1826 - The Southern Economy

Slave markets in Mecklenburg County are held twice each year. The highest price paid for a slave this year is $568. While many labor as farm-hands under back-breaking conditions on plantations throughout the South, some others are taught skills. Men who learn woodworking, black-smithing, and masonry -- and women who become seamstresses or cooks -- become indispensable to the plantation household and the South's economy.