I've been travelling on business every now and again and as I headed out of town for meetings in Philadelphia one day, Kajal said to me "Oh, Mom, you're going to the land of the Free".
I realized that she'd been studying the Civil War and the Underground railroad and I knew immediately where this was coming from.
We're all the land of the free now, honey....
Well maybe, she responded, but sometimes I feel like I'm on the wrong side.
Hmmm... the South certainly has been a bit different than living up North, but the wrong side?
Kajal, we're all on the same side now, we're on the side of Freedom, I told her.
Will you see the railroad?
The Railroad? Oh, 'The Railroad". No, baby, that existed a long time ago. It isn't needed anymore. Remember too, that the railroad wasn't a real railroad. It was a series of homes that were secret, that helped the people who were slaves as they were on their road to freedom. 
The stories of the civil war hit home with Kajal, in many ways. When we travelled for a visit to Boston and she had a chance to visit the American Girl store, I gave her the opportunity to choose a new doll. After reading many of their stories, she found herself identifying the most with the stories of Addie. A young girl who had been a slave and escaped with her monther, to the North. Hence Kajal's excitement over the 'railroad'. 

Why did you choose Addie, I asked her.

Because Mom, she's like me. Her life was very sad at first,  but then it became happy... and she's a kind person, too. Just like me!

Kajal with her Grandmother picking out her new American Girl Doll, Addy