The Rebellion Of The White Authorities Essay

The Age of Enlightenment saw many great changes in Western Europe. It was an age of reason and philosophes. During this age, changes the likes of which had not been seen since ancient times took place. Such change affected evert pore of Western European society. Many might argue that the Enlightenment really did not bring any real change, however, there exists and overwhelming amount of facts which prove, without question, that the spirit of the Enlightenment was one of change-specifically change which went against the previous teachings of the Catholic Church. Such change is apparent in the ideas, questions, and philosophies of the time, in the study of science, and throughout the monarchial system.

The slaves’ desire for freedom and liberty became a meaningful part of African American culture. When in religious meetings, they prayed for liberty and freedom which later evolved to small forms of rebellion. The most common types of rebellion were not large scale movements but rather small forms of resistance known as either “silent sabotage” or “day-to-day resistance”. These acts of rebellion consisted of modest deeds like doing a bad job, pretending to be sick, and breaking tools. However, not all forms of resistance were this insignificant. Some uncommon, dangerous acts included arson and poisoning their owners. These acts of rebellion helped to create an identity slaves and became an instrumental part of African American culture. Their resistance also came from when slaves were either not allowed to marry or because family members were being sold, mixing the importance of natural rights, liberties, and family.

     Denmark Vesey was an African-American leader of an attempted slave insurrection in 1822. After many years as a slave, he won $1,500 in a lottery. Vesey used this money to purchase his freedom. He used his intelligence, energy, and luck to acquire considerable wealth and influence in South Carolina. All of these factors helped lead to the largest attempted slave revolt in American history. David Robertson’s book Denmark Vesey outlines his life as a slave, to his freedom, to his execution, and the consequences of the aftermath.

The Gabriel Rebellion was a revolt organized in the summer of 1800 by a man whom many call Gabriel Prosser. His last name was derived from his master, Thomas Prosser. The main objective of the revolt was to fight for the freedom of black slaves held within the state of Virginia. However, the revolt did not materialize because word spread around before the plan could be executed. Immediately after the governor got wind of the revolt, security was beefed up around Richmond where the uprising had been planned to start. Nonetheless, the rebellion had an impact on the treatment of slaves in Virginia. For instance, the unrestricted movement of slaves within the state was banned along with the practice of hiring out slaves. The government also enacted a law that prohibited freed slaves from staying within the state boundaries for more than twelve months. Taking everything into account, although the Gabriel Rebellion did not materialize, it did change the manner in which slaves were treated and hastened their emancipation.

     The third part of the book, Judgement Day, is when the actual rebellion occurs. The first target against the white man was the Travis farm, where Cherry, Nat's wife, was currently working as a slave. They were armed with axes and moved closer to the house. The other slaves rebels insisted that Nat the "Prophet" and the "Black Messiah" should take the first swing. Nat made his way to the bedroom and chopped Joseph Travis' head off. However in rage another slave started thrashing Sally, the wife, as well along with two other

The message about a rebellion spread to the slaves in Southampton and small revolts followed. On August 1831 Nat led a group of armed slaves in the middle of the night and went round the homes of the whites killing them and living the bodies behind. They did this for two days but Nat killed nobody because of his Christian belief, but he thought that he was sent by God to free the slaves from bondage (Oates, 2009). The slaves had been mistreated for many years so they killed even women and children.

On September 22, 1862, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, issued the first, or preliminary, Emancipation Proclamation. In this document he warned that unless the states of the Confederacy returned to the Union by January 1, 1863, he would declare their slaves to be “forever free.” During the Civil War, he was fighting to save the Union and trying not to free the slaves. Lincoln was quoted to say, “I am not, nor have ever been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races.” The Emancipation Proclamation illustrated this view.

The Vesey Slave rebellion was planned by Denmark Vesey, and although it was never accomplished, its effects were felt across the southern region of the country. Vesey bought his freedom after winning a lottery, then became an advocate for equality, inspiring slaves all over Charleston, South Carolina. He organized a group to carry out his plan to steal ammunition from Charleston, kill the governor, burn down the city, and kill all white men they would encounter. This uprising was planned to take place on

This rebellion took place in Richmond Virginia. Many believed that Prosser’s rebellion was inspired by the American Revolution, though many debate the idea. Months prior to the revolt, they estimated that several thousand other slaves would join their rebellion with pikes and swords made by the slave Prosser planned to initiate the battle on the night of August 30, 1800. However, earlier that day two slaves who wanted to protect their masters so they betrayed Prosser and went to the authorities. A rainstorm delayed the uprising by 24 hours, preventing Prosser’s army from assembling outside Richmond and providing the city time to prepare a defense for their families and lives. Realizing their plan had been told to the authorities, Prosser and many of his followers escaped into the countryside. Approximately 35 slaves that helped to lead the rebellion were caught and executed; But Prosser escaped to Norfolk where he was betrayed by slaves who claimed the reward for his. Prosser was shipped to Richmond and tried for his role in the uprising. He was found guilty on October 6, 1800 and executed the following

Throughout American history, African Americans have had to decide whether they belonged in the United States or if they should go elsewhere. Slavery no doubtfully had a great impact upon their decisions. However, despite their troubles African Americans made a grand contribution and a great impact on both armed forces of the Colonies and British. "The American Negro was a participant as well as a symbol."; (Quarles 7) African Americans were active on and off the battlefield, they personified the goal freedom, the reason for the war being fought by the Colonies and British. The African Americans were stuck in the middle of a war between white people. Their loyalty was not to one side or another, but to a principle, the principle of liberty.

About a quarter of the Methodist and Baptist churches were formed by blacks by the 1790s and slave owners dreaded that Christianity could result in insubordinate slaves. As a matter of fact, of the three major uprisings by slaves, converted slaves played key parts. Leaders of Gabriel’s Rebellion used the biblical story of the Israelites to show slaves that even against overpowering statistics they could triumph. After reading the Bible, Denmark Vessy accumulated black followers of which most belonged to Charleston’s African Methodist Church to seize Charlston. Nat Turner’s Rebellion, led by Nat Turner, occurred because Turner preached to his followers that he was a prophet for God. Nevertheless, these rebellions actually motivated Protestant missionaries to convert more slaves by saying a Christian slave is better than a bitter slave. As a outcome, the amount of black Baptists doubled between 1845 and 1860.

During this time in a movement known as the Great Migration, thousands of African-Americans also known as Negros left their homes in the South and moved North toward the beach line of big cities in search of employment and a new beginning. As Locke stated, “the wash and rush of this human tide on the beach line of Northern city centers is to be explained primarily in terms of a new vision of opportunity, of social and economic freedom, of a spirit to seize, even in the face of an extortionate and heavy toll, a chance for the improvement of conditions. With each successive wave of it, the movement of the Negro becomes more and more a mass movement toward the larger

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

The black freedom struggle has not yet come to an end – there are still prejudiced and racist radicals that try to negotiate white supremacy and dominance in order to prevent the blacks from their long wait for equality. Consequently, the movement has progressed very sluggishly in the past few centuries. Nevertheless, the campaign for equal rights has led to the triumph over slavery and has led to the accrual of suffrage rights. However, this is still not enough, not after centuries of enslavement, lynching, segregation, and discrimination. Oftentimes, there is still no justice in court houses, especially when black people are accused and convicted, even for the simplest of crimes – as compared to the white and powerful who are charged for heinous misconducts and get away scratch free. Hence, throughout the period of the Blacks’ long fight for freedom and equality, several Black intellectuals have come front with ideas that could administer better treatment for their people. A good strategy to encourage the black populace to fight for their freedom and their rights is by inverting popular ideas so that there is a clear distinction between the reasonable and unreasonable notions of equality and justice. Thus, it was not uncommon for these literati to undermine dominant discourses in order to bolster their own analyses. Among the discussed black intellectuals who inverted prevailing dissertations, three that stood out the most are Frederick Douglass, Anna Julia Cooper, and

In the beginning Locke tells us about “the tide of Negro migration”. During this time in a movement known as the Great Migration, thousand of African Americans also known as Negros left their homes in the South and moved North toward the beach line of big cities in search of employment and a new beginning. They left the South because of racial violence such as the Ku Klux Klan and economic discrimination not able to obtain work. Their migration was an expression of their changing attitudes toward themselves as Locke said best From The New Negro, and has been described as "something like a spiritual emancipation." Many African Americans moved to Harlem, a neighborhood located in