Aspects of Slavery and Freedom Seeking in North Carolina
Absconding-Fleeing Slavery
Running away was a silent, yet loud expression that blacks did not see the world in the same way as whites and felt slavery was a fundamental wrong. Running away was an act of resistance—a rejection of white society and its demand for slaves. It was also an expression of values that were opposed to the values of the slave society. Overall, the runaway served as a great symbol for the need for a better society, improved human relations, and served as a critique of the institution of slavery.
To conceptualize the idea of running away or freedom-seeking, it is important to artificially set a difference between absconding [lurking] and eloping [seeking to leave permanently]. The former generally meant temporary absence from the plantation or work area while remaining in the area. On the other hand, the latter generally meant seeking a more permanent escape, which may consist of escaping to free geography, joining or building a maroon community, or staying on the run [never being caught].
All escape attempts begin as absconding. Setting an artificial difference in absconding [running way] is an act of manipulation of the sources in order to gain insights into its function of running away. Success and failure of running away depended on the intent and the desire of the enslaved.
Success cannot be measured based on whether slaves were caught. Neither can failure be measured in terms of whether slaves could successfully run away. For instance, if the goal of freedom-seeking was to obtain small freedom in negotiating and setting limits on labor, then being caught or returning to the plantation where changes were made comprises a successful runaway attempt, even if punishment was meted out for escaping.
When thinking about running away, you have to account for the epoch. Before free geography existed, we must remember that the American North, Canada, or Mexico were not free places. Thus, many who ran away before these places were forced to rely on friendly Native Americans, find a way to Spanish Florida or use the frontier as a space to hide. The latter was the case for one black man who ran away to North Carolina's mountains during or before the Revolutionary War. He was away from this master for so long and thought to be hiding around a certain mountain in NC that the mountain was called Negro Mountain. Unfortunately, he was captured and returned after the revolutionary war.
After the revolutionary war, Northern states ended or gradually ended slavery, and a portion of Canada abolished slavery. As a result, these places and others, such as Mexico, became the target of enslaved people seeking free places.
