Illegal Aspects Of Legal Slavery

Most slave codes, including the US South’s slave codes, contained provisions against the "malicious killing" or "cruel treatment" of an enslaved person. However, these were rarely enforced. Nevertheless, they represent a critical illegal aspect.

Ultimately, the "illegal aspects of legal slavery" prove that the system was never truly about the rule of law. The legal codes were tools of convenience, ignored whenever they hindered the profit or power of the enslaver. The inherent inhumanity of slavery made it impossible to govern through a consistent legal framework, resulting in a system that was fundamentally lawless at its core. illegal aspects of legal slavery