2.8 Flashcards
(39 cards)
When was the first movement to abolish slavery in Canada?
late 1700s
Which place was the first place in Canada, led by who, to move towards abolition in what year?
Upper Canada led by Governor John Graves Simcoe, a loyalist military officer, in the year 1793.
What did the British parliament prohibite in 1807?
The buying and selling of slaves.
In what year did the British Parliament abolish slavery in the empire, which included Canada?
1833
Between___and___, before the American Civil War, African slaves followed the ___star on the Underground Railroad to find freedom in Canada.
1840 and 1860
What was the Underground Railroad?
Not an actual railroad but a secret network of routes and safe houses that helped people escape slavery and reach free states or Canada.
What were guides?
People who were available to help people find their way to the next stop along the way.
When did the “railroad” begin operating?
1780s
When did the “railroad” become known as the Underground Railroad?
1830s
What were the people who helped people move from place to place called? What were the regufees called? What were the safe places to stop and rest called?
- Conductors
- Passengers or Cargo
- Stations
What were abolitionists (many conductors were abolitionists)?
People who wanted slavery abolished. They were Blacks and Whites, men and women. Many of them were Quakers or Methodists.
When was the first major immigration period to Canada for Blacks? Why?
During the war of 1812 as Canada captured several US forts, including Detroit and managed to burn the White House to the ground.
Besides the First Nations and their own militia, who was Canada’s success in the War of 1812 due to?
The Black slaves that fought with the British troops.
What were the Black slaves promised by Britiain if they fought with them?
Freedom, land, and provisions if they would leave their masters and support the English. However, Canada did not give all tha it promised making survivial difficult for the Black community and forcing dependence on the white settlements.
How many Black slaves helped Canada in the War of 1812? Where were they eventually taken?
- Over 2000
- They were eventually taken to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
Between what two years did tens of thousands of African-Americans seek refuge in Upper and Lower Canada via the Underground Railroad?
1815 and 1865
What was Detroit known as? What was Detroit River called? What was it a refrence of?
Why did places need code names?
- Midnight (many of the slaves left from this point)/
- Jordan
- A biblical reference to the river tha led to the primised land
- They needed code names to keep the routes secret.
What was the end of the journey known as?
- Dawn
- Take the railroad from Midnight to Dawn
Where did most refugees come to?
Southwestern Ontario to places such as Windsor, Fort Erie, Chatham, and Owen Sound
Why hasn’t there been much documentation of the Underground Railroad?
Because of how secret it was.
How many slaves are estimated to have found freedom by way of the railraod?
It may have been as many as 30 000
When did the railroads traffic reach its peak?
Between 1840 and 1860
When did the US pass its Fugitive Slave Act?
1850
What was the Fugitive Slave Act?
The new law allowed slave hunters to pursue and capture enslaved persons in places where they would legally be free. It resulted in several attempts to kidnap escapees in Canada and return them to former owners in the Southern States.