Final answer:
Under southern law, enslaved people could not marry, although some slaveholders allowed marriages for certain reasons. The enslaved couples faced the constant threat of being separated due to enslavement and their children being sold.
Step-by-step explanation:
Under southern law, enslaved people could not marry. Nonetheless, some slaveholders allowed marriages to promote the birth of children and to foster harmony on plantations. Some slaveholders even forced certain individuals to form unions, anticipating the birth of more children (and consequently greater profits) from them. Slaveholders sometimes allowed enslaved people to choose their own partners, but they could also veto a match. Enslaved couples always faced the prospect of being sold away from each other, and, once they had children, the horrifying reality that their children could be sold and sent away at any time.