Ad for Runaway Slave Boy, 1783
Image ID: 6975
Collection: Karen Halttunen
Topic(s): Early American Slavery, Colonial America, Columbian Exchange, Immigrants, Labor, Market Economy, Parents, Children, Families, Slaves Violence Resistance, Southern Society
Region(s): North America, United States
CA Standard(s): 8.7 - The divergent paths of the American people in the South from 1800 to the mid-1800s , 5.4 - Political, religious, social, and economic institutions that evolved in the colonial era. , 5.8 - The colonization, immigration, and settlement patterns of the American people from 1789 to the mid-1800s..., 7.11 - political and economic change in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries (the Age of Exploration, the Enlightenment, and the Age of Reason), 8.1 - Major events preceding the founding of the nation and the development of American constitutional democracy, 8.9 - The early and steady attempts to abolish slavery and to realize the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.
National Standard(s): Colonization and Settlement (1585-1763), Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s) , The Emergence of the First Global Age, 1450-1770
Card Text: Ad for runaway slave boy, 1783. "Run-away from the Subscriber, on the 18th of June last, A Negro Boy named Jack, aged about sixteen years -- Any person taking up said Negro Boy, and delivering him to his Master, shall have one Guinea Reward for his trouble; and also a Reward of Five Guineas for discovering such person or persons, who may have employed, harboured, concealed, or entertained said Negro Boy. -- Jeromus Lott, King's-County, July 19, 1783."
As early as 1526 Africans rebelled and ran away in South Carolina. From the beginnings of slavery until the Civil War, countless numbers of African Americans attempted to make or succeeded in making their way to freedom. During the 19th century the migration of runaways within the United States and to Canada and Mexico became widespread. It is estimated that at least 50,000 men, women and children ran away each year and among them a few thousand made it to freedom. A few fugitives became prominent abolitionists who wrote autobiographies, thus contributing to a unique American literary genre, the Slave Narrative. At enormous risk, many others helped their families, friends, and even strangers secure their own freedom.
Most of the runaways absconded for a few days or weeks only to be captured, or to return on their own. Some ran away to reunite with family members who had been sold away or to sustain familial or romantic liaisons. But for others, the goal was to secure permanent freedom and leave behind the horrors of a system that brutalized and exploited them. Many planned their escapes for weeks, even months, waiting for the right moment. Their quest for freedom often meant leaving loved ones behind in slavery, and the pain and anguish of such separations remained strong. Fear and anxiety about being caught and returned to bondage were a constant reminder that at no time did runaways have any right to freedom. Local and federal laws, indeed the Constitution itself, protected the rights of slaveholders to retrieve their "property."
Successful fugitives were extremely self-confident and self-reliant individuals, resourceful, willful, focused, and purposeful. Their owners often described them as "artful," "cunning," "wily," "bold," and "intelligent." They took enormous risks and faced extraordinary hardships. They knew they would meet harsh punishments if caught. Many had seen firsthand the brutality experienced by those who had failed. Severe whippings of three hundred lashes - followed by rubs of salt, vinegar and hot pepper - were common and left many permanently injured.
Some, like Jade, who stole money to pay for his passage North, never recovered. A man who witnessed his punishment stated, "They took him and whupped him for near fifteen minutes. We could hear him holler ‘way up at the big house. Jade, he never got over that whupping. He died three days later."
During and after the American Revolution, the flow of runaways increased as the war disrupted the plantation system in the South and ushered in the gradual abolition of slavery in the North. During the war, thousands fled to the British lines. For instance, in 1775, Lord Dunmore, royal governor of Virginia, offered enslaved men their freedom if they bore arms for the British. Between five hundred and six hundred men immediately responded to Dunmore's "proclamation." Too often, however, the British promise of freedom was an empty one. At the end of the war, they sent a number of Black Loyalists to the West Indies in chains.
The great majority of fugitives were young men in their teens and twenties. They ran away in greater numbers because they had not yet married or, if they had, had not yet begun a family. They were also more able to defy authorities or their overseers and owners if necessary. Once away from the plantation or farm, they could better defend themselves and were willing to resist capture. Women were less likely to be fugitives because they had often begun to raise families by their late teens and early twenties. With youngsters to care for, it was difficult to contemplate either leaving them behind or taking them along in an escape attempt. Nevertheless, many women embarked on the migration to freedom.
