Mary Ellen Cable

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/mary-ellen-cable

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Mary Ellen Cable born?Circa 1835
2. Who was Mary Ellen Cable?Mary Ellen Cable was a brave African American woman who helped enslaved people escape to freedom by working as a conductor on the Underground Railroad.
3. What did a conductor on the Underground Railroad do?A conductor guided people from one safe house to another, using secret routes and signals, and helped them travel at night while avoiding slave patrols.

Underground Railroad: A clandestine network of secret routes and safe houses utilized by enslaved African Americans to escape to free states and Canada.
Conductor: An individual responsible for guiding freedom seekers along the routes of the Underground Railroad, often facing significant personal risk.
Abolitionist Movement: The organized effort to end the practice of slavery, involving various strategies from political advocacy to direct action like the Underground Railroad.