Slave Ship

This image depicts a large number of African men sitting on the floor of the slave ship, Wildfire, in 1860. It reflects how the nation had spiraled downward and succumbed to low acts of inducing the sin of slavery throughout the South. Although Georgia had restricted the importation of slaves in 1798, the ports near Savannah were still illegally trafficking slaves. Participating in illegal acts expresses how much the southerners needed the slaves for their plantations. This particular ship was owned by a New York slave trader. The ship had been used for deporting and delivering slaves to be sold in the South. The wealthy northerners were content with the idea to illegally use their ships and trade the slaves to gain large profits. The slaves were malnourished and deported in overcrowded ships. As the image presents, the slaves were not even given proper clothing to wear during their long journey to the South. The plantation culture helped create a high demand for the slaves. The condition in which the ship was in displays the extent of harsh conditions people were willing to put the slaves through in order to gain lucrative profits. It can be interpreted from the image that the ship lacks space for the slaves to even move around freely. The archival item exemplifies slavery had evolved from a “want” to a “need” due to the overcrowdedness of the ship.

The image was captured by implementing a daguerreotype, a device which utilized an iodine-sensitized silver plate and mercury vapor.