Many enslaved individuals wanted to pursue freedom, but under slavery, freedom was not an option. As time went on, some states abolished slavery, but those in the South did not. They wanted to continue using slaves for their benefit, one being cheap labor and also to continue being superior. Some slaves risked their lives by escaping from plantations and slave owners in order to gain the freedom they deserved. Some were able to escape, but others would get caught and received cruel punishments for disobeying and overall trying to escape.