Slavery In The 18th And 19th Century

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, a variety of laws were passed to remove the rights of slaves. What little rights slaves had were quickly taken away when African slavery became prominent in America. These were known as the Fugitive Slave Acts. History.com states, “Enacted by Congress in 1793, the first Fugitive Slave Act authorized local governments to seize and return escaped slaves to their owners and imposed penalties on anyone who aided in their flight. Widespread resistance to the 1793 law later led to the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which added further provisions regarding runaways and levied even harsher punishments for interfering in their capture” (“Fugitive Slave Acts”). In 1793, the Fugitive Slave Act allowed
slave owners to arrest their runaway slaves, and it also made it a crime to help a runaway slave. Another Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850, establishing special courts where the runaway slaves would be tried without jury. Additionally, the marshals received ten dollars (nearly three hundred dollars today) when siding with the slaveowner, and only five dollars when siding with the slave. This led to many free African Americans being forced into slavery. Although the importation of slaves from Africa was banned in 1808, slaves born in the United States continued to be sold until the civil war.
Slaves were typically held in pens until they could be auctioned off. Henry Watson, a slave during the mid-1800’s, writes, “Each one of the traders has private jails, which are for the purpose of keeping slaves in… These jails are enclosed by a wall about 16 feet high, and the yard-room is for the slaves to exercise in and consists of but one room, in which all sexes and ages are huddled together in a mass” (“Slave Auctions”). Slaves were sold to the highest bidder, they had no choice in the matter. The sellers did a multitude of things to make them look healthier, including darkening grey hair and coating damaged skin with oil. Henry Watson explains, “Just before the doors are opened, it is usual for the keeper to grease the mouths of the slaves so as to make it appear that they are well and hearty, and have just done eating fat meat” (“Slave Auctions”). The buyers were then allowed to examine the slaves. They poked and prodded them, checking for wounds or any type of disabilities. The average price of a slave was roughly $10,000 in today's money. Young men were often worth over $30,000, the old and disabled worth much
less. Despite the vast majority of African Americans being slaves, some were independent. These freemen had identification papers describing their appearance. As very few slaves could write, it was unlikely that they would write their own papers. Freemen frequently had to renew these documents, and they often paid a large fee. Slaves often escaped with identification papers from somebody else. Many people would not check them very closely, other times slaves borrowed papers of someone similar in appearance to them. The escaped slaves would go north to free states, and sometimes Canada. History.com states that, “By the mid-1800s, thousands of slaves had poured into free states via networks like the Underground Railroad” (“Fugitive Slave Acts”). Abolitionists and free African Americans helped runaways escape to the north, a process known as the Underground Railroad. Although many would try to stop them and restrict their liberties, many slaves escaped to the north.