FOOTNOTES:
[28] The Minutes, in possession of the author.
CHAPTER VII.
NEGRO INSURRECTIONS.
The Negro not so Docile as supposed.—The Reason why he was kept in Bondage.—Negroes possessed Courage but lacked Leaders.—Insurrection of Slaves.—Gen. Gabriel as a Leader.—Negro Insurrection planned in South Carolina.—Evils Of Slavery revealed.—The "Nat. Turner" Insurrection in South Hampton County, Virginia.—The Whites arm themselves to repel the Insurrectionists.—Capture and Trial of "Nat. Turner."—His Execution.—Effect of the Insurrection upon Slaves and Slave-holders.
THE supposed docility of the American Negro was counted among the reasons why it was thought he could never gain his freedom on this continent. But this was a misinterpretation of his real character. Besides, it was next to impossible to learn the history of the Negro during the years of his enslavement at the South. The question was often asked: Why don't the Negroes rise at the South and exterminate their enslavers? Negatively, not because they lacked the courage, but because they lacked leaders [as has been stated already, they sought the North and their freedom through the Underground R. R.] to organize them. But notwithstanding this great disadvantage the Negroes did rise on several different occasions, and did effective work.
"Three times, at intervals of thirty years, has a wave of unutterable terror swept across the Old Dominion, bringing thoughts of agony to every Virginian master, and of vague hope to every Virginian slave. Each time has one man's name become a spell of dismay and a symbol of deliverance. Each time has that name eclipsed its predecessor, while recalling it for a moment to fresher memory; John Brown revived the story of Nat. Turner, as in his day Nat. Turner recalled the vaster schemes of Gabriel."[29]
Mention has been made of the insurrection of slaves in South Carolina in the last century. Upon the very threshold of the nineteenth century, "General Gabriel" made the master-class of Virginia quail with mortal dread. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence; and his plans were worthy of greater success. The following newspaper paragraph reveals the condition of the minds of Virginians respecting the Negroes: