Class Year
2019
Document Type
Blog Post
Publication Date
11-30-2018
Department 1
Civil War Institute
Abstract
Historical objects often have dark and horrible stories hidden just beneath their unassuming and innocent visage. The picture above is one such example of this type of object. At first glance the photo seems to depict a simple brick building; however, this building is anything but simple. It was used as a slave pen in the 19th century. Slave pens were buildings in which slaves were imprisoned and prepared for sale. The one pictured above was located in Alexandria, Virginia, the site of a major slave-trading center. While this photo’s association with the slave trade makes the photo a deeply disturbing one, the story that this picture tells is not completely devoid of hope or human agency. Indeed, the photo speaks to numerous stories of strength, as well as despair, in addition to the power of material objects and structures to enlighten both past and present Americans for the better. [excerpt]
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
Recommended Citation
Labbe, Savannah, "A Hidden History: Alexandria’s Slave Pen and the Domestic Slave Trade" (2018). The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History. 329.
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/compiler/329
Comments
This blog post originally appeared in The Gettysburg Compiler and was created by students at Gettysburg College.