Competition in focus magazine subscription English issue published this article page no 8 still a minority of slave-owners ignored these legal protections and social censure and indulged their sadistic urges and sexual appetites. in some plantations nutrition was so lopsided or deficient that slaves resorted to eating clay to supplement their diet. in others mutilation branding chaining torture murder and rape - all criminal acts prohibited by law - were common. but while individual slaves were at least theoretically protected by law and social custom - not so the negro family. the owner had the right to sell his slaves separately regardless of their familial ties. some states like louisiana in 1829 passed legislation prohibiting the sale of children under the age of ten. others (alabama and georgia) forbade the separation of inherited slave families. but these were the exceptions to the widespread practice. though not recognized or protected by law many slaves accumulated property. a few hundred slaves even purchased their freedom from their white masters. slave-owners in the usa usually retained ownership of sick disabled or infirm slaves and took care of them. suicide among slaves in the usa was a rarity. many slaves (especially in the coastal areas of georgia and south carolina) were free to do as they chose once they had completed their daily assignments (the task system). on the eve of the american revolution c. 400000 slaves amounted to one fifth of the population of the rebellious colonies.slavery in the usa was abolished in stages and decades after it was eliminated in britain. rhode island banned it as early as 1774 best magazine competitions.
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