Essay on Major Slave Rebellions of the South

Slavery was an important economic factor, in the South, from colonial time through the early years of the United States to the end of the Civil War. The methods used by the slaveholder, who owned large scale plantations, in the south were harsh on the slave. Slaves were viewed as material properties used for to be used for economic gain. One large scale plantation owner named John R. Williams wrote to another slave , in a letter, "...Africans do seem to be made to be slaves. Their coarse manners and slow wits show that they need outlet guidance..."1* Masters would do what was necessary to keep the slave obedient and productive. This meant slaves that misbehaved would be physically punished, lose privileges, or maybe even sold, separating them from their families. For these reasons slave often didn 't misbehave, but tension that builds up will be released in often violent ways. This is the reason for frequent slave revolts. The these revolts were often led by a person or a group of people. They would gather the unhappy slaves and lead them to rebel.

     In the later 1700’s to 1863, slavery was an intricate part of the South. Slaves were needed for plantation work like planting, caring for, and harvesting crops to maintaining the land. After

The slaves used rebellions or anti-slavery movements as a form of resistance against slavery. However, the result of slave insurrections was mass executions, and many of them avoided these rebellions for the fear of being executed. The famous insurrections in the American history were the Gabriel Prossey's conspiracy in 1800, Nat Turner's Rebellion in 1831, and the Stono Rebellion of 1739. Among these rebellions, only the Nat

The conditions for slaves in the 1730’s were abhorrent. Slaves were not seen as people and had little to no basic human rights. The Africans brought in for slavery were treated like cattle, and were herded towards farms and plantations where they would spend the rest of their days working for their owners. Slaves could not travel, meet in groups, grow their own food, or hunt game. If they wanted to participate in any of these activities they had to do them in secret. The slaves became tired of being mistreated by the white southern slave owners, which eventually led them to start uprisings and rebellions like the Stono Rebellion.

Vesey began to build a network of supporters who would help recruit and organize other slaves for his planned revolt. However, he knew his rebels could not hold the city or force recognition of their freedom. Instead, he planned for them to rise up at night, killing many whites while they slept. In the ensuing chaos, they would seize ships to sail to Haiti, where slaves had revolted and established a free nation (132).

It did not take too much longer for the other two states to outlaw slavery shortly after the revolution. In Southern States, the revolution seemed to have opposite effects. During the time of the American Revolution, ideas of emancipation for slaves were floating around. "White folk" is the South feared slaves being equal or even close to themselves; they also feared rebellion among their workers. "They feared that without slaves, it would be necessary to recruit a servile white workforce in the South, and that the resulting inequalities would jeopardize the survival of liberties" (Brinkley 120). This fear is what pushed white southerns to reinforce their authority over slaves. They executed men who planned slave rebellions such as Thomas Jeremiah. The reason that slavery existed was human nature, slavery was nothing

During the early 17th century slavery was being practiced in the South for over 350 years. They were forced to work the production of tobacco, crops, and later cotton. When the cotton grin was evented in 1793 along with the growing demand product in Europe. The slaves had become a use to the South and it formed a foundation for their economy. Going into the late 18th century there were problems with slavery and they are the abolitionist movement, the Missouri Compromise, the Dred Scott Decision, and Abraham Lincoln.

The South Carolina pre-revolutionary Stono Rebellion led to many different forms of reactions from the people in colonial South Carolina. It can be characterized as that of a further dark future for the slaves, while creating more fear and discontent for the white citizens of the area. The revolts output created attitudes that led to the American revolution for whites, while creating the harsh and negative attitudes displayed toward blacks which we still see today. The repercussions created a greater sense of fear for Africans among the white population in Southeastern North America, one which necessitated a means for controlling what they believed to be a dangerous people. The revolt also showed the whites sense for blaming others for the uprising among the slaves, as multiple Spanish men are claimed to have incited the slaves to rise up and kill to gain their freedom in Florida.

