Born into slavery in Virginia, James Smith grew up knowing great cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses. Always longing for freedom, as a young man he was able to make a daring escape. Once in the north, he made a life for himself, married and raised a family, continued his education, and keenly observed the changing world around him as America came to blows in the Civil War. After the war, he made a trip back to Virginia, reuniting with siblings he had not seen in decades: "My joy and excitement rose to such a height, that I scarcely knew whether I was in the body or out." He even had an astonishingly warm visit with a former owner who brought him in to dinner. Of the plight of African-Americans post-emancipation, Smith observed objectively: "But, say you, the day of trial is over, the stream of sympathy may be dried up because of the nominal freedom that has been vouchsafed. I say to you nay my whole race is yet in peril, and God only knows the end."