Historic Resource Study-Fugitives from Injustice: Freedom-Seeking Slaves in Arkansas, 1800-1860
Bolton SC and National Park Service-Midwest Regional Office. 2006. Historic Resource Study-Fugitives from Injustice: Freedom-Seeking Slaves in Arkansas, 1800-1860. Historic Resource Study. Omaha, NE
Public Law 105-203, the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1988, directs the National Park Service (NPS) to commemorate, honor, and interpret the history of the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad—the resistance to enslavement through escape and flight, through the end of the Civil War—refers to the efforts of enslaved African Americans to gain their freedom by escaping bondage. Wherever slavery existed, there were efforts to escape, at first, to maroon communities in rugged terrain away from settled areas, and later across state and international borders. While most began and completed their journeys unassisted, each subsequent decade in which slavery was legal in the United States saw an increase in active efforts to assist escape. The decision to assist a freedom seeker may have been spontaneous. However, in some places, particularly after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, the Underground Railroad was deliberate and organized. Freedom seekers went in many directions – Canada, Mexico, Indian Territory, the West, Caribbean islands and Europe. Key to understanding this important movement in American History is an examination of its roots in the areas where people were enslaved. In the following work, Professor S. Charles Bolton examines runaway advertisements. These contemporary accounts shed light on who the freedom seekers were and demonstrate the value placed by owners in their human property. Collectively they begin to provide a window into these clandestine acts of resistance.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Bolton, S.; National Park Service-Midwest Regional Office
- Date of Issue
- 2006-08
- Units
- HIST
- Keywords
- Arkansas, Arkansas and the South, Arkansas Frontier, Arkansas Slaves Seeking Freedom, Civil War in Arkansas, Contraband and Warriors, ehistory, Famous Freedom Seekers, Fleeing Through Arkansas, Fugitives from Arkansas, History, Last of the Runaways, Memories of Arkansas Slavery, Runaway Slaves, Seeking Freedom in Arkansas, The Civil War, To and From Indian Country, Underground Railroad