Slave Revolt, Slave Debate: A Comparison

Eventful Archaeology

“…Many scholars recognize instead that Turner's revolt significantly transformed-rather than merely reinforced-these racial and slaveholding structures. The program passed by Virginia's state legislature in 1831-32 made it illegal to teach slaves to read and write; it curtailed slaves' freedom of movement and denied both slaves and free blacks the right to conduct religious exercises; it curtailed the rights of freedmen, with the ultimate aim of forcing all free blacks to leave the state: it banned the dissemination of abolitionist literature and censored antislavery activities and debates (Cromwell 1920;Roper and Brockington 1984;Tang 1997). Measures similar to these passed rapidly in other Southern states, rearticulating slaveholding and racial structures disjointed in the aftermath of the insurrection.…”