Summary: The story of William and Ellen Craft is the fascinating story of an African-American couple who managed to beat the odds and escape slavery. The document is an anti-slavery document, written during the Civil War. Ellen Craft was a woman passionate about being a wife and mother. William Craft did not want to raise a family as a slave. They wanted their freedom more than anything. Ellen used her physical appearance, her wits, and her passion to escape slavery. Not knowing how to read or write, their enthusiasm for living a different kind of life pushed them towards freedom. The autobiographies of former slaves in America have become the foundation of African American literature. For a long time the accounts of slavery were not taken into account. They give us a unique look into the souls of slaves. Many of the published stories are windows into slavery and are first-person accounts. Numerous were used for political activities and are now part of history,Context: Ellen Craft was born in Georgia to a mixed-race slave and his planter master. Ellen was very blonde and resembled the other children of her master's family. When she was eleven years old, she was given as a wedding present to the daughter of the planter's owner. They wanted to throw her out of the house because they considered her an embarrassment to the family. Ellen then grew up as a maid to her half-sister. At age 20 she married a fellow slave, William Craft. “Formal marriage was not possible among slaves, who could not enter into legally binding agreements with each other that interfered with the property rights of their masters.” William was held as a slave at half interest. He was able to work as a carpenter and save money. During the Christmas season of 1848 Ellen and William Cra… midway through the paper… aft published a written account of their escape. The book reached a wide audience in Britain and the United States. The Crafts returned to the United States in 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War. Their story was reprinted in the United States in 1999, with both Crafts credited as authors. The most influential slave narratives of the antebellum era were designed to inform white readers about the realities of slavery. At one time, some literature was dismissed as mere anti-slavery propaganda. The widespread use of slave narratives in the 1800s testified to the influence of these texts. They were intended to incite reflection and raise questions among their readers, primarily on issues of race, social justice, and the meaning of freedom. They continue to be important in the literature and history curriculum at American universities today.