Major Slave Rebellions

Why This Matters

Slave rebellions represent one of the most powerful expressions of radical resistance in American history—and they're central to understanding how enslaved people actively challenged the institution of slavery rather than passively enduring it. The AP exam tests your ability to connect these uprisings to broader themes: the daily urgency of living under slavery, the debate between moral suasion and direct action, and how resistance shaped both abolitionist movements and slaveholder responses. You'll need to understand why rebellions occurred when and where they did, what strategies leaders employed, and how each uprising transformed the legal and social landscape of slavery.

These rebellions weren't isolated acts of desperation—they were calculated responses to specific conditions and often drew on Enlightenment ideals, religious conviction, and African military traditions. When you study these events, you're being tested on your understanding of agency, causation, and consequence. Don't just memorize names and dates—know what each rebellion reveals about the nature of resistance, the vulnerabilities of slave systems, and the ripple effects that extended far beyond the immediate violence.

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Early Colonial Uprisings: Testing the System

The earliest rebellions exposed the fundamental instability of slave societies and forced colonial governments to develop increasingly repressive legal frameworks. These uprisings demonstrated that enslaved people would exploit any opportunity—from Spanish promises of freedom to urban anonymity—to challenge their bondage.

Stono Rebellion (1739)

• Led by an enslaved man named Jemmy near the Stono River in South Carolina, this was the largest slave uprising in the British mainland colonies before the American Revolution
• Spanish Florida's promise of freedom motivated the rebels, who marched toward St. Augustine carrying banners and calling out "Liberty!"—demonstrating how imperial rivalries created resistance opportunities
• Resulted in the Negro Act of 1740, which restricted enslaved people's movement, assembly, education, and ability to earn money—establishing a template for repressive slave codes throughout the South

New York Conspiracy of 1741

• A series of mysterious fires in Manhattan sparked mass hysteria and accusations of a coordinated plot between enslaved Africans and poor whites to burn the city
• Over 30 people were executed—17 enslaved people hanged, 13 burned at the stake, and 4 whites hanged—revealing how fear of interracial solidarity terrified colonial authorities
• Historians debate whether an actual conspiracy existed, but the response demonstrates how slaveholders used real or imagined threats to justify brutal repression and surveillance

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Revolutionary Era Plots: Enlightenment Meets Resistance

The Age of Revolution transformed how enslaved people understood and articulated their demands for freedom. Leaders in this period explicitly invoked the language of liberty, equality, and natural rights—turning slaveholders' own rhetoric against them.

Haitian Revolution (1791–1804)

• The only successful large-scale slave revolt in history, transforming the French colony of Saint-Domingue into Haiti—the first independent Black republic in the Western Hemisphere
• Toussaint L'Ouverture emerged as a brilliant military and political leader who defeated French, Spanish, and British forces before being captured through treachery and dying in a French prison
• Terrified slaveholders throughout the Americas, prompting southern states to restrict the movement of enslaved people from the Caribbean and fueling both pro-slavery paranoia and abolitionist hope

Gabriel's Rebellion (1800)

• Gabriel Prosser, an enslaved blacksmith in Richmond, Virginia, organized a sophisticated plot involving hundreds of enslaved people to seize the state capital and negotiate for freedom
• The plan drew on Revolutionary ideals—Gabriel reportedly planned to spare Quakers, Methodists, and Frenchmen because of their antislavery sympathies, and rebels intended to carry a banner reading "Death or Liberty"
• Betrayed by informants and thwarted by a massive storm, Gabriel and approximately 26 followers were executed, prompting Virginia to tighten restrictions on enslaved people's literacy and assembly

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Antebellum Conspiracies: Urban Networks and Religious Vision

The early nineteenth century saw increasingly organized resistance, often centered in urban areas where enslaved people had greater mobility and access to information. Religious conviction and literacy became powerful tools for organizing rebellion.

