Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom, Woo - B+

                       This is the remarkable story of William and Ellen Craft, slaves who traveled to the north and eventually to England in their pursuit of freedom. They became celebrities on the lecture circuit for defying the Fugitive Slave Act. "At heart, this is an American love story-not in the fairy tale sense, but an enduring relationship between a man and a woman, a couple and a country."

                       They departed their home in Macon on the morning of Dec. 20, 1848. Ellen was three-quarters white with light hair and easily passed as a sickly young white man, with an arm in a sling. William had been apprenticed to a carpenter and had managed to save $150. The Savannah train was a short walk from their home. The train pulled away with Ellen in first class and William in the Negro section. They arrived later that day, and embarked on a steamer that evening. The next day in Charleston,  Ellen purchased tickets for herself, as William Johnson, and for her slave for Philadelphia. Another steamer took them to Wilmington, where they boarded a train. The trip north entailed the constant changing of trains, but the journey continued, and they found themselves in the nation's capitol. They headed to the "most dangerous slaveport of their journey," Baltimore, where they had their closest call when an official would not let them proceed until Mr. Johnson could prove his ownership of the slave. Fortunately, an impatient crowd moved all of the passengers forward. On Christmas Eve, they arrived in Philadelphia.

                     They were welcomed by the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, and all marveled at the courage and genius behind their 1,000 mile escape. However, they moved on to Boston, which was considered a safer place because of its distance from the Mason-Dixon Line and the unlikelihood of the Fugitive Slave Act being enforced. They agreed to speak publicly about their experiences as slaves and their journey to freedom. Soon, their story was front page news in the north. They spent the spring of 1849 traveling and lecturing throughout New England. That summer, they settled in Boston's Black community. William opened a furniture repair store and Ellen used her sewing skills as an upholsterer. As part of the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was enhanced leading thousands to leave for Canada. The Crafts decided to stay in Boston. Many in the city said they would never allow the slave catchers to take away their residents, but there were people "from Macon en route to Boston, with Ellen and William in their sights." The slave catchers obtained a warrant from Federal Court, but had difficulty finding help to execute it. Hundreds of Negroes took to the streets with placards lambasting 'Kidnappers and Slave Catchers' in an attempt to thwart the southerners. While people threw eggs at the slave catchers, the local police arrested them three times. Although the people of Boston were doing their all to stop enforcement of the FSA, the federal government took steps to arrest the Crafts. They quickly left for Maine, then sailed to Canada, and were soon on their way to Liverpool.

                    William and Ellen immediately hit the lecture circuit and began to build a normal life in a free society. The lived in the UK for almost two decades and had five children there. Ellen was active in the London Emancipation Committee, the Women's Suffrage Organization, and the British and Foreign Freedmen's Association. In 1860, they published 'Running A Thousand Miles for Freedom: Or, The Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery.' In 1868, they returned to Georgia. They attempted to start a farm cooperative for freed slaves but it failed after a few years. They lived out their lives in Charleston where Ellen died in 1891 and William in 1900. Although their children and grandchildren lived as successful educators, activists, and lawyers, William and Ellen's story faded away. But their escape and activism is an extraordinary story. "They pushed not only themselves and each other, but also the nation - and the world - to reach for better." The book is good --the Craft's story is extraordinary.