or
a. Come to discussions prepared,
answer questions, listening without
having read or researched material under
interrupting, and speaking at an appropriate
study; explicitly draw on that preparation
voice level.
by referring to evidence on the topic, text,
a) Teachers may prepare students utilizing
or issue to probe and reflect on the ideas
the Seward House Museum Resource Kit
under discussion
containing family biographies, time lines,
c. Pose questions that elicit elaborations vocabulary and pre-visit activities that
and respond to others’ questions and
provide a base knowledge for discussions
comment with relevant observations and
in the museum.
ideas that bring the discussion back on
c) The students’ tour at the Seward House
topic as needed.
Museum is an inquiry-based tour that poses
questions to elicit student responses to
historical content.
13
Seward House Museum
And
New York State Common Core Standards for
English Language Arts & Literacy
Modules
Grade 7
Module 1: Journey and Survival
Students learn via their Seward House
(How individuals survive in challenging
Museum tour experience and Resource Kit,
environments)
historical corollaries to the contemporary
issues in the Sudan: the political and social
fight to end slavery, Underground Railroad.
Module 3A: Slavery: The People Could Fly The tour of the Seward House Museum
(Frederick Douglass’s tells his story in
will discuss in depth the political
order to abolish slavery)
(Emancipation proclamation, 13th
amendment) and social (abolition
movement, Underground Railroad)
avenues taken by Mr. Seward, President
Lincoln, and others to bring an end to
slavery in the United States.
Seward House Museum
And
New York State Common Core Standards for
English Language Arts & Literacy
Grade 8
Reading Standards for Literature
Seward House Museum Application
2. Determine a theme or central idea of a
2. The Resource Kit provides a list of
text and analyze its development over the
historical fiction books about the Civil War
course of the text, including relationship to and slavery, complete with a book report
the characters, setting and plot; provide an form that asks students to analyze character
objective summary of the text.
development, setting, plot, etc. allowing the
students to provide a critical summary of
the text.
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Seward House Museum
And
New York State Common Core Standards for
English Language Arts & Literacy
Grade 8
Reading Standards for Information
Seward House Museum Application
3. Analyze how a text makes a connection 3. Various activities in the Resource Kit
among and distinctions between
enable students to delve into historical
individuals, ideas or events (e.g. through
figures (Seward Family Biographies), ideas
comparison, analogies or categories).
(Key Themes & Vocabulary), and events
(Timeline). Through completing the
activities, students develop a clear sense of
how these facets combine to form a
historical narrative.
15
Seward House Museum
And
New York State Common Core Standards for
English Language Arts & Literacy
Grade 8
Writing Standards
Seward House Museum Application
1. Write arguments to supports claims with 1. A post-visit activity in the Resource Kit
clear reasons and relevant evidence.
is an essay in which students evaluate three
a. Introduce the claim(s) acknowledge milestones in Seward’s life (the
alternative or opposing claims and organize Underground Railroad, the Higher Law
the reasons and evidence logically.
Speech, the Compromise of 1850, the
b. Support claim(s) with logical
Fugitive Slave Laws, the Irrepressible
reasoning and relevant evidence, using
Conflict and House Divide Speeches)for
accurate, credible sources and
their impact on the Seward family and the
demonstrating an understanding of the
nation, and assert which of them had the
topic and text.
greatest impact, using relevant evidence
e. Provide a concluding statement or
and credible sources from their tour
section that follows from and supports the
experience and Resource Kit .
argument presented.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to
examine a topic and convey ideas,
concepts, and information’s through the
selection, organization and analysis or
relevant content.
b. Develop the topic with relevant,
well-chosen facts, definitions and concrete
details, quotations or other information’s
and examples.
d. Use precise language and domain
specific language to inform about or
explain the topic.
f. Provide a concluding statement or
section that follows from and supports the
information or explanation presented.
3. Write narratives to develop real or
imagined experiences or events using
effective technique, relevant descriptive
details and well-structured event sequence.
a. Engage and orient the reader by
establishing a context and point of view
and introducing a narrator and/or
characters; organize an event sequence that
unfolds naturally and logically
2. Using the material from Writing
Standard 1, plus the short biographies,
timelines, vocabulary list, and booklist, the
students will be able to write an
informative/explanatory text to examine a
topic, as listed in the SHM Application for
Writing Standard 1.
3. With the knowledge acquired from the
Seward House Museum Tour, the students
will have the information necessary to
write a narrative using the map in the
Resource Kit to get the Freedom Seekers
from the South to the North.
16
Seward House Museum
And
New York State Common Core Standards for
English Language Arts & Literacy
Grade 8
Speaking & Listening Standards
Seward House Museum Application
1. Engage effectively in a range of
1. Before their tour, students receive an
collaborative discussions (one-to-one, in a
orientation that empowers them in roles as
group, and teacher led) with diverse
active listeners and respectful contributors
partners on grade 8 topics, texts and issues, to discussions. Responsibilities include:
building on others’ ideas and expressing
raising a hand for questions, waiting until
their own clearly.
their guide is finished speaking to ask or
a. Come to discussions prepared,
answer questions, listening without
having read or researched material under
interrupting, and speaking at an appropriate
study; explicitly draw on that preparation
voice level.
by referring to evidence on the topic, text,
a) Teachers may prepare students utilizing
or issue to probe and reflect on the ideas
the Seward House Museum Resource Kit
under discussion
containing family biographies, time lines,
c. Pose questions that connect the ideas vocabulary and pre-visit activities that
of several speakers and respond to others’
provide a base knowledge for discussions
questions and comments with relevant
in the museum.
evidence, observation and ideas.
c) The students’ tour at the Seward House
Museum is an inquiry-based tour that poses
questions to elicit student responses to
historical content.
