Stories of enslaved people liberating themselves originally published on July 4 during the era of the American Revolution:
- An account of Caesar, a blacksmith (Providence Gazette, July 4, 1767)
- An account of Harry, his wife Peg, a free woman, and their two children (Pennsylvania Chronicle, July 4, 1768)
- An account of Guy and Limehouse, two youths (South-Carolina and American General Gazette, July 4, 1769)
- An account of Jack, a Black man, and Tony, an Indian man, who took a boat when they made their escape (South-Carolina and American General Gazette, July 4, 1770)
- An account of Violet, a woman who eluded capture by her former enslaver for at least nine years (Pennsylvania Journal, July 4, 1771)
- An account of Caesar, who liberated himself at the same time word spread about colonizers burning the Gaspee (Providence Gazette, July 4, 1772)