xt76q52f7s4f https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt76q52f7s4f/data/mets.xml McDougle, Ivan E. (Ivan Eugene) 1918  books b92326m1472009 English Press of the New era printing company : Lancaster, Pa. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Slavery --Kentucky. Slavery in Kentucky, 1792-1865 text Slavery in Kentucky, 1792-1865 1918 2009 true xt76q52f7s4f section xt76q52f7s4f 
  
  
  
  
SLAVEEY IN KENTUCKY
1792-1865

BY IVAN

E. McDOUGLE, PH.D.

A

DISSERTATION WORCESTER,

SUBMITTED

TO T H E F A C U L T Y I N PARTIAL

OP C L A R K

UNIVERSITY,

MASSACHUSETTS,

F U L F I L L M E N T OP T H E

R E Q U I R E M E N T S FOR T H E D E G R E E OF DOCTOR OP PHILOSOPHY, AND ACCEPTED ON T H E RECOMMENDATION H . BLAKESLEE

OF G E O R G E

R eprinted f rom T H E J O U R N A L O F N E G R O H I S T O R Y , V o l . I l l , N o . 3, J u l y , 1918

  
P R E S S OF T H E NEW ERA P RINTING C OMPANY L A N C A S T E R , P A.

  
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE

1. Introduction 2. D evelopment a nd General Status of S l a v e r y . . . 3. The L e g a l Status of Slavery 4. The Social Status of the Slave 5. P u b l i c Opinion regarding C olonization Bibliography Emancipation and

1 4 30 71 93 119

  
  
SLAVE EY IN KENTUCKY
CHAPTEE I

INTBODUCTION

T h i s s tudy is au attempt to give a c onnected a nd c oncise a ccount of the institution of slavery as it existed i n the State o f K e n t u c k y f r o m 1792 to 1865. M u c h has b een w ritten of s lavery i n other States, but there has not b een p ublished a s ingle account which deals adequately w i t h the institution i n K e n t u c k y . A scholarly treatise on The Anti-Slavery Movement in Kentucky, b y Professor A s a E . M a r t i n , o f P ennsylvania S tate College, has appeared but, as this work i s l imited to a discussion of the history of the movement to o verthrow slavery, our study parallels and supplements i t . I n t his study the chief emphasis has b een p laced upon t he legal, e conomic a nd social history of slavery i n K e n tucky, m ention being made of a few of the interesting a ntislavery incidents when these are known to have influenced t he local status of the slave. W e have first considered the i nception of the system as based fundamentally upon the t ype of land settlement and tenure, followed by a study of t he growth of the slave population, which brings i n the q uestion of the local e conomic v alue of the slave. A n attempt has been m ade to explain the internal slave t r a d e ; and
1

  
2

SLAVEEY I N K E N T U C K Y

t o consider to what extent K e n t u c k y served as a breeding S tate for slaves destined to the market i n the lower South. I n t he chapter on the legal status of slavery special e mphasis has b een p laced not only upon the legal position o f the institution but upon the general evolution of the r ights o f the Negro i n servitude. This section is v i t a l l y c onnected w i t h t he anti-slavery movement after about the y ear 1835. The problem of the fugitive slave and the general r ights of emancipation and of the freed Negro have been a pproached purely from the legal standpoint. T he chapter on the social status of the slave considers t he conditions of slave life that were m ore o r less peculiar to Kentucky. There has often b een m ade the statement, t hat i n K e n t u c k y Negro servitude was generally on a h igher plane than i n the States to the south and the treatment of slaves was much m ore h umane. S ome l ight has b een t hrown on these questions. A s a s upplement to the discussion of the legal and social s tatus a general summary of public opinion regarding e mancipation and colonization has b een a dded. A l t h o u g h f or the most part consisting of previously published material t his section has b een t reated from the viewpoint of the existing institution and not from the anti-slavery side w hich o ccasioned m ost of the original publication. T his s tudy has b een m ade f r o m a consideration of the c ontemporary e vidence as found i n newspapers, statements of slaves, and general e vidence o f travelers and citizens of K e n t u c k y d u r i n g the period b efore t he C i v i l W a r . The m aterial f or the study of this field is not only scattered t hroughout the country but for the most part it is v e r y m eager c ompared w ith t he records of States l ike V i r g i n i a a nd M i s s o u r i . A l l the documents, papers, manuscripts and w orks known to be of value, however, have b een c onsulted. T he most valuable records for this treatise are to be found i n the D u r r e t t Collection at the U n i v e r s i t y of C hicago, the extensive files of early K e n t u c k y papers i n t he L i b r a r y o f the A m e r i c a n A n t i q u a r i a n Society, and the d ocuments i n the Kentucky State L i b r a r y a t F r a n k f o r t .

