S04E11: Denmark Vesey and Slave Rebellion

In 1822 a former slave took the name of Denmark Vesey and

sent the antebellum south into a tailspin. Born in the Caribbean, Vesey

purchased his own freedom for $600 and quickly became one of the most visible

figures of African-American liberation in the city of Charleston. Though he was

himself free, Vesey worked closely with enslaved peoples and organized what

would have been the largest slave uprising in American history. Betrayed by his

own people and brutally executed, Vesey’s impact aroused the political emotions

of the South to pass aggressive new laws that moved the country one step closer

to civil war. On this episode we discuss Denmark Vesey.