I'm from England and don't know much about US history.What fascinated me is was there an actual geographic point in the then states that slaves became free or at the very least be aloud to be treated like a fellow human beings.
I understood this was in north Carolina.What state did she have to reach....and was it as simple as going over a hill crest would of marked the end of slavery for her.
I haven't seen this film so I don't know the specific period in which it is set, but broadly speaking there eventually was a line between the so-called slave states of the South and the free states of the North, namely the Mason-Dixon line. This line, named for its surveyors, was the border between the state of Maryland, to the South, and Pennsylvania, to the North.
Laws regarding escaped slaves varied by state. I believe some free states allowed for slave owners to capture and return their "chattels" while others considered all blacks to be free. But, broadly speaking again, once a slave crossed to a free state he was either considered free or his chances at securing freedom were nearly within reach. For many slaves the ultimate destination was Canada, where freedom was guaranteed.
I'm not an expert on this so I may have some details wrong. Check out the Wikipedia article on the Underground Railroad for more information.
Virginia, north of North Carolina was a slave state. But the western portion were mostly small rural farmers not plantation owners in the Appalachian Mountains. During the Civil War this area broke away and became the state of West Virginia and fought for the Union against the Confederacy.
She could have gotten help there especially from people who were Quakers or Abolitionists. They would have helped her reach at least Pennsylvania.
I don't know everything. Neither does anyone else
I got the feeling at the end of the movie that he was just pointing her in the right direction. It was up to her to get that far and he gave her clothes and supplies for the journey. She could have made it to West Virginia but there wasn't any certainty that she would make it. If she had been caught, even in another state that didn't support slavery - she still would have been sent back.
In my head, the epilogue to this movie is one where she makes it north and finds freedom, marries a free man and has children - at least one boy that she names August.