On the eve of the Civil War, white supremacists such as Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens stressed that slavery would be the cornerstone of their new government, which would be based “upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition.” It was an attitude that would be continually reinforced-in textbooks that have glossed over the nation’s systemic violence and racism and in countless damaging cultural expressions of Black people in entertainment, advertising and more. American culture has long been deeply threaded with images of Black inferiority and even nostalgia for the social control that slavery provided. Such misconceptions about slavery don’t come out of the blue. Weren’t Some Slaves Happy to Be Taken Care Of? Those unlucky enough to be caught and returned knew what awaited them: Most runaways became horrific cautionary tales for their fellow slaves, with dramatic public shows of torture, dismemberment, burning and murder.Įven when they didn’t run, wrote historian Howard Zinn, “they engaged in sabotage, slowdowns and subtle forms of resistance which asserted, if only to themselves and their brothers and sisters, their dignity as human beings.” That dignity, resilience and courage should never be belittled or misinterpreted as an exercise of free will. The idea of “chosen” bondage also ignores those thousands of slaves who opted for a terrifyingly risky escape north via the sprawling, sophisticated network called the Underground Railroad. After an informant tipped off authorities, the plot was squelched at the last minute scores were convicted, and more than 30 organizers executed. The literate freedman corralled thousands of enslaved people in and around Charleston, South Carolina into plans for an ambitious rebellion that would kill all white people, burn the city and free those in bondage. Those acts of resistance made the lucrative trade in humans a riskier enterprise.īeyond famed slave revolts such as that of Nat Turner were less well-known ones such as those of the successful Creole slave ship rebellion and Denmark Vesey's planned insurrection. Slavery scholars have documented many of the mutinies and rebellions-if not the countless escapes and suicides, starting with African captives who jumped into the sea rather than lose their liberty. And once in the New World, enslaved Africans found countless ways to resist. The fact is, they did resist-starting with the slave ship journeys across the Atlantic. The history is clear on this point: In no way did the enslaved, brought to this country in chains, choose this lot. In 1619, the Dutch introduced the first captured Africans to America, planting the seeds of a slavery system that evolved into a nightmare of abuse and cruelty that would ultimately divide the nation. And they disregard the long-tail legacy of slavery, where oppressive laws, excessive incarceration and violent acts of terrorism were all designed to keep people of color “in their place.” They ignore countless historic examples of resistance, rebellion and escape. They overlook the fact that slavery, which affected millions of Black people in America, was enforced by a system of sustained brutality, including acts-and constant threats-of torture, rape and murder. Such controversies underscore a profound lack of understanding of slavery, the institution that, more than any other in the formation of the American republic, undergirded its very economic, social and political fabric.
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