This involves slavery and the old south between the years 1800-1860. In the old times when slavery was prominent, slaves used to bought and sold like goods and services been sold in the markets and stores.
Slavery was more prominent and experienced in the south than any other part of the United States. In the south, the law stated that slaves should be called and defined as “chattel”, which is explained to be the personal property of their owners. A great change was experienced in the prices of slaves during the period of 1815-1860. The market value and price of slaves increased along with the profitability of slavery. (Goldberg, ed., The American Journey, 284). The price of male slaves had a 260 percent increase between the years 1815 to 1860. In the year 1815, the price was $250 and by year 1860, it skyrocketed to $900. These prices was determined on how the slaves varied in age, sex (male and female), and the technical skill that is possessed by the slave and finally, the economic situation at that time. The rise and changes in prices of these slaves also had an advantage which is, the owners could sell their chattels and by doing this, they could gain profit above what they already earned from the slaves’ labor. This was the case with slave mothers whose children increased the capital
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This action involved trading of the slaves and this was very comprehensive and thorough. Total slaves that were transported were approximately more than 80,000 which the traders paid cash to get these slaves and this trade resulting in a whole lot of profit gained by the sellers/owners of the slaves. The sad part of this trade was that most slave families were separated and as a result, the slave children born in the Upper South after 1820 stood a one-in-three chance of being sold in their lifetime. (Goldberg et al.,