Auctions,%20Advertisements,%20and%20Agony:%20The%20Buying%20and%20Selling%20of%20Slaves

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Auctions, Advertisements, and AgonyThe Buying
and Selling of Slaves

• By Christine Olson

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• By the mid 1700s, a domestic slave trade had
  developed. People were buying and selling slaves
  within the 13 colonies, and were not just
  importing them from Africa.

As early as 1662, the colony of Virginia was
charging a tax on slaves. Other colonies soon
followed and also charged taxes on slaves.
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• Slaves were sold in many ways at auctions, in
  markets, in offices where slave traders received
  a commission, or through private sales.
• There were slave traders whose business was the
  buying and selling of slaves slaves were sold
  for profit.

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Coffles

• Slaves were moved around the country in coffles
  - forced marches where slaves had to walk long
  distances, often in chains and irons. The
  journeys could be many miles, and would continue
  for days, regardless of the weather.

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On the Auction Block
Slaves were inspected before purchase. The
Negroes were examined with as little
consideration as if they had been animals the
buyers were pulling their mouths open to see
their teeth, pinching their limbs to see how
muscular they were, walking them up and down,
making them stoop and bend to make sure there was
no concealed rupture or wound.
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• Slaves cooperation and demeanor could play a part
  in whether sales were made or not. There are a
  stories about slaves who did not like the looks
  of certain buyers, acting mean on the auction
  block. If a buyer looked kind, a slave could
  make themselves look desirable.

Some slaves cut off their own hands to prevent
sales. Some owners would bribe slaves with
money to not block sales. Some slaves would
boast about how much money they brought in on the
auction block.
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Private Sales

• Not everyone used slave traders to sell slaves.
  Slaves would be advertised in newspapers.
• In private sales, owners might show concern for a
  slaves wishes, such as staying with a family.

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• Some slaves were able to buy themselves. Former
  slave Jerry Moore tells the story of his father
  He had saved up some money, and when they went
  to sell him he bid 800. The auctioneer cried
  round to git a raise, but wouldnt nobody bid.
  My father done say after the war, he could have
  buyed hisself for 1.50.

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Slave stealing
The Murrell gang, operating in the 1830s, would
conspire with a slave, promise him a reward (his
freedom), kidnap the slave, sell him/her, and
then have the slave escape to rejoin them.

• Since slaves were considered property, there was
  some kidnapping and slave stealing that occured.

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Resources

• Eyewitness History of Slavery in America by
  Dorothy and Carl J. Schneider
• Hard Road to Freedom by James Oliver and Lois
  Horton
• Images from the Library of Congress website
  http//www.loc.gov/rr/print/082_slave.html