Review of Never Caught: The Washingtons’ relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge Written by Erica Armstrong Dunbar Rating *****
Slavery got its start in Africa when one tribe would overpower another tribe and subjugate the surviving members of the conquered tribe. It wasn’t about dehumanizing people, but more about exerting power. It was later that slavery became a dehumanizing practice.
This story takes place when the immorality of slavery was beginning to surface. The author describes what life was like as a slave. She talks about families that were torn apart as family members were traded and sold to other slave owners. She describes the fear that many female slaves felt of being raped by their masters. George Washington had hundreds of slaves. He and his wife promised slaves to their children and grandchildren, like offering them up as gifts. While he may have questioned the morality of slavery in his later years, the personal benefits of having slaves outweighed any rational thinking. When some states started to grant freedom to slaves after they reached a certain age, George Washington hid that information from his slaves and purposely shuffled them from the north to the south to avoid granting them their freedom.
As the new president moved to Pennsylvania to begin his term, he brought a number of slaves with him. Ona Judge was one of them. It was the first time that Ona Judge saw free black men and women. She longed for that freedom even if it meant abandoning her family. When she finally did escape, George Washington did everything he could to have his property returned to him.
While freedom for previously enslaved people had its rewards, a lack of education and opportunity meant a lifetime of poverty and struggle. In some ways, that struggle continues to this day.
When one class of people dehumanizes another class of people, it becomes easier to justify cruelty in whatever form it takes. History is full of examples of powerful men justifying slavery. Even the Supreme Court allowed it to go on. While Lincoln is given credit for ending slavery, his plan was not so altruistic when you consider that he also suggested that former slaves be deported to Central America.
Slavery had such a hold on America that it would take another seventy years before slavery was outlawed.