The Stono Rebellion: Crash Course Black American History #6

Summary

In this episode of Crash Course Black American History, Clint Smith explores the Stono Rebellion, a significant uprising in 1739 led by enslaved African Jemmy in South Carolina. The rebellion, which aimed to reach Spanish-controlled Florida for freedom, resulted in brutal retaliation and new oppressive laws. The episode underscores the courage of those who resisted slavery and the enduring impact of their struggle on American history.

Takeaways

• 😀 Enslaved people resisted their condition through small acts like slowing work pace and larger acts like uprisings.
• 🏭 Large plantations in South Carolina relied heavily on enslaved labor, leading to a black majority in the colony.
• 🔍 The Stono Rebellion in 1739 was a significant uprising led by Jemmy, an enslaved man, and aimed to reach freedom in St. Augustine, Florida.
• 👥 The rebellion started with 20 enslaved people and grew to nearly 100, marching with banners reading 'Liberty'.
• 🔫 The rebels acquired weapons by raiding a warehouse, highlighting their organized and strategic approach.
• 📜 The South Carolina government responded to the rebellion by enacting stricter Slave Codes, including a ban on enslaved people learning to read and write.
• 🌍 The Spanish threat in Florida and their offer of freedom to enslaved people who reached St. Augustine influenced the rebellion.
• 📖 Literacy among enslaved people was seen as a threat by planters, fearing it could aid in escape plans and challenge their control.
• 🏛️ 'Schools' were established to indoctrinate enslaved people with pro-slavery interpretations of Christianity.
• 📉 Post-rebellion, South Carolina attempted to shift demographics by reducing slave importations and encouraging European immigration.
• 🔄 The Stono Rebellion is significant as it symbolizes the continuous resistance against slavery throughout history.

Q & A

What were some of the small and personal ways enslaved people resisted their condition?

Enslaved people resisted their condition by slowing down the pace of work, pretending to be sick, and purposely misplacing their tools, which were actions aimed at disrupting the efficiency of the system and regaining some sense of agency.

What is the significance of the Stono Rebellion in the history of Black American resistance?

The Stono Rebellion is significant because it was one of the largest and bloodiest uprisings in the United States' history, and it symbolizes the continuous resistance of enslaved Black people against their condition.

Why did the population of black people in South Carolina outnumber white people by 1740?

The population of black people in South Carolina outnumbered white people due to the high demand for enslaved labor for cash crop production, leading to a vast expansion of slavery and a black majority in the colony.

What was the Security Act of 1739 in South Carolina, and how did it relate to the Stono Rebellion?

The Security Act of 1739 required all white men to carry firearms to church each Sunday in response to the growing number of enslaved Black people in the colony. This act was passed before the Stono Rebellion, highlighting the white planters' fear of potential violent resistance.

How did the Spanish in Florida influence the racial dynamics in the English colony?

The Spanish in Florida issued a proclamation offering freedom to any Black person who could reach St. Augustine, Florida, under certain conditions, which further disrupted the racial dynamics and contributed to the tensions leading up to the Stono Rebellion.

Who led the Stono Rebellion and what was their strategy?

The Stono Rebellion was led by an enslaved man named Jemmy. The strategy involved choosing a Sunday to revolt when planters were at church, raiding a warehouse for guns and ammunition, and marching south with the goal of reaching St. Augustine for freedom.

What was the outcome of the Stono Rebellion for the rebels?

The outcome of the Stono Rebellion was tragic for the rebels; many were killed, some escaped initially but were later captured and executed, and others were sold and shipped off to the Caribbean.

How did the South Carolina government respond to the Stono Rebellion in terms of legislation?

In response to the Stono Rebellion, South Carolina's House of Assembly passed 'An Act for the Better Ordering and Governing of Negroes and Other Slaves in This Province,' which included new statutes and limitations, such as making it illegal for enslaved people to learn to read and write.

Why did white enslavers enforce illiteracy among the enslaved population?

White enslavers enforced illiteracy to prevent enslaved people from recognizing written clues and directions that could help them escape, from forging freedom papers, and from forming their own interpretations of Biblical text that contradicted the enslavers' justifications for slavery.

What were the demographic changes that South Carolina authorities attempted after the Stono Rebellion?

After the Stono Rebellion, South Carolina authorities attempted to shift the demographics of the state by cutting slave importations by nearly 90% during the 1740s and encouraging immigration from Europe to increase the white population in the colony.

