Under what system were slaves treated as property, often leading to family separations?

Chattel slavery is the correct answer as it specifically refers to a legal system that regarded slaves as personal property of their owners. This classification allowed for the complete control of enslaved individuals and facilitated practices such as the sale and rental of slaves without regard for family structures. In this system, slaves could be bought and sold at will, leading to the painful separation of families, which was a common occurrence for many slave families throughout American history. This brutal reality highlighted the dehumanizing aspects of chattel slavery, where individuals were stripped of their rights and identities, reduced to assets in the eyes of the law.

In contrast, bonded labor and indentured servitude involved individuals who typically entered into labor agreements with some degree of contract and expectation of eventual freedom. Free labor is fundamentally different, as it denotes employment without coercion, where individuals have the autonomy to choose their work and retain their rights. Understanding these distinctions is crucial in grasping the broader implications of labor systems in American history.