Book contents
- All for Liberty
- All for Liberty
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Maps
- Introduction
- 1 Slave Insurrections in the Age of Revolutions
- 2 The Slave Workhouse
- 3 Urban Slavery
- 4 The Legal Implications of Slave Resistance
- 5 Rebellion at the Workhouse
- 6 Investigating the Rebellion
- 7 The Crisis of Fear in South Carolina
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
6 - Investigating the Rebellion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 December 2021
- All for Liberty
- All for Liberty
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Maps
- Introduction
- 1 Slave Insurrections in the Age of Revolutions
- 2 The Slave Workhouse
- 3 Urban Slavery
- 4 The Legal Implications of Slave Resistance
- 5 Rebellion at the Workhouse
- 6 Investigating the Rebellion
- 7 The Crisis of Fear in South Carolina
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
In the months following the workhouse revolt, leading white Charlestonians held two investigations, one inquiring about the management of the workhouse itself and the other into churches and the religious instruction of slaves. The city council concluded the workhouse had not been mismanaged but that some changes were needed, including the construction of a new workhouse. The day after the workhouse revolt, a mob of whites converged on Calvary Episcopal Church, fearing that church had played a role in spreading insurrectionary sentiment among the slave population. Although Nicholas had been a Catholic, a Committee of Fifty comprising elites investigated Calvary Episcopal Church. White Charlestonians feared black churches without proper supervision might lead to a slave insurrection. Ultimately, the Committee of Fifty concluded that slaves should continue attending churches, but they must do so under strict supervision. In their view, neither slave religion nor mismanagement of the workhouse had inspired the revolt – Nicholas had.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- All for LibertyThe Charleston Workhouse Slave Rebellion of 1849, pp. 145 - 166Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021