Among the most notable was North Carolina native Linda Brent - later known as Harriet Jacobs - who escaped in 1835 and hid in an attic for nearly seven years before running to the north. She later became a reformer, abolitionist, and educator and wrote her autobiography, "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself," in 1861. Sometimes entire families made it to freedom, like Harriet Shepard and her five children, who, along with five other men and women, fled in an owner's carriage.
Besides tremendous courage, runaways displayed a great deal of ingenuity and organizational skills. They had to discretely gather food for the trip and, if possible, changes of clothes. Most runaway advertisements described the clothing people were wearing when they left, and as a consequence, many runaways modified their appearance and even disguised their gender. Those light-skinned enough to pass for white had to behave and talk like white people. All had to provide believable explanations when asked questions, and they became masters at deceit and secrecy.
Most runaways chose one of the five major destinations: towns and cities in the South, remote areas near the plantations, the West, the North, and Canada. A few fled to Mexico, Central America, or the Caribbean.
Citation: The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park W, New York, NY 10024. Text: "In Motion: The African American Migration Experience: Runaway Journeys. http://www.inmotionaame.org/print.cfm;jsessionid=f8301228781522430655336?migration=2&bhcp=1. Digital Library Program © 2005 The New York Public Library, 188 Madison Ave, New York NY 10016. All rights reserved. March 30, 2018.
Ad: These are the things we are fighting for, 1943
Image ID: 25
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, World War II
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.7 - America's participation in World War II
National Standard(s): The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
Card Text: Ad, Community Silverplate. "These are the things we are fighting for...the fields we have plowed...the home we have built...the land that we love." A young farm couple embrace in a field before a farmhouse, barn, and silo; he is in overalls, one hand on an old-fashioned plow, with strap and harness - to what? A horse? His wife is by his side in a blue dress and apron. "Someday we will again be making the Community Silverware you love, but now all our skills and facilities are being devoted to the war that must be fought and won. Meanwhile, in messages like this, we try to express the things for which America is fighting." Oneida, Ltd. Is Oneida doing the fighting?
Citation: Copyright Oneida Ltd., 163-181 Kenwood Ave., Oneida, NY 13421-2899. All rights reserved. Our thanks to Oneida Ltd. In Life, May 10, 1943, inside front cover.
Ad: Farm Unit of Tomorrow, 1944
Image ID: 29
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, World War II
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.7 - America's participation in World War II
National Standard(s): The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
Card Text: Ad, Bohn Aluminum and Brass Corp. "Farm Unit of Tomorrow...Yes - the farms of tomorrow might be laid out with an eye to strict efficiency. No waste space - no waste effort - no waste room! Everything in a single unit. In new developments in many different fields, the engineering staff of the Bohn organization can be most helpful. The Bohn institution specializes in light alloys as applied to all types of future advancements." This streamlined farm looks like part of a super-airplane, with the crops inside; no animals or crops are visible, only a track, car, truck and some fences.
Citation: Copyright holder unknown. In Time, May 22, 1944, p. 92.
Ad: Spirit of 1943!
Image ID: 52
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, World War II
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.7 - America's participation in World War II
National Standard(s): The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
Card Text: Ad, Pennsylvania Railroad. "Spirit of 1943!" Uncle Sam, with his sleeves rolled up, stands ready to fight - amidst a train, tanks and factories. "Modern methods, modern efficiency - but the same old flaming spirit of 1776. What else could give men the VITALITY to produce tanks, guns, planes, armaments in such enormous quantities? What else could enable the railroads of America to handle millions of troops with such precision and smoothness...America's 'secret weapon'...spirit..." The Pennsylvania Railroad presents itself as a freedom fighter.
Citation: Copyright holder unknown. In Frank W. Fox, Madison Avenue Goes to War, 1975, p. 51.
Ad: Your good health...helps you do your part, 1943
Image ID: 48
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, World War II
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.7 - America's participation in World War II
National Standard(s): The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
Card Text: Ad, Dr. West's Miracle-Tuft Toothbrush. "Your good health...helps you do your part." A young woman wearing little and holding a toothbrush smiles at the reader; in a smaller black-and-white photo she is shown in uniform working at a radio or telephone exchange. Dr. West's is defunct.