How did the Stono Rebellion reflect the broader theme of resistance in the history of slavery?

The Stono Rebellion reflects the broader theme of resistance in the history of slavery by demonstrating the courage and determination of enslaved people to fight for their freedom, an act of resistance that echoes throughout history.

Outlines

00:00

🔥 The Stono Rebellion: An Act of Defiance

The paragraph introduces the topic of resistance among enslaved people, highlighting both subtle acts of resistance and larger, more dramatic forms like slave uprisings. It emphasizes that the success of such rebellions is subjective and often overlooks their significance. The focus then shifts to the Stono Rebellion, a notable event in South Carolina's history, where the enslaved population outnumbered the white population. The paragraph discusses the economic reliance on slavery, the demographic shift leading to a black majority, and the white planters' fears of potential rebellions. It also mentions the Spanish threat and their offer of freedom to enslaved people who could reach Florida, which contributed to the tensions leading up to the Stono Rebellion.

05:02

🌊 The Journey to Freedom: The Stono Rebellion's March

This paragraph delves into the details of the Stono Rebellion, which began on September 9, 1739, led by an enslaved man named Jemmy. The rebels chose a Sunday for their uprising, taking advantage of the planters' absence at church and the relative lack of supervision. The group started with twenty enslaved individuals, grew to nearly a hundred, and marched with banners reading 'Liberty'. Their goal was to reach St. Augustine, Florida, for freedom. However, they were intercepted at the Edisto River by white colonists, resulting in the death of many rebels. The paragraph also discusses the rebels' selective targeting, sparing some white individuals known for their kindness, and the uncertain fate of Jemmy.

10:03

📜 The Aftermath and Legacy of the Stono Rebellion

The final paragraph discusses the repercussions of the Stono Rebellion on South Carolina's policies and the enslaved community. The South Carolina government responded with stricter laws, including the 'Act for the Better Ordering and Governing of Negroes and Other Slaves,' which further restricted the rights of the enslaved. The new laws prohibited literacy among the enslaved, fearing the potential for rebellion that knowledge could inspire. The paragraph also touches on the planters' use of religion to justify slavery and the establishment of schools to indoctrinate enslaved people with pro-slavery Christian teachings. Additionally, it mentions attempts to alter the colony's demographics by reducing slave importations and encouraging European immigration. The paragraph concludes by reflecting on the courage of the rebels and the enduring legacy of resistance among Black Americans.

Keywords

💡Enslaved people

Enslaved people refers to individuals who were held in bondage against their will, often as a result of being captured, bought, or sold. In the context of the video, enslaved people were those of African descent who were forced into labor in the Americas, particularly in South Carolina. The video discusses various forms of resistance by enslaved people, including the Stono Rebellion, as a means to regain their freedom and agency.

💡Resistance

Resistance in this video script denotes the actions taken by enslaved individuals to oppose their conditions of servitude. It could range from small acts like slowing work or feigning illness to larger, organized rebellions. The Stono Rebellion is highlighted as a significant form of resistance, where enslaved people fought for their freedom, illustrating the broader theme of defiance against oppression.

💡Stono Rebellion

The Stono Rebellion, which occurred in 1739, was one of the largest and bloodiest slave uprisings in the United States' history. Led by an enslaved man named Jemmy, it involved a group of enslaved people who rebelled against their captors in South Carolina with the aim of reaching St. Augustine, Florida, where they could gain freedom. The rebellion is a key event in the video, symbolizing the courage and determination of enslaved people in their quest for liberty.

💡South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the southeastern United States that played a significant role in the history of slavery. The video emphasizes how the colony's economy was heavily reliant on cash crops like tobacco and rice, which in turn led to a high demand for enslaved labor. By 1740, the enslaved black population in South Carolina outnumbered whites, creating a demographic that white planters feared could lead to uprisings.

💡Security Act

The Security Act was a law passed in South Carolina in 1739 that required all white men to carry firearms to church on Sundays. This act was a response to the growing enslaved population and the perceived threat of rebellion. It is mentioned in the video as an example of how white planters sought to maintain control and protect themselves from potential uprisings, rather than addressing the ethical issues of slavery.

💡Spanish threat

The 'Spanish threat' refers to the influence and actions of Spanish-controlled Florida in the context of the English colony in South Carolina. The Spanish, aiming to disrupt English colonial life, offered freedom to any enslaved person who could reach St. Augustine, Florida, under certain conditions. This offer is highlighted in the video as a factor that contributed to the conditions leading up to the Stono Rebellion.

