Slave markets and slave jails in the United States were places used for the slave trade in the United States from the founding in 1776 until the total abolition of slavery in 1865. Slave pens, also known as slave jails, were used to temporarily hold enslaved people until they were sold, or to hold fugitive slaves, and sometimes even to "board" slaves while traveling. Slave markets were any place where sellers and buyers gathered to make deals. Some of these buildings had dedicated slave jails, others were negro marts to showcase the slaves offered for sale, and still others were general auction or market houses where a wide variety of business was conducted, of which "negro trading" was just one part.

Poindexter & Little was a 19th-century American slave-trading company with operations in Tennessee and Louisiana. The principals were likely Thomas B. Poindexter, John J. Poindexter, Montgomery Little, William Little, Chauncey Little, and Benjamin Little. The Littles were brothers; the Poindexters were most likely brothers but possibly cousins. At the time of the 1860 census, Thomas B. Poindexter had the highest declared net worth of any person who listed their occupation as a slave trader in New Orleans. In 1861 they had a slave depot located at 48 Baronne in New Orleans.