Freedom In The 1800s

The word freedom can have different interpretations depending on, which century one has lived in. In early 1600,’s to the late 1800’s in American history the word freedom was something worth striving for. It kept people moving forward no matter the circumstances. In the textbook Give Me Liberty! by Eric Foner, there are excerpts throughout each chapter written in different times in history describing their voice of freedom. I have chosen three from the early 1600’s to the late 1800’s to see whether their definition of freedom is the same or does it differ throughout the years.
It is estimated that 7.7 million Africans were transported to the New World between 1492 and 1820, more than half arrived between 1700’s and 1800’s (Ch.4 Foner).
During the Civil War, many slaves escaped to the northward until they reached Canada to reach their freedom. Even though the constitution required that civilian to return these fugitives back to be enslaved, some succeed. One successful fugitive was joseph Taper, a slave in Frederick County, Virginia, who in 1837 ran away to Pennsylvania with his wife and children. Two years later, learning that a “slave catcher” was in the neighborhood, Taper, and his family fled to Canada (Ch.11 Foner). In 1840, Taper wrote to a white acquaintance about his new life as a freedman. In this letter, he describes all the wonderful things he as accomplished by living in a land of liberty. Taper says to his friend “ I have enjoyed more pleasure within one month here than in all my life in the land of bondage....My life and self-are sitting by a good comfortable fire happy, knowing that there are none to molest [us] or make [us] afraid” (Taper). Taper definition of freedom was probably desired by all those who were denied it. Many slaves attempted to escape but only a couple where able to tell their stories, while others were dragged back to slavery. Both Equiano and Taper would have desired the same type of freedom to all their fellow brothers to live their life how it was meant to