And yet men, women, and children were encased and surrounded by the language of cruel mercantilism. These bills of sale, some ten of which are reproduced with crisp clarity by the curators from the library at Eastern Kentucky University, similarly assume their readers will run their eyeballs swiftly across the paper and then perhaps file away the document somewhere, never to really look at it again. And while they may choose to skip or skim it before clicking an “I accept these terms” box-they do know that there might be something tricky or unpleasant in the unreadable jargon of our modern world.
For students accustomed to clicking on user agreements and skimming legalese even as it flies by their eyelids, know well that legal language is a hindrance and a formality but an unavoidable part of life. This use of legal terms isn’t a hindrance. These simple bills of sale featured in this collection, most of them only a single paragraph on a single page, are eminently teachable. And the history of enslavement is perhaps the most vexed topic to discuss clearly, thoughtfully, honestly, and with a sensitivity to both the material and to the audience. Teaching history is ever harder in these parlous times. He was ready to defend his total mastery and control of her young body and unknown future. “I do warrant the above named girl a slave for life and further warrant the right and title of said girl from all claims Whatsoever.” He was so confident in this purchase, this transaction, and his fresh legal claim that he was ready to warrant and defend it as necessary. Jackson, KY, “for a negro girl, ten years of age, named Jane.” The sale price is $375. note: originally transliterated as Jno P. Sasseen in his bill in 1835, to announce that a small girl, ten-year-old Jane, was now his. “Know all men by these presents,” wrote Jno (John) P. But, now assembled, they tell a quiet and cruel story evident in the ways in which lives are listed in ledgers. This collection contains only sixteen documents, and they came from a variety of sources: a campus museum collection, an auction, a donation from a private collection, etc. But the digitization of these documents cries for our attention, and, surely, attention must be paid. The library of Eastern Kentucky University, has partnered with JSTOR to share their American Slavery Collection, a small cluster of seemingly simple receipts and transactions which do, indeed, call for us to take note. The digitization of these documents cries for our attention, and, surely, attention must be paid.
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