American Uprising (22 page)

173 three additional gunboats: Rodriguez, “Always ‘En Garde’,” in Labbé,
Louisiana: The Purchase and Its Aftermath
,
403.

174 the mayor sent a message . . . “are responsible”: Official Proceedings, New Orleans City Council, in Thrasher,
On to New Orleans!
, 275.

174 “Act . . . Territory”:
L’Ami des Lois
, New Orleans, February 7, 1811.

175 “[The average resident] will not embody . . . unites society”:
Louisiana Gazette
(New Orleans)
,
April 1, 1811.

175 planters filed claims for about a third of the slaves: Conrad,
The German Coast
, 107–10.

175 “It is a fact of notoriety . . . easily anticipated”: W. Claiborne, “Speech. Delivered by Governor Claiborne to both Houses of the Legislative Body of the Territory of Orleans,” January 29, 1811, in W. C. C. Claiborne,
Official Letter Books
, 123.

14. Statehood and the Young American Nation

177 “Strange as it may seem . . . almost commingled”: Northup/Eakin and Logsdon,
Twelve Years a Slave
, 23.

177 “discouraging foreign intrigues” . . . “internal discontent”: E. S. Brown,
Constitutional History of the Louisiana Purchase
, 190.

178 “The public . . .
white fellow citizens
”: Thompson, “National Newspaper and Legislative Reactions,” 17.

179 The combined population . . . in the United States: Rothman,
Slave Country
, 221.

179 The slave population . . . American Revolution and 1820: Rothman,
Slave Country
, ix–x.

180 “perfidious Britons . . . in its defense”: Hatfield,
William Claiborne
, 290.

181 “the officer Commanding the English Fleet . . . with black troops”: W. C. C. Claiborne,
Official Letter Books
, volume 6, 282.

181 “a powerful savage and negro army . . . devoted country”: Rodriguez, “Always ‘En Garde’,” in Labbé,
Louisiana: The Purchase and Its Aftermath
, 410.

181 “like blades of grass . . . before the whirlwind”: Hatfield,
William Claiborne
, 297.

182 a British fort at Prospect Bluff: Owsley and Smith,
Filibusters and Expansionists
, 104–5.

182 300 black men, women, and children: Meltzer,
Hunted Like a Wolf
, 50.

182 “I have little doubt . . . on which it stands”: Giddings,
The Exiles of Florida
, 36–37.

183 In July of 1815 . . . “stolen negroes”: Giddings,
The Exiles of Florida
, 36–37, 42–43.

183 The Spanish controlled . . . invaded Pensacola: Owsley and Smith,
Filibusters and Expansionists
, 159–60.

183 “an imaginary line in the woods”: Israel,
State of the Union Messages
, I: 156–65.

185 “The invasion . . . American soil”: Richardson,
A Compilation of the Messages and Papers
, 6:2290–92.

15. The Slaves Win their Freedom

188 By February . . . steam gunboats: Winters,
The Civil War in Louisiana
, 85.

188 Two well-armed . . . Louisiana vessels: Winters,
The Civil War in Louisiana
, 89.

189 But Farragut . . . in the night: Winters,
The Civil War in Louisiana
, 85–86.

189 On April 18 . . . Fort Jackson’s guns: Winters,
The Civil War in Louisiana
, 88.

190 “People were amazed . . . speechless astonishment”: Winters,
The Civil War in Louisiana
, 96.

190 “To the negroes . . . hour of triumph”: Roland,
Louisiana Sugar Plantations During the Civil War
, 48–49.

190 “like thrusting a walking stick into an ant-hill”: Roland,
Louisiana Sugar Plantations During the Civil War
, 92–93.

191 “Revolt & Insurrection . . . Lincoln and Freedom”: Rodrigue,
Reconstruction in the Cane Fields
, 36.

191 A planter just outside . . . the plantation economy: Ripley,
Slaves and Freedmen in Civil War Louisiana
, 17.

191 In August of 1862 . . . were captured: Roland,
Louisiana Sugar Plantations During the Civil War
, 97.

191 “I shall treat . . . I fancy”: Ripley,
Slaves and Freedmen in Civil War Louisiana
, 33.

192 “Any attempt . . . in the end”: McPherson,
The Negro’s Civil War
, 17–18.

