The boundaries between slavery and freedom were enforced by the fact that while the quasi-free slaves had certain rights, they were still beholden to and owned by their masters. A quasi-slave could, for example, obtain independent work. This is illustrated in this book by the fact that Sally Thomas operated a laundry. Thanks to the proceeds that she earned from this, she was able to buy freedom for two of her sons, although she never won freedom for herself. Her third son managed to escape to freedom in the north.

These boundaries are further enforced by John Hope Franklin and Loren Schweninger by a comparison between Sally’s life and the lives of her sons. While Sally remains only quasi-free, her sons are free to pursue careers, albeit only in certain fields, and to start up lives in other parts of North America. All three of her sons wind up being barbers, which was about the most prestigious career that a Black person could aspire to in these times. Their mother, meanwhile, remained with only the laundry that had brought her sons their freedom.

Looking at Sally’s life as a slave, and her son’s lives as free men provides a real-life portrayal of how the boundaries between slavery and freedom were enforced.