Slave breeding in the United States facts for kids

Four generations of slaves on a plantation in South Carolina c. 1862

Slave breeding was a practice of American slave owners. Its purpose was to make more slaves. More slaves meant more money for slave owners.

Slave owners favored female slaves who could have large numbers of children.

Slaves cost a lot of money. Breeding slaves made new slaves without having to pay for them. Also, the end of the Atlantic slave trade created labor shortages. Slaves were bred to fill these shortages.

The practice was approved in the South because slaves were considered to be less than human. Slaves were property, and were not given or expected to have the same rights as free people.

Images for kids

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  Slaves dancing on a South Carolina plantation. The Old Plantation, c. 1790.