Summary: My Escape from Slavery Christopher Warren Colorado State University Global Campus January 28, 2023 Summary: My Escape from Slavery My Escape from Slavery by Frederick Douglass is an inspirational story of strength and perseverance. In this work, Douglass recounts his experience of enslavement and his daring escape from it. Through his story, Douglass illustrates the importance of courage, strength, and resilience in the fight against injustice. The state of Maryland had a custom requiring free colored people to have "free papers," which they had to renew often, and a fee was charged for this writing. These papers would describe the person's name, age, color, height, and any scars or other marks on their person. This system was often defeated as multiple people could match the same description, and slaves could escape by personating the papers’ owner. As such, Douglass had a sailor friend who owned a sailor’s protection, which was considered free papers. It was a risky operation for both Douglass and his friend, and it was an act of trust for a freeman of color to put their liberty at risk to help another be free (The Century Illustrated Magazine, 1881). …show more content…
Once aboard the train, he was afraid of being recognized by other people and being reported to the conductor. There were many close calls throughout Douglass’ journey to reach the free states, but they eventually arrived in New York City. Douglass was initially excited to be in a free land but soon realized New York was not as safe a refuge as he had thought. He meets a fugitive slave who tells him that many Southerners are in the city, that the people of color of New York cannot be trusted, that there are hired men who will betray fugitives for money, and that he must not trust anyone with his