Reward: Run Away Slaves

By: Jake Robinson

I was inspired by the last post to put up this particular picture. Evidently, this is a poster put up by a white slaveholder in St. Louis, Missouri. The man who made this poster is offering a $200 reward for anyone who finds his African-American slaves. These five slaves are an African-American family, consisting of one man, one woman, and three children. Following the major title gives the names of these people, and a basic description of what their characteristics and physical appearance. I figured that this picture was prevalent to our class because we have seen posters similar to this one in the texts we have read. For example, at the end of Chapter XVII in Harriet Jacobs’ narrative, there is a description of a poster describing a runaway slave that is very similar to the poster above. I think it is important to see and to understand this part of slavery because it truly shows how relentless and how ruthless slaveholder were. It shows that slaveholders were truly evil by taking a fellow man, and making him property. It shows that they did not value their fellow men, or women, and that their hearts were like stone. It is very important to not overlook this minor aspect of slavery because it also lets us know that slaves were literally running away from their slaveholders. Let it be through the Underground Railroad, or let it be on their own, some slaves got very fed up and just grabbed there things and left. Some were fortunate enough to escape, and some were not so fortunate. Upon being returned to a hellish life was a harsh punishment for attempting to escape. I feel that although this is a small detail in slavery, these posters can really reveal a great deal about slavery.