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In the face of extreme punishment for enslaved people and breaking the law for whites, roughly 5 percent of the enslaved population learned to read and write. Letters like the ones written below show the lengths they would go to learn.

Frederick Douglass made an amazing journey from slavery to freedom. Once free, Douglass committed his life to fighting for the freedom of others.

The poster describes each of the four formerly enslaved persons—two male and two female. It also lays out the grounds for the reward, offering $1000 for the capture of all four as well as smaller rewards for the capture of any of the four formerly enslaved persons individually.