Thirty Years a Slave: From Bondage to Freedom

Hughes's autobiography, Thirty Years a Slave, From Bondage into Freedom, was published in 1897. This chronological account details the daily lives of slaves and the hardships they suffered. At a young age, Hughes was separated from his mother and was traded among slave owners until he was purchased by Mr. McGee of Pontotoc, Mississippi, with whom he remained until McGee's death at the beginning of 1865.