This powerful Civil War-era photo shows Price, Birch & Co., a slave dealing business in Alexandria, Virginia. Photograph by Andrew J. Russell. Source: Shorpy.

Get a glimpse of history with this powerful stereographic card taken during the Civil War at an Alexandria slave pen. Explore the emotional image and learn more about this significant era.

Digging through Google Books, I found "The Black Code of the District of Columbia in Force September 1st, 1848" - a 122-page book of laws governing all aspects of life and behavior for African-Americans in Washington, D.C. in the 1800's. Read on to learn about the shocking provisions in this book.