Running from Bondage: Enslaved Women and Their Remarkable Fight for Freedom in Revolutionary America

by Karen Cook Bell

Running from Bondage tells the compelling stories of enslaved women, who comprised one-third of all runaways, and the ways in which they fled or attempted to flee bondage during and after the Revolutionary War. Karen Cook Bell's enlightening and original contribution to the study of slave resistance in eighteenth-century America explores the individual and collective lives of these women and girls of diverse circumstances, while also providing details about what led them to escape. She demonstrates that there were in fact two wars being waged during the Revolutionary Era: a political revolution for independence from Great Britain and a social revolution for emancipation and equality in which Black women played an active role. Running from Bondage broadens and complicates how we study and teach this momentous event, one that emphasizes the chances taken by these 'Black founding mothers' and the important contributions they made to the cause of liberty.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American Revolution

254 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2021

Reviews

[Paperwitches ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides an amazing insight into the lives and escapes of women in slavery. It’s emotional, but also factual and informative. It handles the dark subject matter well, from an analytical point of view without getting emotionally involved or opinionated on any content within the book. It helps imagine just how people back then felt as if slaves were property and nothing else.

I’m very glad to see a book on slavery’s accounts and experiences! These stories are important, and this novel helps bring attention to the personal accounts of women who were slaves. Each chapter focuses on different story, and are well written and compelling. The technical stuff can go on for a while, but it doesn’t much distract from the interesting stories.

I want to sincerely thank Netgalley, and the publisher for giving me the chance to review this ARC!

[hannah rosenman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great study on fugitivity and the (often archivally silent) role of Black women in enslaved rebellion.

[Marisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely phenomenal. Karen Cook Bell really sheds light on a topic that hasn't received a lot of attention in the history world. Books about slavery tend to lean towards the 1800s, but there aren't anywhere near as many about slavery in the 18th century. Even more scarce than that is books about slavery in the 18th century that are about WOMEN. Easy to read, poignant, and authentic, Running from Bondage is a must read for people interested in American history. I'm a public historian at an 18th century house museum (state historic site) with a background in interpreting slavery, and I would love to see this book offered in our gift shop.

[Kaitlyn Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Tracing the movement of enslaved women in, out of, and through spaces in colonial America and the Atlantic world provides an unmediated microcosm of Black female agency.” (Page 66). What these women went through and experienced is not describable. Their lives can never be recovered- but yet understanding more of their history and experiences should allow us to honor the things they fought for.

[zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

read for school i took so many notes about to write such a good paper guys don’t know how to rate though it was a good book i guess

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this audiobook with my Audible subscription.

I've tried writing my thoughts about this book several times and nothing I write comes close to describing how important I think this book is in understanding the cognitive dissonance that created the country we now call the United States. Time has left little written record of marginalized groups, so historians must examine different types of available evidence to understand those people's lives. Cook Bell does an excellent job bringing to light the lives of the enslaved women featured in this book.

In this work, Cook Bell uses documents to bring to the forefront of history the enslaved women who attempted to flee their enslavers. Cook Bell argues that enslaved women's escape and attempted escapes from slavery demonstrate an important form of resistance. By shining the light on these women's stories, Cook Bell shows how these women's choices contributed to the larger fight for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the Revolutionary United States.

Overall, this is an incredibly well-researched and important historical work. In some places, the language does lean more academic, but Cook Bell interweaves the academic with the biographical in such a way as not to be confusing for the reader.

I highly recommend this book and I think that this is an absolutely essential read.

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and War

[Bob Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bell provides a unique window through which to more deeply understand the life of females who were enslaved and their resistance to their enslaved status. I learn a great deal. I was particular intrigued by the fact that many females who fled from their enslavement stayed relative close to original place of enslavement.... sometimes in maroon communities in wet lands, other times in big cities where they could pass of "free blacks." I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this period of history and who wishes to understand the important role of African American enslaved women played in their own liberation.

[Sasha (bahareads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Running from Bondage pushes enslaved women's to desire for freedom for themselves and their children compelling them to run away during the American Revolutionary War. The war was a time where a lack of oversight allowed more opportunities for marronage. Bell wants to challenge the lack of Black women's representation in Revolutionary America and show "the ways in which Black women enter history." Using fugitive narratives shows the integral role in the 18th abolitionist movement. Bell builds on the history of how the American Revolution impacted freedom and slavery by highlighting the experiences of enslaved and fugitive women.

Running away was an expression of agency and a strategic act. Flight was a method of fighting against the oppressive system. Two themes throughout Running from Bondage are the creation of a rival geography through fugitivity and using fugitivity as an act of resistance. She's not reinventing the wheel but she is highlighting underrepresented voices. Running from Bondage seeks to answer several questions, and she answers all the questions she poses.

The different chapters examine the various questions Bell poses. There is an analysis of the status and position of enslaved women; an examination of the pre-Revolutionary period; the ideas of the American Revolution while placing fugitive enslaved women on the front; obstacles enslaved women faced in escaping bondage; and the gendered dimensions of maroon communities in America and the Atlantic world. Enslaved rebellions and rumours of rebellions illuminate the networks women used to secure their freedom. Runaway slave ads descriptions allow enslaved people's bodies to be as text to understand the tangible effects of slavery. Ads recognize runaways' historical visibility. Freedom for enslaved people was temporally and spatially changing, dependent on the interplay of a variety of processes.

"Enslaved women who escaped to join maroon communities unabashedly claimed the liberty denied to them and fundamentally transformed their lived experiences."

[Thomas Mackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book focuses on the women who resisted the abuses of enslavement. Their stories are harder to see and require specialized sources that are not often studied. The book club "Poor Richard's Book Club" studied this book for its fall reading.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Facinating premise. Repetative and awkwardly academic writing.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Running from Bondage" is a fantastic collection of stories of enslaved women who fled for their lives during the colonial era. I read an e-ARC version of this book, and I would be very interested to see the final copy. The few sketches and pictures that were included in this biography were fantastic, but I think to see the final product would pack a more significant punch to these strong women's tales. In general, I tend to prefer books that do a deep-dive on a single subject rather than a collection of smaller stories, but for some of the women discussed in this book, there simply wasn't going to be enough information to constitute an entire book. That didn't mean this wasn't a deeply enlightening read. I felt honored to be learning of these women and their struggles to survive during colonial America. I would love to know more about them.

Here is my rating breakdown:
Structure/formatting: 4/5
Thoroughness of research: 5/5
Storytelling: 4/5
Enjoyment: 4/5
Prior knowledge needed: 5/5 (meaning you can go into this book without any prior knowledge of the subject and still understand what is being discussed)