Chapter Chronology

Quiz for Visualizing History: “The Auction Block”

Select the best answer for each question. Click the “submit” button for each question to turn in your work.

Question

1. In the United States between 1820 and 1860, most slaves who were sold from one owner to another were purchased

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B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is d. Since the United States outlawed the international slave trade in 1808, all subsequent slave trading occurred domestically. Between 1820 and 1860, about 1 million slaves were sold through the interstate slave trade, but about 2 million were sold locally.
Incorrect. The answer is d. Since the United States outlawed the international slave trade in 1808, all subsequent slave trading occurred domestically. Between 1820 and 1860, about 1 million slaves were sold through the interstate slave trade, but about 2 million were sold locally.

Question

2. In “American Slave Market,” the artist indicates that the traders and buyers are from different social classes through their clothing and hats. What did the traders and buyers have in common?

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B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is c. All of the traders and buyers depicted in this painting are male. (There is one trader who appears to be black; he wears a black top hat, and stands behind the man in the pale yellow cowboy hat.) The homogenous gender of the slave traders and buyers illustrates how slave markets often functioned as a masculine space for white southerners.
Incorrect. The answer is c. All of the traders and buyers depicted in this painting are male. (There is one trader who appears to be black; he wears a black top hat, and stands behind the man in the pale yellow cowboy hat.) The homogenous gender of the slave traders and buyers illustrates how slave markets often functioned as a masculine space for white southerners.

Question

3. Why did slave traders try to improve slaves’ appearance before bringing them to the auction block?

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B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is b. Traders improved their slaves’ appearance before they went to sale in an effort to increase the price the slave would be sold for at the auction. Traders might give their slaves clean clothing, remove grey hairs, or give them extra food to make them look fatter. All of these efforts were intended to make the slave look as young, fit, healthy, and attractive as possible to potential buyers.
Incorrect. The answer is b. Traders improved their slaves’ appearance before they went to sale in an effort to increase the price the slave would be sold for at the auction. Traders might give their slaves clean clothing, remove grey hairs, or give them extra food to make them look fatter. All of these efforts were intended to make the slave look as young, fit, healthy, and attractive as possible to potential buyers.

Question

4. In the painting “American Slave Market,” what was likely the artist’s intended effect in depicting all the slave traders and buyers standing, while six of the seven slaves are sitting on the ground?

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B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is d. The contrast between the standing traders and buyers and the seated slaves is likely intended to illustrate and dramatize the power differential between these two groups. This is why the essay describes the one slave who is standing as embodying “intransigence,” which means a stubborn unwillingness to compromise or accept a new perspective. By standing—like the buyers and traders—this slave is refusing to accept the powerlessness of his enslavement.
Incorrect. The answer is d. The contrast between the standing traders and buyers and the seated slaves is likely intended to illustrate and dramatize the power differential between these two groups. This is why the essay describes the one slave who is standing as embodying “intransigence,” which means a stubborn unwillingness to compromise or accept a new perspective. By standing—like the buyers and traders—this slave is refusing to accept the powerlessness of his enslavement.

Question

5. What is the significance of the fact that public slave auctions, such as the one depicted in “American Slave Market,” involved participation by white southerners from a variety of social classes?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is a. “American Slave Market” depicts white men that range from extremely wealthy to relatively poor, as indicated by their hats and their clothing. The mix of social classes evident in this painting illustrates how slavery was significant in the lives of virtually the entire white southern community, not just the wealthiest slave holders who owned hundreds of slaves on large cotton-producing plantations. Slavery was an institution that characterized the entire antebellum South.
Incorrect. The answer is a. “American Slave Market” depicts white men that range from extremely wealthy to relatively poor, as indicated by their hats and their clothing. The mix of social classes evident in this painting illustrates how slavery was significant in the lives of virtually the entire white southern community, not just the wealthiest slave holders who owned hundreds of slaves on large cotton-producing plantations. Slavery was an institution that characterized the entire antebellum South.