Stockmen Trade: The 19th Century Practice of Renting Enslaved Men to Plantation Owners for Breeding in America

The 19th century in the United States was marked by the brutal and dehumanizing institution of slavery, which included various practices that exploited enslaved Africans for economic gain. One such practice was the “stockmen trade,” a term used to describe the systematic breeding of enslaved Africans, particularly the renting of enslaved men to breed with enslaved women on other plantations to produce children who would also be enslaved.

This practice started with the ban on the international trade of enslaved Africans, especially after 1808, the focus shifted to increasing the enslaved population within the United States. This created a demand for practices like the Stockmen Trade, which relied on the forced reproduction of enslaved people to meet the labor needs of plantation owners.

The Economics of Forced Reproduction

After the abolition of the international slave trade between nations in the United States, which had previously enabled slaveholders to import enslaved people from Africa, they could no longer depend on new enslaved Africans arriving. Instead, they turned to the forced breeding of the enslaved Africans they already owned to maintain their labor supply. As Frederick Douglass pointed out in his 1892 work The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, and as other sources confirm, the breeding of enslaved African men and women became a critical element of the economic structure that upheld slavery.

This practice was especially important in the cotton plantations of the South, where the demand for labor was insatiable. The forced reproduction of enslaved people was seen as a way to increase the enslaved population without having to purchase new slaves. This transition from importing enslaved Africans to breeding them locally was financially advantageous for slaveholders, as it ensured a steady supply of labor without the added cost of purchasing new slaves.

Stockmen Trade

According to Maggie Stenhouse, the selection of men for this purpose was done with calculated care. The men were often rented out for breeding purposes, and their value was based on their ability to father strong, healthy children. Some were even housed separately from women to maximize their breeding potential, while women were similarly isolated for the same reasons. Slaveholders also conducted physical assessments of these men, selecting individuals based on physical traits such as size, strength, and perceived productivity, similar to the treatment of livestock, in order to ensure that the children they fathered would be strong and capable workers.

The enslaved men chosen for breeding were often referred to as “stockmen.” These men were usually strong, tall, and healthy, as slaveholders believed these traits would be passed on to their children, creating a “superior” workforce. The men were frequently rented out to other plantations to ensure that their reproductive labor could benefit multiple slaveholders. The women involved in these breeding programs were similarly commodified, forced into sexual relationships with the stockmen regardless of their own desires, age, relation or well-being.

Several testimonies shed light on the gruesome nature of the Stockmen Trade. One such example is the story of Frederick Douglass’s account of the breeder Caroline, purchased by Edward Covey, a poor white enslaver. In his book, Douglass recounts how Covey, who only saw her as a breeder, “compelled Caroline to abandon herself to the object for which he purchased her.” Covey’s goal was simple: to reproduce and increase his “human property.”

Douglass writes that Covey, who could only afford to purchase one enslaved woman, hired a man named Bill Smith to mate with Caroline to increase his enslaved population. As Douglass reports, “Mr. Covey himself locked the two up together every night, thus inviting the result.” The end result was the birth of twins at the end of the year. For slaveholders like Covey, the breeding of enslaved Africans was simply another form of profit generation, similar to breeding livestock for sale or labor.

James Robinson’s account in his autobiography “The Narrative of James Roberts” provides another harrowing firsthand account of the forced breeding practices that characterized slavery in the 19th century. He describes how enslaved women in his master’s plantation were housed in a different building and were used strictly for breeding, with white men alone permitted access to them. This practice was not only a means of increasing the enslaved population but also a lucrative enterprise, as mixed-race children were often sold at higher prices than Black children. Robinson recounts how children were treated as commodities, separated from their mothers and sold like livestock.

Another example of a Stockman is Luke Blackshear, an enslaved man in Alabama who was referred to as the “Giant Breeder.” His enslaver, who labeled him the “stock Negro,” saw Luke’s reproductive capabilities as an asset to be exploited. Luke, who was built like a rock, fathered 56 children during his time as a “breeder.” According to Luke’s granddaughter, Ida Blackshear Hutchinson, Luke was “bought and given to his young mistress in the same way you would give a mule or colt to a child.” and was also rented to other slaveholders.

Biblical Justifications

While the Stockmen Trade and other brutal practices of slavery were being carried out, slaveholders and their supporters often turned to the Bible to justify their actions.

One of the most commonly cited biblical passages used to justify slavery was from the Book of Genesis, specifically the story of Noah and his son Ham. In Genesis 9:25, Noah curses Ham’s son Canaan, declaring, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.” Slaveholders and their apologists interpreted this passage to mean that the descendants of Ham, whom they associated with African people, were destined to be enslaved. This interpretation, though widely disputed by theologians and scholars, became a cornerstone of the pro-slavery argument.

The so-called “Curse of Ham” was used to assert that slavery was not only a social and economic necessity but also a divine ordinance. This interpretation allowed them to reconcile their Christian beliefs with the brutal realities of slavery, including the forced breeding of enslaved Africans.

Resistance and Punishment

Although resistance to the Stockmen Trade and breeding in general was highly risky, some enslaved Africans did resist their roles in forced reproduction. Enslaved men sometimes refused to comply with the demands of their enslavers, while enslaved women fought against it by using cotton roots as contraceptives to prevent pregnancy. However, resistance often came at a high cost. Those who refused to be used as breeders were often subjected to brutal physical punishment, including whipping, branding, salting and even death.

The stockmen trade, along with the broader institution of slavery, came to an end with the abolition of slavery in the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, issued by President Abraham Lincoln, declared the freedom of all enslaved people in Confederate states. This was followed by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1865, which abolished slavery throughout the entire country.

With the end of slavery, the economic structures that supported the stockmen trade collapsed. Enslaved people were no longer considered property, and the brutal practices associated with their exploitation were outlawed. However, the legacy of this practice continued to affect African American communities for generations, as they struggled to rebuild their lives and families in the face of systemic racism and economic disenfranchisement.

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