On Jun 25, 2008, at 10:07 AM, Paul Finkelman wrote:
> 4:  Perhaps the worst aspect of slavery was not the work or even  
> the physical punishment, but the denial of the right of slaves to  
> be truly married and raise their families (this is one reason why  
> American slavery was so much worse than serfdom).  The slave trade  
> was the major vehicle for undermining slave families.

The term "American slavery" is  too general.
The French in mid-America baptized, married and buried their black -  
and red - slaves in the Catholic Church.
(See the records of the village of Chartres by Brown and Dean.)
In Ste. genevieve, MO,  the French actually armed the slaves and had  
them patrol the town at night for any sign of Indian attacks.


Mary Moyars-Johnson  (MMJ)

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