slavery

The story of Joseph. Joseph sold to the Ishmaelites.

Public domain reproduction of art print, 16th-17th century, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description.

The election, a medley, humbly inscribed to Squire Lilliput, professor...

Cartoon shows the old courthouse in Philadelphia during the October 1, 1764 election where a line of men wait at the steps on the right to enter the courthouse and cast their votes; in the foreground, many men,... More

Phillis Wheatley, Negro Servant to Mr. John Wheatley of Boston

Public domain photograph of portrait art print, 18th century, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

General mourning, British Cartoon Print, Political Cartoon

Print shows a well-dressed West Indian? couple with big smiles on their faces, in the background is a depressed man (a plantation owner?) holding a piece of paper on which is written "No more credit given by [?... More

portrait from "Gleanings in Africa; exhibiting a faithful and correct ...

This image has been taken from scan 000324 from "Gleanings in Africa; exhibiting a faithful and correct view of the manners and customs of the inhabitants of the Cape of Good Hope ... Interspersed with observat... More

Title page of a pamphlet: A Plan for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery ...

Illus. in: A Plan for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery in the United States, without Danger or Loss to the Citizens of the South (Baltimore: Benj. Lundy, 1825), title page. Reference copy may be in LCQJ, Spring... More

Bobalition of slavery - Public domain portrait print

Another in the series of "bobalition" broadsides, marking the July 14 celebration of the anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade. (See no. 1819-2). The text, facetiously dated "Uly 14teenth 18 hundred ... More

Abduhl Rahhahman / H. Inman, Esqr, N.A., del. ; T. Illman, sculp.

Portrait of a West African prince known as Ibrahima, Prince of Slaves, and Abdu-l-Rahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori. He was captured as a war prisoner and became a slave in the United States for 40 years. He was freed in... More

Ladies whipping girls. Book illustration from Library of Congress

A white woman whipping a slave girl. Illus. in: Picture of slavery in the United States of America / George Bourne. Middletown, Conn. : E. Hunt, 1834, p. 109. Reference copy in: LOT 4422-A-3.

Letter from Nathan Lord, Dartmouth College, [Hanover], to Amos Augustu...

In this letter to Amos A. Phelps, Nathan Lord confirms that Dartmouth College has an equal admission policy with regard to race. He talks about a steady stream of aborigines educated in the colleges and two bla... More

The Secretary of War presenting a stand of colours to the 1st Regiment...

A bitter vilification of the Van Buren administration's use of bloodhounds to hunt fugitive Indians during the Second Seminole War in Florida. The artist condemns the racism and inhumanity of the measure, as w... More

Matty meeting the Texas question, Political Cartoon

A satire on the Democrats' approach to the delicate question of the annexation of Texas. In marked contrast to his portrayal of the issue as a beautiful woman in "Virtuous Harry" (no. 1844-27), the artist here ... More

Letter from Anne Knight, to William Lloyd Garrison, [October] 14 [18]4...

Anne Knight offers William Lloyd Garrison her prayers for his continued good health in his work. Knight laments the burdens of the annexation of Texas and the election of a "pro-slavery president", labelling it... More

The Massachusetts hoar, outwitted, or hopping-John, and Johnny-cake, f...

An imaginative but puzzling commentary on sectional tensions over slavery between New England abolitionists and southern agrarian slaveholders. In his sweeping satire the artist also portrays a considerable hos... More

Letter from Sarah Hilditch, Wrexham, [Wales, United Kingdom], to Maria...

Public domain scan of manuscript related to Massachusetts, American history, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description.

Letter from Lucy Browne, Riverside, Bridgwater, [England], to Maria We...

Public domain scan of manuscript related to Massachusetts, American history, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description.

Philanthropic Consolations, after the loss of the Slave-Bill

William Wilberforce and Samuel Horsley, Bishop of Rochester, cavort with two black women in a well-furnished room. Wilberforce and a woman, wearing a print dress with her breasts exposed, sit on a couch smoking... More

Scene in Uncle Sam's Senate. 17th April 1850

A somewhat tongue-in-cheek dramatization of the moment during the heated debate in the Senate over the admission of California as a free state when Mississippi senator Henry S. Foote drew a pistol on Thomas Har... More

Letter from Joseph Lupton, Leeds, [England], to Samuel May, October 31...

Lupton announces a shipment of articles for the Anti-Slavery Fair. He says that the Leeds Quakers support the Philadelphia Bazaar. Lupton tells May that he thinks William Lloyd Garrison ought to be more careful... More

Citizens of Boston! : A free citizen of Massachusetts--free by Massach...

Public domain photograph of an advertising poster, advertisement, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Letter from Theodore Parker to Thomas Wentworth Higginson, 1854 June 1...

Theodore Parker writes to Thomas Wentworth Higginson in regards to bidding him "God Speed & Church" and "God bless your brave noble heart." He offers him encouragement and service if he needs it. He will send h... More

Slave of Richard Townsend / W.H. Ingram's Photograph and Ferrotype Gal...

Photo shows an elderly African American man, three-quarter length portrait, wearing coat and top hat, seated, facing front, with right hand resting on the handle of a bow saw that he holds between his legs. In... More

The great presidential race of 1856.

Public domain image related to President Abraham Lincoln, gelatin silver print, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Storming the castle. "Old Abe" on guard.

Public domain image related to President Abraham Lincoln, gelatin silver print, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

"Jewels" found at Alexandria, by the Federal Army; consisting of chain...

Picture shows shackles, leg irons and handcuffs. Gladstone's inventory code and notes: Envelope 11; leg and arm slave shackles. Purchase; William A. Gladstone; 1995; (DLC/PP-1995:113.231)

The Dis-United States. Or the Southern Confederacy

The Confederate leaders are portrayed as a band of competing opportunists led by South Carolina governor and secessionist Francis Pickens (far left). The artist criticizes the January 1861 secession of five sta... More

Drayton's negro quarters, Hilton Head, S.C.

Photograph shows soldiers and slaves in front of the slave quarters on Drayton's plantation. Gladstone's inventory code and notes: M22. Purchase; William A. Gladstone; 1995; (DLC/PP-1995:113.271).

Negroes driven south by the Rebel officers

Illus. in: Harper's weekly, 1862 Nov. 8, pp. 712-713. Public domain photograph - United States during American Civil War, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

[Preliminary emancipation proclamation.] during American Civil War

Seabrook's negro quarters. 19th century, Library of Congress collectio...

Photograph shows an aerial view of the slave quarters at Seabrook's Plantation.

The cotton kingdom - Vintage map, Norman B. Leventhal Collection

During the antebellum period, cotton was considered “king“ in the South, as it was the region’s predominant cash crop. Cotton cultivation began in coastal South Carolina, but with the invention of the cotton gi... More

Gordon as he entered our lines. Gordon under medical inspection. Gordo...

Gordon, a runaway slave from Mississippi, in tattered clothes; bare back showing scars; and in Union Civil War uniform. From photographs by McPherson & Oliver. Illus. in: Harper's weekly, 1863 July 4, p. 429, bottom.

Stephen's varieties No. 3: The slave in 1863

Envelope for collectors cards showing Afro-American soldier holding bayoneted rifle. Copyright by William A. Stephens.

Freedom's immortal triumph! Finale of the Jeff Davis Die-nasty." Las...

A vindictive Northern fantasy on the aftermath of the Civil War. Confederate president Jefferson Davis, dressed in a hoopskirt or crinoline, hangs from a "Sour Apple Tree" at left, a Bowie knife in one hand and... More

Emancipated Slaves, from "Le Journal Illustré"

Public domain reproduction of a relief art print, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

A proper family re-union, Confederate States of America.

A biting cartoon showing Confederate president Jefferson Davis in league with both the devil and Revolutionary War traitor Benedict Arnold. Arnold and Davis stir a cauldron of "Treason Toddy," a brew into whic... More

The end of the rebellion in the United States, 1865 / C. Kimmel.

A sequel to Kimmel's grand image "The Outbreak of the Rebellion in the United States" (no. 1865-19), issued the year before. The artist depicts in symbolic terms the downfall of the Confederacy. Columbia, crown... More

Letter from Robert Rae, Glasgow, [Scotland], to William Logan, [1867] ...

In this letter to William Logan, Robert Rae asks if William Lloyd Garrison has "arrived in Glasgow?" Rae tells Logan they have asked Garrison "through Mr. [Frederick W.] Chesson of the Morning Star, to attend o... More

Selling a freedman to pay his fine, at Monticello, Florida / from a sk...

