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places like Mississippi and Louisiana, where the hot climate made the work conditions brutally unbearable. “Both slaves and servants ran away, and when caught, received for their efforts a wide range of nasty punishments, including whippings [and] bodily mutilations,” writes historian Peter Kolchin in

his book American Slavery: 1619 – 1877 . “Eighteenth-century colonial newspapers (there were none in the seventeenth century) were filled with advertisements for fugitives , both white and black.” However, the dream of escaping was part of the fabric of slave life. The promise of a free life—including possible reunions with loved

DID YOU KNOW ?

Many slaves who ran away only made it a short distance. Sometimes they were just looking to take a break from the drudgery of everyday work, or show their master how valuable they were to the plantation. Running away was not always seen as a permanent escape, but a microaggression against the master.

ones who had been sold away—was a powerful motivator. Some slaves were willing to risk their lives for the possibility of freedom. More male than female slaves escaped, primarily because of women’s roles in their family. A mother of young children would have to choose whether to bring her children or leave them behind as she made her escape. This difficult choice kept many female slaves from running away. However, that is not to say that women did not escape. Some of the most famous slave narratives were written by women who escaped from slavery. One of them was Harriet Jacobs, author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl . Jacobs lived in a small hiding place space for seven years before making her way to New York for freedom.

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ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY