Last Shabbat, one of our guests asked about the status of a Slave owned by a Jewish person in the times American Slavery. In the Torah there are two types of Slaves – Eved Ivri (a Jewish Slave) and a Cananite Slave. The master must treat his slave better at times than himself. If he only has one pillow, he must let the slave use it. If he only has one mattress to sleep upon, he must let the slave use it. The Cananite slave has the laws similar to the laws of a Jewish Woman – That they both are exempt from positive Torah commandments that are dependent on time.
Also after the Cananite slave is released he becomes Jewish. He asked if these laws also apply to Jews who owned slaves during the slavery era.
There is a novel by Sender Zeyv that talks on this subject. Sender Zeyv writes books based upon Jewish History and Jewish laws woven into novel form. He also has other engrossing books like Ten Lost and Aleph Shin.
The Novel “Every Man a Slave” is set in the first half of the 19th century, it is About a Jew who owned a slave and how they interacted with the values of the Torah. Slavery in Judaism is a Humaine manner of treating slaves. You can get the book on Amazon