Francis Fredric - Entry three

Ever since I found out about the Emancipation Proclamation I have been hearing news about alot of angry uproar from the south. All the plantation owners and slave masters made a living having slaves work and pick cotton and harvest crops for them and now that all slaves are free they have nothing. This is exactly what they deserve for treating me and my people like animals for all of our lives. The tables finally turned on them and now they have to work for themselves the way God intended. The south is becoming really poor and isn't making much money. All they can really do is sell all of the crops that the slaves left behind for them. All of the acres of land full of plants of all kinds that us slaves worked hard and long on won't make it through the winter. The slave masters definetly won't be able to take care of all that land just by themselves. more and more blacks are coming up to Canada everyday. Everytime I go into town I look into the windows of the shops and all i see are black men and women working behind the counter. In some shops i even see black men and women working along side white men and women. i could not believe my eyes. i looked like a miracle to me. when i think about the South and then think about canada, its almost like i've been to two different worlds. I have never seen so much change in my life. I am happy because when i have children, they will have more opportunities in life and won't have to grow up into slavery and feel the cracking of a whip on their backs like i did. my children won't have to be afraid to live in this world.

Francis Fredric - Entry Two

I found a small cottage up in Canada and ever since I first came here it has been the safest place i had ever been. i was able to leave my home and return peacefully without the fear of being chased by hounds or the cracking sounds of whips. one day i went into town and I got a newsletter that was talking about something called the Emancipation proclamation. It said that this document had been signed and passed on to the south. The Emancipation proclamation said that all slaves in the south were to be freed. i was so happy that i cold have cried right there at that moment. All the years of my life that i had wasted living life as nothing more than an animal had finally ended not just for me but for everyone who was a slave. President Lincoln freeing the slaves was the topic of almost everyones conversation up north where I was. There are plenty of times where I sit and wonder if things would be different in the south if I went back, but going back would be the dumbest decision of my life because I would be going back to a place that i've worked so hard to get away from. I never thought the day would come where a white man would allow millions of slaves to be free. I know that my family, where ever they may be, is celebrating right now. I hope that one day I can tell my children about my life and the day black people were no longer called slaves and became normal human beings. Later on I found a well paying job as an author and I still write novels to this day. I look at this new start as a reward for all of my pain and suffering back in Kentucky.

Francis Fredric - Entry One

Hello, my name is Francis Fredric. I was born Faquier County, Virginia. I was born into slavery and when I became older my master sent me away to Mason County, Kentucky. I met my new master's wife and became very well aquianted with her. My master made me a house slave. This was alot better than what I was used to back at the other plantation. Late one night I decided to go to a meeting that was being held by the other slaves. I was told that the meetings are inspirational and uplifting. Lord knows I need all the uplifting I can get. So i went to this meeting and It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Everyone was so happy and It gave me a sense of hope. the songs that all of the other slaves were singing were actually messages to plan an escape. I wanted in on the plan as soon as I caught on. On the morning after, I decided to make a run for it! As soon as my master turned his head I ran as fast as I could to the swamps. my heart was racing. Once I started I couldn't stop because my master set three hounds after me. Luckily I fed them so often that I knew how to get them under control and calm down. I individually called each of their names with a clap and they slowed their pace and went in different directions. I saw this successful escape as the beginning of life as a free man. I managed to stay in hiding for about nine weeks. While in hiding i met a women who had told me that my master put out a $500 reward to whoever turned me in. I was very frightened. The women gave me food and I slept in her home for the night. When I awoke, I saw my master walking into my room with a whip in his hand. i was brought back to the plantation where I was whipped 107 times. After a few days of work I met a abolitionist and told him about my experience. I asked if he would take me to canada where I could be free and so he did and I was finally able to live the rest of my life as a free man.