Defence Made by the African American Slaves

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The issue of slavery has long conflicted with the history of the United States of America, which is also called the world’s largest democratic state. With the independence of the country, there was felt a strong need for a cheap workforce to boost its economy. For that matter, Africans were traded to America in 1619 as “indentured servants”¹. However more economic and land development resulted in the arrival of more Africans in the New World. By 1750, 200,000 African slaves were working in America which grew to 700,000 in 1800. In many states such as South Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia, the slave population outnumbered the white population (Sylvester, 1998).

African American slaves were subject to various forms of brutality. Their social, political, religious, and cultural activities were controlled by their white masters. They were not allowed to educate themselves or participate in any political activity. Their masters controlled their sexual reproduction which was based on the concept of breeding children for the slave market. Female slaves were often raped and their families disintegrated as they were sold to other parts of the country² (Ender, 2001). There was no freedom of religion and one of the

theologians justified the brutality on Africans by stating that “Negroes were enslaved because they had sinned against God”³. Special slave codes were set up and every slave was expected to follow the code of conduct expected from him (Sylvester, 1998).

This brutal behavior by the white masters often provoked resistance among the black population. In this paper, I aim to discuss the different forms of nonviolent resistance adopted by African Americans as a protest against slavery. The methods, violent and nonviolent, were often successful and have been discussed below.

The first and most common form of nonviolent resistance came in the form of running away from the masters towards free states. It is roughly estimated by historians that approximately 50,000 blacks ran away every year from1830 from 1860. Since freedom was always in the mind of the African Americans they always looked for an opportunity to escape. This required months of planning, perfect timing, and an escape route. Although the hunted slaves were punished severely still the rebellious ones made daring attempts for the sake of freedom. Those who ran away in the forests and wilderness of the undeveloped parts of the country were termed as “marooned” slaves. They fed themselves on food available in the forests (Sylvester, 1998).

The slaves escaped for a variety of reasons. Some ran away to gain independence from the brutality of their white masters. Some escaped to reunite themselves with their families. Some were habitual runners who were always on the run since someone had abused them or insulted their dignity. Underground railroad tunnels between different states were the most common routes for escaping⁴ (Ender, 2001).

The second method of nonviolent resistance was in the form of stopping the work. This method was often adopted either individually or collectively. This form of resistance included strategies that slowed the pace of work, such as pretending to be sick or calling strikes (Ender, 2001). Slaves often divided the work in such a way that would put a fewer burden on weak and old slaves. They also damaged the property⁵, livestock, work tools, and adopted strategies to slow down the pace of work (Ronald, n.d.).

The last form of nonviolent resistance included education. This method involved influential African Americans who used their knowledge to educate people through lectures, speeches, and articles to protest the brutality and the institution of slavery itself. Prominent Africans in this category include Fredrick Douglass and Sojourner Truth ⁶(Ender, 2001).

Some notable revolts of slave resistance which included violent methods are mentioned below:

Gabriel Prosser was an African American slave. He had the mission of setting himself and 1000 other slaves free from the white brutalities. He had planned to overtake the town of Richmond, Virginia, and kill its white residents. His plan was abandoned due to bad weather. He was later arrested along with 36 other slaves as his plan was disclosed by an informer⁷.

Denmark Vesey was a free man in 1800. However, he was strongly against the institution of slavery. He belonged to Charlestown, South Carolina. He had chalked out a plan to kill the white masters and freeing all in slavery. Once again the plan was revealed by an informer due to which Vesey and few others were prosecuted and then hanged⁸.

Nat Turner, another African American, believed himself to be the “chosen one” to free himself and his fellows. He and his fellows began by killing his plantation master along with his family in Virginia. The rebellious slaves continued their violence and killed more than 60 white masters and their families. The slaves were later arrested and were executed⁹.

To conclude African American slave’s resistance and defense finally led them to the abolition of the institution of slavery. The freedom paved way for their success and helped them produce prominent figures like Abraham Lincoln and Barak Obama. Today America can proudly call itself one of the largest democratic states of the world.

References

Ender, Morten G. 2001. “Families”, Creating and Defining African-American Community: Family, Church, Politics and Culture. Department of Defense, Florida. Pg. 1-14.

Ronald, L.F. Davis. n.d.. “Slavery in America: Historical Overview”, California State University, Northridge. Web.

Sylvester, Melvin. 1998. “Introduction”, The African American: A Journey from Slavery to Freedom”. Web.

Footnotes

The indentured slave is a term also used for poor white people (Sylvester, Melvin. 1998. “Introduction”, The African American: A Journey from Slavery to Freedom”. Web.
Slave trading strengthened the families together as uncles and aunts took places of the relatives sold in the Market (Ender, Morten. G. 2001. “Families”, Creating and Defining African-American Community: Family, Church, Politics, and Culture”. Department of Defense, Florida. Pg.4..
Quote by Cotton Mather, a theologian from Boston. (Sylvester, Melvin. 1998. “Introduction”, The African American: A Journey from Slavery to Freedom”. Web.
Harriet Tubman, an African American woman helped escape hundreds of slaves to freedom (Ender, Morten. G. (2001). “Families”, Creating and Defining African-American Community: Family, Church, Politics, and Culture”. Department of Defense, Florida. Pg. 14.
Property damage often included setting up farms on fire (Ronald, L.F. Davis. n.d… “Slavery in America: Historical Overview”, California State University, Northridge. Web.
Other names include Booker T Washington, DuBois, Marcus Mosaiah Garvey, Rossa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. (Ender, Morten.G. (2001). “Families”, Creating and Defining African-American Community: Family, Church, Politics and Culture”. Department of Defense, Florida. Pg. 11-14.
1800. (Sylvester, Melvin. 1998. “Introduction”, The African American: A Journey from Slavery to Freedom. Web.
Vesey was caught in 1882. (Sylvester, Melvin. 1998. “Introduction”, The African American: A Journey from Slavery to Freedom. Web.
Approximately 100 slaves were arrested. Some innocent slaves were also killed. Nat Turner was arrested three months after the arrest of his partners. (Sylvester, Melvin. 1998. “Introduction”, The African American: A Journey from Slavery to Freedom. Web.

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Defence Made by the African American Slaves

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