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Running A Thousand Miles To Freedom And The Narrative Of Sojourner Truth

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By the 1820s the law stated slavery in the northern states was abolished. “The institution of slavery had practically ceased to exist in northern states” is a statement that is far from the truth. The definition of a slave is “a person who is the property of and wholly subject to another.” (Dictionary.com). There is no “practically”, either slavery is completely abolished or it is not. In 1817 slaves over forty were freed. Then came the law that slaves had to be twenty-one to age out of slavery. The system was completely absurd. The Southern slaves tried to escape to freedom in the north, risking their lives knowing there were loop-holes in the laws. If they were caught, the law has the right to return them to their masters, because they are “their” property. They knew if they get caught then they could be beaten to death. The two narratives, Running a Thousand Miles to Freedom and the Narrative of Sojourner Truth, were two unique and interesting perspectives of the …show more content…
Even the train conductors were telling William to run away from his “master” as soon as they reached their stop in Pennsylvania. (Pg. 43) It gives almost a contradicting view between each story. The Craft’s saw slavery as absolutely brutal while Truth saw it as not so bad because she was released from it by law. The Crafts were welcomed with open arms when they reached the north, yet Truth felt as if things were not fair or equal. It shows an interesting difference in stories all because of perspective and location in America. The south fought the inevitable for as long as they could, before American and human Constitutional Rights would be put into action for slaves just as they were for white, land-owning, wealthy men. This was all made possible because people such as Sojourner Truth fought for the rights of blacks until her voice was

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