  
INTRODUCTION

3

T o M r . Clarence S. B r i g h a m , of the A m e r i c a n A n t i quarian S ociety, M r . E d w a r d A . H e n r y , of the U n i v e r s i t y o f Chicago L i b r a r y , a nd M r . F r a n k K a v a n a u g h , of the K e n tucky S tate L i b r a r y , I a m indebted for invaluable assistance r endered i n securing material for this work. The treatment of the legal status of slavery would have b een v ery m eager, were it not for the valuable a i d given by D r . G eorge E . W i r e , of the Worcester County (Massachusetts) L a w L i b r a r y . T o M i s s F lorence D i l l a r d , of the L e x i n g t o n ( K e n tucky) P u b l i c L i b r a r y , I a m indebted for assistance given t hroughout the period of m y studies. To P r o f . G eorge H . B lakeslee, o f C l a r k U niversity, I owe m ore t han to any one e lse   for his i n s p i r a t i o n d u r i n g my three years of study, f or his most valuable aid i n the correction of the manuscript, h is candid judgment and j u d i c i a l reasoning and the m any suggestions which have helped to make this study w hat it is.
IVAN E.
CLARK UNIVERSITY, WORCESTER, M A S S A C H U S E T T S .

MCDOUGLE

  
CHAPTER

II

T H E D E V E L O P M E N T OF S L A V E K Y

I t i s impossible to understand slavery i n K e n t u c k y w ithout some k nowledge of the method by which the l a n d was s ettled i n the latter part of the eighteenth century. B e tween 1782 and 1802 the seven States which had interest i n w estern lands c eded t heir rights to the U n i t e d States and a ll t hat territory w i t h the exception of K e n t u c k y and the C onnecticut Reserve i n Ohio was made a part of the public d omain. Hence, one of the distinguishing features of the s ettlement of K e n t u c k y as compared with Ohio was that i n the latter State the land was sold by the Federal Government to settlers coming f r o m a l l parts of the country but p articularly f r o m the northeastern section. The result of t his w as that few citizens of Ohio held m ore t han 640 acres. K e n t u c k y h ad b een r eserved by V i r g i n i a a nd consequently the method of settlement was purely a matter g overned by that State a n d was separate and apart from t he system which was employed by the U n i t e d States G overnment. Furthermore, K e n t u c k y lands were a l l given o ut by 1790, just one year after the beginning of our national p eriod. The federal l a n d policy was at that time just b eginning. V i r g i n i a g ave out the lands i n K e n t u c k y by w hat is known as the patent system, and a l l the settlers i n K e n t u c k y h eld their lands by one of three different kinds o f rights. I n t he first place there were t hose w ho were given tracts i n t he new territory as a reward for m i l i t a r y s ervices which h ad been r endered i n the Revolution. This h a d b een p rovided for by the legislature of V i r g i n i a as early as December, 1778. N o land north of the Ohio R i v e r was to be granted o ut as a m i l i t a r y b ounty u n t i l a l l the " g o o d l a n d s " i n the
1

i H e n i n g ' a S tatutes, V o l . X , p. 50.