💡Liberty

Liberty, in the context of the video, symbolizes the freedom that enslaved people were striving for. The rebels in the Stono Rebellion carried banners that read 'Liberty,' indicating their desire to break free from bondage. This keyword is central to understanding the video's theme of resistance and the pursuit of freedom.

💡Slave Codes

Slave Codes were laws designed to regulate and control the lives of enslaved people. After the Stono Rebellion, South Carolina enacted 'An Act for the Better Ordering and Governing of Negroes and Other Slaves in This Province,' which further restricted the rights and liberties of enslaved individuals. The video uses the term to illustrate how authorities sought to reinforce control and suppress future rebellions.

💡Literacy

Literacy is the ability to read and write, and in the context of the video, it is portrayed as a threat to the enslavers because it could empower enslaved people with knowledge and the means to communicate and plan escapes. After the Stono Rebellion, South Carolina made it illegal for enslaved people to learn to read and write, fearing the potential for literacy to incite further rebellions.

💡Ideological indoctrination

Ideological indoctrination refers to the process of instilling specific beliefs or ideologies into individuals, often to manipulate their thoughts and actions. The video discusses how 'schools' were established in South Carolina to teach enslaved people that slavery was divinely ordained, aiming to discourage resistance. This concept is used to show how authorities used religion and education as tools to maintain control over the enslaved population.

Highlights

Enslaved people resisted their condition in various ways, including small acts of defiance and larger, dramatic forms like slave uprisings and rebellions.

The Stono Rebellion is a notable historical event, illustrating the significance of resistance regardless of its outcome.

Large plantations in South Carolina led to a black majority in the colony, with enslaved labor being essential for cash crop production.

By 1740, the black population in South Carolina was approximately 40,000 compared to 20,000 white people, making them about ⅔ of the colony's population.

The Spanish in Florida issued a proclamation offering freedom to any Black person who could reach St. Augustine, which influenced the Stono Rebellion.

The Stono Rebellion, led by Jemmy, an enslaved man possibly from Angola, erupted on September 9, 1739, taking advantage of a Sunday when planters were at church.

The rebels aimed to reach St. Augustine for freedom, but were overtaken and many were killed or executed after the rebellion.

The rebellion was selective in its targets, sparing some white individuals known for their kindness.

The South Carolina government responded to the rebellion by enacting stricter laws, including prohibiting enslaved people from learning to read and write.

The Stono Rebellion and subsequent laws highlight the planters' fear of literacy among the enslaved, which could aid in escape plans and challenge their control.

Enslavers used Christianity to justify slavery, interpreting the Bible to suggest that Africans were meant to be enslaved and obedience was a path to heaven.

The rebellion led to demographic shifts in South Carolina, with policies to reduce slave importations and encourage European immigration to balance the population.

There were attempts to improve treatment of enslaved people after the rebellion, though these did not fundamentally change the nature of slavery.

The Stono Rebellion is important for its representation of resistance throughout the history of slavery, emphasizing the courage of those who fought for freedom.

Crash Course Black American History is produced with the help of a dedicated team and is supported by patrons on Patreon.

Transcripts

Hi, I’m Clint Smith, and this is  Crash Course Black American History.  

As we’ve mentioned before, enslaved people  resisted their condition in a range of different  

ways. Oftentimes those ways were small and  personal. Slowing down the pace of work,  

pretending to be sick, purposely  misplacing your tools.  

Things that might slow down the efficiency of the  system and give back to the enslaved some small  

sense of agency. There were also times, when that  resistance took on larger, more dramatic forms,  

like with slave uprisings and rebellions. We should note, that notions of what constitutes  

a successful versus an unsuccessful rebellion  are often subjective, unhelpful, gendered,  

and can obfuscate the significance of the fact  that such a rebellion took place at all. Still,  

some of these uprisings have taken on notable  historical significance, and today we’re going to  

talk about one of those: the Stono Rebellion. INTRO  

Large plantations where black people  outnumbered the white people who enslaved them  

were not at all uncommon to slavery in the  Americas. This was especially true in South  

Carolina where the colony was built on  the demands of cash crop production.  

Raising cash crops like tobacco and rice gave  rise to plantations that were designed to grow  

as much of that valuable crop as possible. And  what those plantations needed more than anything,  

was labor. The heavy reliance on slavery  

in the southern colonial economy resulted in a  vast expansion of the practice. In South Carolina,  

the high demand for enslaved labor  led to a black majority in the colony.  

