“They hain’t no RIGHT to shut him up! SHOVE! – and don’t you lose a minute. Turn him loose! He ain’t no slave; he’s as free as any cretur that walks this earth!”

– Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 42. Tom sits up in bed and declares this after realizing that Jim has been recaptured. But before this the same Tom had no problem tricking Jim into remaining locked up just to have a bit of fun at the expense of Jim’s freedom.