Details about American Slavery as Told by the Former Slaves Themselves

In the 1930s, thousands of former American slaves dictated their full life stories to interviewers who were hired by the US government. Most of the original narratives are in southern dialect. In the books entitled American Slavery, the stories have been translated into Standard English to enable better understanding by people who are unfamiliar with the vernacular.

A key feature is the categorization of the narratives by subject matter, i.e., sections are devoted to specific topics, such as the raising of babies for sale as described in detail by many formerly enslaved individuals. Archival photographs of slaves, ex-slaves at the time of the interviews, cabins, and artifacts are included.

American Slavery, the book and ebooks, will be available in 2019.