4

  
THE

DEVELOPMENT

OF

SLAVERY

5

K e n t u c k y r egion had been exhausted. The size of these t racts w as to be governed by the official status of the recipient i n the late war, and the bounties f inally g ranted by V i r g i n i a r anged a l l the way from one hundred to fifteen t housand acres. T he V i r g i n i a l egislature of 1779 found i t necessary to e stablish a s econd method of settlement i n K e n t u c k y i n r esponse to the demands of the large number of p eople w ho w ere m i g r a t i n g to the west of the Alleghenies. P r o v i s i o n w as made for the granting of preemption rights to new s ettlers and also for the introduction of a very generous s ystem of settlement rights. These settlement and preemption r ights were almost inseparable, as the latter was dependent upon the former. I t was provided that four hundred acres of land would be given to every person or f a m i l y w ho h a d settled i n the region b efore t he first of J a n u a r y , 1 778. T he word " s e t t l e m e n t " was stated to mean either a r esidence of one year i n the territory or the raising of a c rop o f corn. I n addition to the a bove g rant every man w ho had built only a cabin or made any improvement on the l and w as entitled to a preemption of one thousand acres, p r o v i d i n g s uch improvements h a d been made p r i o r to J a n uary 1, 1778. Preference i n the grants was to be given to t he early settlers and even the most famous h eroes o f the R evolution w ere not allowed to interfere w ith the rights of t hose who held a certificate of settlement.
2 3

T hus f a r provision had been made only for those who h ad s ettled b efore 1778. T o them was given the best o f the l and. T hereafter a l l settlement and preemption rights c eased and the further distribution of l a n d i n K e n t u c k y was b y means of treasury warrants. A person desiring land i n K e n t u c k y would appear at one of the V i r g i n i a l and offices a nd m ake an entry and pay a fee amounting to about two c ents per acre. The paper he would receive would give the a pproximate location of the tract and the recipient would
z H e m n g ' s Statutes, V o l . X I , p. 3 0 9 ; T r e a t , P . J . , National p . 235. 3 Ibid., V o l . X , pp. 35-45. Land System,

  
6

SLAVEKY I N K E N T U C K Y

p roceed to have the land surveyed at his pleasure. W i t h i n t hree months after the survey h a d b een m ade he was to a ppear at the land office a nd have the same recorded. A c opy o f this record was to be taken to the assistant register of the land office i n Kentucky and there i t was to remain six m onths i n order to give p r i o r settlers, i f any, the right to p rove their claims to the property. N o such e vidence b eing p roduced a f inal r ecord of the patent was to be made and a P y g iven to the original grantee. A n i nteresting example of this method of settlement is s hown by the experience of A b r a h a m L i n c o l n , the grandfather of President L i n c o l n . On M a r c h 4, 1780, s oon a fter the establishment of the new system, he appeared at the land office i n Richmond, V i r g i n i a , a nd was given three treasury w arrants, each for four hundred acres of land i n K e n t u c k y . T he first and t hird o f these warrants were not returned for t he final r ecording u ntil M a y 16,1787, at which time B e v e r l y R andolph, G overnor of V i r g i n i a , i ssued a final d eed o f 800 a cres of land i n L i n c o l n County, Kentucky, to A b r a h a m Lincoln. T he s econd t reasury warrant was not returned u ntil J u l y 2, 1798, m ore t han a decade a fter the death of A b r a h a m L i n c o l n and six years after K e n t u c k y had become a S tate. A t that time the warrant was presented with a r ecord of the survey by Mordecai L i n c o l n , the eldest son o f A b r a h a m . A f t e r some p eriod of investigation the deed f or the four hundred acres i n Jefferson County was turned o ver to Mordecai L i n c o l n on A p r i l 26, 1799.
C0 4 5 6

T he result of this method of granting land was that K e n tucky was settled by a comparatively few men who rented t heir p roperty to tenants. A large number of the m ilitary b ounties were never settled by the original owners but were f armed by the later incoming tenant class. G eorge W a s h ington had b een g iven five thousand acres and this land w as actually settled by the p oorer w hite element. I n the
* W i n t e r b o t h a m , An Historical Geographical Commercial ical View of the United States, V o l . 3, p p . 156-157. 6 K e n t u c k y L a n d G r a n t s , B o o k 13<, p. 59. 8 Ibid., B o o k 8, p. 228. and Topograph-

