chattel slavery

noun

: slavery in which a person is owned as a chattel (see chattel sense 2)
chattel slave noun
plural chattel slaves

Examples of chattel slavery in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Digital Lawyer, Data Protection Officer and Coach is particularly worried about the high numbers of Black and Caribbean customers who turn to direct-to-consumer genetic testing to access ancestral information that a legacy of colonialism and chattel slavery has denied them. Abigail Dubiniecki, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025 In a nation that abolished chattel slavery just two decades ago after the Civil War, opposition to a type of labor that seemed to resemble slavery was a powerful argument. Made By History, Time, 26 Mar. 2025 Donegan also critiques Dworkin’s penchant for comparing the plight of 20th-century American women to the atrocities of chattel slavery and the Holocaust. Jennifer Szalai, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2025 While chattel slavery was legally abolished, African Americans continued to endure systemic oppression through laws like the Black Codes, which restricted basic rights such as earning fair wages and owning property. Lenwood V. Long, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for chattel slavery

Word History

First Known Use

1837, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chattel slavery was in 1837

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Cite this Entry

“Chattel slavery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chattel%20slavery. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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