Freedom+Quilt



We read all about the Underground Railroad and learned that runaway slaves could not risk having a map. So slaves learned songs like the Drinking Gourd to help them find their way to freedom in Canada. People also made quilts with secret messages to help other slaves escape. We read the story of Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt and made our own quilt. Here are some pictures of what we did and the great group quilt that we made together.

































=Each quilt square has a message. The following are examples of the Bow Tie patt ern. The clothes that slaves wore were easy to spot, this was because they were tattered and made up of small different parts. This quilt spare meant that people would bring clothes for runaway slaves.=

=The Monkey Wrench quilt square was to remind students that they needed to gather all of the tools that they might need on their journey. They needed tools to build shelters and for weapons to protect themselves.=

=The Wagon Wheel was the second quilt square in most quilts. It was a signal for the slaves to pack up all the essential things that they would need on their journey.=

=The Carpenter's Wheel is like the Wagon Wheel pattern. It was a reminder of a song "Steal Away" which most slaves knew. It helped the runaways to run with faith to the west and northwest territories.=



=The Bear's Paw was to help runaways follow the path of the bear, to look for special tracks and landmarks on their journey.=



=Tumbling Blocks/Boxes was a secret message for slaves to box up all of their belongings that they wanted to take on their journey to freedom.=



=When runaway slaves had traveled through the mountains they were to travel to the crossroads. That is why this next quilt square looks like Crossroads. The main crossroad was Cleveland, Ohio! So if you were traveling from anywhere outside of Ohio, you would eventually get to Cleveland.=



=This pattern looks like geese that are flying. It is called the Flying Geese square and reminds runaways that they needed to follow geese migrating north to Canada. Therefore slaves were to follow geese that were migrating and travel at about the same time.=



=To help runaways know where to stay on their journey to freedom, the Log Cabin was a secret sign that there were safe houses on the route. Some people may have traced this quilt square in the dirt for runaways to know they were friends who would help them.=



=The Shoofly is a mystery! Some people think it shows someone who helped slaves escape. But we really don't know!=



=The Drunkard's Path quilt square is a warning! It warns runaways to make their route in a winding way, so to confuse anyone chasing them.=



=The last square of our Freedom Quilt is the North Star. This was an important square as it reminded the runaways to follow the North Star to freedom and to Canada.=



=Here is our completed class project, which is now on display at school!=



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