The Differences Slavery Made: A Close Analysis of Two American Communities

Hiring of Enslaved Persons, Augusta County, 1860

Slaveowners regularly hired out their slaves to a range of businesses and individuals. At least 10 percent of the total slave population was hired out in 1860.

View Data

U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census [1860]. Population of the United States in 1860, Compiled from the Original Returns of the Eighth Census. Washington, D.C., 1864. U.S. Census of Population, 1860. Augusta County, Virginia and Franklin County, Pennsylvania. In U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Eighth Census of the United States, 1860. Washington: National Archives and Records Administration (Augusta: Reels 1333 and 1387. Franklin: Reels 1111 and 1112).

Edward L. Ayers and William G. Thomas, III
Hiring of Enslaved Persons, Augusta County, 1860
2001

Points of Analysis to this Data:

"Enslaved people were hired out to non-slaveholding farmers, railroad companies, and other businesses."

"Black people enslaved in Augusta married, raised families, and worked at all sorts of jobs, but they were never far removed from the tangled affairs of whites."


Citation: Key = E162
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