University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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| Resource Type | image |
| Title | Slave Shackles, c. 1850 |
| Coverage / Year | Mid-nineteenth century |
| Description | Plantation owners and overseers used heavy iron shackles to punish and humiliate defiant slaves, both men and women and especially those who tried to run away. Slaves who had been sold were also shackled while being moved to another location. Arm and leg shackles were the most common type of restraints, but stocks, neck collars, and the ball and chain were also used. This pair of iron leg shackles is typical of the kind used on Southern plantation during the mid-nineteenth century.(Copy from the Chicago Historical Society). These shackles are on display in the Chicago Historical Society exhibit, "A House Divided." |
| Interpretation | Restraints used on slaves were similar to those used on prisoners. They took the form of leg irons, hand irons, or metal collars. Sometimes a leg iron was attached to a heavy ball by a chain. The shackles shown here are of the Darby type, with barrel locks. The Darby style was first made by the Hiat Company in the late eighteenth century. The Chicago Historical Society's Web site is at http://www.chicagohs.org. Another slave shackle can be seen at the Kansas State Historical Society's Web site, http://www.kshs.org/cool/shackle.htm |
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| Source | Chicago Historical Society collection |
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| Collection Publisher | Illinois Heritage Association |
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| Resource Identifier | IHA00147 |
| Date Created | 3-3-02 |
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Slave Shackles, c. 1850 |