17
Seward House Museum
And
New York State Common Core Standards for
English Language Arts & Literacy
Modules
Grade 8
Module 1
The anti-slavery activities that the Seward
Finding a Home: Refugees (the challenges families were involved in locally and in
of real and fictional refugees)
Washington DC will be discussed during
the tour. The children will view the
Underground Railroad Station. The
Resources Kit will give the students the
opportunity to read a fictional slave’s
narrative and a chance to plot a freedom
seekers course from the South to the North.
Module 2A
Through the tour experience, students learn
Taking A Stand (analyze a character’s
about historical events where Mr. Seward
willingness to take a stand for others)
took a stance on issues critical to the 19th
century (Higher Law Speech of 1850
{expansion of slavery}, Irrepressible
Conflict of 1848 {competing economic
system of slave and free states}, the
Alaskan Purchase {westward expansion})
that effected the rights of others and help
form the country as it is today. In the
Resource Kit students are prompted by an
essay question to evaluate three of these
moments for their impact on the nation and
the Seward Family and select the event
with the greatest impact on both.
18
Museum Guidelines
Our History Is in Our Possessions
While striving to provide an enriching and entertaining experience for all visitors to the
Seward House Museum, we make preservation of its collection a top priority. We are guests of
the Seward family and must act accordingly. Museum rules must be obeyed to preserve the
house's historic interior.
Some important rules to share with young visitors before the visit are as follows:
• Stay with your group during the entire tour.
• Protect the delicate items on display by being aware of and in charge of your movements
at all times and by not touching anything.
• Use indoor voices at all times.
• Walk as quickly and quietly as possible as you move from one room to another.
• Allow the docent to discuss a room in its entirety before asking questions.
• Refrain from bringing in food, drinks, or chewing gum.
• Leave cameras, cell phones, and bulky belongings in the entryway or on the bus (for the
safety of the collection, photography is not permitted in the Seward House Museum).
The Seward House organization is committed to providing a meaningful tour to all our visitors.
It is the goal of the Seward House staff to make touring the museum a memorable experience.
19
Introduction to the Seward Family Home
Photo: Seward House Gardens c.1890
Based on letters from between William and Frances Seward
Frances sat with paper and ink by her side looking out over the garden of her family home, a
Federal style townhouse, originally built by her father in 1816. As the servants prepared lunch,
the garden became a peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle in the kitchen. Frances took the
time to carefully write about daily goings-on in a letter to her husband. William Seward was
traveling through New York and wrote back to Frances daily. She missed him and so did the
children.
Frances’s writings included some recent activity that, if discovered, could have a grave impact
on her husband’s political career. The old kitchen was now being used as a safe haven for
runaway slaves. Because of Frances and her husband’s passionate belief in the anti-slavery
movement, they chose to make their home a stop on the Underground Railroad. By doing so,
Frances was risking a 6 month prison sentence, and $1,000 fine, the ruination of her husband’s
career and the dissolution of her family.
Seeking inspiration for her letter, Frances observed her daughter, Fanny. Fanny was watching
curiously as her brother, William Jr., planted seeds in the wet soil. Her younger children seemed
to be growing and maturing daily. In time, they would no longer be absorbed by their youthful
pursuits as the political and social climate of the country grew preoccupied with the issues of
slavery and secession.
These thoughts caused Frances to remember that, in the midst of all this, her family was not
whole. Fred, her second son, was away at school but wrote home regularly. Frances would often
find William Jr. dashing from window to window anxiously awaiting his brother’s return.
Augustus was also away from home but was less mindful about keeping his mother updated on
his whereabouts.
She ended the letter to her husband on a pleasant note: with a request from her little girl, “Fanny
says I must tell father she wants him to come home.” Frances thought about the day, possibly far
in the future, when both her family and her country would be whole again.
20
Letter from William Seward’s Daughter
(The following letter and biographies are based on Fanny’s diaries and recorded history, and were not
written by Fanny Seward herself)
Frances Adeline Seward December 19, 1844- October 29, 1866
I was overjoyed when I heard that we were having guests to our family home. This is where I
grew up under the watchful eye of my mother, Frances, and with the gentle humor of my father,
William. Our story lives on today through our possessions and through stories that you will see
and hear upon visiting our home. I should first begin by introducing myself.
I was named for my mother, Frances, but everyone called me Fanny. I was my parents’ last child
and quickly became one of my father’s best friends. When I wasn’t spending time with mother in
Auburn, I was on a train destined for Washington, D.C., looking forward to adventures with my
father such as attending state dinners and meeting the noted diplomats who would grace our
Washington home. When my father couldn’t be in Auburn, I would keep him up to date through
letters on family events as well as what was growing in the garden.
My family described me as an intelligent young lady filled with curiosity about the world around
me. I even began reading and writing at the age of four. Ten years later, my diaries became a
way to record my perceptions on our country’s transformation. One of my books I reference in
my diary was Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. This anti-slavery novel
fascinated me. I even had an Uncle Tom’s Cabin puzzle. Although literature was my favorite
subject, my lessons consisted of Geography, French, and painting.
