Language Guide

Words matter. At Hampton National Historic Site, we know words have the power to uplift and encourage or to oppress and discourage. As caretakers of Hampton, our goal is to honor ALL people that lived and worked here while also acknowledging the realities of their experiences. In honoring ALL people, we must remember the importance of language to speak truth.

The Power of Respectful Speech

As society grows to have a more inclusive narrative, we grow and learn together. The process of dialogue is about exploring, engaging, learning, listening, and sharing your point of view to discover meaning. At Hampton NHS, we aim to come from a place of respect by learning and using positive or most accurate words. It’s important to share what we have learned, be open to gaining knowledge, and showing empathy.

Telling the Full Story

The difficult truths throughout the history of our country, are also at Hampton National Historic Site. Today, the site exists as a place for education, honest dialogue, and healing.

Visitors to Hampton NHS will hear well-rounded history, learning the stories of the enslaved and of the enslavers. To tell this more inclusive story, the National Park Service consulted with the living descendants of the enslaved people and of the Ridgely family, in addition to scholars, researchers, and other subject matter experts. We value the histories of enslaved people and voices of their descendants to help illuminate the lives and experiences of those oppressed by the Ridgelys.

Non-Negotiable Statements:

“Non-negotiables” essential facts are our hallmark in the National Park Service. People who come to national parks expect our presentations or interactions to be based in sound scholarship. Each park is encouraged to determine their own set of non-negotiables specific to their park’s history and themes.

• Slavery was the fundamental cause of the Civil War.

• There is no such thing as a “good master” as there is no good aspect of enslaving people.

• The term “loyal slave” is irrelevant because enslaved people did not have a choice.

• Race was used as a primary justification for chattel slavery in the United States.

• The power dynamics of enslavement negate the idea of consent by the enslaved.

• The Confederacy went to war to preserve the institution of chattel slavery. However, some individuals in Confederate states may have had alternative reasons to fight against the Union.

• The initial reason for Hampton becoming a National Historic Site in 1948 was the mansion’s “outstanding merit” as a monument of Georgian architecture. The histories and lifestyle of the Ridgely family became the principal emphasis of interpretation. In recent decades, the National Park Service has researched, acknowledged, and begun to emphasize the stories of all the diverse people who lived and worked here.

• Without this wide range of people and their contributions, Hampton would not have existed at all. Interpreting all the people of Hampton helps connect all aspects of the site, from the buildings to the grounds to the experiences across time of enslaved, indentured and free people.

• Systematic oppression – the over-policing of Black people, the prison industrial complex, inequitable application of laws in housing (red lining), criminal justice, education, and other social programs – in the United States today are rooted in a system of race-based chattel slavery and the legacy of enslavement in this country.

• When John Carnan Ridgely was 34 years old, evidence shows he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl he enslaved named Harriet Hawkins. This assault resulted in the birth of Charles Hale Brown (1824-1911).

• Visitors will be heard, but racist ideology, slavery apologists, and Confederate-supporting ideas (for example, the myth of the Lost Cause) will not be validated.

Words matter. The language we use matters.

The following examples contrast the difference between commonly used words related to enslavement versus the language used by the National Park Service and its partners. The National Park Service uses these terms to create a truthful, inquiring, and empathic place for dialogue at Hampton National Historic Site.

 

