Enslavement in St. Louis and Missouri

"Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States and provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."."

Part of the Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 to 1938. Interviews were conducted in Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau Co., Caruthersville, Commerce, Farmington, Festus, Fredericktown, Hannibal, Herculaneum, Jackson, Joplin, Marshall, Montgomery City, Nelson, Poplar Bluff, Rolla, Savannah, Sedalia, Skidmore, Skidmore Nodaway County, St. Joseph, St. Louis, St. Louis County, and Webb City, Missouri.

"A Preservation Plan for St. Louis" Part I: Historic Contexts, Section 8 - The African-American Experience
Brief overview from the St. Louis, Missouri website

Lynch’s Slave Pens were holding places for enslaved men, women, and children before they were sold at slave markets in downtown St. Louis

Lecture presented on September 15, 2016.
Professor Lea Vandervelde discusses her (2016) book, "Redemption songs : suing for freedom before Dred Scott," a study of more than 300 freedom suits in St. Louis. Through the careful evaluation of 12 cases, the book offers insights into the practice of slavery and the lives of those enslaved in Missouri.

Created by the National Park Service, (NPS.gov) this site explores African American life in St. Louis from 1804-1865. It includes freedom licenses, freedom suits, and emancipations. It also provides an introduction to the Dred Scott case and the aftermath of the Dred Scott Decision.