Slave Advertisement

This archival item illustrates an advertisement for African-American slaves in 1858. The advertisement is from the Hatcher and McGehee Slave Depot, one of the primary slave trading companies located in Columbus, Georgia. The purpose of the advertisement was to promote slave trade by describing the useful tasks these slaves were capable of accomplishing.  Since Georgia had begun to witness success in its plantation economy from slave trade and labor, it had eventually led to rise in the cotton production and a rise in its industrial potential. The impact of slaves on the economy of Georgia had only resulted in the importation of more slaves to the state. The increased importation of slaves prompted many such advertisements to be placed in the state. The font of the text in this advertisement conveys a formal tone. However, the diction present in the document expresses a demeaning attitude towards the slaves. The writer of this article references the slaves as a “stock” revealing the lack of respect the culture had for the African-Americans. Furthermore, describing the “stock” as “well selected” depreciates the value of the slaves even more. This particular word hints a breeding type attitude normally used with animals. Additionally, the  drawings of the slaves in the advertisement do not portray any of the slaves as well fed or fit, but rather as weak and scrawny only meant to complete excessive amounts of work. It was almost as if the slaves were cheap machines for the wealthy white plantation owners. The slaves were quite inexpensive in comparison to how much profit each landowner received from the slaves hard work.