Freedom seekers : fugitive slaves in North America, 1800-1860

Author / Creator

Pargas, Damian Alan, author

Available as

Online

Physical

Summary

In this fascinating book, Damian Alan Pargas introduces a new conceptualization of "spaces of freedom" for fugitive slaves in North America between 1800 and 1860, and answers the questions: How and...

In this fascinating book, Damian Alan Pargas introduces a new conceptualization of "spaces of freedom" for fugitive slaves in North America between 1800 and 1860, and answers the questions: How and why did enslaved people flee to -- and navigate -- different destinations throughout the continent, and to what extent did they succeed in evading recapture and reenslavement? Taking a continental approach, this study highlights the diversity of slave flight by conceptually dividing the continent into three distinct -- and continuously evolving -- spaces of freedom. Namely, spaces of informal freedom in the US South, where enslaved people attempted to flee by passing as free blacks; spaces of semi-formal freedom in the US North, where slavery was abolished but the precise status of fugitive slaves was contested; and spaces of formal freedom in Canada and Mexico, where slavery was abolished and runaways were considered legally free and safe from reenslavement.

Show More