Contracting Out--Enslaved Labor

Enslaved persons could be contracted out, or "hired out," to other individuals for their labor. The contracting out system grew as enslavement became less profitable in the agricultural pursuits of Upper South states, as it created a way for enslavers to continue profiting from enslaved labor while reinforcing racial hierarchy. Many of those who hired enslaved labor through contracting out did so not only to make money, but also to increase their social standing in a slave society. Those who could not afford to purchase enslaved persons could still reap the social capital conferred by enslaving through temporarily hiring an enslaved person. Contracting of the enslaved occurred most heavily in areas near urban centers like Charleston, South Carolina, with high numbers of artisans who could profit from contract labor.

While many enslaved persons faced danger from spiteful masters and the hardships of being sent away from their families and communities, contracting out offered the enslaved many more opportunities to capitalize on their situation than those limited to their enslavers' properties. Numerous contracted out enslaved persons collected small wages for their contract work, which, though subject to theft from enslavers, some saved to purchase their or their families' freedom. Though enslavers retained the most power, the contracting out system gave the enslaved laborer more negotiating power with both enslavers and hirers, and the enslaved often played the two against each other to better their situations. Contracting out also became a primary vehicle for the enslaved to pass news and information, as contracted enslaved persons would collect news from the often-urban settings in which they worked and then bring that news back to their home communities. Therefore, rumors of Civil War and emancipation often reached enslaved communities through enslaved contract laborers in areas where the Union Army had not reached. While status as a contracted enslaved laborer remained far less desirable than freedom, enslaved African Americans frequently used it to exercise autonomy and to improve the situations of themselves and others (National Park Service).