History Vault’s collections on Slavery and Southern plantations candidly document the realities of slavery at the most immediate grassroots level in Southern society, providing some of the most revealing documentation in existence on the functioning of the slave system. Ledgers, correspondence, petitions, photographs, diaries, legal documents, and other materials illuminate this large and momentous chapter in history by documenting the far-reaching impact of slavery on plantations, the American South, and the nation. The events in this category include documentation on the Nat Turner rebellion, the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act, the Secession Crisis of 1860-1861, and Civil War battles such as the Battle of Gettysburg.
