REBECCA HUGER was a slave in her father’s house in New Orleans. This portrait of her was taken by Charles Paxson, ca. 1864. Rebecca was eleven years old at the time. Following emancipation, abolitionists launched a fundraising campaign to raise money for public education of freed black slaves. The premise: tug at the heartstrings of anti-slavery whites in the North with images of slave children who looked like their own. The photos, which featured mixed-race children like Rebecca Huger, were sold for 25 cents to one dollar each, depending on size. The proceeds were donated to freedman schools in Louisiana. Photo: Gladstone Collection, Library of Congress

REBECCA HUGER was a slave in her father’s house in New Orleans. This portrait of her was taken by Charles Paxson, ca. 1864. Rebecca was eleven years old at the time.

Following emancipation, abolitionists launched a fundraising campaign to raise money for public education of freed black slaves. The premise: tug at the heartstrings of anti-slavery whites in the North with images of slave children who looked like their own. The photos, which featured mixed-race children like Rebecca Huger, were sold for 25 cents to one dollar each, depending on size. The proceeds were donated to freedman schools in Louisiana.

Photo: Gladstone Collection, Library of Congress

Tags: history former slaves African American children Louisiana New Orleans 1860s