American Uprising

by Rasmussen, Daniel

• ISBN13: 9780061995224
• ISBN10: 0061995223
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-01-17
• Publisher: Perennial

Summary

In January 1811, five hundred slaves, dressed in military uniforms and armed with guns, cane knives, and axes, rose up from the plantations around New Orleans and set out to conquer the city. The march of this ethnically diverse, politically astute, and highly organized self-made army represented the largest act of armed resistance against slavery in the history of the United States. American Uprising is the riveting and long-neglected story of this elaborate plot, the dramatic march on the city, and its violent and shocking conclusion-as well as the French planters' attempt to write the event out of history, thereby preventing the spread of the slaves' revolutionary philosophy.

Author Biography

Daniel Rasuussen graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard University in 2009, winning the Kathryn Ann Huggins Prize, the Perry Miller Prize, and the Thomas Temple Hoopes Prize, Harvard's top undergraduate academic honor. He lives in Boston.

Table of Contents

Prologue	p. 1
Carnival in New Orleans	p. 9
Paths to Slavery	p. 19
A Revolutionary Forge	p. 39
Empire's Emissary	p. 51
Conquering the Frontier	p. 61
Masks and Motives	p. 71
The Rebels' Pact	p. 83
Revolt	p. 97
A City in Chaos	p. 115
A Second Wind	p. 123
The Battle	p. 135
Heads on Poles	p. 147
Friends of Necessity	p. 167
Statehood and the Young American Nation	p. 177
The Slaves Win Their Freedom	p. 187
The Cover-Up	p. 199
Epilogue	p. 211
Acknowledgments	p. 219
Notes	p. 223
Bibliography	p. 251
Index	p. 265
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