  
THE

DEVELOPMENT

OP

SLAVERY

7

c ase o f the land warrant property i t was true that i t was u sually g ranted to the p oorer c lass of early settlers but as i n t he instance of the L i n c o l n family the l a n d s oon p assed i nto the hands of the wealthier settlers either by purchase o r through law suits. It is commonly stated that Daniel B oone t hus b ecame l andless and was forced to migrate to Missouri. T hus we see that K e n t u c k y was distinctly different from a ll t he other settlements to the west of the Alleghenies i n t he original system of land tenure and she further inherited f rom her mother State of V i r g i n i a the ancient theory of a l anded aristocracy which was based upon tenantry. The e arly i nhabitants of K e n t u c k y can be easily divided into t hree classes, the landed proprietors, their slaves, and the t enant class of whites. The s econd a nd t h i r d c lasses tended to k eep a live the status of the former and led to the perpetuation of the landed aristocracy. I n Kentucky, however, t he laws of d escent w ere always against primogeniture and t his r esulted i n the division of the lands of the wealthier c lass w i t h each new generation. T he institution of slavery i n Kentucky, as i n every other S tate, d epended f or the most part upon the existence of large p lantations. T he only reason K e n t u c k y h a d such large e states was b ecause o f the method by which the land was g iven out by the mother State. Economically K e n t u c k y w as not adapted to plantation life. The greater part of the S tate required then, as i t s till d oes, t he personal care and s upervision of the owner or tenant. The original distribution o f l a n d made this impossible and there grew up a large c lass of landholders who seldom labored w i t h their hands, b ecause o f the traditional system. A large number of i n habitants as early as 1805, Michaux found, were cultivating t heir l ands themselves, but t hose w ho could do so had all t he work d one b y Negro slaves.
7 8

W i t h p assing years, while K e n t u c k y maintained slavery,
i S h a l e r ' s Autobiography, p . 33. s M i c h a u x ( T h w a i t e ' s R e p r i n t ) , Travels Mountains, V o l . 3, p. 237. to the West of the Allegheny

  
8

SLAVERY I N

KENTUCKY

i t c ame to have a social system not l ike t hat i n the South b ut one more l ike t he typical structure of the middle nineteenth century "West. There were several reasons for t his. I n t he first place, the absence o f the policy of primogeniture i n t ime c ame to distribute the lands over a much larger p opulation. I n the second place, while a l l the l a n d i n K e n tucky h ad been granted by the year 1790, the p a t r i c i a n landholding element was completely submerged by the flood of s o-called plebeians who c ame i n s oon a fter K e n t u c k y became a S tate. I n 1790 there were only 61,133 white p eople i n K entucky, and although a l l the l a n d had been granted, t he white population i n the next decade n early t ripled, r eaching 179,871 i n 1800, and this increase, at a slightly s maller r ate, continued down to about 1820. S t i l l f urther t he nature of the soil made i t more profitable for the w ealthier l anded class to let out their holdings to the incoming w hites who d i d their own work and i n time came to own t he property. " E a c h year increased this element of the s tate at the e xpense o f the larger p roperties.''   A s tudy of the growth of the slave and white population o f K e n t u c k y from 1790 to 1860 is necessary to an adequate u nderstanding o f the slave problem. I t w i l l be found adP O P U L A T I O N F R O M 1 790 TO 1860 W I T H R A T E S O F I N C R E A S E
P er C e n t I ncrease F ree C olored P er C e n t I ncrease P er C e n t I ncrease P er C e n t I ncrease

Whlto

S lave

Total

1 790.. 1 800.. 1810.. 1820.. 1830.. 1840.. 1 850.. 1 860..