     Vesey took advantage of his situation after being freed from slavery, and educated himself. His intelligence and passion for abolishing slavery were the two key elements to his plans for revolt. The years 1820 – 1822 was the time period between Vesey’s freedom and death. In these two years, Vesey called assemblies for the slaves and abolitionists, covering the meetings with ‘church gatherings.’ Here, he used religious and moral ideals to preach to those opposed to slavery. Denmark Vesey had a strong sense of idealism, and an aggressive spirit, which he used to persuade people into the rebellion. He preached a doctrine of a consciousness of and pride in the cultural and physical aspects of the African heritage. With this, he was able to attract large numbers of blacks and abolitionists to partake in an enthusiastic undertaking that was difficult and extremely risky.

Slavery in america began in the 17th century in Virginia. Slaves were being transported to america through the triangular trade. The triangular trade was a process in which africans were captured and traded for rum and other goods from england to africa. Slaves were packed in an unsanitary and crowded ship, they were treated poorly. The 18th century was the busiest period for the slave trade. More than 6 million africans were enslaved and transported to the new world. Document C illustrates how slavery spread throughout the united states, document c also shows that slavery in the north had decreased, it was mostly due to the fact that they were industrializing and they didn’t need slaves. The south, however used slaves because they were agricultural. they produced a lot of cotton, and many other cash crops and needed slaves to work their farms.

lives would have been saved and blood need not have been shed in the name

The goal of the civil war was never originally to free slaves but slaves became a large part of the war. African American slaves overcame many challenges to finally receive their freedom. Many African Americans endured the chance to fight for the union and that immensely increased the man power of the union.

Even though only a few were successful, slave revolts did occur. Nat Turner's slave revolt group was most terrifying for white slave holders. This occurred in 1831, which was a violent rampage that lead to fifty five caucasians dying. It ended up having more slave codes enforced and Nat Turner being hanged. Multiple people were abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass. Their goal was to abolish slavery. They believed based on a religious belief that slaveholding was a sin. Then others on a non religious aspect believed slave holding was: regressive, inefficient, and little economic sense. However, for the

An important question to ask is what really is liberation, and who does it apply to? Liberation is defined as “an act of setting someone free from imprisonment, slavery or oppression” (dictionary.com). The importance of liberation is having ‘freedom’ from any subjugation, but that freedom has been taken away slowly, and instead hurdling forward towards a time where capitalism is more important than freedom and equity. Keeanga- Yamahtta Taylor questions, “What would constitute the ‘radical reconstruction’ of American society?” After the Civil War and the abolishment of slavery, people were heading towards a new time of Radical Reconstruction (1865-1877). But, opportunities for former slaves had been sabotaged by the Compromise of 1877. From then the Black community were left exposed and unprotected by terrorists racial groups (Robinson). To go forward, and away from such oppression, movements have been created to cease unfair treatments from theses racial groups. In recent years, Black Lives Matter has been the slogan to stop and fight against the brutality that affected African Americans for generations. Today, history is repeating itself, or that it has never been fully resolved. With the recent Presidential election of Donald Trump and his bigotry viewpoint against communities (black, gays, females, immigrants, etc.) will reconstruct a prejudice society, increasing the troubles of the United States. Black liberation is not only for Black people, but also for those who

The main participant in the rebellion was Nat Turner, a slave. He gathered a group of around 50 other black men to help with the revolt. Nat Turner developed the idea to rebel, because he believed that God called on him specifically to take a stand against them, no matter what he had to do. Although he believed this, Turner did not rush into the battle. He spent many years preparing for what he was going to do. He spent a lot of time planning, training, and praying to become prepared. At the end of the rebellion Nat Turner had ran away from the scene. He went off into the woods and hid there for a while. He was in hiding for weeks until he was discovered. Benjamin Phipps was the man who found Turner. He brought him to jail, and he was later tried for his crimes. They had him hanged at the county seat of Jerusalem.