By the year 1740, slavery in the colonies was no  longer characterized only by African captives,  

but had grown to include black people  who were born on American soil.  

The population of black people in South  Carolina had risen to approximately 40,000,  

compared to 20,000 white people, making Black  people about ⅔ of the colony’s population.  

Moreover, ships were still bringing large numbers  of African captives into South Carolina, adding to  

the growing enslaved communities there. As the  demographics of the colony continued to change,  

White planters began to worry  about being so outnumbered,  

and about the potential for violent resistance. But instead of, I don't know, deciding that  

slavery was an unethical and morally unsustainable  enterprise, they just decided to fight /potential  

fire/ with fire. In response to the growing  numbers of enslaved Black people in the colony,  

in August of 1739, South Carolina passed  the Security Act, requiring all white  

men to carry firearms to church each Sunday. Before this act, it wasn’t customary for white men  

in South Carolina to take their weapons to church,  and also on Sundays, black people regularly worked  

unsupervised. But these planters wanted to be  ready at a moment’s notice, anywhere they went,  

to protect themselves from the enslaved people  who they were worried might turn on them.  

(But notably, this act was passed before the  Stono Rebellion took place, it wouldn’t go  

into effect for another few weeks. The Stono  Rebellion took place in that interim period.)  

Also heightening the generalized sense of  white fear in South Carolina was the Spanish  

threat brewing nearby in Spanish-controlled  Florida. Although /they also/ practiced slavery,  

the Spanish were intent on disrupting  colonial life in the English territory.  

So, the Spanish further disrupted the  racial dynamics in the English colony,  

by issuing a proclamation that, with only a few  stipulations (including converting to Catholicism)  

Spain would grant freedom to any Black person  who could make it to St. Augustine, Florida.  

Many captives coming to Charles Town (which is  present-day Charleston) came from areas in West  

Central Africa where the Portuguese had spread  their language and religious beliefs. And many  

of them would have been aware of the 1733 offer. A growing Black population, including some African  

natives not yet fully accustomed to plantation  culture, in combination with the Spanish offer,  

created the perfect storm for the Stono Rebellion  to take place. This insurrection would become the  

largest the colony would ever face, and one of  the bloodiest in the United States' history.  

Let's go to the thought bubble. The Stono Rebellion, which erupted  

on Sunday, September 9, 1739, was  led by an enslaved man named Jemmy.  

Jemmy, and those who fought alongside him, chose  Sunday to revolt because they believed that it  

presented the best conditions to actually pull  this thing off, given that all of the planters  

and their families were at church and the  enslaved were working largely unsupervised.  

We don't know too much about Jemmy. Historical  records suggest that he was from what is now  

Angola. Many enslaved Africans who came to  Carolina from Angola were in fact trained  

soldiers who had fought in the region’s civil  wars, and who had experience with guns. And Jemmy  

may have been able to read Portuguese and Spanish,  which increases the likelihood he would have  

heard of the 1733 Spanish proclamation. Starting with just twenty enslaved people,  

Jemmy and the group acquired guns and ammunition  by raiding a warehouse, and marched up the  

Stono River banks carrying banners that plainly  read "Liberty." As they marched south, others,  

seeing what was happening, dropped their  tools and joined the group. By nightfall,  

the crowd swelled to near one hundred black  people willing to risk it all for their freedom.  

The rebels hoped to make their way to  St. Augustine to gain their freedom,  

but just 10 miles later when they reached  the Edisto River (ED-is-toe), white colonists  

overtook them, killing an estimated 30 rebels. While some initially escaped, many were ultimately  

captured and executed. Others were sold and  shipped off to the Caribbean. As for Jemmy,  

historians aren’t really sure what happened to  him. He is lost to the missing pages of history.  

Thanks, thought bubble. These attacks weren’t haphazard  

and indiscriminate, many of the rebels had  specific ideas of who they wanted to attack  

and who they didn’t. As a result, some  white people were spared along the way.  

A local tavern owner, for example, known to be  relatively kind to his laborers was intentionally  

left alone. One group of laborers even chose  to shield their enslaver from the violence,  

a Quaker man named Thomas Elliot, by hiding  him from the rebels as they approached.  

The Stono rebellion was a moment of  clarity for South Carolina authorities,  

and they wanted to make sure that something  like this would never happen again. But, again,  

it’s telling that they did not come to  the conclusion that maybe /slavery/,  

and the idea of holding large groups of  people in intergenerational chattel bondage  

was actually the real problem. Instead, they blamed the enslaved and they  

blamed the Spanish. The South Carolina government  claimed that "the Negroes would not have made  

this insurrection had they not depended on St.  Augustine for a Place of Reception Afterwards."  

Following the rebellion, South Carolina's  House of Assembly passed a law called  

"An Act for the Better Ordering and Governing  [of] Negroes and Other Slaves in This Province."  

And if this sounds like the Slave Codes we’ve  mentioned previously, you’re right it does.  

The legislation enacted by the South Carolina  House of Assembly became another legal avenue  

to block Africans from obtaining any rights or  liberties. Among the new statutes and limitations  

was a policy that made it illegal for enslaved  people to learn how to read and write.  

Throughout the era of slavery, planters wanted  to prevent enslaved people from learning how to  

read and write for a range of different reasons.  In this case, Jemmy and his compatriots' proud  

display of their Liberty banner, as well as their  knowledge of the Spanish policy, proved that there  

were dangerous consequences for white planters  who allowed their laborers to become literate.  

This idea would remain relevant more than  one hundred years later. In his 1845 memoir,  

Frederick Douglass, the formerly enslaved writer,  orator, and abolitionist, quoted his own enslaver  

on the subject of literacy and enslaved people. “If you teach [him] how to read, there would be no  

keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be  a slave. He would at once become unmanageable,  

and of no value to his master” This was an existential fear for the planters, who  

feared that literacy would allow enslaved people  to recognize words, written clues, and directions  

that could help them develop plans to escape. They even worried that the enslaved might forge  

freedom papers, which were official documents  that free black people needed to prove their  

free status, as they could be stopped and  questioned by suspecting whites at any time.  

White enslavers also enforced illiteracy,  to ensure that enslaved people  

couldn’t form their own interpretations of  Biblical text. Many whites used the idea of  

evangelism and bringing Christianity to enslaved  people as justification for their enslavement.  

Many laborers were required to attend church  services and listen to sermons that interpreted  

scripture to mean that God intended for  Africans to be enslaved to Europeans,  

and that obedience to one's enslaver was  necessary for them to get into heaven.  

So the thinking was: if enslaved people  learned how to read, they might come to  

understand that these preachings that they heard  from their enslavers, were being manipulated  

to serve their own ideological ends. And to put the cherry on top, “schools”  

were established in South Carolina to  indoctrinate enslaved people with this  

ideologically-infused interpretation of  Christianity. These schools taught black  

people to believe that the institution of slavery  was ordained by God and should not be challenged.  

This message was disseminated in hopes of  discouraging any further violent rebellion.  

Authorities in South Carolina also created  new policies that they hoped might shift  

the demographics of the state. According to  historian Peter Wood, after the Stono Rebellion,  

slave importations were cut by nearly 90% during  the 1740s, and policies were put in place to  

encourage immigration from Europe, with the goal  of increasing the white population in the colony.  

There were also some half-hearted attempts  to improve, if you can even call it that,  

the treatment of enslaved people. Planters  could be penalized for especially cruel  

punishment and for imposing excessive work. Legislators hoped that improved conditions  

might reduce the chances of another rebellion.  The phrases “cruel punishment” and “excessive  

work” should be understood in context, because  treating enslaved people with /less cruelty/  

but continuing to keep them enslaved,  isn’t /really/ an act of benevolence.  

Therefore, we should be careful to note that these  stipulations did not make slavery “more humane” in  

South Carolina. Slavery is still slavery. The record of the Stono Rebellion  

highlights the courage and bravery of enslaved  Black people who were willing to go to extreme  

lengths to gain their freedom. And I guess when  you put it that way, it's not so different from  

the stories we’ve long been told about  Americans who were willing to sacrifice  

their lives for the prospect of liberty. Those who led and participated in the Stono  

rebellion were not be the first to rebel  violently against slavery in the colonies,  

and would certainly not be the last. And remember, trying to determine whether a  

rebellion was successful or not kind of misses  the point. The Stono Rebellion isn’t important  

because of its relative success or failure. It is  important because it is emblematic of a resistance  

that will echo throughout the history of slavery. I hope that you’ll keep this in mind as we  

continue to celebrate the  myriad forms of resistance  

Black Americans have exhibited over time.  Thanks for watching, I’ll see you next time.  

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