Slave Revolts in the United States

“Give me liberty or give me death!” Patrick Henry said this during his March 23, 1775

speech about fighting to gain the New England colonies' independence from the British. This

quote in 1800 inspired the words printed on Gabriel's Rebellion's banner. “Death or Liberty.”

Many slave revolts like the Gabriel's Rebellion, although unable to succeed in abolishing

slavery, did however show that most slaves were unhappy with their position and wanted

freedom. Despite the negative results arising from many slave revolts, they stood as a source of

inspiration and demonstration of a desire to be free from the slave population.

Slavery is a long standing issue that has occurred in our world for many years. The act of

treating human beings as property to be bought, sold and put to work has been present in most if

not all counties. The African slave trade that specifically occurred in America, which began in

the 16th century, was referred to as the Transatlantic slave trade. African slaves who were usually

sold into slavery or kidnapped, were transported through the middle passage. The middle

passage was the shipment of African slaves to be sold to the Americas. The conditions of this

voyage were usually horrifying. The slaves were clustered together to creating very unhealthy

conditions. As a result, out of all who were transported to the americas during the trans-Atlantic

slave trade at least 10-15% died during this middle passage. Slaves were transported to the

America's because they were a cheap way to aid the production of certain crops like tobacco and

cotton. African American slaves would remain slaves until 1865, but until then, most of these

slaves were subject to harsh treatment from their owners....

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...the execution of about sixty whites. Turner believed

that this would awaken the white's to their brutal treatment of the slaves. Instead of a

realization from the white man's behalf, they executed Nat Turner and some of his comrades.

They also executed about fifty six suspects, and murdered about two hundred other blacks who

had no involvement in the event. Although this rebellion did demonstrate that some of the

african americans slave and free were ready to fight for their rights, in this rebellion in particular

the consequences were much higher then the gain.

There were many reactions from the white southerner about the slave revolts. Besides the

outrage and murder of blacks like what happened after the Nat Turner rebellion, many white

slave owners were outradged and would blame some of the Northerners. For example, they

anti-slavery newspaper