Broadside for Slave Auction at "Ryan's Mart, Chalmer Street" and "List for a Prime and Orderly Gang of 47 Negroes," 1859
Document Description:
Slave auctions were often advertised with printed broadsides that included the names of the slaves, their ages, and any qualifications they had. This particular broadside lists the sale of 47 slaves from Christ Church Parish.
Most slave sales in Charleston took place on the street until 1856, when a city ordinance prohibited public sales and forced slave traders to build new buildings for their business. Ryan's Mart, the auction house listed in this advertisement, still stands today. Believed to be the only slave auction house still in existence in South Carolina, it houses the Old Slave Mart Museum.
Citation:
Porcher, P.J. & Baya. "List of A Prime and Orderly Gang. . ." 21 January 1859. 11/260/1. South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston, South Carolina.
Correlating SC Social Studies Academic Standards:
Standard USHC-4: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the causes and the course of the Civil War and Reconstruction in America.
Indicator USHC-4.1 Compare the social and cultural characteristics of the North, the South, and the West during the antebellum period, including the lives of African Americans and social reform movements such as abolition and women’s rights.
Note: Although this document was originally posted as part of a lesson specifically designed to teach the above standard, other Social Studies Standards may apply.
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Lessons Using This Document:
Examining Slave Auction Documents - High School