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Slave For Hire

How Slaveowners Capitalized on the Skills of Slaves

by Judy Gonyeau, managing editor
Carpenter badge, 1813, The Charleston Museum

he South Carolina city of Charleston used the and self-purchase, and the privilege of ‘live-out’ in
metal tags to identify enslaved people hired out separate sections of town, away from all the watchful
Tas part-time laborers by their enslavers from eyes of masters,” writes historian Theresa Singleton
of Syracuse University in The Slave Tag: An Artifact
1800 and the end of the Civil War in 1865. Before of Urban Slavery, a 1984 journal article. “All of
that, a city ordinance was in place for all free people of these conditions tended to undermine masters’ control
color over 15 years of age to wear a badge stating this over slaves.”
coveted status – a “Freedman” badge. What makes the
two different is that the “Slave Badges” of the 1800s Makers/Designers
were used for those slaves who were “hired out” to other When it came time to decide on the design of a new
households to conduct work under their “specialty.” badge for the coming year, the City Council would
This work required them to travel and the badge would look over several options and then hire a metalworker
allow them to do so. to create the badges for the year.
The badge maker’s name sometimes appeared on
Example of a rare Freedman badge. the tag, as well. One example is the mark of John J.
Money Maker – but for Who? photo: American Numismatic Society Lafar, who not only served as the Charleston City
Charleston was one of only 10 known cities that Marshall, but was also an accomplished silversmith.
issued Freedman badges and then established an According to Green-Wood.com, “Charleston
annual “licensing” of slaves for hire by their owners, sought bids for the manufacture of the slave badges for
referred to as a Slave-Hire system. Each year a slave- the upcoming year. Artisans, hoping to supplement
owner who had slaves with certain skills would their income, would bid against each other. In 1835,
purchase a metal tag that included “Charleston,” the one of the years Peter Mood, Jr., and his brother John
year of issue, the number of the tag, and the specialty had the contract to make all of Charleston’s slave
of the slave stamped upon it. badges (the other year they had the contract was 1832),
Costs for the tags ranged from $10-$35 per year, they were paid $199.50 for their work. Approximately
depending upon the skill of the slave. Historian and 3,500 badges were sold by the city that year; income
College of Charleston Professor Bernard E. Powers, Jr. from their sale was about $7000, or $2 per badge, on
wrote in his book, Black Charlestonians: A Social average. The badges were not silver; rather, they were
History, 1822-1885, that in 1848, enslaved Blacks made of copper or tin.”
worked in at least 38 different occupations, including Badges were cut or pressed from a mold, or occa-
Servant, Porter, Carpenter, Mechanic, Fisher, Fruiterer, sionally fashioned by hand into various sizes and shapes,
and Coachman, among others. The tags would be worn A nearly flat square-shaped tag most typically squares or diamonds, ranging in size from
with “LAFAR” hallmark
like a necklace, but often were sewn onto the slave’s punched on the back indicating about 1.5 square inches to 3 square inches. Each was
clothing to allow him/her greater freedom of movement manufacture by Charleston punctured with a hole and was probably worn around
while working. silversmith John Joseph LaFar. the neck on a string or chain, or used to attach the tag to
Upon registering their slave and skill, the slaveowner Recovered in 2000 from dirt clothing worn by the slave.
would “hire out” a slave to a private household that may removed at Market Square in Of note, the afore-
not have slaves, or to do specific work for businesses and downtown Charleston. mentioned Peter Mood,
even the municipal government. The slaveowner would Jr. and brother John
receive the payment and keep most—and more often The authors of were noted silversmiths
than not, all—of the payment for services. Slave Badges and the in Charlestown. After
In many cases, the slave would receive a small portion Slave-Hire System the Mood brothers’
of the payment if it was in excess of what was owed to in Charleston, South Carolina,
1783-1865
their owner, but only if the owner allowed it. This gave make an interesting observation
the slave a chance to save for their freedom and freedom about the 1820 badges,
for their family members. estimating “… that only 2,050
Another benefit from the greater “freedom of move- badges might have been sold”
ment” enjoyed by the slaves hired to work elsewhere is it and, based on the U.S census Diamond shaped tag
opened opportunities for them to acquire reading and figure of 12,652 slaves in with champhered
writing skills that were useful for their work, and their lives. Charleston that year, they corners, “Mechanic,”
The system also created a category of slaves whose postulate that “… 16 percent serial no. 206.
privileges threatened the status quo. “[Urban] slaves had of the slave population could photo: Museum of Early Southern
Decorative Arts
more access to education, opportunities for self-hire have been wearing badges.”
34 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles