African American Slave rebellions

Slaveholding societies are characterized by distrust and fear mostly because the slave population is usually larger than the master population. The anger provoked by living in bondage leads to violent uprisings and revolts. In the United States, slavery was based on the systematic dehumanization of African Americans, which sometimes
led to open conflict. Whereas there were no successful revolts in the country, the open defiance and rumors led to paranoia among the white planters. Other than the demands of forced labor, the white planters demanded that Blacks adhere to other requirements in an attempt to increase security. There were hundreds of conspiracies whereby the enslaved blacks met to plan attacks or escape, however, few of the conspiracies led to action. Although the enslaved Africans attempted few revolts and none succeeded, they led to significant policy changes in the society that culminated in their emancipation.
African American Slave rebellions
The African American quest for freedom consists of more than 250 rebellions, predominately in the south. A respectable wealthy citizen by the name Denmark Vesey devises an uprising in 1822. This brilliant former slave had earned his freedom using money won in a lottery. Vesey was a Brilliant man with a plan for Charleston, South Carolina. Although the intricate details of the planned rebellion are not clear, it is evident that the plan is detailed. An army of more than 2,000 black males is divided into eight companies. Six will go for the weapons and gunpowder located near the guards houses. Vesey plans to escape by ship to Haiti after terrorizing Charleston and nearby areas in South Carolina.
The brilliant plan has only one undoing, a house slave who cannot keep a secret. A faithful Black slave reveals the full extent of the plot before execution, enabling the White planters to preempt the attacks. Vesey entrusted his vision to many while Nat Turner entrusted his to a few. Turners plan was simple. He recruited six individuals in his scheme. They were to go from house to house killing slave-owning families. The information available is from Turners account, thus the intricate details. Nat Turner was an exceptionally convincing man. During his trial, Turner claimed in his defense that he simply did not feel guilty through his lawyer. Turner was found guilty of recruiting six others six people who shared his views. He was also guilty of leading a killing spree. Turner died on 12th November 1831, six days after his conviction.
The 17th century resulted in the capture and transportation of Africans from the Africans plains by other powerful tribes. Slave trade was a lucrative business during the 17th century. White Americans in the United States considered African Americans as separate and unequal for centuries. Amid the oppression and desolation, the Africans who were brought to American found a new freedom. They were free to develop their culture in the new world. One cultural aspect that underwent remarkable evolution is the music culture among the African Americans. African Americans have a distinct class of music that cuts across the racial divide. Through music, the African Americans were able to protest oppression and appreciate their African heritage.
The African American society underwent a remarkable evolution that was characterized by rebellions and ingenious developments in their music culture. In the African culture, Africans relied heavily on the drum for social communication. The African American used drums to communicate using a rhythmic language. The Whites were ignorant of the Ciphered rhythm that the Africans used to plan and synchronize attacks across the land and on ships. Eventually, the White realized that the Africans had a distinct rhythm important in planning and executing revolts. Different laws were passed in the states to restrain Negroes from using or keeping drums.
 The African Americans used music and dance as a means for rebellion against the Whites. Because the African Americans could not access the drum, they used common day tools, such as spoons and farm implements to make sounds that mimic the drum. There was one form of music among the African Americans that the Whites deemed acceptable. The African American spiritual songs were acceptable to the slave owners. To them, it appeared as if the Africans were converting to Christianity, which represented a submission to European ideologies. Unlike other genres of African American music, spiritual music was more acceptable to the mainstream White Americans.
The music appeared to praise the Christian God but had a different meaning hidden in the undertone that served to unite and organize the African Americans. Music was used to plan revolts and direct those who wished to join the revolt to secret entrance to the underground rail. All the tunes appeared to come straight from the hymn books. The Whites heard nothing but an oppressed African American longing to become closer to the Lord. Different songs had different messages, such as providing direction to non-slave states. The central theme for African American remained the same; however, it was predominately in a Christianity vehicle. This type of music evolved into the Blues genres and was an instrument for social change. Music played an important role in African American rebellion against slavery.
Conjurers played a critical role in slave rebellions. Conjurers were individuals in the African American society who claimed control over magical powers with the ability to influence the results of the rebellion. One case involving a conjurer is worth mentioning; the New York City slave rebellion. One African tribe among the slaves is significant in this form of rebellion, the Akan. The Akan is a West African tribe found on the African gold coast. The Akan had a powerful belief system known as the Obeah. Members of the religion rubbed a powder on their clothes that supposedly made them invincible. During the 1712 rebellion in New York City, 28 individuals believing there were invincible. They set a building on fire in the city and waited to attack whites who would come to put out the fire.
