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Difficulty: MediumDevelopment of Chattel Slavery

Read the excerpt and answer the question that follows.

"Be it enacted... That all negroes and Indians, (free Indians in amity with this government, and negroes, mulatoes, and mestizos, who now are free, excepted)... and all their issue and offspring, born or to be born, shall be, and they are hereby declared to be, and remain forever hereafter, absolute slaves, and shall follow the condition of the mother, and shall be deemed, held, taken, reputed and adjudged in law, to be chattels personal..."
— South Carolina Act for the Better Ordering and Governing of Negroes and Other Slaves, 1740

Which of the following developments in the British colonies is best reflected in the excerpt?

  1. A
    The expansion of temporary contract-based indentured servitude to meet agricultural demands
  2. The legal codification of a permanent and hereditary labor system based on racial categoriesAnswer
  3. C
    The integration of the Spanish encomienda system to manage diverse colonial populations
  4. D
    The alignment of southern agricultural labor laws with the family-farm model of New England

Answer

The legal codification of a permanent and hereditary labor system based on racial categories
The correct answer is correct because the 1740 South Carolina statute legally establishes that all offspring of enslaved mothers will remain slaves ('absolute slaves') and defines them as personal property ('chattels personal'). This reflects the process by which British colonies codified a permanent, hereditary system of racial slavery to secure a stable agricultural labor force.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the primary source text for key legal definitions of labor status.
The text identifies 'negroes and Indians' and declares that they and 'all their issue and offspring' will be 'absolute slaves' and 'chattels personal' following the 'condition of the mother'.
This establishes that the labor status is permanent, hereditary, racialized, and treats human beings as property (chattel).
2
Relate these legal definitions to broader historical trends in the British colonies during the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
As the supply of indentured servants decreased and concerns over labor control grew, southern colonies increasingly codified racial slavery into law.
The codification of these laws created a rigid racial hierarchy and secured a permanent labor force for plantation agriculture, such as rice and indigo in South Carolina.
3
Evaluate the options to identify the statement that best matches these findings.
The statement regarding the legal codification of a permanent and hereditary racial labor system accurately describes the historical development shown in the South Carolina Slave Code of 1740.
This confirms the correct option while eliminating choices that confuse chattel slavery with temporary servitude, Spanish colonial systems, or New England economic models.

Key Concept

Development of Chattel Slavery

Hints

1
Look closely at how the statute defines the status of children ('issue and offspring') and whether this status is temporary or permanent.
2
The text states that enslaved individuals 'shall follow the condition of the mother' and are considered 'chattels personal' (personal property). Contrast this permanent, hereditary status with contract labor.

Practice More

Review how the transition from indentured servitude to chattel slavery was accelerated by labor instability in the late 1600s, such as Bacon's Rebellion.
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Development of Chattel Slavery

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