The Alchemy of SlaveryIn this sweeping saga that spans empires, peoples, and nations, M. Scott Heerman chronicles the long history of slavery in the heart of the continent and traces its many iterations through law and social practice. Arguing that slavery had no fixed institutional form, Heerman traces practices of slavery through indigenous, French, and finally U. S. systems of captivity, inheritable slavery, lifelong indentureship, and the kidnapping of free people. By