Closer to Freedom

Chapter 2 examines truancy, or temporary absenteeism from enslavement. Truants would often hide in woods, swamps, abandoned buildings, or occasionally with other enslaved people to secure a physical or psychological break from the conditions of their enslavement. Unlike fugitives, who attempted to secure permanent liberation by running to the North, truants did not seek permanent removal from the plantation. Truancy also allowed for “independent activity,” ranging from visiting relatives or partners to foraging for medicinal plants.

In every Southern state, the majority of both truants and fugitives were men. Gender roles created different expectations and norms regarding escape so that women attempted both permanent and temporary escape less often than men. These gender norms upheld the importance of women remaining with their families; men’s escapes to the North were generally not viewed as betrayal by their family members, whereas women’s escapes were. This “betrayal” became even more vilified moving into the antebellum era, when men were sold disproportionately to the Deep South, leaving women to maintain fractured family life in their absence. At the same time, however, many men refused to leave their families or escaped and worked to bring their families north. Logistically, too, women were not generally assigned labor that allowed them to move beyond the plantation, so they lacked knowledge of landscapes and ways of moving without arousing suspicion, making any attempted escape, whether temporary or permanent, more dangerous for them.