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African American Slaves Picking Cotton

African American Slaves Picking Cotton
The ancestors of most African Americans were brought to the United States from West Africa as slaves. Although slavery was common in many northern states, most slaves performed agricultural work on plantations in the South. Cotton was the most important crop in the South before the American Civil War (1861-1865). Slaves usually worked all day picking cotton for their masters while overseers watched from their horses.
THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE/Corbis
Appears in these articles:
Slavery in the United States; African Americans; African American History; United States (History)
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