Freedom Train North

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Stories of the Underground Railroad in Wisconsin

Julia Pferdehirt

Meet the courageous freedom-seekers who made the treacherous journey from slavery and learn about the role that Wisconsin played in guiding them to freedom.

136 pages, 8 x 9, 43 b&w photos
Paperback: $15.95 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-474-6
Ebook: $12.99 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-660-3
Publication Date: 8/31/2011

Reading Level: Ages 8–12, Grades 3–6

BUY

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Description

People running from slavery made many hard journeys to find freedom—on steamboats and in carriages, across rivers and in hay-covered wagons. Many were chased by slave catchers. Some were shot at. Others hid in tunnels and secret rooms. But these troubles were worth it for the men, women, and children who eventually reached freedom. Freedom Train North tells the stories of fugitive slaves who found help in Wisconsin. Young readers will meet people like Joshua Glover, who was broken out of jail by a mob of freedom workers in Milwaukee, and Jacob Green, who escaped five times before he finally made it to freedom.

This compelling book also introduces stories of the strangers who hid freedom seekers and helped them on their way, men and women who broke the law to do what was right. As both a historian and a storyteller, author Julia Pferdehirt shares these exciting and important stories of a dangerous time in Wisconsin’s past. Using manuscripts, letters, and artifacts from the period, as well as stories passed down through the generations, Pferdehirt takes us deep into our state’s past, challenging and inspiring us with accounts of courage and survival.

Winner of the Wisconsin Library Association’s Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award for Children’s Literature and a 2011 award winner in the children's nonfiction category from the Midwest Independent Publishers Association.

Author Bio

Julia Pferdehirt is an author, educator, and professional storyteller. She has also written They Came to Wisconsin and Caroline Quarrls and the Underground Railroad for young readers, both published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. Pferdehirt resides in Madison, Wisconsin.