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Slavery

In this portrait, Webster wore what looks like a Confederate uniform, but there is no evidence he fought for the South.

Why Was Robert Webster, a Slave, Wearing What Looks Like a Confederate Uniform?

This remarkable man risked his life to undermine the Confederacy yet remained close to his former owner after the Civil War

The descendants of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison donated ten items to the National Museum of African American History and Culture this month.

Breaking Ground

The Descendants of Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison Donate Family Heirlooms

Objects belonging to the anti-slavery advocate spent a century collecting dust in an attic. Now they’re on their way to the African-American history museum

This month's Atlantic cover story by Ta-Nehisi Coates is generating some serious discussion about "The Case for Reparations."

Breaking Ground

America’s Moral Debt to African Americans

The director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture joins the discussion around “The Case for Reparations”

The U.S. Coast Survey map calculated the number of slaves in each county in the United States in 1860.

These Maps Reveal How Slavery Expanded Across the United States

As the hunger for more farmland stretched west, so too did the demand for enslaved labor

Solomon Northup, portrayed by Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years A Slave.

Vintage Headlines

The New York Times’ 1853 Coverage of Solomon Northup, the Hero of “12 Years A Slave”

Northup’s story garnered heavy press coverage and spread widely in the weeks and months after he was rescued

New Research

These Slave-Making Ants Use Stealth, Not Force, to Take Prisoners

Chemical camouflage allow these tiny ants to sneak past enemies’ defenses and steal their babies

The Dark Side of Thomas Jefferson

A new portrait of the founding father challenges the long-held perception of Thomas Jefferson as a benevolent slaveholder

Cape Coast Castle is one of several Ghanaian colonial-era compounds in which captured Africans were held in dungeons during the slave trade era.

Ghana’s Monument to Sorrow and Survival

At Cape Coast Castle, visitors walk in the footsteps of African slaves

One of the most ingenious escapes from slavery was that of a married couple from Georgia, Ellen and William Craft.

The Great Escape From Slavery of Ellen and William Craft

Passing as a white man traveling with his servant, two slaves fled their masters in a thrilling tale of deception and intrigue

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Breaking Ground

The History Behind a Slave’s Bill of Sale

On a worn, aged piece of paper dated 1835, a judge describes the sale of a 16-year-old girl named Polly, with “yellow complexion and black eyes”

Archaeologists excavated the jail had to cope with groundwater that filled trenches as fast as they were dug.

Digging Up the Past at a Richmond Jail

The excavation of a notorious jail recalls Virginia’s leading role in the slave trade

Katrina Browne and a Ghanaian child on the ramparts of Cape Coast Castle slave fort.

A Northern Family Confronts Its Slaveholding Past

Filmmaker Katrina Browne discusses her family’s role in American slavery

In the Nigerian village of Tajaé, a woman named Rakany (with her great-grandson) says she was given as a slave to her owner when she was an infant. She is now 80 years old.

Born into Bondage

Despite denials by government officials, slavery remains a way of life in the African nation of Niger

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Harriet Tubman

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Heroes of the Underground Railroad

A groundbreaking chronicle sheds new light on one of the most dramatic chapters in American history

Slave hire badges. National Museum of American History

Copper Neck Tags Evoke the Experience of American Slaves Hired Out as Part-Time Laborers

From the mid-18th century to the end of the Civil War, owners marketed the labor and skills of their slaves

George Washington, shown here in an 1853 lithograph, oversees his slaves at Mount Vernon.

Founding Fathers and Slaveholders

To what degree do the attitudes of Washington and Jefferson toward slavery diminish their achievements?

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Mutiny on the Amistad

In 1839, African freemen, seized as slaves, struck a daring blow for freedom

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