Frederick Douglass and the Price of Permanent Freedom

In 1838, Frederick Douglass escaped slavery in Maryland by disguising himself as a free Black sailor and boarding a northbound train. He was free — but not really. Every knock on the door could be a slave catcher. Every stranger's glance might mean discovery. He had broken loose from chains, but the legal claim against him remained. His former owner, Hugh Auld, still held the deed to his body.…