A very early example of the escaped slave memoir genre and a rare account of northern slavery.
The slavery narratives of freedmen were a staple in the armamentarium of American abolitionists, since the narratives' authors could testify directly on the evils and hardships of their servitude, putting the lie to the claims from slavery advocates that the practice was humane and beneficial to its subjects. They also added appeals to the principles of religion, making a powerful argument against the toleration of a system of human bondage.
What makes Wheeler's 1839 work a very...