1. Rebellion

2. Slave Insurrections (Rebellions)
Large-scale insurrections – uprisings involving 10 or more slaves
Rare in the United States
More common in Caribbean and Latin America

3. Why so few in the United States?
1) Whites outnumbered blacks
2) Slaves worked under the direct supervision of whites
3) Slaves separated by great distances
4) No place to hide
5) Working conditions weren’t as harsh
6) Slaves tended to live as families.

4. Slaves did express their discontent
Expressions of rebellion were often subtle
Work slowly
Theft – most common form of rebellion
“taking” and “stealing”
“Silent sabotage” – slowing down the plantation
● Destroying crops ● Pretending to be sick
● “Forgetting” to do things ● Breaking tools
● Hobbling animals ● Weighing down cotton
Dysaethesia Æthiopica.

5. Acts of Violence Burning buildings Poisoning the master
Assaulting their master
Killing the master
Suicide

6. Running away
1,000 per year Typical runaway – Single (unmarried) young man Runaways tended to run alone or in small groups In the summer (good weather)

7. Why Did they run, where did they go?
Most common reasons?
To avoid work
To avoid punishment
To avoid being sold
To be free
To reunite with families or lovers
Where did they run to? Following the North Star The free states in the North or Canada Florida – before 1820 Some stayed nearby their old plantation

8. Large scale rebellions
Rare, but they did happen in the United States
250 uprisings or planned uprising

9. Gabriel’s Plot – 30 August 1800
Gabriel Prosser (I )
Henrico, County Virginia
Planned an attack on the state capital
Betrayed by two house slaves
91 slaves convicted for taking part
Prosser, his family and 21 others executed
Ten conspirators deported
Caused fear and tension in the area

10. Denmark Vesey’s Conspiracy -- 30 may 1822
Denmark Vesey (I ) -- A former slave
9,000 slaves
Charleston, South Carolina
House slaves betrayed Vesey
131 Blacks and 4 whites conspirator arrested
Vesey and 35 aides were hanged
34 slaves were deported
61 of the accused were acquitted
Harsh laws enacted after the failed rebellion

11. Nat Turner’s Rebellion – August 1831
The only rebellion to result in a large number of white casualties
Nat Turner, a slave
North Hampton Country Virginia
Turner was a religious preacher
70 armed slaves
Two-day rampage began on 21 August 1831
They killed about 60 whites

12. Whites react to Turner’s Rebellion
Nat Turner eluded capture
53 Blacks were arrested and tried
● 20 were hanged
● 21 were acquitted
● 12 were transported out of Virginia
October 30, Nat Turner was captured
He was tried, and hanged
His body mutilated.

13. Impact of Nat Turners Rebellion
Southern States adopt more rigid Slave Codes
President blocks delivery of abolitionist literature to the southern states
House of Representatives prevented from reading abolitionist petitions
The “gag rule” (1836 to 1844)