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This image is of enslaved black people working on a sugar mill in Antilles as part of the moral and natural history of the Antilles.

The Fugitive Slave Law, passed September 18, 1850, denied a jury trial to any individual accused of escaping from slavery.

This is an 1853 newspaper account of Solomon Northup’s experiences and the trials of those involved in his kidnapping and enslavement.

This table compares southerners and British people using 1860 census data.

This brief newspaper article represents the commonplace practice of selling land, animals and goods while including enslaved people in the same listing in the United States before emancipation. Serving as primary source evidence of a pending sale, the article simplifies the transactions as purely economic.

In reflecting on both a pivotal moment in her life during the Civil War and the longer-term effects of such an event, Mrs. Albright excludes her family from the violent system of slavery while adhering to stereotypically Southern values. The necessity of interracial intimacy is noticeable in Mrs. Albright’s descriptions.

Recounting a selective portion of an enslaved woman’s life, this brief biography also serves as a reflection of what mainstream society deemed “worthy” during the early to mid-19th century. Precisely because Alice supposedly embodied characteristics that were both exceptional and ordinary, her story offers a useful lens to consider how slavery was understood in its time.

Likely written during or shortly after the Civil War, these song lyrics depict Southern patriotism and duty to maintaining a certain way of life. Using melodic rhymes and repetition, the author emphasizes Southern manhood, justified violence and supposedly benign slavery.

This is a will of an enslaver from 1776. It shows how enslaved persons were treated as property to be passed down through generations.

This is an excerpt from a work of fiction about the Civil War. It expresses a pro-Northern view while at the same time arguing that enslaved persons do not desire freedom.