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Out of context: Reply #92
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- imbecile1
Ellen and William Craft were an enslaved married couple from Macon, Georgia in the United States who escaped to the North in December 1848 by traveling openly by train and steamboat, arriving in Philadelphia on Christmas Day. They became celebrities among abolitionists in the North and their daring and innovative escape has been widely written about in historical literature and was a symbolic blow against slavery.
Their escape plan was quite ingenious and relied heavily on Ellen's light-skinned complexion, which allowed her to pass for white. William was to pose as Ellen's personal servant. Ellen disguised herself as a white male planter due to her light skin. Because she couldn't write, Ellen wore her right arm in a sling to avoid having to sign any documents and feigned illness, which explained why her "servant" would handle all interactions.
They traveled by train and steamboat from Georgia to Pennsylvania, a free state, and their journey took them about a week. Throughout their travel, they faced various challenges and close calls, but their clever plan and courageous execution saw them arrive in Philadelphia on Christmas Day, 1848.
After reaching the North, the Crafts became well-known anti-slavery activists and speakers, publishing their story in a two-part article in William Lloyd Garrison's newspaper "The Liberator". Their memoir "Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom: Or, The Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery" was published in 1860.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, however, put them in danger even in the free states, as this law required officials in the free states to help in the capture and return of escaped slaves. The Crafts then moved to England, where they continued their activism and raised their children. After the Civil War ended and the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted, they returned to the United States and set up an educational institution for freedmen and their children in Georgia.
Their story has been celebrated as an example of ingenuity, courage, and resistance against the oppressive system of slavery.