Slavery / enslaved
U.S. Naturalization Test (2025 Standard) glossary · Course Foundations
Definition
The owning of human beings; the condition forced on millions of Africans.
Slavery / enslaved in plain English
Slavery means treating human beings as property that can be owned, bought, and sold, forced to work with no pay and no freedom to leave. For over 200 years, millions of Africans were kidnapped, shipped to America, and enslaved this way, and their children were born into it too. This is one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history, and the country fought a war (the Civil War) partly over ending it. When you see the word 'enslaved,' it's a reminder these were real people forced into that condition, not just a label.
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