Monroe sold his small Virginia plantation in 1783 to enter law and politics. He later fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming the owner of a large plantation and wielding great political power, but his plantation was never profitable. Although he owned much more land and many more slaves, and speculated in property, he was rarely on site to oversee the operations. Overseers treated the slaves harshly to force production, but the plantations barely broke even. Monroe incurred debts by his lavish and expensive lifestyle and often sold property (including slaves) to pay them off. Overseers moved or separated slave families from different Monroe plantations in accordance with production and maintenance needs of each satellite plantation. One of Monroe's slaves, Daniel, often ran away from his plantation in Albermarle County, to visit other slaves or separated family members. Monroe commonly called Daniel a 'scoundrel' and described his 'worthlessness' as a runaway slave. The practice of moving and separating slave families was common in the South.