Freedman
Former slave / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For people named Freedman, see Friedman.
Not to be confused with Freeman (Thirteen Colonies), The Freed Man, Freeman (disambiguation), or Freed (disambiguation).
A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self-purchase. A fugitive slave is a person who escaped enslavement by fleeing.