Slave Property Rights

Definition

Slave property rights refer to the legal ownership and control that slave owners had over enslaved individuals as if they were property.

Related terms

Emancipation Proclamation: The Emancipation Proclamation was an order issued by President Lincoln during the Civil War that declared all slaves in Confederate territory to be free.

Fugitive Slave Act: The Fugitive Slave Act was a law passed in 1850 that required runaway slaves to be returned to their owners, even if they escaped to free states.

Dred Scott Decision: The Dred Scott decision was a Supreme Court ruling in 1857 that stated enslaved individuals were not citizens and therefore could not sue for their freedom.