Why was there an absence of major slave rebellion in America?
Slavery in America was a legal institution that existed in the 18th and 19th century. It is great that in the 21st century, humanity can squarely face 19th century slavery. Nonetheless, it is also upon everybody to acknowledge the contemporary versions of slavery in the world beginning from our homestead. The current form of slavery is not as defined as it was in the olden days. During those days slaves were characterized by a number of cultures. The slave culture embodied elements of African and Christian cultures or values. Slavery also largely dependent on the systematic dehumanization and the dehumanization process majorly was done to the African Americans. The dehumanization experienced by the Africans led to the conflicts between them and the whites. The revolts however were not that serious. However, the rumours of the revolt still caused the slave owners turmoil. This paper aims at analysing why the revolts among the slaves in America were not solemn.
The slaves were treated in different ways in the American continent. Arguably, there exist several allegations made concerning the rebellions that were happening in the America soil. Most scholars have argued that the slave ancestors were very docile and loyal. It is because of this reason that most of the revolts planned failed. A comparison was even made of the African Americans to their fellow slaves in other places of the world. The slaves in places like Cuba, Brazil, Haiti and Suriname managed to plan turn against their masters. They were referred to as the first slaves to plan and execute a rebellion fully. A book written by Herbert Aptheker informs the readers that no one the manner in which the Negroes failed to organize a resistance led them to being referred to imitator and non-moralist. He uses all the negative terms to refer to the African Americans.
The Africans who were enslaved however tried their best to resist the slavery, but they failed. There is numerous reason this was so. Some of the ways that were used to help to resist slavery included running away. Running away however was a way through which they demanded better working conditions. The distance that they could run was very limited. When they were running away, they were trying to withhold their labor temporarily. It was mainly as a form economic bargain and also the negotiation. The slavery as a process involved a lot of negotiation. The slaves always negotiated for a number of things. Some of them included; the amount of free time they were allowed, the pace at which they worked, monetary rewards, freedom to practice burials, access to gardens, marriages, and religious ceremonies among many more things.
When escaping from the slavery, the African Americans used the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad. This was a network that contained several routes that the slaves used to escape.it is approximated that over 6000 people managed to escape through the underground Railroad. Running away was however meant for the slaves who had served as captains or even those who had skills in boat roaring. These people had some information about the outside world. When they run away, they would quickly find refuge. It is because of this reason that few slaves tried to run away. Those that ran and lack the skills on how to manoeuvre in the jungle found themselves being captured again. Their movement would, therefore, be null.
Some of the fugitive slaves also tried to form run away communities. These communities, referred to as maroon colonies, were located near places that people rarely visited. The people who lived in these areas resisted being captured for a very long time. These areas included swamps, mountains, and frontier regions. These places were not readily available, and hence they could not be attacked.
There were several revolts and uprising organized by the slaves in long Island. These revolts majorly happened in the Long Island and also in the New York City. The slaves who were living in South Carolina also staged a number of go-slows. These finally led to Stono Rebellion of 1739. During the rebellion, they stole arms, burned houses and also killed the whites. During that year, there are several revolts that were experienced. There was the Barbados revolt during the year 1816. In this revolution, houses were burnt. Ammunitions were also stolen. There are so many revolutions that happened in these places. These revolts however were somehow tiny. They had minimum impacts as compared to the ones that were being experienced in some other locations like Haiti.
The slaves’ revolution happened because of a number of reasons. The most common reasons are that when the number of slaves outnumbered the number of whites. The slaves, therefore, take advantage of the situation. Secondly, when the masters were absent, the slaves became unruly. They, therefore, started the revolutions during these moments. Revolutions were also experienced during the periods of economic distress. The slaves were not treated fairly, and so they revolted. During these years, they were also not paid their dues. Such behaviors angered them. They could only initiate a revolution to bargain for their rights. Revolts among the slaves were also witnessed when there was some split between the ruling classes. They knew that when the ruling class was not united, they would easily outdo them. The last reason that made the African revolted was when a large number of the native Africans were brought together. They used such opportunities to unite and hence revolve against their masters.
Having mentioned all that, let’s now talk about the reasons why their revolution failed. The consequences of the revolution were somehow harsh. In fact, they were very harsh. Very few people could stand such punishments. This is the primary reason the revolutions never went any further. The people feared what would happen should they be found out. The following are some of the examples of the revolts and their result.
