{"product_id":"never-caught-the-washingtons-relentless-pursuit-of-their-runaway-slave-ona-judge-9781501126390","title":"Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave  Ona Judge","description":"\u003cp\u003eFinalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction  A fascinating and moving account of a courageous and resourceful woman. Beautifully written and utilizing previously untapped sources it sheds new light both on the father of our country and on the intersections of slavery and freedom. Eric Foner  Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Fiery Trial and Gateway to Freedom  A startling and eye-opening look into Americas First Family  Never Caught is the powerful narrative of Ona Judge  George and Martha Washingtons runaway slave who risked everything to escape the nations capital and reach freedom.  When George Washington was elected president  he reluctantly left his beloved Mount Vernon to serve in Philadelphia  the temporary seat of the nations capital. In setting up his household he took Tobias Lear  his celebrated secretary and eight slaves  including Ona Judge  about whom little has been written. As he grew accustomed to Northern ways  there was one change he couldnt get his arms around: Pennsylvania law required enslaved people be set free after six months of residency in the state. Rather than comply  Washington decided to circumvent the law. Every six months he sent the slaves back down south just as the clock was about to expire.  Though Ona Judge lived a life of relative comfort  the few pleasantries she was afforded were nothing compared to freedom  a glimpse of which she encountered first-hand in Philadelphia. So  when the opportunity presented itself  Judge left everything she knew to escape to New England. Yet freedom would not come without its costs.  At just twenty-two-years-old  Ona became the subject of an intense manhunt led by George Washington  who used his political and personal contacts to recapture his property.  With impeccable research  historian Erica Armstrong Dunbar weaves a powerful tale and offers fascinating new scholarship on how one young woman risked it all to gain freedom from the famous founding father.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45279623905333,"sku":"ByrdShop_1501126393","price":34.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781501126390.jpg?v=1780603790","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/never-caught-the-washingtons-relentless-pursuit-of-their-runaway-slave-ona-judge-9781501126390","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}