My upbringing resulted in my having progressive ideas for a young lady of the nineteenth
century. Just like my parents, I felt that slaves and African Americans were being treated
wrongly. I would even go read the Bible to my African American friend Aunt Margaret, who
lived in Auburn, because she was never taught to read. My parents raised me to be a caring,
thoughtful, and independent young lady, but they also taught me to fight for my beliefs.
Now that I’ve properly introduced myself, allow me to also introduce my parents and their antislavery beliefs.
–Fanny Seward
21
William Henry Seward May 16, 1801- October 10, 1872
Father wasn’t more than ten years old as he sat on a windowsill, swinging his legs, in the kitchen
of his childhood home in Florida, New York. The kitchen was the hub of activity at this time of
the day, as slaves made soups, browned meats, and kneaded bread for his family. Father listened
attentively as the slaves went on about their lives, spoke about their families, shared ghost
stories, and praised him affectionately. In return, Father would try to teach them to read because
he appreciated their skill and willingness to learn. Their abilities were greater than anyone
seemed to recognize.
As Father listened, he was thankful to be in the kitchen with his current company rather than in
his family’s front parlor with its strict rules. Father looked down to his own pale skin and took in
his freckles and strawberry-colored hair. He didn’t see much of a difference when it came to
personality, but skin color seemed to be everything when it came to how people felt about slaves.
Why couldn’t others enjoy the conversation and company of slaves at dinner as he did?
***
This moment stayed with my father as he grew up and his knowledge expanded. The young boy
who questioned the unfairness of slavery grew into a man who wasn’t afraid to openly defend his
beliefs. In the 1850s, my mother and father opened up our Auburn home to runaway slaves as a
safe house on the Underground Railroad. My father challenged public opinion as he fought to
change the laws upholding slavery. His dedication and faithfulness to his values, family, and
country shaped him into an advocate of equal treatment under the law.
22
Frances Adeline Miller Seward September 24, 1805- June 21, 1865
Mother sat in her bed, propped up by pillows, writing a letter to her sister, my aunt Lazette. She
had the blankets piled around her due to the January chill. The burning logs in the fireplace
popped as she put pen to paper. The pen was heavy with the weight of her words. It felt good to
confide in someone so close to her that shared her progressive views; someone who would
understand her position. She carefully wrote: “Although I cannot yet say that I think women
ought to vote and become office holders yet I will say that if there is no other way of elevating
them I would rather see them more masculine than to see them what they are now.”
***
My mother’s education instilled in her values that would affect her future opinions about the
rights of both women and African Americans. Though she wasn’t known for her social nature,
her wit, brilliance, and passion for a cause brought her to the attention of influential individuals.
Friendships with women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a leading figure in the women’s rights
movement, encouraged her to continue voicing her opinions. Ms. Stanton would later refer to my
mother as “a woman of rare intelligence.”
Although my mother found the philosophies of the women’s rights movement very compelling,
her primary sympathy was with the anti-slavery movement. Personal relationships with
individuals such as Harriet Tubman would influence her actions. While father fought to change
the laws upholding slavery, mother gave refuge to escaping slaves on their way to freedom.
Freeing people from slavery and oppression was my mother’s goal. She believed that education
was the key.
23
Slavery to Emancipation Timeline
1619
 First Africans brought by colonists arrive in Jamestown, Virginia.
1788
 Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania outlaw the slave
trade.
1793
 Eli Whitney invents the Cotton Gin, allowing the cotton
industry to expand along with the demand for slaves.
1802
 Slave revolt in Haiti.
1807
 Congress officially ends the African slave trade, but does not prohibit the buying and
selling of slaves in the United States.
1827
 New York State outlaws slavery.
1831
 Nat Turner leads a slave revolt in Virginia, killing
sixty white men. Twenty slaves were executed. This
creates widespread fear among slave owners regarding
future rebellions.
1842
 In the case of Prigg v. Pennsylvania, the United States
Supreme Court ruled that states are not required to return runaway slaves to their owners.
1849
 Harriet Tubman escaped from her owner’s plantation on Choptank River, Maryland.
1850
 The Compromise of 1850 was passed after a heated debate between pro-slavery and antislavery forces. The document allowed California to enter into the Union as a free state
but allowed other territories to decide the issue for themselves. The Fugitive Slave Act
was included in the Compromise, and made harboring fugitive slaves punishable by a
$1,000 fine and 6 months in jail.

William H. Seward delivered his “Higher Law Speech” which acknowledged that slavery
was legal under the Constitution but denied that the Constitution
recognized or protected slavery. He remarked that there was a
“higher law” than the Constitution.
1852
 Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published.
1857
 Dred Scott vs. Sanford decision: The United States Supreme
Court rules that slaves are property, not people, and that they must
24
be returned to their owners. The decision ruled that African Americans do not have rights
as citizens.
1858
 William H. Seward addressed the Senate and made his “Irrepressible Conflict
Speech.” This speech addressed the economic conflict between paid labor and slave
labor.
1859
 White Abolitionist John Brown and his men
seize a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry,
Virginia. This resulted in Brown’s execution.
1860
 Lincoln elected President.
1861
 In defense of their rights and in reaction to the election of President Lincoln, eleven
Southern states secede from the Union. Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter in
Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War begins.
1862
 July 22nd Lincoln read the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation to his Cabinet.
September 22nd Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation announcing his
intention to free slaves held in the Confederate States.
1863
 On January 1st the Emancipation Proclamation is signed and made as law.
