Ideologies In Tension And Moments of Change: The Slave Jail At 1315 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Archaeology of Urban Dissonance: Violence, Friction, and Change" , at the 2021 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

From 1828 until its liberation at the onset of the American Civil War in 1861, the slave jail complex built by Franklin & Armfield at 1315 Duke Street in Alexandria, Virginia facilitated a fundamental transformation in American slavery. It was used to industrialize the domestic slave trade; however, it also witnessed moments of agency and power as individuals negotiated legal, social, and economic systems of oppression. These systems were not static, and when these supporting frameworks were disrupted in moments of change, existing tensions and contradictions erupted. As the site was transformed from a slave jail to a military prison and then again as the war ended, the systems that supported slavery and white supremacy were laid bare in moments of tension before retreating to take on new forms. As the City of Alexandria currently seeks to transform this site into a museum, we confront these tensions in the present.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archaeology of Urban Dissonance: Violence, Friction, and Change   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2021

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology