THE PRICE OF BONDAGE: SLAVERY, SLAVE VALUATION, AND ECONOMICS IN THE ALBEMARLE By Jacob T. Parks April 2018 Director of Thesis: Donald H. Parkerson Major Department: History This thesis examines the economics of antebellum slavery in the Albemarle region of North Carolina. Located in the northeastern corner of the Carolina colony, the Albemarle was a harsh location for settlement and thus, inhabitants settled relatively late by Virginians moving south in search of better opportunities. This thesis finds that examination of a region’s slave economics not only conformed to, but also departed from, the larger slave experience in antebellum America. The introduction of this thesis focuses on the literature surrounding slave economics and valuation in antebellum America. After this, the main body of the thesis follows. Chapter one focuses on the various avenues slaves became property of white men and women in the Albemarle. This reveals that the county courts were intrinsically involved in allowing slave sales to occur, in addition to loop-holes slave owners utilized to retain chattel slavery cheaply. Additionally, this chapter pays special attention to slave valuation and statistical analysis. The following chapters revolve around the topics of: the miscellaneous costs associated with slavery in the Albemarle, such as healthcare, food, and clothing; insuring the lives of slaves and hiring them out for work away from their master; and examination of runaway slave rewards in statistical terms, while also creating a narrative of the enslaved and their actions. THE PRICE OF BONDAGE: SLAVERY, SLAVE VALUATION, AND ECONOMICS IN THE ALBEMARLE A Thesis Presented To the Faculty of the Department of History East Carolina University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in History by Jacob Parks April 2018 © Jacob Parks, 2018 THE PRICE OF BONDAGE: SLAVERY, SLAVE VALUATION, AND ECONOMICS IN THE ALBEMARLE by Jacob T. Parks APPROVED BY: DIRECTOR OF THESIS: ________________________________________________________ Donald H. Parkerson, Ph.D. COMMITTEE MEMBER: __________________________________________ Wade G. Dudley, Ph.D. COMMITTEE MEMBER: __________________________________________ Kennetta H. Perry, Ph.D. CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY: ___________________________________________________ Christopher A. Oakley, Ph.D. DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL: ___________________________________________ Paul J. Gemperline, Ph.D. DEDICATION To my family and C.M.H. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my thesis director and committee, your professionalism and help during this process did not go unnoticed. Also, the great assistance of librarians and archivists proved to be invaluable. TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page ......................................................................................................................... i Copyright Page ................................................................................................................ ii Signature Page .................................................................................................................. iii Dedication ........................................................................................................................ iv Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................ v Table ................................................................................................................................ vii List of Images ................................................................................................................... viii List of Maps...................................................................................................................... ix Introduction: Debates on Slave Economics in Antebellum America .................................. 1 Slave Narratives .................................................................................................... 3 Slave Historiography in the early 20th Century ..................................................... 7 Slave Historiography during the Civil Rights Movement ....................................... 15 The Time on the Cross Debate ............................................................................... 20 Modern Slave Historiography ................................................................................ 24 Chapter One: The Price of Flesh: Slave Purchasing and Valuation ................................... 30 Chapter Two: The Price of Maintenance: Examining the Costs Associated with Slave Ownership ....................................................................................................... 57 Chapter Three: Slaves as Property: Slave Hiring and Life Insurance ................................. 73 Chapter Four: “Catch the Scoundrel!”: Escaped Slaves in the Albemarle ......................... 84 Conclusion: Slave Lives Matter ........................................................................................ 106 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 111 Appendices ...................................................................................................................... 116 Appendix 1.1: Valuation of William B. Clark's slaves, determined by age group ... 116 Appendix 1.2: Slave Valuation Sources ................................................................ 117 Appendix 1.3: Increase in Albemarle Slave Prices ................................................. 118 Appendix 3.1: Captain Timothy Hunter’s insured slaves ....................................... 119 Appendix 4.1: Runaway slave percentages, determined by complexion ................. 120 Appendix 4.2: Average Runaway Reward, determined by slave sex ...................... 121 Appendix 4.3: Average Runaway Reward, determined by age descriptor ............... 122 Appendix 4.4: Average Runaway Reward, determined by age group ..................... 123 Appendix 4.5: Average Runaway Reward, determined by complexion .................. 124 Appendix 4.6: Average Runaway Reward, determined by race .............................. 126 TABLE Table 1.1: Valuation of Martha B. Clark’s Slaves, December 12, 1843 ............................. 44 LIST OF IMAGES Image 1.1: Deed of Gift, June 11, 1852 ............................................................................. 35 Image 1.2: Deed of Gift, Quaker Transfer, May 1, 1830 .................................................... 39 Image 1.3: Division of 72 Slaves, January 1, 1830 ............................................................ 42 Image 1.4: Division of 72 Slaves, January 1, 1830 ............................................................ 42 Image 1.5: Division of Slaves, March 20, 1835 ................................................................. 46 Image 1.6: Bill of Sale, November 11, 1862 ...................................................................... 54 Image 2.1: Bill of Sale, Boots, October 30, 1857 ............................................................... 71 Image 3.1: Reverse of Hiring Receipt, December 27, 1826 ............................................... 75 Image 3.2: Slave Hire Receipt, February 5, 1851 .............................................................. 76 Image 3.3: Reverse of Hiring Receipt, January 4, 1854 ..................................................... 78 Image 4.1: Slave Runaway Advertisement, Carolina Observer (Fayetteville), .................. June 28, 1827 ....................................................................................................... 84 Image 4.2: Slave Runaway Advertisement, Edenton Gazette (Edenton), December 25, 1820 ............................................................................................... 93 Image 4.3: Photograph of Beverly Hall, Edenton, circa 1915 ............................................ 99 Image 4.4: Slave Runaway Advertisement, North-Carolina Miscellany (Edenton), .......... March 7, 1832 ....................................................................................................... 103 Image 4.5: Slave Runaway Advertisement, Elizabeth City Star and North Carolina Eastern Intelligencer (Elizabeth City), July 7, 1827 ....................................................................... 103 MAPS Map 4.1: Clipped section of “[Untitled map showing area from Edenton northeast to the Dismal Swamp Canal] [circa 1830s]” ............................................................................................ 102 Map 4.2: Clipped section of “Albemarle and Chesepeake Canal connecting Chesepeake Bay with Currituck, Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds and their tributary streams [c. 1858]” .............. 104 INTRODUCTION: DEBATES ON SLAVE ECONOMICS IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA No other issue in American history had a more profound effect on modern society than the institution of slavery. The evils of a racist system with economic foundations left American society in a ruinous state. The lasting problems of race relations and social inequality persisted throughout Reconstruction, into the New Era, and even after the conclusion of both World Wars. It took a full century for profound changes to be put into place by the U.S. government to begin to address the woes of Jim Crow and black suffrage in the nation. In 1965, President Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act, an initiative that hoped to bring voting rights to the African-American