Harriet Ann Jacobs was born into slavery in 1813 and had a pleasant childhood until age 6 when she learned she was a slave. She was taught to read and sew by her mistress. At age 12, her mistress died and she was willed to the mistress' niece and endured sexual abuse from her new master. At age 15, she became pregnant by a lawyer in hopes of being sold to him. She eventually escaped at age 21 and hid for 7 years before fleeing to the North. After gaining freedom, she became an abolitionist and published her autobiography in 1861.