A Crossroads Resource

Unit VI: "Now We Are Engaged In A Great Civil War": 1848-1880

Question/Problem 1: What was life like for slaves in the United States prior to the Civil War?


Personal Accounts of Slavery

Living Conditions

Many of America's leaders owned slaves. A Polish visitor made the following observations on the living conditions of George Washington's slaves.

These can be found on pages 62-63 of "To Be a Slave" by Julius Lester (New York: The Dial Press, Inc., 1968).


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