Legacy & Resilience of Enslaved People

• Chapter 3 discusses adolescence, young adulthood, and soul values in the context of slavery, focusing on the valuation of enslaved people during these life stages

Average Appraised Values

• Females were valued at approximately $517 and $15,189 in 2014 dollars
• Males were valued at approximately $610 and $17,934 in 2014 dollars
• Average sale prices for females were $515 ($15,131 in 2014)
• Average sale prices for males were $662 ($19,447 in 2014).
• Authors include quotes by Thomas Smallwood (1851) and Lucy A. Delaney (1891)

Joseph's Sale

• A seventeen-year-old field hand named Joseph was up for auction in New Orleans before the Civil War
• The bid caller emphasized his strengths and skills, including his dancing and praying abilities, opening at $1,000
• The caller increased the hype by suggesting Joseph would be worth $2,500 in three years
• Bid caller increased Joseph's price by assuring the audience that $1,400 was "too small an amount for" him
• In less than five minutes, Joseph was sold "to the highest bidder"
• These auctions included 148 other enslaved individuals from the same Louisiana plantation
• Joseph's enslaver retired from planting to pursue a political career

Experiences of Enslaved at Auction

• It is unknown how Joseph felt about being the second person on the block that day
• Stepping onto the block alone, Joseph was described with complimentary adjectives by the auctioneer
• The auctioneer potentially comforted or added trauma to the sale
• Joseph, like Isam (slave #21), was known for preaching, suggesting he may have silently prayed on the block

Enslaved Valuation

• The value of human property was a huge factor
• Puberty and young adulthood are important, from ages eleven to twenty-two
• These years had significant changes in the lives of girls and boys
• The onset of menstruation marked girls transition into womanhood
• This transition into womenhood meant enslaves appraised them higher
• As breeders, young men brought in more laborers, making them more valuable as they matured.
• Men could be used for sexual reproduction into their elder years.
• The institution of slavery went as long as enslaved women were able to give birth to healthy children

Spiritual Aspect

• Pubescent years were often the scariest
• The maturing bodies and increased separation from loved ones played a role
• Childhood memories started to make sense at this stage
• People who were present reminded the enslaved of their spiritual and immortal value
• "Soul valuess" involved a spiritual centering, reinforced through loved ones, often manifesting as a spirit or message from a higher power
• Edward Walker stated his feelings were not encouraged by his parents or other slaves, rather, they came from within

Transitioning

• Puberty years meant boys and girls transitioned into adulthood and sexuality
• Menses in girls and deepening voices in boys meant transition into heavy labor
• These years increased commodification
• Puberty brought attention from medical professionals and enslavers who tried to maximize interests and profits
• Puberty meant more problems and more deaths
• Young men experienced shame or lack of arousal and were physically assaulted by enslavers
• They were often on the auction block during their early teens and twenties
• Witnesses shared stories of young children and fathers being auctioned, highlighting the fatherly love and fear of the last time

Purchasing Freedom

• An enslaved child might have been the look of the buyers, it was a lingering stare that both knew might be their last
• The father tried to keep his family together by raising funds to purchase them
• It was extremely difficult for enslaved people to purchase themselves
• Solomon Bayley spent much of his adult life purchasing family members
• After saving enough to purchase his wife, Thamar, Bayley wanted to raise funds to purchase his only son, Spence
• Others tried to keep their families together as well though that was not always the case.

Views of enslaved people

• Thomas Likers explained that being sold he thought God never meant him to be a slave
• He thought he would be a fool if he did not try to get his liberty
• The internalized beliefs drove people to run away
• Former slaves worked hard to escape
• The enslaved had a goal of starting a new life

Grading System

• Sellers prepared the enslaved for display
• The grading system was called the five point scale
• Those that were able to work rated the title of Prime
• This rating system resembled today's USDA grading system for quality
• Abraham Lincoln established the USDA in 1860

Physical Examinations and Classifications

• Even with the enslaved growing, they held on to their internal values
• Medical exams determined the individual was "sound" or "unsound"
• Sound meant healthy and able to work
• Unsound meant unhealthy
• Dr. Harris of the Savannah Medical College classified all conditions with the black body would change from sound
• In cases of menstruation, they used those as a specific measure for women especially
• Enslaved girls and young women were private about development

Sexual Exploitation of Enslaved Men

• The medical field of gynecology grew from slavery women's bodies
• One case was Georges Curvier, a French naturalist who was known for his exploitation of women
• A naturalist that took advantage of the study was George Curvier, he exhibited her for five years under the the epithet, "Hottentot Venus"
• The enslaved men went to great measure to to protect from sexual abuse
• When Robert Newsome, a Missouri farmer, purchased Celia, he was faced with the realization that he would end in some kind of conflict