Timothy Welbeck, Temple University
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
On the evening of May 21, 1796, Ona Judge made the daring decision to free herself.
Considering the prominence of her owner, the laws of the time, and the dangerous trek to New Hampshire, where she could live freely, the act carried significant risk. Nevertheless, she slipped out of the President’s House undetected while the first family dined.
The house, then located at the intersection…
