BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY: SLAVERY IN TENNESSEE :

Slavery was an every day life in Tennessee during this time. About one in four of the people living in Tennessee in the 1860 were slaves. Although slavery excited throughout the state, most slaves lived in the middle and west Tennessee. All the Black people who lived in the state were slaves. Twenty five percent of the white families in the state of Tennessee owned slaves.  About 7000 free Black lived in Tennessee though technically free, restrictive laws limited there opportunities.  Slavery were forced to work without pay often doing tasks requiring very hard labor.

Although many enslaved Tennesseans worked on farms others labored in iron foundries or other business. Slaves had few legal rights, for example slave marriages were not recognized by law. Owners had the right to sell slaves when ever they wanted regardless of family relationships. Children could be sold away from there parents. Owners could used violent forms of punshments like whipping there slaves. Although some individual owners belived they treated their slaves well, the whole system was unfair and designed to exploit the labor of slaves.