Workers

Definition

Workers are individuals who perform labor in exchange for wages or other forms of compensation. In this context, workers refer to individuals who were enslaved in the South before the Civil War and were considered property rather than free laborers.

Related terms

Chattel Slavery: A system where enslaved individuals are treated as personal property and can be bought, sold, or inherited like any other object.

Plantations: Large agricultural estates where cash crops such as cotton, tobacco, and sugar were grown using slave labor.

Overseers: Individuals appointed by plantation owners to manage and supervise enslaved workers on their behalf.