contraband

(noun)

A black slave during the American Civil War who had escaped to, or been captured by, Union forces.

Examples of contraband in the following topics:

  • The Contraband Camps

    • "Contraband" was a term commonly used to describe an escaped slave during the Civil War.
    • This gave rise to the term “contraband,” a word used to refer to captured enemy property.
    • Peake began to teach both adult and child contraband slaves to read and write.
    • As the term itself connoted, contraband slaves were not considered citizens, despite the monumental step toward freedom it represented for the many who sought contraband status.
    • Analyze the in-between status of many "contraband" slaves during the Civil War

  • Initial Reactions

    • Britain, which controlled the seas, stopped and searched American carriers, confiscating "contraband" bound for Germany.

  • Malware

    • Infected "zombie computers" are used to send email spam, to host contraband data such as pornography, or to engage in distributed denial-of-service attacks as a form of extortion.

  • Incorporating Louisiana

    • Alarmed about the French actions and its intention to re-establish an empire in North America, Jefferson declared neutrality in relation to the Caribbean, refusing credit and other assistance to the French but allowing war contraband to get through to the rebels to prevent France from getting a foothold again.

  • The Embargo Act of 1807

    • The embargo was imposed in response to flagrant violations of U.S. neutrality, in which American merchantmen and their cargoes were seized as contraband of war by the British and French Navies.

  • Families and Inequality

    • Likewise, slave marriages in the United States were not binding, so that many contrabands escaping slavery during the American Civil War sought official status for their marriages.

  • The Louisiana Purchase

    • Alarmed by the French actions and its intention to reestablish an empire in North America, Jefferson declared neutrality in relation to the Caribbean, refusing credit and other assistance to the French but allowing war contraband to get through to the rebels to prevent France from getting a foothold again.