Shifting Terminology for Enslaved People

By MI Digital September 14, 2025September 14, 2025

As the Civil War transformed the legal and social status of Black Americans, the language used to describe them evolved as well. In 1861, Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler claimed to have coined the phrase

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Categories2025 Autumn Military AnthropologistTags” fugitive slave 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 abraham lincoln African American history Benjamin F. Butler Black history Bureau of Colored Troops Civil War history Civil War language Civil War newspapers colored troops contraband contraband of war data visualization Datawrapper Edwin M. Stanton emancipation emancipation proclamation Enslaved people Freedmen historical linguistics historiography language change over time media history newspaper archives Newspapers.com public discourse recruitment and enlistment Ronald S. Coddington Shifting terminology terminology shift trend analysis Union lines United States Colored Troops usage frequency usct

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