193 “in time of actual armed rebellion . . .City of New Orleans”: Richardson,
A Compilation of the Messages and Papers
, 5:3359.

193 At Mooreland plantation . . . “Glory to Abe Lincoln”: Roland,
Louisiana Sugar Plantations During the Civil War
, 98–100.

193 “the slave population . . . of our families”: Ripley,
Slaves and Freedmen in Civil War Louisiana
, 97.

194 “If we hadn’t . . . naturally manhood”: McPherson,
The Negro’s Civil War
, 213.

194 “One morning the bell . . . away to the woods”: Berlin et al.,
Free at Last
, 51–52.

195 the first black regiments . . . by Union troops: Redkey,
A Grand Army of Black Men
, 3–5.

195 Initially . . . cowardice: McPherson,
The Negro’s Civil War
, 163–64.

195 “There is not one man . . . field of battle”: McPherson,
The Negro’s Civil War
, 163.

195 Over the next two years . . . major battles: McPherson,
The Negro’s Civil War
, 237.

196 “We can not spare . . . Union goes with it”: McPherson,
The Negro’s Civil War
, 235.

196 “We are now making up . . . root neor branch”: Berlin et al.,
Free at Last
, 482.

197 “visited plantations” . . . “called their wives”: Berlin et al.,
Free at Last
, 112.

197 “the Federal Government . . . the existing states”: McPherson,
The Negro’s Civil War
, 3–4.

198 “were so far inferior . . . reduced to slavery”: Stauffer,
Giants
, 157.

16. The Cover-Up

200 “It has been documented . . . provided for”: Brochure on Destrehan Plantation Web site.

201 “Hidden History Tours . . . But not anymore!”: Leon Waters, “Tours.”

202 By 1996 . . . revolutionary struggle: Thrasher,
On to New Orleans!
, 48.

203 “overthrow their oppressors . . . ‘white’ rulers”: Thrasher,
On to New Orleans!
, 48.

203 “On to New Orleans!” . . . “Freedom or death!”: Thrasher,
On to New Orleans!
, 51.

203 “patently in contradiction with the truth”: Thrasher,
On to New Orleans
, 65.

203 “This revolt stimulated . . . never abate”: Thrasher,
On to New Orleans!
, 66.

203 “sham . . . capitalist moneybags”: Thrasher,
On to New Orleans!
, 1.

205 “This incident . . . subjugated”: Gayarré,
History of Louisiana
, 4:267.

206 “high circular gallery . . . kept them at bay”: Gayarré,
History of Louisiana
, 4:267–68.

206 In 1918 . . . to the uprising: U. B. Phillips,
American Negro Slavery
, 474.

206 “were largely deprived . . . so strongly gives”: U. B. Phillips,
American Negro Slavery
, 454.

207 “It is a land . . . a white man’s country”: U. B. Phillips, “The Central Theme of Southern History.”

207 “growling” . . . “They must know who were their masters”: Kendall, “Shadow over the City,” 144–47.

207 through the work of Communist activists: Gilmore,
Defying Dixie
, 6.

208 “saw [Communism] . . . race relations”:
New York Times
, March 20, 2003.

208 With Hitler gaining power . . . dangerous ideologies: Gilmore,
Defying Dixie
, 197–99.

209 “Ulrich B. Phillips . . .‘by racial quality submissive’ ”: Aptheker,
American Negro Slave Revolts
, 13.

209 Aptheker devoted a short paragraph to the 1811 uprising: Aptheker,
American Negro Slave Revolts
, 98.

Epilogue

211 “You really think. . . half-naked?”: Tyson,
Radio Free Dixie
, 84.

212 “a nigger . . . a funeral”: Tyson,
Radio Free Dixie
, 86.

212 “We got our own M-1’s . . . we had everything”: Tyson,
Radio Free Dixie
, 88.

213 “When we started firing . . . come back”: Tyson,
Radio Free Dixie
, 88–89.

214 “We get no justice . . .resort to that method”: Tyson,
Radio Free Dixie
, 149.

215 “No sincere leader . . . by example”: Tyson,
Radio Free Dixie
, 246.

216 “Now that the United States . . . for this undertaking”: Tyson,
Radio Free Dixie
, 241.

216 white Southerners lynched close to 4,000 African Americans: University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law faculty project Web site.

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