Character Role: Runaway slave

You are black and live on a plantation in Maryland or Virginia. You have heard the stories telling you that if you can make it north to Canada, you will be free. You know slavery is wrong and will do anything to gain your freedom. There are many reasons why you may have decided to run. Plantations in Virginia and Maryland are not doing well and many Masters are selling their slaves to pay off gambling and other debts. You know that to be "sold south" means death, either on the chain gang or the cotton fields. You may have been punished one too many times, and know that if you do not run, you may break. But it is most likely that you just desire freedom for you and your family and can no longer bear to live as a slave.