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The Promise of Freedom: Fertility Decisions and the Escape from Slavery

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  • Treb Allen

    (Northwestern University)

Abstract

This paper examines how the fertility of enslaved women was affected by the promise of freedom. Exploiting geographic variation in the effect of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, I demonstrate a negative correlation between fertility and the distance to freedom. This negative correlation is stronger on larger plantations but weaker when the slaveholder is a woman. A similar correlation is not present for white children, slave children with white fathers, or slave children born prior to the Fugitive Slave Law. The negative correlation suggests that the promise of freedom played an important role in the everyday lives of slaves. © 2015 The President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Suggested Citation

  • Treb Allen, 2015. "The Promise of Freedom: Fertility Decisions and the Escape from Slavery," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(2), pages 472-484, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:97:y:2015:i:2:p:472-484
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    File URL: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/REST_a_00466
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Marco Alfano, 2020. "Islamic law and investments in children: evidence from the Sharia introduction in Nigeria," Working Papers 2003, University of Strathclyde Business School, Department of Economics.
    2. Lagerlöf, Nils-Petter, 2016. "Born free," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 1-10.
    3. Becker, Sascha O. & Mukand, Sharun & Yotzov, Ivan, 2022. "Persecution, pogroms and genocide: A conceptual framework and new evidence," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    4. Daniel Oto-Peralías & Diego Romero-Ávila, 2016. "The economic consequences of the Spanish Reconquest: the long-term effects of Medieval conquest and colonization," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 409-464, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    fertility; enslaved; women; freedom; exploiting; Fugitive Slave Law of 1850; geographic variation; slaveholder; white children; slave children; Fugitive Slave Law; slaves;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J79 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Other
    • J0 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General
    • N31 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • N71 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General

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