1864
 Lincoln is reelected President.
1865
 The 13th Amendment that abolished slavery throughout the
U.S. is passed and ratified.

On April 14th Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth in
Ford’s Theater, he died early in the morning on the 15th. The
wider plot targeted William Seward and Vice President
Andrew Johnson, both of whom survived.
25
Key Themes and Vocabulary
13th Amendment: an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, that became law on
December 6, 1865, that formally abolished slavery in the United States, except as punishment for
a crime.
14th Amendment: an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which became law on
July 9, 1868, that granted citizenship to ‘all persons born or naturalized in the United States’,
which included former slaves.
15th amendment: an amendment to the Constitution of the United States,
that became law on February 3, 1970, says that ‘the rights of citizens of the US to vote shall not
be denied by anyone or any state on account of race, color, or being a slave before'.
Abolish: To do away with something.
Abolition: The movement to end, or abolish, slavery.
Abolitionist: A person who believed enslaving a person was wrong, wanted to end the practice
of slavery immediately, without paying the slave owners for the loss of their slaves.
Assassination: The murder of a prominent person or political figure by a surprise attack, usually
for political reasons.
Battle of Fort Sumter: a conflict between the Union and Confederate armies on April 12th, 1861
begun when Confederate artillery opened fire on the federal fort in Charleston Harbor, South
Carolina. Union forces surrendered the fort after 34 hours of conflict.
Border States: The Lincoln administration regarded Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and
Missouri as Border States because of their position between the North and Southern states.
Slavery existed in all four states, but they did not join the Confederacy.
Brigadier General: An officer in the U.S. Army between the ranks of Colonel and Major
General.
Calling Card: A card used to signify a visit made to a house if the resident is not at home, or
used as an introduction for oneself; the origin of the modern business card.
Citizens: A native who owes allegiance to a government and is entitled to protection from it.
Civil War: A war between different political groups or territories within one country. The
American Civil War between the Union and the Confederacy from 1861 to 1865 fought over the
issues of states’ rights and slavery is a notable example.
26
Confederate: having to do with the southern states that seceded from the United States to form
the Confederate States of America.
Colonization: The first antislavery societies also believed that ending slavery would not end
racism in the United States. Many thought that the best solution was to send African Americans
back to their ancestral homelands in Africa.
Compromise of 1850: A group of laws passed in a heated debate between pro-slavery and antislavery forces that tried to give each side a concession. The document allowed California to enter
into the Union as a free state but allowed other territories to decide the issue for themselves. The
Fugitive Slave Act was included in the Compromise.
Conductor: Individual who escorted or guided fugitives between stations or safe houses.
Confederate States of America: A government established between 1861 and 1865 by the
eleven southern states that withdrew from the Union.
Diplomat: A person appointed by a government to conduct business and maintain political,
social, and economic relations abroad.
Discrimination: The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different people or things, based on the
grounds of race, age, religion, or gender.
Drinking Gourd: The North Star and the Big Dipper. The fugitive slaves used this to navigate
northward to freedom.
Emancipation: The freeing of a group of people from slavery.
Emancipation Proclamation: An executive order signed by President Abraham Lincoln on
January 1st, 1863 that freed the slaves from the southern states rebelling against the Union.
Fort Sumter: A battle between the Union and Confederate armies on April 12, 1861 began
when Confederate artillery opened fire on the federal fort in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.
Union forces surrendered the fort after 34 hours of fighting.
Freedom: The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.
Fugitive Slave: A slave running away from his or her master to seek freedom.
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850: A document drafted to strengthen the original fugitive slave act.
The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 made any Federal marshal or other official who did not arrest an
alleged runaway slave liable to a fine of $1,000. Law-enforcement officials now had a duty to
arrest anyone suspected of being a runaway slave on no more evidence than a testimony of
ownership. The slave did not have a right to trial by jury or to witness their own case. Anyone
caught harboring a fugitive slave was subject to six months imprisonment and a $1,000 fine.
27
Gettysburg: Battle of the American Civil War between the Union and the Confederacy that took
place from July 1-3, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Despite having the greatest number of
casualties of the Civil War, the major victory for the North proved to be a turning point for the
Union.
Gettysburg Address: A famous speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln
in November 1863 at the dedication of a national cemetery on the site of the Battle of
Gettysburg. Lincoln praised the bravery of the Union soldiers and renewed his commitment to
win the Civil War.
Harriet Tubman: A famous conductor on the Underground Railroad.
Harper’s Ferry: A federal arsenal located in West Virginia that was raided by militant
abolitionist John Brown in 1859 in an attempt to start an armed slave rebellion.
Jefferson Davis: President of the Confederate States of America.
John Brown’s Raid: In 1859, John Brown and fellow abolitionists attacked a federal arsenal in
Virginia and tried to start a slave rebellion; he was hanged for treason and became a martyr for
the abolitionist cause.
Martyr: A person who dies for a cause and is held in high esteem.
Moses: This referred to Harriet Tubman. She was called Moses because, like Moses, she helped
her people escape slavery.
Nat Turner: On August 21, 1831, Nat Turner leads a slave revolt in Virginia, killing sixty white
men. Twenty slaves were executed.
Nomination: Part of the process of selecting a candidate for election to public office. For an
election to public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said
to be the nominee of that party. The party's selection (that is, the nomination) is typically
accomplished either based on one or more primary elections or by means of a political party.
