Slave Revolts

During four hundred years of slavery, black people did not accept the idea as easily as many thought. According to Americans in the 19th century, several factors led to violent slave rebellions regarding plantation slavery and the black slaves who labored under that system. Whites generally believed that the “faith” of the blacks were to blame. While the blacks thought their masters' power and the institution that dehumanized them was the reason.

The whites believed that the violent revolts originated as a unique movement led by charismatic figures. People such as Nat Turner, Gabriel Prosser, Denmark Vessey and others rebelled against slavery in order to give blacks a voice. It may not have been the most peaceful approach, but someone would have done it. Full-scale slave rebellions like the ones planned by Nat Turner, Denmark Vessey, and Gabriel Prosser were not common among the African American community in the United States in the nineteenth century. The brutal outcome of the Turner revolt was graphically documented in the Constitutional Whig. It stated t

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Their loyalties were almost unanimously on the side of freedom.

Governor John Floyd of Virginia wrote about how “every black preacher in the whole country east of the Blue Ridge” was part of the slave uprisings. In the beginning of slavery, whites feared the rebellion of blacks therefore they used tactics to control and to place fear minds of the slaves. These failed attempts discouraged many others. The revolts revealed a degree of anger on the part of black slaves about their situation that contradicted what white Southerners said about blacks and the slave system. Solomon Northup, a slave in Louisiana, describes how a group of slaves from Louisiana lead a failed attempt to escape to Mexico and they ended up getting hanged. Frightened whites were often worse masters than complacent whites, and slaves had no rights according to the law. A basic device of control whites used against blacks was to make them feel like they were inferior to whites. ”

The slave revolts were the ways for blacks to make their voice heard during the antebellum period. He describes how it failed and the bloody repercussions, which were similar to those of the Nat Turner slave revolt.

Whites also believe that religion was a radical force in revolts such as Turner’s.

The church taught slaves that God wanted them to hold a lower level in society. The church also had a large contribution to the mindset of slaves. It did not matter if the slave deserved it or not, the church’s justification was that God wills it.

Approximate Word count = 717
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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