6 1,133 179,871 324,237 434,644 517,787 5 90,253 761,413 919,484

194.22 8 0.20 34.05 19.12 13.99 28.99 2 0.76

114 741 1,713 2,759 4,917 7,317 10,011 10,684

5 50.00 131.17 61.06 78.21 4 8.81 36.81 6.72

11,830 4 0,343 80,561 126,732 165,213 182,258 210,981 2 25,483

2 41.02 9 9.69 5 7.31 3 0.36 10.31 15.75 6.87

7 3,077 2 20,955 4 06,511 564,317'   6 87,917 7 79,828 9 82,405 1 ,155,684"

2 02.36 8 3.98 3 8.82 21.09 13.30 2 5.98 17.04

v antageous to deal w ith t wo sets of figures   one relating to the slave population w ithin t he State and the other w i t h t he slave increase i n K e n t u c k y as compared w ith t he general
- o S haler, N . S., Kentucky, "Includes 182 I n d i a n s , i i I ncludes 33 I n d i a n s . p . 196.

  
THE

DEVELOPMENT

OP

SLAVEEY

i ncrease throughout the U n i t e d States. I t would not be of a ny value to compare the figures for K e n t u c k y w i t h those, o f any other State, for that would involve the discussion of l ocal f actors which are beyond the scope o f this i n vestigation. F i r s t o f a l l we s hall t ake the census statistics for the S tate for a l l eight of the enumerations which were taken d uring t he slavery era. The figures for the year 1790 were o riginally t aken when K e n t u c k y was a part of the State of V i r g i n i a , b ut they are included, since K e n t u c k y b ecame a S tate b efore t he census was published. F u r t h e r m o r e they f urnish a n interesting light upon the growth of the slave p opulation d u r i n g the first d ecade o f the new commonwealth. T he important part of this table is i n the increases, o n a percentage basis, i n the slave and white populations. A n o t h e r v iewpoint of the growth of the slave population m ay be seen i n this l ittle t able:
E A T I O O P S L A V E S TO T H E T O T A L
P er C e n t 1790 1800 1810 1820 16.1 18.2 19.18 22.4

POPULATION
Per C e n t 24.0 23.3 21.4 19.5

f

1830 1840 1850 1860

H e r e i t w i l l b e seen that the proportion of slaves increased d own to 1830 and then began to decline. Most authorities a re agreed that this was i n a large measure due to the enactment of the law of 1833 forbidding the importation of slaves
F R E E N EGRO A N D S L A V E P O P U L A T I O N O P T H E U N I T E D W I T H B A T E S OP I N C R E A S E
F ree Negro P er C e n t I ncrease S laves P er C e n t I ncrease

STATES,

1 7 9 0 TO 1 8 6 0 ,

1790 1800 1810 1830 1840 1850 1860

5 9,557 108,435 186,446 2 33,634 3 19,599 3 86,293 4 34,495 4 88,070

8 2.1 71.9 2 5.3 3 6.8 20.9 12.5 12.3

6 97,624 8 93,602 1,191,362 1,538,022 2,009,043 2 ,487,355 3,204,313 3 ,953,760

2 8.1 3 3.3 29.1 3 0.6 2 3.8 28.8 23.4

  
10

SLAVERY

IN

KENTUCKY

i nto K entucky. B u t b efore d ealing w ith t hat question it w ould be well to have b efore u s the figures for the whole c ountry at the same period. T he facts seem more significant, i f we compare the slave i ncrease i n K e n t u c k y w ith t hat of the Negroes i n the country as a whole. B e a r i n g i n m i n d that K e n t u c k y was a comparatively n ew region when i t b ecame a S tate and that at t hat t ime slavery was firmly established along the seaboard, w e are not surprised to find that the slave increase i n K e n tucky w as much more r a p i d for the first three or four d ecades t han it was i n the nation as a whole. A f t e r the year 1830 the increase i n the U n i t e d States, on a percentage b asis, was much greater than i n Kentucky. I t seems t hat t he institution started i n w i t h a b oom a nd then eventually d ied d own i n K e n t u c k y . T here were several reasons for this fact. A glance at t he increase of whites i n K e n t u c k y for the last three decades w i l l s how that they were forging ahead while the slaves w ere relatively declining. T h i s was due to a large amount o f immigration of that class of white p eople w ho were not s laveholding. A s econd factor was the non-importation act o f 1833. A b o u t the same time there c ame to be a conviction a mong a large portion of the population that slavery i n K entucky was economically unprofitable. There is a bundant ground for the position that the law of 1833 was p assed b ecause o f a firm c onviction that there were enough s laves i n the State. The only ones w ho could profit by any a mount of importation were the slave dealers and beyond a c ertain p oint even their trade would prove unprofitable. I f t here was ever a single slaveholder who defended importation o n the ground that more slaves were needed i n K e n tucky h e never spoke out i n public and g ave h is reasons for s uch a position. U nfortunately t here are few statistics concerning the n umber of slaveholders i n K e n t u c k y . Cassius M . C l a y i n h is a ppeal to the p eople i n 1845 stated that there were 31,495 o wners of slaves i n the State. T he same year the
12