Illus. in: Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper, 1867 Jan. 19, p. 273.

The modern Medea - the story of Margaret Garner [Margaret Garner, a sl...

Public domain photograph - historical image of Ohio, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

The First cotton-gin / drawn by William L. Sheppard.

African American slaves using cotton gin. Illus. in: Harper's weekly, 1869 Dec. 18, p. 813.

A bold stroke for freedom. 19th century, Library of Congress collectio...

African-Americans with wagon pointing guns at slave-catchers. Illus. in: William Still, The Underground Railroad (1872) p. 125. Ref. copy may be in P&P Ref. - E185.H83 1963 (p. 130). This record contains unveri... More

Letter from Helen Magill White, London, [England], to William Lloyd Ga...

Helen Magill writes William Lloyd Garrison thanking him for his kindness and for the letter of introduction which he has seen to provide her. Magill details her struggles with mathematics, calling them her "bêt... More

Frederick Douglass C.F. Conly Photographer, 465 Washington St., Boston

Photograph shows reproduction of portrait by George Kendall Warren taken in 1876. Gift; Tom Liljenquist; 2016; (DLC/PP-2017:171, formerly deposit D072) Forms part of: Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War... More

The Georgia Negro A social study / / By W. E. Burghardt Du Bois.

Diagram shows routes of the African slave trade with state of Georgia starred. Chart prepared by Du Bois for the Negro Exhibit of the American Section at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900 to show the ec... More

[A series of statistical charts illustrating the condition of the desc...

Bar graph shows number of African American prisoners in jails and the types of crimes they committed. Title from LOT 11931, no. 37; part title from item. Chart prepared by Atlanta University students for the Ne... More

The political uncle tommers / Kep., Political Cartoon

Illustration shows Benjamin R. Tillman as "Simon Legree", whipping a black man labeled "Negro Voter". Caption: Simon Legree Tillman Don't I own you, body and soul, you black dog? / Uncle Tom Yuh may own mah... More

Convention of former slaves, Wash., D.C.

Two elderly African American women. Title and other information transcribed from caption card and item. Photo shows, left to right, Elizabeth Berkeley and Sadie Thompson (based on identification provided in ima... More

SLAVES REUNION. LEWIS MARTIN, AGE 100; MARTHA ELIZABETH BANKS, AGE 104...

A black and white photo of a group of people. Public domain portrait photograph, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Maugan Shepherd, Age over 80

Public domain photograph - historical image of Alabama, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Nathan Beauchamp, Age about 92

Public domain photograph - historical image of Alabama, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Fannie Brown, Texas

Public domain photograph - historical image of Texas, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Andrew Moody and wife Tildy, Age 82

Public domain photograph - Portrait, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Abram Sells, Age over 80

Public domain photograph - historical image of Texas, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - La San Mire, Age 86

Public domain photograph - historical image of Texas, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Will Daily, Age 79

Public domain photograph - historical image of Texas, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Josh Miles, Age 78

Public domain photograph - historical image of Texas, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Clarissa Scales, Age 79

Public domain photograph - historical image of Texas, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Wash Ingram, Age 93

Picryl description: Public domain image of a farmer, 1930s, 20th-century dust bowl era, free to use, no copyright restrictions.

Ex Slaves - Felix Haywood, Age 92

Public domain photograph - historical image of Washington State, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Cato Carter, Age about 100

Public domain photograph - historical image of Texas, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Tiney Shaw, Age 76

Public domain photograph - Portrait, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Donaville Broussard, Age 87

Public domain photograph - historical image of Texas, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Hattie Anne Nettles, Age 80

Public domain photograph - historical image of Alabama, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Susan Merritt, Age 87

Public domain photograph - historical image of Texas, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Milly Henry, Age 82

Public domain photograph of statue, sculpture, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Anderson Whitted, Age 89

Public domain photograph - historical image of Indiana, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Emma Crockett, Age about 80

Public domain photograph - historical image of Alabama, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

King Cotton and his slaves, Greenwood, Miss.

Photograph shows three African American men and one boy posed with horse-drawn wagon loaded with bales of cotton in front of the Leflore County courthouse. C. E. Gillespie & Co.

