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Biography · Literature

James Mars

1790–1880

United States

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Biography

James Mars (March 3, 1790 – May 27, 1880) was an American slave narrative author and political activist. Born into slavery in Canaan, Connecticut, he gained his freedom in 1811. In 1864, he published his memoir A Life of James Mars, a Slave Born and Sold in Connecticut, Written by Himself—a notable example of the slave narrative genre.

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Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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