9781422274217

A team of slaves plants sweet potatoes on a plantation in South Carolina, 1862.

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND

Threshing is the act of separating grain from a plant, especially with a flail or other revolving tool. Corn and rice might require threshing. An overseer is an individual, not a slave, tasked with overseeing the slaves. He or she might punish slaves if they don’t meet their quotas. Slaves were treated like chattel , which means they were treated like personal possessions or property.

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