Citation: Copyright holder unknown. Probably Life Magazine, Jan.-Feb. or May-June 1943.
Orange crate label, Rainbow Brand, 1930-40
Image ID: 84
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, Early Ads
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.6 - The Great Depression and how the New Deal changed the role of the federal government
National Standard(s): The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945), The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
Card Text: Orange crate label, "Rainbow Brand." c. 1930-40. Two oranges, one cut in half, and several orange blossoms are pictured against a grove with a small house, and mountains, sky and a rainbow in the background. Color lithograph. J.J. McIndoo, Lindsay, Tulare Co., Ca.
Citation: Copyright holder unknown. Western Lithographic Co. Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA 91108. In John Salkin and Laurie Gordon, Orange Crate Art, 1976.
Ad: After a hard day's work...Moxie Nerve Food, 1899
Image ID: 99
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, Early Ads
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.2 - The the relationship among the rise of industrialization, large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and massive immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe
National Standard(s): The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
Card Text: Ads, Moxie Nerve Food Co., with illustrations. 1899. The first: "After a hard day's work...Moxie Nerve Food. Nothing can bring more joy to a man's heart than a cool, refreshing glass of Moxie, on his return from the noise and worry of a business day down town....nourishes the nervous system." The second: "Tired...sick. Nothing is so wearisome and nerve-exhausting as a hard day's shopping. Women, exhausted after shopping, appreciate Moxie. It restores their worn out nerves quicker than anything else will, as it is a genuine nerve food..."
Citation: In Q. David Bowers, The Moxie Encyclopedia, 1985, p. 235.
Ad: $3 Shoe for Gentlemen, 1888
Image ID: 98
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, Early Ads
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.2 - The the relationship among the rise of industrialization, large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and massive immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe
National Standard(s): The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)
Card Text: Ad, W.L. Douglas Shoe Co. "$3 Shoe for Gentlemen." Mr. Douglas' head is surrounded by shoe prices above descriptions of various shoes. "$5 Genuine Hand-sewed, an elegant and stylish dress Shoe which commends itself....$3.50 Policemen's Shoe, is especially adapted for railroad men, farmers, etc." 1888?
Citation: In Bob Perlongo, compiler, Early American Advertising, 1987, p. 184.
Theater curtain covered with ads, 1993
Image ID: 92
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, Early Ads
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.5 - Major political, social, economic, technological, and cultural developments of the 1920s.
National Standard(s):
Card Text: Theater curtain covered with ads, Rumsey Station, Rumsey Store/Town Meeting House, Capay Valley, Ca., 1993.
Citation: Roland Marchand photograph.
Orange crate label, Rose Brand Oranges, 1930-40
Image ID: 89
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, Early Ads
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.6 - The Great Depression and how the New Deal changed the role of the federal government
National Standard(s): The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
Card Text: Orange crate label, "Rose Brand Oranges," 1930-40. Large Sunkist oranges are shown against a background of green groves, with houses nestled here and there, and blue, snow-capped mountains in the far background. Color lithograph. Redlands Orange Growers' Assn.
Citation: Copyright holder unknown. Sunkist Growers, Inc., 14130 Riverside Dr., Sherman Oaks, CA 91423-2392. In John Salkin and Laurie Gordon, Orange Crate Art, 1976.
Ad: Occident Flour 'Costs More - Worth It,' 1919
Image ID: 105
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, Early Ads
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.2 - The the relationship among the rise of industrialization, large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and massive immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe
National Standard(s): The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
Card Text: Ad, Occident Flour. A framed picture shows a demurely smiling, young upper-class woman on a sofa with a tea cup and plate of sandwiches. The slogan reads: "Costs More - Worth It." Russell-Miller Milling Co.
Citation: In The Modern Priscilla, May 1919, p. 51.
