Name ______Date ______
Harriet Tubman: Secret Agent
By Thomas B. Allen
Be sure to read all the captions, footnotes and chapter titles. You can learn a lot from them.
Prologue: Black Moses
There is a footnote on page 10. Mark page 173 with a sticky note, so you can easily find the page when you refer back to that page for more information.
Study the map on pages 14 and 15.
How many “free” states were in the United States at that time?
How many states had seceded from the Union by 1863?
What was special about the Border States?
What would happen to Harriet Tubman and other Underground Railroad conductors if they got caught?
Chapter 1: Harriet’s Escape
What is the Mason-Dixon Line?
Why did the author say that Harriet Tubman was “probably born in 1822?”
Who did Harriet run away with the first time?
What happened?
A few days later, Harriet escaped again. This time she was alone and successful. She went to safe houses. What are safe houses?
Chapter 2: The Underground Railroad
Why was it called the Underground Railroad?
I found an editing error on page 29. Do you see it?
What happened when Jonathan Walker was convicted of trying to help seven slaves by taking them to the British West Indies?
What is the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850?
About how many trips did Harriet make and about how many slaves did Harriet help?
Why would Harriet have escaping slaves meet her about 7 or 8 miles from their cabins?
Who was Frederick Douglass and what did he do?
Chapter 3: Slave Revolts
Who organized the slave revolt in 1831?
Who did Southerners blame for the revolt?
Who were the “Border Ruffians?”
What did John Brown do in Kansas?
Chapter 4: John Brown Meets the General
Check out that picture of John Brown on page 44. He looks like Zeus!
What are “pikes?”
What was John Brown organizing?
Chapter 5: Trouble at Harpers Ferry
What happened to John Brown as a result of his failed attempt to take over an arsenal (storage facility for guns and ammunition) at Harpers Ferry?
I think it’s really interesting that Robert E. Lee was sent by President Buchanan to take care of the situation at Harpers Ferry. General Lee would soon command the army of the Confederate States of America—the southern states that seceded from the U.S. to become their own nation. The raid on Harpers Ferry took place one year before Lincoln was elected President of the United States.
What do you think about John Brown’s violent methods to try to abolish slavery?
Chapter 6: The Old Colored Woman
Harriet Tubman helped rescue a former slave who was caught and about to be brought back to a slave owner. What did she do to help? Use 3-4 sentences to summarize Harriet’s role in the rescue.
Chapter 7: Trouble in the Capital
By the time Lincoln took the Oath of Office on March 4, 1860, how many southern states had seceded from the Union?
Chapter 8: The Secret War
What does “covert” mean?
What happened on April 12, 1861?
How did runaway or fugitive slaves help Major General Benjamin J. Butler?
What is “contraband?”
Chapter 9: Black Dispatches
How was the “second Underground Railroad” used?
What did ex-slaves Dabney and his wife use to transfer messages?
Chapter 10: Black Spies and the Anaconda Plan
What was the Anaconda Plan?
What did Mary Touvestre do to help the Union?
According to one of Harriet’s friends, when was she sent to Hilton Head?
Chapter 11: Harriet Goes to War
The Lowcountry slaves spoke Gullah. What kind of language is that?
Why were the Lowcountry slaves so willing to help the Union?
Chapter 12: The General Leads the Raid
The beginning of this chapter tells a story about how Colonel Higginson and 462 black soldiers conducted a secret operation to gather supplies needed for Union military camps. Read Higginson’s quote on page 144. Why did he think they were so successful?
How were the beliefs of Colonel James Montgomery and Colonel Higginson different?
Name three characteristics of Harriet Tubman.
What is the author’s purpose for writing this book?
I think it’s so cool that Harriet, a former slave and woman who was about 5 feet tall, was treated like a trusted, intelligent leader by men at a time when women were not treated as equals. What do you admire most about Harriet Tubman?
After reading this book, I wonder how many people were in Harriet’s family. I also wonder what she did after she helped the Union fight the war. What questions do you have about Harriet Tubman?
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Harriet Tubman: Secret Agent