The Domestic United States Slave Trade: New Evidence

seaboard states and the areas farther west that were being opened up to exploitation. Using data from certificates of good character, a unique source of information for slaves traded in the New Orleans market, this research note adds further details to what is known of this interregional trade. For only a brief time, certificates of good character had to accompany any slave brought in from another state. These certificates are especially interesting for the information that they provide on age, height, point of origin, and general characteristics-information which is generally lacking in other sources. The certificates of good character, which have never before been systematically utilized by researchers of the domestic slave trade, are located in the Notarial Archives of New Orleans.l Our study is based on all of the data from these certificates for the year I830.