Non-Inclusive Language	Preferred Language
black black with a lower case ‘b’ is a color, whereas Black with a capital ‘B’ refers to a group of people and culture.	Black Capitalize when related to culture or identity. Also okay to use Black American or African American. Always use what an individual prefers.
Breeding Abuse must be called what it is. ‘Breeding’ enslaved individuals is a horrific reality, but terms like this remove the humanity of the victim, reinforcing the idea of them as animals.	Rape, Sexual Assault Enslavement does not allow for consent.
Discipline/Punishment These words sound as if enslaved people did something wrong and as if they were deserving of horrific treatment.	Torture Shows the reality of the cruel acts. Torture is the action or practice of inflicting severe pain or suffering on someone as a punishment or in order to force them to do or say something. The torture was physical, psychological, and emotional. Men, women, and children were repeatedly tortured in multiple different ways.
Fugitive, Runaway, Escapee Suggests something wrong is happening, and often evokes criminal imagery. While the racist laws of the time would have criminalized enslaved people, there is nothing wrong with wanting to be free.	Freedom Seeker An enslaved person who takes action to obtain freedom from slavery. To enslaved people the act of seeking their freedom was an attempt to secure their human rights or just to survive.
Master/Mistress, Owner Reinforce the idea that enslaved people were property and therefore less than human beings– lacking emotional, mental, or physical capacity. Legal ownership of another person was historically used to unjustly justify slavery. Use only in quoted material.	Enslaver Highlights that this is something an individual deliberately chose to do along with acts of torture, sexual assault, and other abuses to reinforce the institution of slavery.
Plantation – to many, has the connotation of slavery attached to it but has become highly romanticized by popular culture. – Its use can be okay if enslaved people are not ignored. Farm – may imply that people were not enslaved on the property. Use in context where existence of enslavement is made clear. Estate – may negate the presence of forced labor and promote the “fanciness” of a site rather that acknowledge the cruel realities. Use primarily for large, post-Civil War era properties.	Enslavement Plantation – Use to ensure the enslavement aspect cannot be ignored when talking about a plantation. Forced Labor Site – Discusses sites from the perspective of enslaved individuals who primarily viewed it as a place a labor they were forced to be.
Slave Implies one’s identity is apart from a human being. It describes an individual on someone else’s terms. Use only in quoted material.	Enslaved Person It first and foremost identifies the person as a human being and enslavement as something deliberately done to them by someone else.
Slave Patrol, Slave Catchers Apart from not recognizing an enslaved person’s humanity, the terms patrol and catchers denote a term of righteousness and legitimacy for groups who were primarily concerned with keeping people in bondage. Use only in quoted material.	Human Traffickers Use to emphasize that these individuals were primarily interested in controlling the movements of and harassing people who were enslaved.
Slave Trade, Middle Passage, Triangular Trade Hide the realities of the situation. Human beings were being kidnapped, and enslavers chose to engage in human trafficking. Use only in quoted material. “Slave Trade” could be used if realities of brutal conditions are made clear.	Human Trafficking, Kidnapping Properly highlights the horrors individuals chose to take part in to enslave other human beings and increase their monetary profits including bondage, torture, sexual assault, disease, and death.
Slavery Throughout world history, there have been many forms of slavery and forced servitude, but lumping enslavement in the United States with all the other historical examples can desensitize people to the particular cruelties of the American system.	Chattel Slavery More accurate term for slavery in the United States. The term chattel refers to an item or possession, which is how enslaved people were viewed by enslavers and the legal system. Chattel slavery in the United States was racially based, hereditary, and a system where enslaved people had no legal rights.
South Describes a geographic area full of diverse populations with differing viewpoints. While geography can influence your views, it does not determine them. South is okay to use when referring to direction.	Confederates Those in rebellion against the United States. Describes someone's political and personal ideologies concerning the war in favor of the Confederate States of America and against the United States. Most Confederates lived in the South, but not all. The Confederacy existed for four years, making it just one part of Southern history.
North These terms seemingly describe an entity somehow different than the United States of America, which is not the case. Union is more okay for use because it still is referring to a union, being the United States. North is okay to use when referring to direction.	United States In the context of the American Civil War, it is important to remember that the Confederacy fought against the United States. The United States predated, endured, and continued on after the Civil War.

 

Other Terms

Abandoned

Avoid when talking about Native American dwellings or land.

Abolitionist

Abolitionists were people who actively took steps to destroy the institution of slavery. While abolitionists worked to eliminate enslavement, some abolitionists (even by standards of their own time) would be viewed as highly racist by today’s standards.

Biracial Individuals

Describing biracial individuals and differentiating people based on various ‘amounts’ of heritage is inappropriate. Saying Biracial is fine but use what an individual prefers.

Contraband

Avoid except in historical references or direct quotations. When referring to people, use “formerly enslaved” or “freed people”.

Emancipation & Manumission

While both terms speak of freedom, Emancipation is the act of liberating someone from another and does not require the consent of the enslavers. Manumission is the voluntary act of liberating someone. An enslaver who knowingly ceased to enslave therefore manumits an individual.

Explorers

Refers to people venturing into territory unknown to them. Avoid “discoverers” unless that is truly the case. In certain cases, the term “travelers” may be appropriate.

Indigenous

Emerging as a common, collective term for Native people whose ancestors were in the area that became the United States and its territories before European contact. The following are also okay and may be preferred for some people.

• Native Capitalize when related to culture or identity.

• Native American Preferred over “American Indian” when collectively referring to the Indigenous people of the United States. Use a specific Tribe’s name whenever possible and appropriate.

• Paleo-Indians were the first people who entered and subsequently inhabited the Americas during the final glacial episodes of the late Pleistocene period.

Contributors:

Robert Stewart, Gregory Weidman, Dustin Durovick, and Krista Rhodes

HFC Editorial Style Guide - Harpers Ferry Center (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

Visitor Expectations and Language Resource - Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

Language of Enslavement - Frederick Douglass National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)