! 2 G reeley, H o r a c e , Writings, p . 177.

Speeches and Addresses

of

Cassius

M.

Clay,

  
THE

D E V E L O P M E N T OP S L A V E R Y

11

a uditor's t ax b ooks s howed that there were 176,107 slaves i n Kentucky. T h i s would mean an average of 5.5 slaves for     e ach owner. The accuracy of these figures is substantiated b y those for the census of 1850 which gave 210,981 slaves h eld b y 38,456 slaveholders or an average of 5.4 to each o wner. These holders were classified according to the number of slaves held as follows:
13

H o l d e r s of 1 slave H o l d e r s of o ver 1 a nd' less t h a n 5 slaves H o l d e r s of 5 a n d under 10 slaves H o l d e r s of 10 a n d under 20 slaves H o l d e r s of 20 a n d under 50 slaves H o l d e r s of 50 a n d under 100 slaves H o l d e r s of 100 and under 200 slaves

9 ,244 1 3,284 9 ,579 5 ,022 1,198 53 5 3 873851*

T h i s d istribution shows that, although the average number o f slaves held may have been 5.4 for each slaveholder, 21,528 o r 50 per cent of them held less than five slaves each, and t hat 34,129 or 88 per cent held less than 20 each. Of the 132,920 free families i n the State only 28 per cent held any s laves at a l l . T h i s was somewhat below the average for t he whole South. The total number of families holding s laves i n the U n i t e d S tates, by the census of 1850, was 347,525. W i t h a n average of 5.7 persons to each f a m i l y there w ere about 2,000,000 persons i n the relation of slave owners, o r about one t h i r d o f the whole white population of the slave S tates. I n South C arolina, A labama, M i s s i s s i p p i , a nd L o u i siana a bout one half of the white population was thus classified. A s s tated above, this percentage i n K e n t u c k y was) o nly t wenty-eight. T h i s c omparison can be more clearly shown by a table o f the slave States from the census of 1850 showing the n umber of white people, the slaveholders, slaves, and the a verage number of slaves for each slaveholder.
i s Collected Documents, 1 847, p. 581. Bevieiv, p . 95. 1* D e B o w ' s Statistical

1

4

  
12

SLAVERY I N K E N T U C K Y
S laveholders P er C e n t of W hites A verage p er Holder

W hites

S laves

Alabama A rkansas Florida G eorgia ^Kentucky L ouisiana Maryland M ississippi Missouri N o r t h C arolina S outh C arolina T ennessee T exas V irginia

4 26,514 102,189 4 7,203 5 21,572 7 61,413 255,491 4 17,943 2 95,718 5 92,004 5 53,028 2 74,563 7 56,836 154,034 8 94,800

