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The violent response to slave uprisings and rumors of such events are a result of the fears of whites in the South. Plantation owners and others that benefited from slave labor were unwilling to destroy their economy. The abolition of slavery would force them to find other means of growing and preparing their cash crops. Poor white Southerners did not want to compete with newly freed slaves for jobs and land ownership. With black people enslaved, poor whites were not seen as the lowest rung on the social ladder. White Southerners also viewed slave uprisings as a promise of more violence to come if blacks were no longer enslaved.

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In the years before the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, Southern whites feared the end of slavery. These fears were shared by plantation slave owners and white yeomen farmers alike. While the type of fears varied, they all shared a common thread of unabashed racism. In addition, most fears were rooted in a concern for social order and economic development.

Racial Mixing

One of the biggest fears articulated before and after the Civil War was the issue of racial mixing. Under slavery, the relationship between white masters and their black slaves created a hierarchical social structure in which sexual relations between the two groups were forbidden. Southern whites enjoyed an unquestioned position of superiority. Some Southerners worried that if slavery were abolished, the two groups would intermingle and form sexual relationships. This, they thought, would lead to the destruction of the white race's superior status in the South. In the years after emancipation, miscegenation laws and other social structures helped to preserve white superiority in the South, irrespective of the ' "free" status of blacks.

Competition with the Poor

Even poor, non-slave-owning whites saw danger in ending the institution of slavery. While considered to be inferior to their slave-owning counterparts, poor whites benefited implicitly from slavery. With blacks enslaved, poor whites faced little economic competition for ownership of land or for employment as labor. Free blacks, however, could compete against them for land and jobs, which would lessen the financial status of poor whites. In addition, the enslavement of blacks kept poor farmers from being the absolute lowest ranks of Southern society. Freeing the slaves jeopardized this social hierarchy, and so the poor tended to oppose ending slavery.

Plantation Economy

For large and small plantation owners, slavery supported their livelihood. In addition, this system formed the foundation of the Southern economy -- and many feared that its destruction would bring economic turmoil. By 1850, the Southern states were responsible for producing 80 percent of the world's cotton, and most of this was harvested by slaves. This was the engine of the Southern economy, and replacing unpaid slaves with paid labor was an unimaginable economic transformation that plantation owners feared.

Crime Wave

Before emancipation, Southern whites feared the activities of freed slaves, who did not have plantation servitude to occupy their time. Events like the Nat Turner slave revolt terrified Southern whites and led many to believe that freed slaves would bring anarchy and chaos to the region. Evidence of these fears came after the Civil War, when Southern legislatures rapidly enacted "Black Codes" to condemn the behaviors they anticipated from freed slaves. Vagrancy and unemployment were banned with severe punishment -- including imprisonment and hard labor -- so recently freed slaves were essentially forced into low-paid servitude. These same vagrancy laws were not applied to whites.

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What Did Southerners Fear Would Be in Danger if Slavery Ended? | Synonym

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In the years before the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, Southern whites feared the end of slavery. These fears were shared by plantation slave owners and white yeomen farmers alike. While the type of fears varied, they all shared a common thread of unabashed racism.

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The Uprising of Slaves Represented in "The Birth of a Nation"

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The Uprising of Slaves Represented in "The Birth of a Nation"

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This video addresses the documentary "The Birth of a Nation" and the story behind the making of it. The connection between the article and the video is strong in the sense that not only are about uprisings among slaves, but perhaps one had an influence on the other. In the very beginning of the video, (0:08-0:23), the difference and monumental impact of this movie is explained. This film not only covers the severe mistreatment that slaves went through, but it shows the rebellion they planned to possibly gain freedom. This is a rare plot, not covered by many movies. This plot also directly ties in with the Southern sentinel. volume, written on December 20, 1856. The article talks about fifteen slaves who attempted to rebel against their owners, but were killed. Nat Turner's Rebellion in 1831 may have in fact influenced and impacted those 15 slaves to rebel against their owners 25 years later, since Nat Turner's rebellion was such a huge moment in both African American history and American history.

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The Birth of a Nation, about the 1831 uprising of a slave community in the American south, is a fiery account of a rebellion against injustice and oppression. Based on a true story, the film offers an unflinching look at the brutal event. First-time filmmaker Nate Parker reclaims the film title "The Birth of a Nation," from D.W. Griffith's 1915 pro Ku Klux Klan interpretation of the Civil War. Parker presents the story of Nat Turner, a slave preacher, who decided to right the wrongs against his people by taking up arms.

Unlike most films about slavery, which have focused on the perseverance and sacrifice of slaves in the American South during the antebellum era, The Birth of a Nation talks of rebellion and revenge.

The film follows Nat Turner's journey to radicalization and rebellion. A studious boy, Nat was likely taught to read by his white masters, and became a recognized preacher in the slave community. His ability to soothe and console the enslaved hearts of his brethern was exploited by slaveowners, who saw the word of the Bible as a way to teach slaves passivity and obedience to the white master.

But during his preaching tours, Turner saw so much abuse against the slaves, he could no longer turn the other cheek. The more pain he witnessed, the more his sermons became combative, defiant, and aggressive. He was punished severely. His wife raped. But Turner did not submit.

Parker says he got invested in the story not only as a filmmaker and an actor, but also as an activist. "Understanding the importance of Nat Turner and projecting the story in a way that is positive and honest has been on my soul since the moment I said I need to make this film," he says.

The film is powerful in its cinematography, its attempts at historic accuracy, and its compelling story of systemic prejudice and abuse.

Unfortunately, the movie, which had an early Oscar buzz, may be doomed to obscurity because of resurfacing allegations that Parker raped a young woman during his college years. Although he was acquitted in court in 2001, the news is threatening to overshadow his work. Time will tell if The Birth of a Nation will survive its controversial creator, as well as its controversial message that for the oppressed, sometimes the way to redemption is by the sword.

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голос америки

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No Sympathy for the Ku Klux Klan in The Birth of a Nation

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The Birth of a Nation, about the 1831 uprising of a slave community in the American south, is a fiery account of a rebellion against injustice and oppression. Based on a true story, the film offers an unflinching look at the brutal event.

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Southern sentinel. volume, December 20, 1856, Image 3

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Southern sentinel. volume, December 20, 1856, Image 3

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This short South Carolina newspaper article details one of the most extreme forms of resistance used by slaves: armed rebellion. Slaves were found in possession of muskets and gunpowder, weapons presumably used to kill or hold hostage their owners. It is unclear what the slaves’ ultimate goal was – some rebellions had grandiose plans of taking over entire cities, while others had the more achievable goal of taking revenge on their captors. We do learn, however, that fifteen of the slaves were killed by their masters during or after the insurrection, an incredibly common (and unfortunate) ending to southern slave rebellions. We also learn that other slaves escaped during the insurrection, striking fear into the hearts of the surrounding whites.

Slaves used various forms of resistance against the institution of slavery, and armed rebellion as shown here was the most extreme form. Other forms of milder resistance included spreading rumors about the master’s personal life to undermine his authority, lagging on work or otherwise slowing down production, and starting fires around the plantation to scare the slave owners. All these acts chipped away at the institution of slavery by challenging the idea of ownership and dominance.

It is also interesting to note that the slaves were in possession of muskets and gunpowder. Surely, the owner would not willingly provide the slaves access to weapons and ammunition. Instead, it is likely that the slaves stole from a nearby armory, or received assistance from a local abolitionist. This fact shows the preemptive nature of rebellions; they were often the result of months of careful planning and recruitment.

The effect of increasingly frequent rebellions (“the slave excitement continues….”) in the southern United States was significant on the surrounding whites. This article explicitly notes that “whites in all directions are arming themselves,” presumably to defend against the escaped slaves. Whites often held the belief that the slave insurrections were evidence that emancipation would lead to a violent revenge movement against whites by the formerly enslaved. Others held the contrary belief that the only way to stop slave violence was to give slaves their freedom.
The article does not mention what happened to the numerous escapees that could not be found by their owners or slave hunters. It is entirely possible that they had allies from other plantations or other runaways who established maroon communities. Maroon communities were woodland dwellings that were not easily found. escaped slaves would live in the woods or swampy areas to hide indefinitely. Maroons consisted mostly of men because the journey from white owned property into the woods and further to the actual community was treacherous.
These settlements were to remain hidden and sustain escapees for long periods of time. They would feed themselves by stealing pigs or other livestock from nearby farms at night. It is feasible that marronage was the path taken by escaped slaves who were not captured or killed. Those who took their freedom spent the rest of their lives on the run from their former owners, law enforcement, and paid slave hunters.