Twenty-two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman

In this compelling memoir and argument against the evils of slavery, author Austin Steward writes: "Some have attempted to apologize for the enslaving of the Negro, by saying that they are inferior to the Anglo-Saxon race in every respect. This charge I deny; it is utterly false. Does not the Bible inform us that 'God hath created of one blood all the nations of the earth?'" Read all about Steward's account of being born into a life of slavery, his eventual escape to Canada and his subsequent involvement in the anti-slavery and temperance campaigns. Austin Steward is an American hero not only because he survived and wrote about the brutal ordeal of slavery, but also because he was a strong and active opponent of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law. Steward's autobiography, Twenty-Two Years a Slave is considered one of the best and most important slave narratives available today.