The uprising happened in the New York City. It consisted of 23 African American Slaves. In this revolt, a number of whites were affected. Nine whites were shot dead; some were stabbed, and some were beaten to death. Six were injured. The New York City was described as the superb place where the Africans could form conspiracy against the ruling class. The reason for this was because the slaves lived next to each other. They could, therefore, talk and come up with superb plans that they could use to evade slavery. The result of the New York Revolt was epic. Seventy blacks were put in jail while six committed suicide for fear of the consequences. Twenty-seven were put on trial. One of those who were put in prison was found guilty. He was, therefore, burnt to death. It is because of the way in which those people were treated that made some other slaves to engage in the same.
However, 27 years down the line, there was another revolution called the Stono Rebellion of 1739. During this time, an epidemic had weakened the power of the slaveholders. The slaves saw this as an opportunity to revolt against the ruling class. The revolt was led by the Jemmy, who was initially from Angola. Jemmy together with other 20 African American met on the Stono River. They then marched down the road and managed to seize a number of weapons and ammunitions while at the Stono River Bridge. While still moving on with their revolutions, they burnt several plantations and managed to kill 20 whites. They also managed to recruit more slaves. Their numbers reached eighty. The plantation owners and the slave owners however managed to suppress their number. They did this under the command of Lieutenant Governor William Bull. The slaves who were captured faced decapitation. Their heads were spiked along the road to serve as an example to the rest.
Another revolt also occurred in 1741. It was called the New York Insurrection. This revolt was planned by the slaves and the poor whites who were living in New York. Several plantations were set on fire. Even Governor George’s houses were also set ablaze. Their aim was to burn the city, then kill all the white men and elect a new king to govern the new place. The insurrectionists however were caught. Some were tortured to the extent that they mentioned the other members. Some of them were then burnt while alive. The remains of those who were killed were buried in the New York Burial Grounds. Fear was instilled among the slaves and. As a result, they rarely planned of the revolutions anymore.
During the year 1800, Gabriel’s Rebellion was planned and executed. The revolt planned to attack the Richmond. This rebellion was however one of the worst. Two of the slaves betrayed their fellows and leaked information to their masters. The state called for support from the central government. The militia managed to subdue the conspiracy. The government placed a reward on anyone who would tell them of the whereabouts of George. A close friend of George betrayed him, and he was hanged with his brothers.
There were several other rebellions that were held by the slaves. The Louisiana Territory Slave Rebellion is however considered to be the mother of all revolutions in the United States. It had the largest number of participants. Charles Deslondes led over 500 slaves down the Mississippi River Road. While moving along the way, they killed whites and burned several plantations. A militia together with the US army confronted the rebellion. Around seventy slaves were killed during the fight. Charles and his members were finally caught. They were beheaded, and their heads were stuck along the river. They did this also to warn the people of engaging in such type of rebellion again.
There is another man named George Boxley. He claimed that he received a message from God to free the slaves. He planned to meet with some other slaves at his home so that he could stage a rebellion. His plans were however realized. He escaped and helped some of the slaves to escape through the Underground Railroad. Turner also during the year 1831 used slaves and some non-slaves to free the enslaved people. For fear of being caught, he used knives, axes, and hatchets so that there is no noise. He was however found and hanged.
The above list contains so many people that tried to liberate the slaves, but failed. One would ask why all that group of people never succeeded in making their rebellion a success. From the reading, it is however clear that there were so many reasons why they never succeeded. First and foremost, the African American slaves lacked unity. They were never united. Only a section of them participated in the rebellion wars. They had very few people to fight for them. This is the primary reason that led to their failure. Secondly, they also had traitors within themselves. These are the people that leaked their plans out. They could, therefore, not succeed. The collaborators are responsible for the failure of the Gabriel’s Rebellion of the 1800.
Another reason that led to the failure of the revolutions that were held by the African Americans is the fact that they lacked superior weapons. The weapons that they used were very inferior as compared to those that were employed by the militias. A rebellion like the Louisiana that had over 500 participants would have been a successful if they were all armed. They however could not make it. The reason is that they had weapons that could not match the ones for the militias. The last reason that made the rebellions of the Africans fail was because of fear. The slaves never had a much-needed self-esteem to overcome the Europeans. They were very fearful. As a result, they could not succeed in the rebellions they organized.
The African American Slaves tried a number of times to free themselves from slavery, but they failed. There are a number of reasons that contributed to their failure in coming up with successful rebellions. Some of the reasons included betrayals, fear, and lack of superior weapons among others. Some critics however argued that they were simply cowards who never wanted to try and go to against the authorities.
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