The Film: Interview Transcripts: James Oliver Horton

James Oliver Horton, Ph.D., historian on
the decision to escape
To make the decision to escape from slavery was a terribly, terribly difficult thing.  One, it was difficult if you had a family, especially, if you had children, because the chances of you making a successful escape with children, with babies, were very small.  It was difficult because one of the things that was necessary for a successful escape was information, and, of course, slave holders tried in every way they could to deny to slaves information.  Where would you go?  What was it like when you got there?  You know, it wasn’t a matter of getting on the highway and going north.  These are routes through swamps, over mountains, through woods with very, almost impossible directions. And what would you do when you got to this place called freedom?  Who would you contact?  How would you live there?  What could you expect?  I mean, these are questions to which most escaping slaves did not have answers, and that made their decision to strike out for freedom a terribly, terribly difficult decision, a dangerous decision.  Because we don’t even want to imagine the consequences for failure.  To be caught, family would probably be sold apart.  Who knows what would happen to you physically?  The physical punishment that you would have to endure.  I mean, you did not want to fail, and so to make that decision must have been one of the most difficult things that a human being had to do. 

economic impact of slavery

the role of free blacks

inter-racial alliances

importance of
Western Pennsylvania

John Brown

black patriotism

.