2 9,295 5,999 3,520 3 S,456 3 8,385 2 0,670 16,040 2 3,116 19,185 2 8,303 2 5,596 3 3,864 7,747 5 5,063

6.8 3.7 7.4 7.3 5.0 8.0 3.8 7.8 3.2 5.1 9.3 4 .4 5.2 0.1

342,844 4 7,100 3 9,310 3 81,622 210,981 2 44,809 9 0.36S 3 09,878 8 7,422 2 88,548 3 84,984 2 39,459 5 S.161 4 72,528

1-1.6 7.8 1 1.1 9.9 5.4 11.4 5.6 13.4 4.5 10.2 15.0 7.0 7.5 8.5

A m o n g t he fourteen r eal s laveholding States of the U n i o n K entucky s tood n inth i n the number of slaves i n 1850, but w as t h i r d i n the number of slave owners and w i t h t he e xception o f M i s s o u r i h ad less slaves for each owner t han a ny o ther S tate. F r o m t he t h i r d c olumn of t his t able, however, w e are r ather s urprised t o f ind t hat n ot only i n M i s s o u r i b ut i n A r k a n s a s , M a r y l a n d a nd Tennessee the number of s laveholders w as s maller i n proportion to the t otal w hite p opulation t han i n K entucky. H elper i n his Impending Crisis m ade the following i n teresting t able from the census figures for 1850. H e set a p erfectly a rbitrary v aluation o f $400 on each slave, but, i f
V a l u e or Slaves at S 400 p er H e a d V a l u e of R e a l a n d Personal P r o p e r t y Less the V a l u e of Slaves

Alabama Arkansas Florida Georgia Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Mississippi Missouri N o r t h Carolina S outh C a r o l i n a T ennessee T exas Virginia

$ 137,137,600 1 8,840,000 1 5,724,000 1 52,672,800 8 4,392,400 9 7,923,600 3 6,147,200 1 23,951,200 3 4,968,800 1 15,419,200 1 53,993,600 95,783,600 2 3,264,400 1 89,011,200

$ 81,066,732 21,001,025 7 ,474,734 182,752,914 217,236,056 136,075,164 183,070,164 105,000,000 102,278,907 111,381,272 134,264,094 111,671,104 32,097,940 202,634,638 J

i s A d a p t e d f r o m D e B o w ' s Statistical

Review, p p . 67, 85, 99.

  
THE

D E V E L O P M E N T OF S L A V E R Y

13

one takes into account the infants and the aged unable to w ork, h is general appraisement of the slave group is f a i r e nough for the time and for a basis of comparison. I t w i l l b e seen at a glance that after t aking o ut the value of the > s laves i n a l l the States,Kentucky was the richest southern c ommonwealth. F r o m t he three preceding tables i t is apparent that while t he K e n t u c k y slaveholders represented about 28 per cent o f t he white population of the State, on the average they held l ess slaves than i n the other Southern States. Slave property i n K e n t u c k y was a much smaller p a r t of the wealth o f the commonwealth than i n the States to the south. The r elatively l arge number of holders is to be explained by the t ype of slavery which existed i n the State. M a n y persons h eld a f ew servants i n b ondage a nd t hose w ho held many s laves were v e r y few i n number. T he question of the sale of slaves from K e n t u c k y into t he southern market presents a much m ore f ormidable problem. T he chief charge that the anti-slavery p eople m ade a gainst K e n t u c k y was that the State regularly bred and r eared s laves for the market i n the lower South. W h a t was t he attitude of the K e n t u c k y slaveholder and the p eople i n g eneral o n the question of the domestic slave trade? There i s n o doubt that i n the later years of slavery there were s old i n the State many slaves who ultimately found their w ay into the southern market notwithstanding the contempt \ o f the average K e n t u c k y slaveholder for the slave trade, j T h i s t rend of opinion w i l l be seen as we p roceed. I f the s entiment was decidedly against such human c ommerce h ow d id so many slaves b ecome v ictims of the slave trader?
s

T here were five general c auses w hich led to the sale of s laves i n K e n t u c k y : (1) W h e n they became so u nruly t hat the master was forced to s e l l ; (2) when their sale was n ecessary to settle an estate; (3) when the master was reduced to t he need of the m oney v alue i n preference to the l a b o r ; ( 4) when captured runaways were unclaimed after one y e a r ; a nd ( 5) when the profit alone was desired by unscrupulous m asters. M a n y other reasons have b een g iven, but a care-

