Walter Johnson's Soul By Soul

In Soul by Soul, Walter Johnson analyzes the role that slave traders, slave owners, and slaves played in the antebellum slave market. Johnson discusses the distrust, power imbalance, and interdependence between the three by using literary sources from the nineteenth century. At the beginning of the book, Johnson introduces the chattel principle which is the idea that “any slave’s identity might be disrupted as easily as a price could be set and a piece or paper passed from on hand to another” (Johnson). This principle emphasizes the paternalistic and dehumanizing nature of slavery. Throughout the book, the relationships between slaves, masters, and traders truly reflect this principle, as well as the interdependence they have with each other.
In the slave market, there was …show more content…
Potential buyers would make assumptions based on a slave's appearance, so traders groomed and dressed slaves in the attempt to change their identity. The likely hood of a slave running away was another determining factor of in the purchase of a slave. Ignoring a slave’s capabilities, history, and health, the trader would instruct slaves to lie in order to make a sale. The buyers were aware of trickery that took place in the market, so they ventured to determine the quality of slaves through questioning and examination. However, sometimes, despite the traders' orders, slaves would play a different role and manipulate slave buyers to benefit their future. For example, slaves

persuaded potential owners into purchasing them and their family members. Although in the slave market slaves lacked control, slave traders and buyers depended on them.
Going into the market, buyers would have “fantasies” of power that they were looking to fulfill with a slave. Even though people bought slaves for labor, their underlying motive was to satisfy their paternalistic dreams. Once a master bought a slave, his unrealistic expectations