 The Yoruba spiritual system also played an important role in inducing slave revolts in the United States. A remarkable attempt is the Santo Domingo revolt of 1791. The uprising was devised by Boukman Dutty, who had considerable influence among the slaves. His plan involved hundreds of slaves who would set plantations on fire and kill all Whites within Le Cap province. Boukman gave his final instructions to his followers on the night of 22nd august 1791 while drinking pig blood in accordance to Vodun incantations. Among the African Americans, conjurers served as cultural bridges capable of bringing people from different ethnic groups together. This rendered the Whites notion that randomizing ethnic groups would help undermine resistance.
The Stono slave rebellion is narrated as a story of sacrifice during a trying time. The rebellion, which took place in south Carolina in 1739 helped motivate other African Americans planning rebellions across the south. The White planters used brutal force to stop the rebellion and deter others from organizing the same. Most of the individuals involved in the rebellion were captured, and publicly executed. The revolt resulted in strict limitations for both the slave and slave master. Slaves could not work for themselves on Sunday, whereas slave masters could not set their slaves free. The rebellion resulted in the enactment of harsh slave laws that lasted more than a century.
The Stono slave rebellion was led by George Cato. Cato and about 20 others stole guns and other weapons from a store in Wallace creek. Their target was simple, march to freedom in Spanish Florida. The rebels increase to more than 60 during their 15 miles march. During the march, they kill 20 Whites but spare others. Only non-slave owning Whites were spared; however, others escape death because their slaves conceal their whereabouts. Here there is evidence that African Americans and European Americans can live together. Despite the predominate state within the society, there were a few Whites and Blacks who lived as equals.
In 1808, the US congress ended slavery using legislation. The congress was not successful during the first attempt; however, the congress passed a succession of laws that barred Americans from engaging in the slave trade. Unlike the United States, the British government provided exceptional rights and privileges to transatlantic shipping companies that were important in the slave trade. In 1807, the United States passed a law banning all Americans from participating in the slave trade, effectively ending the trade in America and across the world. Great Britain controlled slave trade in the areas that would become the United States. The British government favored the Royal Africa Company. The slave trade was a profitable trade for Britain. Merchants in the capital benefited from the trade while the government collected taxes. Shareholders of the Royal African Company included members of the imperial family.
States, such as South Carolina and Virginia used economic tools to regulate and stop the slave trade. Colonists face prohibitive duties if they imported African-born slaves. The tax policy helped limit the slave trade and led to more convictions. Other states discouraged the trade to prevent the outflow of capital from the colonies. While some southern states ban the slave trade because of economic reasons, northern states ban slavery because of both economic and moral reasons. By 1787, only the state of Georgia was importing slaves. States such as New Hampshire banned trade during the American Revolution. Other southern states were expecting to reopen the trade as soon as the economic climate allowed. Southern delegates guarded their right to import slaves during the 1787 convention that gave the national government power over domestic and international commerce at the state level.
Conclusion
 Economic tools enabled the US congress banned the importation, trade, owning, and enslaving of African Americans. The cost was high for the union; however, most Americans in the north considered the trade morally wrong and considered it their duty to end the trade. The United States banned its citizens from engaging in the slave trade. Anyone found engaging in the trade would hang. Although the dramatic change in the countrys policy was temporary, the congress made it permanent two years later. Anyone found engaging in the African slave trade would be deemed a pirate. If convicted, the individual would suffer death. This was true for Americans and non-Americans engaging in the trade within the United States.

Bibliography


Digital History, “chapter 8, response to slavery: Nat Turners rebellion, 31-34. Massachusetts: Thomas Ladenburg, 2007.

Finkelman Paul, Regulating the African Slave Trade, Civil war History, 54 no. 5 (2008): 375-405

Mark M. Smith, John K. Thornton, and Edward A. Pearson, Stono: Documenting and Interpreting a Southern Slave Revolt (University of South Carolina Press, 2005), p. 55. Quoted in National Humanities center, Two Views of the Stono Slave Rebellion: South Carolina, 1739, becoming American: The British Atlantic Colonies, (1600-1763): 1-4.

Megan Sullivan, African American music as rebellion: from slave songs to hip-hop, n.d. PDF e-book.

National Humanities center, Two Views of the Stono Slave Rebellion: South Carolina, 1739, becoming American: The British Atlantic Colonies, (1600-1763): 1-4

 Walter Rucker, conjure, magic, and power: the influence of afro-Atlantic religious practices on slave resistance and rebellion, journal of black studies, 32 no.1 (2007): 84-103.