Ad: Lackawanna Railroad, 'Phoebe Snow' 1900
Image ID: 119
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, Early Ads
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.2 - The the relationship among the rise of industrialization, large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and massive immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe
National Standard(s): The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
Card Text: Advertising card, Lackawanna Railroad. c. 1900. "Phoebe Snow" rides the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, which had two things to sell: the shortest main-line route from New York to Buffalo, and anthracite coal - the company owned anthracite mines and thus burned hard coal (which makes less smoke and dust than soft coal). The idea: the lady dressed all in white clothes stays clean on the "Road of Anthracite." The first slogan, 1903: "Phoebe Snow/About to go/Upon a trip to Buffalo/'My gown stays white/From morn to night/Upon the Road of Anthracite.'"
Citation: In American Heritage, Dec. 1968, pp. 10-11.
Ad: Lackawanna Railroad. c.1900
Image ID: 120
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, Early Ads, Railroads
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.2 - The the relationship among the rise of industrialization, large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and massive immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe
National Standard(s): The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
Card Text: Advertising card, Phoebe Snow, Lackawanna Railroad. In three pictures Phoebe is shown in a dining car, with an engineer, and leaving the train. c. 1900.
Citation: In American Heritage, Dec. 1968, p. 14.
Ad: Gold Dust, The Busy Cleaner
Image ID: 108
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, Early Ads
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.5 - Major political, social, economic, technological, and cultural developments of the 1920s.
National Standard(s): The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
Card Text: Ad, Gold Dust, "The Busy Cleaner." The black "Gold Dust Twins" are shocked to see their reflections in a metal tub. c. 1916? This "billboard" was painted on the side of an old building about to be destroyed in Portland, OR. Bill Hamnett photograph, Dec. 1973.
Citation: Copyright holder unknown. Copyright Bill Hamnett. All rights reserved.
Ad: If the man on the other side should die, Would his family be provided for?
Image ID: 126
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, Early Ads
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.2 - The the relationship among the rise of industrialization, large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and massive immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe
National Standard(s): The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
Card Text: Pocket mirror ad, International Life Insurance Co. "If the man on the other side should die, Would his family be provided for?" A little girl tries to comfort her bereft mother; the father is missing. Early 20th century.
Citation: In American Heritage, Dec. 1972, p. 36?
Poster: Harrison's Handkerchief Extracts, 1854
Image ID: 110
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, Early Ads
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 8.6 - The divergent paths of the American people from 1800 to the mid-1800s...with emphasis on the Northeast.
National Standard(s): Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
Card Text: Poster, Harrison's Handkerchief Extracts, c. 1854. This elaborate floral ad was printed in colors. Note the class appeal and sentimentality.
Citation: In Norman A. Graebner, A History of the American People, 1975, p. 434.
Ad: The Storekeeper's Dream, 1909, A series of four slides
Image ID: 129
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, Early Ads
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.2 - The the relationship among the rise of industrialization, large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and massive immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe
National Standard(s): The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
Card Text: Ad, "The Storekeeper's Dream." 1909. A series of four slides. "...the purchase of a cash register is good not only for one's business but also for the moral well-being of one's employees."
Citation: In American Heritage, Aug. 1966, p. 55.
Ad: The Storekeeper's Dream, 1909, A series of four slides
Image ID: 130
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, Early Ads
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.2 - The the relationship among the rise of industrialization, large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and massive immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe
National Standard(s): The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
Card Text: Ad, "The Storekeeper's Dream." 1909. A series of four slides. "...the purchase of a cash register is good not only for one's business but also for the moral well-being of one's employees."
Citation: In American Heritage, Aug. 1966, p. 55.
Ad: Coca Cola, 1909
Image ID: 123
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, Early Ads
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.2 - The the relationship among the rise of industrialization, large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and massive immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe
National Standard(s): The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
Card Text: Pocket mirror ad, Coca Cola. 1909. A Victorian beauty in a wide hat looks with large dark eyes at the viewer.
Citation: In American Heritage, Feb. 1972, p. 34.
Sectional View Of Cable Street Cars [in Chicago]
Image ID: 144
Collection: Roland Marchand
Topic(s): Advertising, Early Ads
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 11.2 - The the relationship among the rise of industrialization, large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and massive immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe
National Standard(s):
Card Text: "Sectional View Of Cable Street Cars [in Chicago] Drawn By Belding Bros. & Cos. Spool Silk."
Citation: In "Spool Silk Cable Car," American Heritage, Feb. 1967, p. 57.
