Notices concerning runaway slaves were a familiar sight in 18th and 19th century American newspapers
American newspapers in the 18th and 19th centuries contained tens of thousands of notices placed by slaveholders attempting to capture the people who had escaped from them. In her dissertation in the field of English studies, Susanna Mäkinen examined the language and structuring of these notices. The study showed that, while the basic features of the notices remained relatively unchanged, there were some differences between various areas and changes in time.