1855: Paris and Europe

In 1849 I went to Paris as a delegate to the Paris Peace Conference. The idea of going to Europe appealed to me. However, when the Fugitive Slave Law went into effect in 1850, fugitive slaves (as I was now considered) could be prosecuted even if they were apprehended in a free-state. So, in response to the law, having been sent to Paris as a delegate of the Paris Peace Conference in 1849 - I remained abroad in Europe until a British family bought my freedom in 1854. While overseas, I have written extensively and published several of his works. In 1852, drawing from my journeys in Europe, I published, Three Years in Europe: Or, Places I Have Seen and People I Have Met.  In this book I tried to include many descriptions of people I met in Europe, Cities I visited and other things of interest to me.  Also, in 1853 I published what I have been told is the first novel by an African American, Clotel, or, The President's Daughter: A Narrative of Slave Life in the United States.  Clotel is about the fictional daughters of Thomas Jefferson, and describes the horrors of slavery in a more story-like, and passionate way than my previous writings or lectures. Also in this novel, I appeal to the Christianity of Americans in my plea for the abolition of slavery.  I hope people can learn some valuable lessons from this book.

 Paris