* Slaves were considered property. They had no legal rights, and they could be bought, sold, traded, or inherited like any other piece of property.
* Slaves were often subjected to harsh treatment. They were forced to work long hours in dangerous conditions, and they were often beaten or otherwise mistreated by their owners.
* Slavery had a devastating impact on African Americans. It robbed them of their freedom, their families, and their culture. It also left them with a legacy of poverty, discrimination, and inequality.
* The abolition of slavery was a long and difficult process. It took many years of activism and struggle before slavery was finally abolished in the United States with the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1865.