Plantation: An estate where cash crops are grown on a large scale. Crops like tobacco and
cotton were labor intensive and picked by hand.
Prohibit: To forbid a person or group from doing something.
Property: Something that is owned by a person such as land or personal belongings. Slaves
were also considered property.
Quaker: A name for individuals belonging to the Religious Society of Friends, a Christian sect
founded by George Scott in 1650. Quakers were known for their refusal to participate in war,
28
plain dress, opposition to alcohol, refusal to swear oaths, the equality of women in worship and
education, and condemnation of slavery.
Raid: A quick attack.
Rebel: A soldier from the South. A Confederate soldier.
Regiment: A group of two or more army units that includes two battle units, a headquarters unit,
and various back-up units.
Robert R. Lee: General of the Confederate States of America.
Safe House: A shelter for traveling fugitive slaves, operated by a ̎stationmaster̎. A safe house
might be a basement, cabin, home, barn, cave, or any other site that provided an element of
security while giving the fugitive slave an opportunity for rest and restocking provisions.
Secede: To formally withdraw from a group or organization.
Slave: A term for human beings held in bondage and forced to perform labor or services against
their will under threat of physical mistreatment or death.
Slaveholder: A person who owns slaves.
Slavery: The state of a person who is the property of another.
Spirituals: Religious songs sung by the slaves to lift their spirits and relay coded information.
Stationmaster: Individual who provided shelter or a hiding place to fugitive slaves. The
stationmaster served as a source of information regarding safe routes and coordinated with
conductors and other stationmasters to provide safe passage for fugitive slaves upon departure
from that station.
Surrender: To yield to the power, control, or possession of another upon demand.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin: An anti-slavery book, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1851, that is
credited with stirring up sympathy for those in slavery and sparking anti-slavery feelings by
exposing the brutal conditions of slavery.
Underground Railroad: A network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century slaves
in the United States to escape to Free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies
who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists, both black and
white, free and enslaved, who aided the fugitives. People who led slaves to their freedom were
called conductors and the locations that offered a safe haven on the journey were called
stations.
29
Union: A group of states or nations that are ruled by one government or that agree to work
together, as the states that remained loyal to the federal government during the Civil War.
Union Army: The land force that fought on behalf of the Union during the American Civil War
against the Confederate Army. It was made up of the small United States Army, thousands of
volunteers, and men drafted into service.
Yankee: A soldier from the North. A Union soldier.
30
Post-Visit Activity:
Map of the Underground Railroad
(Note: Slave states are in bold type)
1) Imagine you are a slave in Maryland about to escape with Harriet Tubman to freedom in
the North. Trace the route you might take to escape to Canada via the following states:
New York, Vermont, and Maine.
a. What cities in each of those states would you stop in as you traveled from the
South to freedom in the North?
2) Create your own route to freedom, listing cities from multiple states that may be on the
route from the South to the North. Place them in sequential order from South to North.
Optional: Write a narrative of your journey, using the sequence of cities. Based on your
knowledge of history, the resources in this kit and your museum tour, describe what the
journey would be like, some of the obstacles that you would have encountered, some of
the people who helped you…
31
Samuel Douglas
A Slave’s Narrative
Note: This narrative was created as a work of fiction based on details from real slave
narratives.
My name now is Samuel Douglas, but for the first part of my life I was known only as Sam
because I grew up as a slave and slaves were not allowed to have last names.
I was born on a cotton plantation in northern Georgia owned by my master Mr. Brinkley and his
family. I do not know when I was born but I believe it must have been in the early 1840s. I was
named for my father, whom I know very little about, as I was only a baby when he and some
other slaves were sold to a plantation owner in South Carolina to pay off some gambling debts of
Mr. Brinkley’s.
My mother, Ruth, was left to care for me and my older sister Jane. I don’t remember her ever
speaking of my father, but sometimes she would pause in her work and stare longingly off into
the distance, and I would know she was thinking of him. My mother worked at the Brinkleys’
house, or the “big house” as we called it, washing clothes and cleaning. When I was still young,
she would take me with her during the day so she could keep an eye on me. I was fascinated with
their house as it was completely different from mine. Our floor was just packed dirt and we only
had a few pieces of essential furniture. Our entire house could have fit in the Brinkleys’ dining
room. My earliest memory is of sitting at the bottom of their front staircase watching my mother
mopping it on her hands and knees. I had wanted to go up as I had never been on a staircase
before, but she had said no, afraid one of the Brinkleys would come in and see me. So I sat and
waited until she was done.
I started work myself when I was about six. My first job was caring for the flocks of chickens
and turkeys that the Brinkleys kept. Whenever I had a break from that, there were always plenty
of other chores to occupy me. I was known to be a fast runner, so when they wanted a message
sent from the fields up to the big house or down to the slave quarters they would send me.
32
Janey was about eight when she was chosen to work at the big house, looking after the
Brinkleys’ children who were only a few years younger than herself. She spent the next ten years
there, eating her meals in the back kitchen and sleeping on a cot in the hallway near the
childrens' rooms in case they should need anything in the night.
A few winters after Janey began work, the eldest of the Brinkley daughters received a new dress
for Christmas. It was red silk with all the fashionable ribbons and ruffles of the time, and Janey
had never seen anything so pretty before in her life. When she was cleaning the girls’ room a few
days later, she saw it again lying on a chair, and on a sudden impulse she went and picked it up
and held it against her own faded calico gown. She spun slowly, watching the skirt twirl around
her knees, unaware of Mrs. Brinkley’s presence until the dress was jerked from her hands. Janey
went without supper that night.
At age ten I started working full time in the cotton fields. I would get up before the sun rose and
work until after it had set. In the spring we planted row after row of cotton and then, after the
plants came up, we would go back over each row removing half of the seedlings so the others
would have room to grow. By summer the plants were full grown and the fields would be a sea
of blue and purple flowers. Then, with the sun blazing down on us, we would check each leaf for
the worms which would feed on the plants. By the end of the summer, the cotton would form in
fluffy white balls and the fields would look as if they had been hit by an early snowstorm. At the
beginning of the day, the harvesting would seem easy and I would wonder why I dreaded this
time of the year so much; but by early afternoon, my back would hurt from bending over for
hours and my sack of cotton, now mostly filled, would seem very heavy.
One year my sack caught on a stick and one corner ripped, but I did not notice until I reached the
end of my row. When I turned back I saw a trail of cotton stretching from my bag down the line
of plants. I quickly got down on my knees and began to try to put it back in, but the ground was
wet and the dirt stuck to the fibers, and the more I tried to wipe it off the dirtier it became. Just
then the overseer, Jenkins, rode up on his horse and saw me and the cotton on the ground. He
was furious and, without listening to my explanations, grabbed his riding crop and beat me with
it. Then, yelling for someone to get me another sack, he rode off, leaving me to get up on my feet
again and start down the next row.
Janey and I did not have more than a few minutes of free time each day. We would not have had
time to study anything even if we had had the opportunity to. Teaching a slave to read was a
crime and we had no way of learning on our own. When I was little I would use my spare time to
play tag or hide-and-seek with the other children, but as I grew older my mother often needed my
help at home. There was always something that needed fixing in our cabin. I spent hours on the
roof trying to stop the leak over the bedstead and many more hours trying to fit old newspapers
around the window frame to keep the drafts out. When Janey had a break from her duties at the
big house, she would come down to help Mother with the cooking and sewing.
In the good weather I would work in our little vegetable patch on the side of the cabin every
chance I got. This may sound like an odd task to choose after a long day in the fields, but to me it
felt completely different. This was a job I actually enjoyed because I knew I was growing food
that would feed my own family through the winter. I could set my own pace, think my own
thoughts, and, for a few brief moments, be my own master.
33
Slave Narrative Reading Comprehension
Questions
How is the separation experienced by the Douglas family different from the separation
experienced by the Seward family when Mr. Seward was in Washington, D.C.?
What differences do you observe between the work that Janey and her mother did and the
work that Sam did? Who do you think had the more difficult job? Why?
Both Sam and Janey started working fulltime at very young ages. What is the first job
you can remember doing? Did you get paid for it? How long did it take you? How does
this job compare to the ones Sam and Janey had to do?
Neither Sam nor Janey learned to read as children. Fanny Seward, on the other hand,
received a broad education and read extensively. If Sam and Janey were free blacks
living in the North do you think they would have been able to receive some form of
education? If so, how would it have compared with Fanny’s?
Can you imagine Sam deciding to run away to the North? If so, which parts of Sam’s
narrative lead you to believe that he longed for his freedom?
The Seward family risked their own safety and position in society to help slaves escape
because they believed their treatment was morally wrong. If Sam stopped at the Seward
home on his way north, what stories could he tell that would strengthen their beliefs?
34
Civil War Book List for Grades 6-8
Books about the Underground Railroad:
Bright Freedom’s Song: A Story of the Underground Railroad
By Gloria Houston
Description: Bright Cameron discovers that her parents are hiding runaway slaves. Soon she,
too, becomes involved in her family's secret world. One night, when her Papa falls ill, Bright
discovers how dear freedom is--and what price it exacts from those who must struggle for it.
Who Comes With Cannons
By Patricia Beatty
Description: When Truth Hopkins's father dies, she goes to live with her uncle and his family on
their North Carolina farm. They oppose slavery but refuse to take up arms in the Civil War that
is being waged to end this inhuman institution. Then one day, a runaway slave takes refuge on
the Bardwell farm and, to Truth's amazement, her uncle hides him from the slave catchers.
Books about abolitionists:
Dear Ellen Bee: A Civil War Scrapbook of Two Union Spies
By Mary E. Lyons
Description: In a fictional format that recalls the scrapbooks kept by women in the nineteenth
century, Mary E. Lyons and Muriel M. Branch piece together the true story of Ellen Bee -- the
code name used by two extraordinary women who courageously undermined the highest level of
the Confederacy.
Jayhawker
By Patricia Beatty
Description: With the United States on the verge of civil war, Elijah Tully and his father ride out
of Kansas as Jayhawkers, guerrilla fighters against slavery. After his father is killed, Lije goes
undercover among the proslavery bushwhackers. Swept into a grisly raid, Lije unexpectedly
stands face-to-face with his father's killer -- but is vengeance as simple as he once thought?
Books about escaped slaves:
Which Way Freedom?
By Joyce Hansen
Description: Obi had never forgotten the sounds of his mother's screams on the day he was sold
away from her. Making plans to run away to find her was a secret game he played with friend
Buka, an old African who lived at the edge of the farm. When the Civil War began, Obi knew it
was time to run -- or be sold again. If he was caught, he'd be killed...or worse. But if he stayed,
he might never know freedom.
35
Books about conflicting loyalties:
How I Found the Strong: A Civil War Story
Margaret McMullan
Description: In 1861, Frank “Shanks” Russell wishes he was old enough to fight for the South
alongside his pa and big brother. The shortages and horrors of war reach his home as he
scrounges for food and water and sees both Confederate and enemy soldiers at their worst. As
time goes by and Frank’s friendship with Buck, the family slave, grows, he questions more and
more who is the enemy and why the terrible war is being fought.
Retreat From Gettysburg
By Kathleen Ernst
Description: Young Chigger O'Malley is glad when the battered Rebel Army is trapped by
floodwaters while retreating from the battlefield at Gettysburg. His father and three older
brothers have all been killed while serving in the famed Irish Brigade, and Chigger hopes the
Union Army will attack and end the war. But when he and his mother are forced to care for a
wounded Rebel officer, the questions of right and wrong -- of friend and enemy -- become much
more difficult to answer.
Two Girls of Gettysburg
By Lisa M. Klein
Description: Lizzie and Rosanna are cousins. But when the Civil War breaks out, Lizzie finds
herself committed to the cause of the Union, while Rosanna is swept up in the passions of the old
South—and in her love for a young Confederate officer. Torn in their alliances, yet as devoted as
sisters, each girl finds herself grappling with the senseless brutality of war and the sacrifices that
must be made in order to survive.
Books from a soldier’s point of view:
The Red Badge of Courage
By Stephen Crane
Description: Amid the nightmarish chaos of a Civil War battle, a young soldier discovers
courage, humility, and, perhaps, wisdom.
Union Army Black
By Lucille Travis
Description: Zack discovers a new world of danger and adventure when he joins the Union
Army as a drummer boy.
Books from a slave’s point of view:
Silent Thunder: A Civil War Story
Andrea Davis Pinkney
Description: In 1862, eleven-year-old Summer and her 13-year-old brother Rosco take turns
describing how life on the quiet Virginia plantation where they are slaves is affected by the Civil
War.
36
Books about Emancipation:
Numbering all the Bones
By Ann Rinaldi
Description: The Civil War is at an end, but for thirteen-year-old Eulinda, it is no time to
rejoice. Her younger brother Zeke was sold away, her older brother Neddy joined the Northern
war effort, and her master will not acknowledge that Eulinda is his daughter. With the help of
Clara Barton, the eventual founder of the Red Cross, Eulinda must find a way to let go of the
skeletons from her past.
Books about Victorian women:
Evvy’s Civil War
By Miriam Brenaman
Description: On her fourteenth birthday in June of 1861, spunky Evelyn Chamberlyn finds
herself stuffed into a corset and a dress with a hoop skirt. She is expected to be a lady now, but
Evvy has an agenda of her own. She wants to prove that a woman can do everything a man can
doand still be a true woman. But in order to find out all she needs to know, and keep her family
together as the war rages around them, she must uncover her family's secrets and ultimately
make impossible choices.
My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie Hodgers, Union Soldier
By Lynda Durrant
Description: Jennie Hodgers dressed as a boy for the first time in order to help support her
impoverished Irish family with a shepherd’s wages. Then her arrival in America confirmed her
belief that the world offers better opportunities to young men than to young women. So Jennie
maintained her outward identity as Albert Cashier, serving as a grocery clerk in Queens, New
York; as a farmhand in Ohio; and as a recruit in the 95th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War.
Books about coping after the war:
Soldier’s Heart
By Gary Paulsen
Description: In June 1861, when the Civil War began, Charley Goddard enlisted in the First
Minnesota Volunteers. He was 15. He didn't know what a "shooting war" meant or what he was
fighting for. But he didn't want to miss out on a great adventure. The "shooting war" turned out
to be the horror of combat and the wild luck of survival; how it feels to cross a field toward the
enemy, waiting for fire. When he entered the service he was a boy. When he came back he was
different; he was only 19, but he was a man with "soldier's heart," later known as "battle fatigue."
37
Book Report for a Civil War Themed Novel
NAME__________________________________________________
BOOK TITLE______________________________________________________
AUTHOR ________________________________________
SETTING
1. Setting is important in a novel as it sets the overall tone. Describe the setting of the novel
that you read including the time period. If more than one setting was involved, be sure to
include all details of each.
2. Setting establishes the tone for the novel. Describe how the tone was effected by the
novel’s setting.
CHARACTERS
3. Describe the main characters and explain their relevance to the story. What role did they
play in the novel?
4. Did any of these characters surprise you with their actions?
5. Choose one action taken by a character in the novel that you read and explain how you
would act similarly or differently in that same situation.
CONFLICT
6. Summarize the conflict of the novel. Give a description of each side including the key
characters that were allied with each side.
7. How was this conflict resolved?
CONCLUSION
8. What was the overall theme or message of the novel? How do the decisions the
characters made impact the theme?
9. Did the key characters evolve over the course of the novel? What events triggered their
evolution?
10. Research a historical event mentioned in the novel. Did the author use fiction to alter the
event for his or her own purposes? How does the historic account differ from the author’s
version?
38
Essay Topic
Recall three milestones in the life of William Seward (Ex: Freeman Trial, harboring fugitive
slaves, Higher Law speech) in which Mr. Seward’s actions demonstrated his values of
human dignity, liberty, justice, and equality. Evaluate each event for the impact it had on
the Seward family and the nation as a whole, and choose the event you believe had the
most significant impact on the family and the nation. Use information from your tour of the
museum and this resource kit as evidence to support your claim.
39
Analyzing Primary Sources Activity
Activity 1:
Read the following excerpt and answer the following questions.
Document 1:
The Underground Railroad’s activity increased, in part, because of the passage of the 1850
Fugitive Slave Law. The Law provided punishments for anyone who hid a runaway slave.
The following is an excerpt from the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law:
“(whoever)...shall harbor or conceal such fugitive, so as to prevent the discover and arrest of
such a person, after notice or knowledge of the fact that such a person was a fugitive from
service or labor...shall, for either of said offences, be subject to a fine not exceeding one
thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months...”
Describe the potential risks William Seward faced to his political career and family by breaking
this law. Evaluate the pros and cons for standing up for his beliefs in such a way.
If you were living during this time, would you assist a freedom-seeking slave? Why or why not?
What methods would you use if you chose to help? In an essay, explain your position.
Document 2: Excerpt from a letter by William Seward, while he was in Auburn, NY, to his
wife, Frances. Dated November 18, 1855.
“The underground railroad works wonderfully. Two passengers came here last night.”
What did Mr. Seward imply when he stated, “the underground railroad works wonderfully”?
Describe the dangers the fugitive slaves faced on their way to the Seward home.
Document 3: Fanny Seward’s diary entry on December 27, 1858
“A cargo (sic) of 300 slaves wild from Africa has landed in Georgia by the sloop, ‘Wanderer’
and the nation is quite stirred up about it. I hope the ‘stealers of men’ will be justly punished,
and the poor Africans be restored to their native land.”
Fanny relates that the “the nation is quite stirred up” about the arrival of the Wanderer. How do
you think Fanny feels? Use specific words from her writing to prove your point.
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Document 4: Obituary of Nicholas Bogart from an Auburn newspaper on February 20, 1893
Nicholas Bogart, one of the oldest and best known colored men in this state and a man of
almost national reputation during the slavery agitation, from his connection as coachman
with the family of the late Secretary of State William H. Seward, died at his home, 16 Miller
Street, last evening, after a few days illness at the advanced age of 91 years.
If you were Nicholas Bogart, how would assist the Seward family to help the freedom-seeking
slaves? What specific things would you encourage the Seward family to do to help the fugitives?
Document 5: Excerpt from a letter by Frances Seward to William Seward on January 19, 1861
“Compromises based on the ideas that the preservation of the Union is more important than
liberty of nearly 4,000,000 human beings cannot be right-...The alteration of the Constitution
to perpetuate slavery-the enforcement of a law to recapture a poor, suffering fugitive-giving
half of the Territories of a free Country to the curse of slavery-these compromises cannot be
approved by God or supported by good men.”
What did Mrs. Seward think was more important, the preservation of the Union or the freedom
of four million human beings? Who were the human beings she was referencing? Who did Mrs.
Seward feel supported her beliefs more than the Constitution of the US? Do you agree or
disagree? Why or why not?
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Role Playing
A fugitive slave has come to stay at the Seward home. The student will decide to take the role of
the freedom-seeking slave or one of the Sewards (William Seward, Frances, Fanny, Nicholas or
Harriet Bogart). Ask the students to role-play each of the individuals. Example questions are
listed to help the students begin the activity.
For the Slave character;
 Where am I from?
 Did I leave family behind? Who?
 What risks did I take in escaping slavery?
 Who of my friends and family stayed and why did they do so?
 Where have I been on my journey north and what hardships did I face?
 Where do I think I will be traveling next?
 How do I feel? Am I frightened? Worried? Hungry?
 What will happen to me if I am caught?
 Once I escape to freedom in Canada, what opportunities will I have that I do not have in
the United States?
 Will I be homesick?
For the Seward characters:
 How do I let these slaves into the house without being seen?
 What will my friends/neighbors think?
 What risks do I face by giving them shelter?
 What is the safest part of the house for them to stay in and why?
 How can I provide for them after their long journey?
 What will they want to eat? Who will cook what they like to eat?
 Will they need clothing? If so, what will I give them to wear?
 I want to stand up for my beliefs, but what if I am caught?
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43
Works Consulted
Arpey, Andrew W. The William Freeman Murder Trial: Insanity, Politics, and Race. Syracuse,
NY: Syracuse University Press, 2003.
Brinkley, Alan. American History: A Survey. Vol. 1 Boston, MA: Columbia University, 2009.
Chasteen, John Charles. Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America. New
York: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2006.
Larson, Kate Clifford. Harriet Tubman Portrait of an American Hero: Bound for the Promise
Land. New York: One World Ballantine Books, 2004.
Painter, Nell Irvin. Creating Black Americans: African American History and its meanings,
1619 to the Present. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Seward, William. “Irrepressible Conflict, 1858,” in The Civil War and Reconstruction: A
Documentary Reader. Edited by Stanley Harrold. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing,
2008. Page 34-38.
Taylor, John M. William Henry Seward: Lincoln’s Right Hand. Washington, D.C.: Potomac
Books, Inc., 1991.
“The Underground Railroad Escape from Slavery.”
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/underground_railroad/ (accessed
February 2013).
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Acknowledgements
Project Manager: John Kingsley
Contributors: Sarah Marquart, John Kingsley, Tasha GottschalkFielding, Allison Hinman, Patricia Nunno, Jessie Reich
Curriculum Consultants: Shari Ross, Patricia Nunno, Joanne
Mitchell, Bonnie Francis
Graphic Design: Sarah Marquart
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