[ml/nj]

Thomas Jefferson had the legal right to sell you, your wife, your children to the cotton plantations in Alabama or rice plantations in South Carolina.

The coal miner in West Virginia had the legal right to quit the mine and move out of West Virginia.

Neither happened in reality.

ML/NJ

[Bull Snipe]

Yes they did happen in reality. Jefferson sold slaves when he needed money. The records at Monticello confirm that fact.
West Virginia miners left West Virginia for other parts of the country. One of which was a relative of mine.

[rockrr]

I’m confused by your comment. My maternal G-Grandfather was a coal miner in West Virginia. He left to mine gold (but ended up mining copper in Montana).