Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 Readers Theater Script

Trace the flash‑point moments after Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Through the voices of Harriet Tubman, Anthony Burns, Boston marshals and Southern politicians, learners weigh personal liberty against federal law and watch the Underground Railroad run beneath city streets.

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Get this resource in the complete Westward Expansion (1801-1861) 10 Script Bundle

Perfect For

• Grades 6‑8 U.S. History units on Westward Expansion
• ELA‑integrated fluency & dramatic performance
• Primary‑source analysis & evidence‑based discussion
• Quick, print‑and‑go sub plans

What’s Included

• Readers Theater script (~9 pages, 10 scenes, 15 characters, editable Google Doc & PDF)
• Teacher Guide (~10 pages) with scene summaries, standards alignment, discussion questions
• Student Worksheet deck (~25 Google Slides) covering vocabulary, short‑answer, analysis & extension tasks
• 20‑question self‑grading Google Forms quiz

Skills Addressed

• Close reading of statutory language from the 1850 Act
• Debating states’ rights versus moral obligation
• Fluency practice using emotionally charged courtroom dialogue
• Writing prompts connect to modern civil‑rights questions

Script Snapshot

1. Senators barter votes that bundle the Act inside the Compromise of 1850.
2. Marshals kidnap a free Black sailor—students decide evidence in a hearing.
3. Harriet Tubman guides fugitives through coded hymns & lantern signals.
4. Anthony Burns’ shackled march triggers a Boston riot.
5. Closing scene shows Northern lawmakers passing ‘personal liberty’ laws.

Standards Alignment

CCSS CCRA.R.1  | CCSS CCRA.R.2  | CCSS CCRA.W.2
CCSS CCRA.SL.1  | CCSS CCRA.L.4
CCSS RH.6‑8.1; RH.6‑8.2; RH.6‑8.4; RH.6‑8.6; RH.6‑8.7

Try a Free Script First

Not sure if Readers Theater will work in your class? Download our FREE Missouri Compromise script and test‑drive it tomorrow.

Want More Social Studies Activities?

Perfect for sub plans, sick days, supplemental activities, review stations, Friday fun days or even build an entire emergency curriculum with these 4 bundles below:

BUNDLE #1 Colonial America and the Early Republic (1587 – 1811)

1. The Lost Colony of Roanoke (1587)
2. King Philip’s War (1675–1676) [FREE DOWNLOAD!]
3. The First Great Awakening (1730s–1740s)
4. Proclamation of 1763 (1763)
5. The Northwest Ordinance (1787)
6. The Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)
7. The Barbary Wars (1801–1805)
8. Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806)
9. Tecumseh’s Resistance (1809–1811)
10. The Embargo Act of 1807 (1807)

Bundle #2 Westward Expansion (1801 – 1865)

1. The Missouri Compromise (1820) [FREE DOWNLOAD!]
2. The Monroe Doctrine (1823)
3. The Second Great Awakening (1820s–1830s)
4. Oregon Trail Migration (1840s)
5. The Fugitive Slave Act (1850)
6. Bleeding Kansas (1854–1856)
7. John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry (1859)
8. The Pony Express (1860–1861)
9. The Battle of Antietam (1862)
10. The 13th Amendment (1865)

Bundle #3 Revolutionary War (1773 – 1804)

1. The Boston Tea Party (1773–1774) [FREE DOWNLOAD!]
2. United We Stand: The First Continental Congress (1774)
3. Liberty or Death: Patrick Henry's Speech (1775)
4. Midnight Ride and Paul Revere (1775)
5. Green Mountain Boys and Bunker Hill (1775)
6. The Second Continental Congress (1775)
7. Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence (1776)
8. Crossing the Delaware and Trenton Victory (1776)
9. Valley Forge and The American Crisis (1777–1778)
10. Foreign Allies: Lafayette and France (1777–1778)
11. Sybil Ludington and Molly Pitcher (1777)
12. Hamilton and His Duel (1780s–1804)
13. Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris (1781–1783)
14. Washington Steps Down: The Man Who Would Be King (1783)
15. Slavery and the Revolution (1770s–1780s)

• NOTE 1: These 15 scripts do not include Google Docs or Slides but the docx file can easily be uploaded to Google Docs and distributed digitally if desired.
• NOTE 2: These 15 scripts also include a G3-5 reading level of each script for diverse language ability classrooms.

Bundle #4 Reconstruction (1865 – 1877)

1. The Assassination of Lincoln (1865) [FREE DOWNLOAD!]
2. Presidential vs. Radical Reconstruction (1865–1867)
3. The Freedmen’s Bureau (1865–1872)
4. The 14th and 15th Amendments (1868–1870)
5. Black Political Participation (1867–1877)
6. The Ku Klux Klan and Resistance (1866–1871)
7. The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson (1868)
8. The Compromise of 1877 (1877)

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U.S. History Mega Bundle of 43 Readers Theater Scripts for Grades 6 to 8