GABRIEL PROSSER

 Gabriel was a skilled artisan

 He expected approx. 1,000 slaves to

follow him in a well-coordinated attack

upon Richmond, VA.

 Torrential rain caused confusion and 2

traitors from within the group warned

white authorities of the impending attack.

 The planning involved in this rebellion

proved that slaves were actively resisting.

 After purchasing his freedom, planned

to seize the city of Charlestown, SC

and kill all the whites.

 Upwards of 9,000 free and enslaved

blacks intended to be a involved.

 Denmark Vesey, a free black carpenter

and Methodist leader, strove to

organize African-Americans and

encourage rebellion.

Thomas Jefferson placed this advertisement in the Virginia Gazette on September 14, 1769.

1858 RUNAWAY SLAVE

PATROL BADGE –

SOUTH CAROLINA

The largest slave rebellion in

the Antebellum South

Nat Turner, the man

 Intelligent

No formal education

Could read and write

 Deeply Religious

Baptist Exhorter

Felt called to a purpose

 Mother raised him with the belief that he was their Jonah and would save the slaves

 Called “The Prophet” by fellow slaves

Nat Turner witnessed:

Slave women being raped in public

Slaves being beaten near to death

Slaves, young and old, whipped until

their backs were bloody and flesh

hanging open

Children sold away from their parents

Slave auctions where potentials

buyers were allowed to “check the

merchandise.”

Virginia, August, 1831

•Turner, with a few trusted friends / fellow slaves,

traveled house to house, freeing slaves and killing

whites.

•Turner’s gang grew to 70+ slaves and free blacks.

•They wanted to spread "terror and alarm" among the

whites and reveal the inherent brutality of slave-

holding.

•During the 2 day

rebellion, Turner

and his followers

killed 55-65 men,

women, and

children.

The path Nat Turner and his followers took.

•Turner eluded capture until October

•November, 1831 – Turner was tried,

convicted, and hanged.

•He was skinned, beheaded, and

quartered.

•45 slaves were tried for their crimes.

• 15 were acquitted.

• Of the 30 convicted, 18 were

hanged & 12 were sold out of

state.

•5 free blacks were tried for

participation in the insurrection

• 1 was hanged, and the others

were acquitted.

End of the Rebellion

 The largest number of fatalities to occur in 1 uprising prior to

the Civil War

 200 blacks were beaten and killed by white vigilantes

 Panic flashed throughout Virginia

 Accompanied by a reign of terror

 Many slaves became restless and staged uprisings

 Repressive laws were passed, such as:

• prohibiting the education of slaves and free blacks

• restricting rights of assembly and other civil rights for free

blacks

• requiring white ministers to be present at black worship

services.

• The laws enforced widespread illiteracy among slaves.

By the end of the Civil War, most newly freed slaves and

many free blacks in the South could not read or write.

• Maryland, 1831

• Immigration of free Negroes was forbidden

• No free Negro was allowed to own arms

• Slaves and free Negroes were permitted to have

religious services only with whites

 Delaware, 1832

 $10 fine ($200 in today’s $$) – For all the meetings

of more than a 12 free Negroes continuing past

10pm

 Unless these were directed by at least 3 white

men

 A free Negro who did not reside in the state was

not to preach or exhort unless he had a license

 Penalty of $50 ($1,010 in today’s $$)

• North Carolina

• Forbidden for free Negroes and slaves to preach

• Penalty of 39 lashes

• If a free Negro had a fine and could not pay it, he would

be sold as a slave for the lowest bid at auction

• Alabama

• Anyone who attempted to teach any Negro to read or

write was to be fined up to $500 ($10,000 in today’s $$)

• Persons circulating or publishing pamphlets among the

slaves was put to death

• Illegal for 5 male slaves to congregate off their

plantation without their master

• No free Negro was allowed to settle in Alabama in 1832

• 39 lashes AND to be sold as a slave

• Free Negroes were not to trade or associate with slaves

without written permission from the master

Gordon, a slave scarred

from whippings, Baton

Rouge, 1863. Credit War Department/National

Archives

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