Age has not dimmed Mammy Prater's love for sweets

Photograph shows elderly woman, an ex-slave, wearing heavy shawl and cap sitting outside in rocking chair holding small paper bag and candy in her hands.

Ex Slaves - Mariah Snyder, Age 89

Public domain photograph - historical image of Texas, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - John James, Age 78

Public domain photograph - historical image of Texas, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Adora Rienshaw, Age 92, Israel

Picryl description: Public domain vintage artistic portrait photograph, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

W. L. Bost, Age 88 - A black and white photo of an old man

Picryl description: Public domain vintage artistic portrait photograph, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.

Ex Slaves - Sam Kilgore, Age 92

Public domain photograph - historical image of Washington State, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Anne Clark, Age 112

Public domain photograph - historical image of Texas, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Emma Watson, Age about 85

Born in slavery slave narratives from the federal writers project 1936 1938

Ben Horry, Age 85 - Born in slavery. Slave narratives. Federal writers...

Born in slavery slave narratives from the federal writers project 1936 1938

Ex Slaves - Jordon Smith, Age 86

Public domain photograph - historical image of Texas, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ex Slaves - Mazique Sanco, Age 88

Public domain photograph - historical image of Texas, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Richard and Drucilla Martin, Ages 92 and 102

Public domain photograph - historical image of Missouri, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Briscoe house seen from south. It was an old plantation home now inhab...

Picryl description: Public domain image of a tower, column, chimney, free to use, no copyright restrictions.

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway - Choptank Settlement Plaque

The original finding aid described this photograph as: Original Caption: A sign details the native American history of the small garden park on the Choptank River. Location: Location: Maryland Status: Public... More

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway - On the Road to East New Ma...

The original finding aid described this photograph as: Original Caption: A tree-lined country road on a hazy summer day leads into the Town of East New Market's National Historic District. Location: Location:... More

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway - On the Road to Poplar Neck

The original finding aid described this photograph as: Original Caption: The road to Poplar Neck, an unpaved country lane, is lined with black leaf-barren trees, creating an elegant scene. Location: Location:... More

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway - Church Creek Farmland

The original finding aid described this photograph as: Original Caption: In Church Creek, a red barn sits far off the road, across a field of yellow soy plants ready for harvest. Location: Location: Church Cr... More

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway - Bucktown Village Store--Al...

The original finding aid described this photograph as: Original Caption: The quaint yellow-painted village store sits quietly on the roadside. Today visitors can tour the restored, 19th-century store, rent bic... More

"Crispus Attucks," by Herschel Levit, mural at the Recorder of Deeds b...

Title, date, subject note, and keywords provided by the photographer. Credit line: The George F. Landegger Collection of District of Columbia Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America, Library of Congress, Pr... More

Public domain stock image. Woman chained slave, beauty fashion.

Oak alley plantation usa america.

Slavery. Free images of slavery. Use free photos of slavery without any copyright restrictions.

A pair of feet chained to a chain. Chains feet sand.

A person with their feet chained to a chain. A person is chained to a chain. Public domain stock photo.

Oak alley plantation usa america. A large white house with columns and...

Slavery. Free images of slavery. Use free photos of slavery without any copyright restrictions.

The fugitive's song - Public domain print

A sheet music cover illustrated with a portrait of prominent black abolitionist Frederick Douglass as a runaway slave. Douglass flees barefoot from two mounted pursuers who appear across the river behind him w... More

James K. Polk Papers: Series 5: Messages and Speeches, 1833-1849; 1848...

White slavery in the United States

Caption title. Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress Web site.

S. R. Lowery - Public domain scenic engraving

Public domain reproduction of art print, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

James Green, ex-slave, San Antonio

420118. District no. 27. Picture no. 181. Official project no. 265-6903. Work project no. 6900(27). Forms part of: Portraits of African American ex-slaves from the U.S. Works Progress Administration, Federal Wr... More

James Poindexter - Public domain portrait engraving

Public domain photo of portrait art print, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

D. A. Gaddie - Public domain portrait print

Picryl description: Public domain image from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, free to use, no copyright restrictions image. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Har... More

James H. Trotter, J. C. Corbin, G. W. Dupee, Allen Allensworth

Picryl description: Public domain image from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, free to use, no copyright restrictions image. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Har... More