  
14

SLAVERY

IN

KENTUCKY

f ul i nvestigation of a l l available material confines practically e very known case o f sale to one of the a bove c lassifications. M r s . Stowe i n her Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin    m aintained t hat the prevalence of the slave trade i n K e n tucky w as due to the impoverishment of the soil beyond r ecovery and the d ecrease i n the e conomic v alue of the slave to its owner. T h i s argument is fallacious, for the v e r y b lue-grass region which held most of the slaves i s today the m ost fertile section of the State. A s l ong as a slave conducted himself i n accordance w ith the s pirit o f the slave code t here was l ittle c hance of his o wner selling h i m against his w i l l . T he president of the C onstitutional C onvention of 1849 stated that i n the interior of the State, where slaves were the most numerous, very f ew Negroes were sold out of the State and that they were m ostly those w hose b ad and ungovernable disposition was s uch that their owners could no longer control t h e m . A t rue p icture of the average master's attitude has been given u s by P r o f . N . S. Shaler. " W h a t n egroes t here w e r e , " s aid he, "belonged to a g ood c lass. T h e greater number of t hem were from families which h a d been owned by the ancestors of their masters i n V i r g i n i a . I n my grandfather's h ousehold and those of his children there were some t wo d ozen of these blacks. They were well cared f o r ; n one o f t hem were ever sold, though there was the common threat t hat ' i f you don't behave, you w i l l be sold S o u t h . ' One o f the c ommonest b its of instruction my grandfather g ave m e was to remember that my p eople h ad i n a century never b ought or sold a slave e xcept t o keep families together. B y t hat he meant that a gentleman of his station should n ot r u n any r isk o f appearing as a 'negro trader,' the last w ord of opprobium to be slung at a man. So f a r as I can r emember, this rule was well kept and social ostracism was l ikely to be visited on any one who was f a i r l y s uspected of b uying o r selling slaves for profit. T h i s state of opinion w as, I believe, very general among the better class of slave
17

1 6 S t o w e , Key \ I T Louisville

to Uncle

Tom's

Cabin,

p . 143.

Weekly Journal,

O ctober 1 7, 1849.

  
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D E V E L O P M E N T OF S L A V E R Y

15

o wners i n Kentucky. W h e n n egroes w ere sold i t was because they were vicious and intractable. Y e t there were e xceptions to this high-minded h u m o r . " "When a m aster had a bad Negro about the only t hing t hat c ould be d one f or the sake of discipline was to s ell h i m . I f t he owner kept the slave, the latter would corrupt his f ellows and i f he were set free, the master would reward where h e ought to punish. T h e human interest which the owner t ook i n his servant when the demands of the i nstitution n ecessitated his sale is shown i n the case o f the Negro F r a n k , o wned by A . Barnett, of Greensburg. "Witness these w ords of the master i n a runaway advertisement: " H i s t ransgressions impelled me, some y ears since to take h i m t o New Orleans and s ell h i m , where he b ecame t he property o f a S p a n i a r d , who branded h i m on each cheek t hus, QQ , w hich i s p l a i n to be seen when said negro is newly shaved. I w ent to New Orleans again last M a y , where, having my f eelings excited by the tale F r a n k t old me, I purchased h i m again." A f t e r the master had g one to a l l this trouble i n t he interest of the slave the latter r a n away shortly after h is r eturn to K e n t u c k y .
18 19

I t w as often necessary to s ell s laves i n order to settle an e state. I t was seldom possible for a man to w i l l h is property i n Negroes without some d ivisions becoming necessary a t the hands of the executor i n the just interest of the heirs. T hese public auctions usually t ook p lace on court day, at t he courthouse d oor a nd were conducted by the master comsioner of the circuit court. The following advertisement r eveals the necessity and the procedure:
SALE OF NEGROES B y v irtue of a decree o f the Payette C ircuit, t he undersigned w i l l , as Commissioner to carry into effect s aid decree, s ell to the h ighest bidder, on the public square i n the city of Lexington, on M onday t he 10th of M a r c h n ext, being county court day, the following slaves, to w i t :
15

S h a l e r ' s Autobiography, L