Amos Fortune, Free Man

by

Elizabeth Yates

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Manumission is the act of freeing an enslaved person. Some enslaved people saved up enough money to purchase their freedom from their enslavers, as Amos purchases the freedom of his wives (Lily, Lydia, and Violet) and adoptive daughter (Celyndia). Other enslavers voluntarily manumitted the enslaved people in their households, as Mrs. Richardson manumits Amos after her husband’s death.

Manumission Quotes in Amos Fortune, Free Man

The Amos Fortune, Free Man quotes below are all either spoken by Manumission or refer to Manumission. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Freedom and Slavery Theme Icon
).
Chapter 3: Boston 1725–1740 Quotes

Amos knew many a slave who had been freed, given his article of manumission by a grateful master in return for years of faithful service, and given the tools of a trade so he might set himself up and be on the way to a self-respecting life. But Amos had deep within him the inheritance of the At-mun-shi, of looking up to someone older and wiser as a protector. The white man, in the person of Caleb Copeland, had become such a protector to Amos. Amos looked to him with reverence and loyalty. He did not want his life to be apart from Caleb’s in any way. As the working member of the Copeland family, Amos had his own dignity. Apart, he would endure the separateness he knew many of his African friends endured because of their lack of status in the white man’s world.

Related Characters: Amos Fortune (At-mun), Celia Copeland, Caleb Copeland
Page Number: 45-46
Explanation and Analysis:

Celia had not wanted it to be so. She and Roxanna had wept at the thought of parting with their possessions and their faithful friend. But there were debts to be paid and Amos had comforted them with his assurance of a right outcome for them all. He had not dwelt for half his lifetime in a Christian household without absorbing trust and confidence.

Related Characters: Amos Fortune (At-mun), Celia Copeland, Caleb Copeland, Roxanna Copeland
Page Number: 49-50
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4: Woburn 1740–1779 Quotes

He watched swallows swooping in their flight, feeling as if he were one of them; his eyes dwelt on a tree that was a mass of white blossom.

It had been spring, too, when he had been free before […]. Yet that had been a lifetime ago; another life, perhaps, for now his life was beginning again. He was almost sixty years old and he was ready to live. He flexed his muscles; they were strong. He raised his head from the blossoming tree to the blue sky above and the thought of Moses came into his mind, of Moses who stood upon Mount Nebo seeing with his eyes the land that his feet might not tread upon.

“‘And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died.’” Amos spoke the words as reverently as if he were reading them from the open book […]. “So there’s time for Amos, too.”

Related Characters: Amos Fortune (At-mun) (speaker), Ichabod Richardson, Mrs. Richardson
Related Symbols: Birds, Flowers
Page Number: 68-69
Explanation and Analysis:
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Manumission Term Timeline in Amos Fortune, Free Man

The timeline below shows where the term Manumission appears in Amos Fortune, Free Man. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3: Boston 1725–1740
Freedom and Slavery Theme Icon
Hard Work and Good Character Theme Icon
...Copelands for 15 years, considering himself a member of the family and refusing to discuss manumission—the formal granting of his freedom—whenever Caleb brings it up. Amos knows other formerly enslaved people... (full context)
Chapter 4: Woburn 1740–1779
Freedom and Slavery Theme Icon
...the colonies than freedom for enslaved people. Still, he follows through on drawing up the manumission paper that will free Amos, feeling very generous and righteous as he does so. But... (full context)
Freedom and Slavery Theme Icon
Dignity and Racism Theme Icon
...day comes when he presents himself to Bowers, hands over the money, and receives Lydia’s manumission paper. Sadly, like Lily, she too dies within the year. (full context)