Rediscovering the stories of
Self-Liberating people

A database of fugitives from American Slavery

About the Project

Sketch portraying a fugitive climbing into a tree to escape a bloodhound.

Freedom on the Move is a database of fugitives from North American slavery.

With the advent of newspapers in the American colonies, enslavers posted “runaway ads” to try to locate fugitives. Additionally, jailers posted ads describing people they had apprehended in search of the enslavers who claimed the fugitives as property.

We are compiling thousands of stories of resistance that have never been accessible in one place.

Created to control the movement of enslaved people, the ads ultimately preserved the details of individual lives--their personality, appearance, and life story. Taken collectively, the ads constitute a detailed, concise, and rare source of information about the experiences of enslaved people.

Ad featuring an escaped slave owned by Thomas Jefferson.

Research driven by you.

After initial curation, the ads become available for crowdsourcing. The crowdsourcing process populates a full-text transcription and additional searchable metadata within the database.

A database full of possibilities.

Freedom on the Move will serve as research aid, a pedagogical tool, and a resource for genealogists. Scholars, students, and citizen historians will be able to use the data produced from the ads in new and creative ways.

Made for Everyone

Scholars

Use our advanced search to navigate the database & find the data you need. Then export the results to JSON / CSV and use with your tool of choice.

Student

Establish a deeper connection to the period through the lens of those seeking freedom. The history contained within the advertisements is living.

Citizen Historian

Explore the stories captured in the advertisements. Contribute your time to help transcribe. Search the database to see if any blanks can be filled in your ancestry.

Selected Testimonials

"These advertisements help add a face to the overall problem of slavery, they introduce emotion."

Student Studying Civil War and Reconstruction

Colorado College

"This was a great resource for me, especially when trying to get a better understanding of the social aspects surrounding slavery and particularly the antebellum south."

Student Studying Civil War and Reconstruction

Colorado College

"In some of the ads that did have good descriptions of missing slaves, there was a lot of information about the scars or markings on the slaves. This reminded me a lot about Fuentes and the concept that slavery is a process one can never escape from. The psychical aftermath of slavery is something that an individual can never leave in their past, even if they have found freedom."

Student Studying Civil War and Reconstruction

Colorado College

Frequently Asked Questions

When will the database become available?

We are hoping to have an early preview to share in Late Fall / Early Winter 2018 with a full launch shortly after.

Is FOTM a good fit for my class?

We certainly believe so! We have had several instructors share our beta version with their students and they deemed it a success.

Is the software open source?

Our current plan is to release most of our software under an Open Source License. You can see what we've released thus far on our Github page.

How can I help?

Crowdsourcing & sharing the project.

Can I contribute new ads?

Certainly! Please contact us.

Question not here?

Please contact us.

Our Interdisciplinary Team

Edward E. Baptist

Project PI
Professor
Department of History
Cornell University

William C. Block

Director
CISER
Cornell University

Vanessa M. Holden

Assistant Professor
African American and Africana Studies
Department of History
University of Kentucky

Hasan Kwame Jeffries

Associate Professor
African American History
Department of History
The Ohio State University

Mary Niall Mitchell

Joseph Tregle Professor in Early American History
Ethel & Herman L. Midlo Chair in New Orleans Studies
Department of History
University of New Orleans