He Shall Go Out Free Book

In 1822, a plot was uncovered in which the African Americans, both slave and free, would rise up and kill their masters and.... That was as much as the white citizens of Charleston, South Carolina, needed to hear to begin arrests. What they didn't know at that time, nor care about eventually, was that the plan after that was not to encourage the rest of the slave population in South Carolina or the South in general to rise and do the same, but for the members of the rebellion to capture ships in the harbor and flee to Haiti, a newly liberated black nation.

Denmark Vesey, a freeman who had been originally purchased as a slave in Haiti (which was then still St. Domingue under French rule), was the leader of this group. Under the tutelage of his owner, Denmark learned to read, write, and indeed conduct much of his master's business as a chandler in Charleston. When he won a lottery (yes, really! It can happen!) he bought his freedom, failed to buy that of his family (owned by another master) and put his money into starting a carpentry shop.

All the while, he despised the subservience of all of Charleston's African Americans, slave or free. He exhorted slaves he saw bowing to whites or stepping off sidewalks to refuse to do so and to have some pride in themselves. He was an abolitionist and read any publications that could be smuggled in. And he believed that the Old Testament, especially the story of Exodus, had more to teach the black population of Charleston than did the New. So he began a rebellion.

He was an excellent organizer and planned it out well. It was to occur on Sunday, July 14 (the timing was intentional. He knew very well that was Bastille Day). He formed small groups like guerilla bands, where followers only knew their immediate leaders and never more than that. He had trusted lieutenants that combed the farmlands of the area as well as the city and brought plantation slaves in as well. Never was it mentioned that this was planned as a general slave uprising: the intent was always to go to Haiti.

Unfortunately, as almost always seems to happen, things feel apart. But that it could have been successful, most historians today agree. Vesey's planning was meticulous, his leadership strong.

This is an interesting point of history that I hadn't known about. There isn't much documentation on Vesey; he didn't leave diaries or written plans for the uprising. But from what documentation there is, he was a formidable foe for the whites.

It's fascinating reading, especially as it gives the South Carolinian response to the discovery. New laws were enacted to "tighten the noose" around slaves' necks. Bondsmen were less likely to be able to hire out their free time or live away from their masters during a hired job. All slaves must be in their masters' houses by nightfall. Fines and taxes were added to the burden of finding employment for freemen in an attempt to drive them out of the state. African American churches were closed down and religion in general outlawed for African Americans.

For another view on black history, by all means read this book. We can never get enough information on the other side of the "peculiar institution."