Life of Josiah Henson (AmazonClassics Edition), The

Josiah Henson was born into slavery in Maryland in 1789, and although he endured incredible cruelty and abuse in the years that followed, he was eventually able to earn enough money to purchase his freedom. In fact, he made multiple such attempts, but those efforts were thwarted by swindles and broken deals, and Henson was forced to plot a dangerous escape instead. Under the continual threat of recapture, he, his wife, and their four children made their way north to Canada, where Henson threw himself to the ground, overwhelmed with joy and relief. Thereafter, Henson established the Dawn Settlement, a self-sustaining farming community for other formerly enslaved people, which eventually grew to include five hundred members.

Henson’s powerful narrative is a remarkable testament of faith, self-reliance, and determination by one of the most influential African American abolitionists of the nineteenth century.

Revised edition: Previously published as The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, this edition of The Life of Josiah Henson (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.