Diego A.

Torres Santiago
Slave Narrative Project

Summary:
“Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom” is a slave narrative written by the
married couple William and Ellen Craft. In this narrative, William and Ellen tell
their story of how they escaped slavery and the horrible experiences they went
through. What makes this narrative so important is that it showed how
dehumanizing and cruel the system was for slaves, seeing them as possessions.
William was born in 1826 and Ellen in 1824, they were both born into slavery.
Both of their families were sold to slaveowners or separated from them,
witnessing these kinds of things was not easy for them growing up. When Ellen
was 20, she married William Craft. What motivated them at first to escape was
the fact that they could not start a family together in the conditions that they
lived in, they were also putting the children at risk of being taken from them and
being sold. By disguising herself as a male slaveowner Ellen was able to deceive
everyone and take his husband, William (who posed as her slave), across a train
towards Philadelphia to obtain freedom, they lived in Boston. The Fugitive Slave
Act is a law that passed in 1850 that put in danger their freedom, since this law
required slaves to come back to their slaver and that regular citizens could not
help the slaves. This left the couple with one choice, which was to move to
England, where slavery had been abolished back in 1807. They settled down in
England well, where they eventually had five children, their dream of starting a
family became reality. In 1860 they publish their personal story of “Running a
Thousand Miles for Freedom”. After 20 years they moved back to United States
and established a school for newly freed slaves. I think that slavery should be
talked about more and we need to emphasize why it is so important to learn
about it. Slavery plays a big part in how the US was built. An example to this is
how critical the business of slavery was, due to it amplifying the economic growth
of the United States of America. This proves how important it is to learn about it
and recognizing that slavery was not just a small part of our history. Educating
people on the past ensures our future to building a better society where events
like this will not repeat. I strongly believe that modern day racism is tied to the
history of slavery. The mistreat of Africans back then is what causes the mistreat
of African Americans today. Examples of this are discrimination, prejudice and
lack of opportunity. The political legacy that slavery left in the United States still
lives on, especially in the south, where people are more likely to show negative
attitudes towards black people. This is why we need to fight for equality and give
African Americans the dignity they deserve.

Questions:
a. How did they become a slave? William and Ellen Craft were born in the
mid 1820s and started their lives as slaves. Ellen’s mother was a slave
and his father a slaveholder, she became a servant in her master’s
home. William became an apprentice to a cabinet maker after being
sold and separated from his family at the age of 16.
b. How were they treated? Although a bit more privileged than other
slaves, they had to endure what was living as a slave and treated like a
product. Their families were broken apart because of the business that
was slavery back then. This caused them trauma due to how dreadful it
was to see their loved ones being sold off just to be given the purpose of
working away the rest of their lives.
c. How did they escape? Ellen disguised herself as a slaveowner and
William his slave, they manage to get on a train where they planned on
traveling to Philadelphia. Ellen engaged in conversation with other white
people and no one questioned her identity, meaning her disguise
worked. William and Ellen Craft eventually made it to Philadelphia on
December 25, 1848.
d. Was justice served? William and Ellen Craft did not seek justice directly
after they escaped. But they did do abolitionist work after moving to
England.
e. After they escaped, what did they do with their lives? They found
freedom in Boston, where abolitionists gave them education and
shelter. Despite finding a better life in Boston, their freedom was at
stake as a result of the Fugitive Slave Act, which was passed in 1850. This
law did not allow slaves to receive shelter or be given any kind of help to
 them by citizens. William and Ellen had to run away for safety one more
time. Their next plan was to move to England, where slavery had
become illegal many years back in 1834.
f. What important thing did they achieve after escaping? In 1860, they
published “Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom”, where they recount
all the events that occurred during their time as slaves and how they
were able to overcome all the challenges that came with it. In 1873, the
Crafts opened a school for freed slaves, but sadly it closed a few years
after lack of funding
g. Opinion about slavery and racism. I think that slavery should be talked
about more and we need to emphasize why it is so important to learn
about it. Slavery plays a big part in how USA was built. An example to
this is how critical the business of slavery was, due to it amplifying the
economic growth of the United States of America. This proves how
important it is to learn about it and recognizing that slavery was not just
a small part of our history. Educating people on the past ensures our
future to building a better society where events like these will not
repeat. I strongly believe that modern day racism is tied to the history of
slavery. The mistreat of Africans back then is what lead to the mistreat
of African Americans today. Examples of this are discrimination,
prejudice and lack of opportunity.