chattel slavery

American  

[chat-l sley-vuh-ree, sleyv-ree] / ˈtʃæt l ˈsleɪ və ri, ˈsleɪv ri /

noun

1. the enslaving and owning of human beings and their offspring as property, able to be bought, sold, and forced to work without wages, as distinguished from other systems of forced, unpaid, or low-wage labor also considered to be slavery.

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Etymology

Origin of chattel slavery

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

This year marks the sixth anniversary of the U.S. honoring Juneteenth as a federal holiday, and 161 years since the day chattel slavery was considered to have ended in this country.

From Salon • Jun. 19, 2026

Within months of her 1836 arrival in New York, Ernestine Rose, a Polish-born rabbi’s daughter, began traveling around the United States condemning women’s subjugation, economic inequality, organized religion, and chattel slavery.

From Slate • Apr. 10, 2025

It has been 159 years since the 13th Amendment was ratified, ending chattel slavery.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 15, 2024

Although he welcomed the Gladstone apology in Guyana, he said the failure to acknowledge Jamaica hinted at "an unwillingness to face up to the full brutal, bestial horror of chattel slavery" in the country.

From BBC • Aug. 25, 2023

Before democracy, chattel slavery in America was born.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander