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Day-To-Day Resistance To Nat Turner's Rebellion

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Though slavery in America lasted over 100 years, that does not mean slaves did not resist and rebel. There were countless incidents, some aggressive, some docile. They did not just sing (which was commonly a way of passing information) and take the work and abuse. The most common form of slave resistance was what is known as “day-to-day” resistance, or small acts of rebellion. This form of resistance included sabotage, such as breaking tools. Other methods of day-to-day resistance were feigning illness, playing dumb or slowing down work. Both men and women faked being ill to gain relief from their harsh working conditions. Women may have been able to feign illness more easily—they were expected to provide their owners with …show more content…

A lot of resistance was in fact aggressive. One example is Nat Turner’s rebellion, 1831. On August 22, 1831, Turner and about 70 armed slaves and free blacks set off to slaughter the white neighbors who enslaved them. In the early hours of the morning, they bludgeoned Turner’s master and his master’s wife and children with axes. By the end of the next day, the rebels had attacked about 15 homes and killed between 55 and 60 whites as they moved toward the religiously named county seat of Jerusalem, Va. Other slaves who had planned to join the rebellion suddenly turned against it after white militia began to attack Turner’s men, concluding that he was bound to fail. Most of the rebels were captured quickly, but Turner escaped authorities for more than a month.On Sunday, Oct. 30, a local white man stumbled upon Turner’s hideout and seized him. A Virginia court tried him on Nov. 5 and sentenced him to hang six days later. Another example is Stono ROn Sunday, Sept. 9, 1739, a day free of labor, about 20 slaves under the leadership of a man named Jemmy, gathered at the Stono River and raided a warehouse-like storeebellion ,1739. The Stono Rebellion was the largest slave revolt ever staged in the 13 colonies. On Sunday, Sept. 9, 1739, a day free of labor, about 20 slaves under the leadership of a man named Jemmy, gathered at the Stono River and raided a warehouse-like store, Hutchenson’s, executing the white owners and

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