Chapter 11 Summary

In Chapter 11 Douglass describes his final escape from slavery and the early months of his life as a free man. He makes it clear initially that he has no intention of providing too much detail about the exact way in which he made his way from the South to the free states of the North, because it might make it harder on slaves who still might be trying to escape. He criticizes others who are publicizing details of slave escape routes like the well-known Underground Railroad; he feels they are hurting slaves' chances of escape and putting slaveholders on the alert.

In early 1838, Douglass became so troubled by the fact that his master would take all of his hard-earned wages that Douglass decided to finally run away from slavery at his first chance. To improve his opportunities of escape, he got the idea...