Colorado Parks & Wildlife Research Library

A biography of the slave who escaped to Boston in 1854, was arrested at the instigation of his owner, and whose trial caused a furor between abolitionists and those determined to enforce the Fugitive Slave Acts.

Five accounts of black slaves who managed to escape to freedom during the period preceding the Civil War.

"A National Book Award Finalist for Non-Fiction, Never Caught is the eye-opening narrative of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington's runaway slave, who risked everything for freedom. Now in a Young Readers Edition"--

Details the history of the Underground Railroad from the roots of slavery through the post-Emancipation era by focusing on the lives of the participants.

"Soon after American colonists had won independence from Great Britain, Ona Judge was fighting for her own freedom from one of America's most famous founding fathers, George Washington. George and Martha Washington valued Ona as one of their most skilled and trustworthy slaves, but she would risk everything to achieve complete freedom. Born into slavery at Mount Vernon, Ona seized the opportunity to escape when she was brought to live in the President's...

Written by American author and dedicated abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, "Uncle Toms Cabin" is a poignant novel which shows the harsh reality of a slaves life in the 1800s. Uncle Tom, an African-American slave who believes in the power of Christian faith. The book would be a major contributor to the Civil War because its compelling portrayal of slaves as fellow human beings left little room for compromise: if slaves were indeed...

Araminta Ross was born a slave in Delaware in the early 19th century. Slavery meant that her family could be ripped apart at any time, and that she could be put to work in dangerous places and for abusive people. But north of the Mason-Dixon line, slavery was illegal. If she could run away and make it north without being caught or killed, she'd be free. Facing enormous danger, Araminta made it, and once free, she changed her name to Harriet Tubman....

President George Washington and his wife enslaved more than 150 people in the mid-1700s. In 1796, one of their slaves escaped. Her name was Oney Judge. Oney Judge: Escape from Slavery and the President's House explores her story and her legacy.

"How much do you know about Crispus Attucks? Find out the facts you need to know about the first person killed in America's fight for independence. You'll learn about the early life, challenges, and major accomplishments of this important American"--

"On the night of May 13th, 1862, as the Civil War raged on in the United States, 16 enslaved people decided they would reach freedom or die trying. Filled to the brim with suspense, this true story details how Robert Smalls commandeered a Confederate ship through the Charleston harbor toward liberation at the Union blockade. Experience both determination and triumph with this picture book biography written by Robert Small's great-great grandson, Michael...