Denmark Vesey's Conspiracy (1822)

• Denmark Vesey, a formerly enslaved man who had purchased his freedom, planned what could have been the largest slave uprising in U.S. history in Charleston, South Carolina
• The conspiracy drew on biblical imagery—Vesey used scripture to argue that God sanctioned violence against oppressors, recruiting followers through the African Methodist Episcopal Church
• Betrayed before execution, the discovery led to the execution of Vesey and 34 others, the destruction of the AME church, and laws prohibiting free Black people from entering South Carolina

Nat Turner's Rebellion (1831)

• Nat Turner, a literate enslaved preacher in Southampton County, Virginia, led the deadliest slave rebellion in U.S. history, resulting in the deaths of approximately 60 white people over two days
• Turner believed he received divine visions commanding him to "slay my enemies with their own weapons"—his religious conviction made him a prophet figure to followers and a demonic threat to slaveholders
• The aftermath was devastating: white mobs killed over 100 Black people in retaliation, Virginia debated (then rejected) gradual emancipation, and southern states passed laws prohibiting enslaved people's literacy and restricting Black preaching

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Maritime Rebellions: Freedom on the High Seas

Ships presented unique opportunities for resistance—confined spaces where enslaved people could potentially overpower crews and navigate toward freedom. These maritime rebellions raised complex legal questions about slavery, international law, and the boundaries of American jurisdiction.

Amistad Rebellion (1839)

• Enslaved Africans led by Sengbe Pieh (Joseph Cinqué) revolted aboard the Spanish schooner Amistad, killing the captain and cook and demanding to be sailed back to Africa
• The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, where former President John Quincy Adams argued successfully that the Africans had been illegally enslaved and were entitled to freedom under international law
• Became a rallying point for abolitionists, demonstrating that enslaved people would fight for freedom and that legal arguments could sometimes succeed—though the ruling applied only to illegally imported Africans, not those born into slavery

Creole Revolt (1841)

• Madison Washington led 18 enslaved people in seizing control of the Creole, a ship transporting 135 enslaved people from Virginia to New Orleans for sale
• The rebels sailed to Nassau, Bahamas, where British authorities—having abolished slavery in 1833—declared most of the enslaved people free, infuriating American slaveholders
• Created a diplomatic crisis between the U.S. and Britain, highlighting how international boundaries and differing legal systems could be exploited by those seeking freedom

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Armed Abolitionism: The Road to War

By the 1850s, some abolitionists concluded that only armed force could end slavery. This shift from moral suasion to direct action reflected growing frustration with political compromise and the expansion of slavery into new territories.

German Coast Uprising (1811)

• The largest slave rebellion in U.S. history by number of participants—between 200 and 500 enslaved people marched from sugar plantations along Louisiana's German Coast toward New Orleans
• Led by Charles Deslondes, a mixed-race slave driver, rebels armed with cane knives, axes, and some firearms destroyed plantation property and killed two white men
• Brutally suppressed by militia and federal troops—approximately 100 rebels were killed, and heads of executed rebels were displayed on poles along the river as a warning, demonstrating the extreme violence used to maintain slavery

Harper's Ferry Raid (1859)

• John Brown, a white abolitionist who had fought in "Bleeding Kansas," led 21 men—including five Black men—in an attack on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia
• Brown hoped to spark a widespread slave uprising by distributing captured weapons, but no mass rebellion materialized and Brown's force was captured by U.S. Marines commanded by Robert E. Lee
• Brown's execution made him a martyr to abolitionists—Ralph Waldo Emerson compared him to Christ—while southerners saw the raid as proof of northern aggression, accelerating the sectional crisis that led to the Civil War

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Which two rebellions explicitly drew on Enlightenment language and revolutionary ideals, and how did their outcomes differ?

2. Compare the roles of religious conviction in Nat Turner's Rebellion and Denmark Vesey's Conspiracy. How did each leader use faith to justify and organize resistance?

3. If an FRQ asked you to explain how slave rebellions influenced southern legal codes, which three examples would provide the strongest evidence, and what specific laws resulted from each?

4. How did the Amistad and Creole cases demonstrate different strategies for achieving freedom through legal and international systems?

5. Contrast the Haitian Revolution with rebellions in the United States. Why did Haiti succeed where U.S. rebellions failed, and how did Haiti's success influence both enslaved people and slaveholders in America?