History of the United States I / Unit 12 USH1 1675 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Marriage Without Law
Captions available
The idea
Enslaved people could not legally marry under southern law, though some slaveholders permitted marriages to encourage childbearing and plantation harmony.
In practice
Permission granted for the owner's benefit rather than the couple's.
Where people slip
Enslaved women faced the same physical expectations and punishments as men, plus vulnerability to sexual abuse.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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