Resistance to Slavery

The Amistad Revolt(1839)

Slave trade abolished in 1808

Illegal slave trade develops

Slaves rebel on slave ship La Amistad

Killed most of the crew

Led by Joseph Cinque

The Amistad Revolt(1839) Cont.

US captures Cinque and other Africans

Supreme court case

John Quincy Adams-Lawyer-leading advocate

Since they were illegally “imported,” the Amistad Africans had a right to rebel for their freedom

Nat Turner Rebellion (1831)

Nat Turner's owner allowed him to learn to read, write, and practice religion

He became a religious leader for slaves

Believed he saw signs and heard voices

Saw an eclipse-took it as a sign to rebel

Sent home to Africa

Nat Turner Rebellion(1831) Cont.

Turner and 4 other slaves Okilled their owner and his family

obtain guns and horses

75 other slaves join

Up to 55 white people killed

Turner captured 6 weeks later

He and 16 followers hanged

southerners afraid of slave revolts

Harsher slave laws passed

Greater divide between pro-slavery & ant-slavery in the US

John Brown's Raid(1859)

Brown and his followers planned a slave insurrection to begin in western Virginia

Seized federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, but was quickly captured, tried, and hanged.

John Brown's Impact

Northern abolitionists viewed him as a martyr, taking action against the evil of slavery

Southerners generally viewed Brown as a madman, symbolizing the fanatical hatred of the North

Moderates (Lincoln) condemned Brown's action, while admiring his commitment to countering slavery