Chapter 7:

The CIVILWAR ERA1. Who led the struggle for the rights of women and abolition

in Pennsylvania?2. What role did Pennsylvania play in the Civil War?3. What changes took place in Pennsylvania after the Civil

War?

Lesson 1:

Abolition& Equal RightsWho led the struggle for the

rights of women and abolition in Pennsylvania?

Read Aloud Francis Ellen Watkins Harper was an African

American poet who lived in Philadelphia in 1854. She opposed slavery and worked for the rights of women.

In one of her poems, she wroteabout LUCRETIA MOTT, whostarted the FEMALE ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY ofPhiladelphia in 1833.

“Never let it be said that we forgot,the women who stood withLucretia Mott. The womenfaithful, true, and brave; Whocame to the rescue of the slave.”

The Big Picture As we learned in Chapter 4, some early

QUAKERS had been slave traders. Yet other QUAKERS were

among the first people infavor of ABOLITION.

ABOLITION is the ending ofslavery.

ABOLITIONISTS were members ofother religious groups as well.

As a result of their efforts, Pennsylvania became one of the first states to make slavery against the law in 1780.

Other states in the NORTH soon followed.

The Big Picture Many AFRICAN AMERICANS who escaped to

the NORTH worked to end slavery. They described how their children were sold and

taken away forever. They also told about

being whipped and putin chains.

These stories angeredblack and whitePENNSYLVANIANS alike.

They worked to bringabout an end to slavery inthe UNITED STATES.

The Need for ChangeLUCRETIA MOTT was a

PHILADELPHIA QUAKER. She and other

PENNSYLVANIANSwanted many changesin our state.

Two of the mostimportant changeswere EDUCATION andthe RIGHTS ofWOMEN.

Education Few children went to school regularly in

the 1800s. In the cities, parents who had enough

money sent their children to privateschools.

In rural areas, neighbors sometimesgot together to hire teachers.

Classes were held in homes or in smallschool buildings built by parents.

In the 1820s, AFRICAN AMERICANS inPHILADELPHIA opened schools forblack children.

Only a few other schools, such as those run by QUAKERS, allowed all students to attend.

Education In 1834, PENNSYLVANIANS began paying

for public schools with taxes. The schools were free

and open to all children,both black and white.

THADDEUS STEVENS,a lawmaker fromGETTYSBURG, said,“the blessing ofeducation shall becarried home to the poorest child.”

Public schools usually had just one room and one teacher.

Rights for Women Women in the PENNSYLVANIA COLONY had

few rights. This was still true in

the early 1800s. A married women

could not own property. If she had a job, her

husband coulddemand how muchshe was paid.

Even the children in a family belonged to the husband. Women who worked outside the home usually held

low-paying jobs such as servants or factory workers.

Rights for WomenLUCRETIA MOTT and other women

worked hard to make their lives better. Some women began to study and train for

jobs that only men had held. In 1850, the WOMEN’S MEDICAL

COLLEGE of PENNSYLVANIAwas opened inPHILADELPHIA.

It was the first medicalcollege in the UNITEDSTATES for women.

Lesson 1:

Abolition& Equal RightsWho led the struggle for the

rights of women and abolition in Pennsylvania?

The Underground Railroad

In the 1840s, an enslaved woman named HARRIET TUBMAN escaped to Pennsylvania. There, she began to help other

abolitionists on theUNDERGROUND RAILROAD.

The UNDERGROUNDRAILROAD was a system ofsecret routes that those escapingslavery followed to freedom.

Many routes went on toCANADA.

The Underground Railroad

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD workers used a secret code. Men and women who helped enslaved people

escape were called, “CONDUCTORS.”

Enslaved“PASSENGERS”were led byCONDUCTORSfrom one “STATION,”or hiding place, toanother.

The Underground Railroad

Pennsylvania was an important part of the UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. QUAKERS in PA, for example, became well

known for their many hiding places. These hiding

places included acave and anisland in themiddle of theBEAVER RIVER.

The Underground Railroad

HARRIET TUBMAN and other ABOLITIONISTS helped people escape from slavery. Between 1830 and

1860, more than9,000 slaves escapedthrough PHILADELPHIA.

How did Harry “Box” Brown get his nickname???

How did HARRY “BOX” BROWN get his nickname? One enslaved African American, HENRY BROWN, had

himself mailed in a large wooden box from RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, to PHILADELPHIA.

When the crate wasopened, he stood upand cried, “Great God,am I a free man?”

HENRY BROWN gainedhis freedom and a newnickname.

For the rest of his life he was known as “BOX” BROWN.

Why Does This Matter? By the 1850s, many Pennsylvanians were

fighting for better education, women’s rights, and an end to slavery. Our state became an important part of the

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. Yet the issue of slavery began

to divide the people of theUnited States.

In the next lesson, we willlearn about how thesedifferences led to a terriblewar.

Summing It All Up In the 1800s, Pennsylvanians worked to

improve education and the rights of women and to end slavery.

Abolitionistshelped manyenslavedAfricanAmericansescape tofreedom onthe Underground Railroad.