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Daniel Rasmussen

American Uprising: The Untold Story of America's Largest Slave Revolt Hardcover – Deckle Edge, January 4, 2011

by Daniel Rasmussen (Author)

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“Breathtaking. [Rasmussen’s] scholarly detective work reveals a fascinating narrative of slavery and resistance, but it also tells us something about history itself—about how fiction can become fact, and how ‘history’ is sometimes nothing more than erasure.” —Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

“Deeply researched, vividly written, and highly original.” —Eric Foner

Historian Daniel Rasmussen reveals the long-forgotten history of America’s largest slave uprising, the New Orleans slave revolt of 1811. In an epic, illuminating narrative, Rasmussen offers new insight into American expansionism, the path to Civil War, and the earliest grassroots push to overcome slavery.

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harper
Publication date

January 4, 2011
Dimensions

6 x 0.93 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0061995215
ISBN-13

978-0061995217
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This study of a January 1811 slave uprising and march on New Orleans exhumes the deliberately obscured and "largest act of armed resistance against slavery in the history of the United States." Historian Rasmussen expands on scarce source material to provide a complex context for a revolt that dwarfed such better-known rebellions as Nat Turner's and Denmark Vesey's, a stealthily organized uprising of 500 armed slaves dressed in military uniforms marching on and trying to conquer New Orleans. The author ties together diverse political, economic, and cultural threads in describing the rise (and brutal suppression) of the "ethnically diverse, politically astute, and highly organized" army, and investigates why this "story more Braveheart than Beloved" was consigned to historical footnote. While the book's ambition occasionally exceeds its grasp, it vividly evokes the atmosphere of New Orleans of the early 19th century and how a recalcitrant, French-rooted Louisiana and some Spanish possessions in the Deep South were incorporated into the expanding American nation though brutal revenge justice and political pressures. (Jan.) (c)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

When Americans think of slave rebellions, Nat Turner and John Brown come to mind, but the largest armed resistance to slavery in U.S. history was commanded by Kook, Quamana, Harry Kenner, and Charles Deslondes. The four led an army of several hundred slaves in 1811 to revolt against plantation masters and to march on New Orleans. Historian Rasmussen details the political climate of the time, including French sugar plantation owners destabilized by efforts of the U.S. government to Americanize the region, threats from nearby Spanish-held territories, and the recent slave revolts in Haiti, 6,000 miles away. The slaves were emboldened by Haiti and aided by a cosmopolitan mix of ethnic groups—Africans, Native Americans, people of mixed race, slaves, and Maroons—who enjoyed fairly free movement around the area. Rasmussen details the history and politics of the region, the revolt itself, and the vengeful reprisals that followed, including efforts to rewrite the history of the revolt. Readers will appreciate not just the historic recollection of the attempt to overcome the oppression of slavery but also the more recent developments that have recovered it from obscurity. --Vanessa Bush

Review

“A chilling and suspenseful account [of] the culmination of a signal episode in the history of American race relations.” -- Adam Goodheart, The New York Times Book Review

“A crisp, confident writer, Rasmussen tells this story with verve.” -- John Stauffer, The Wall Street Journal

“An important book. . .This tale deserves to be much better known, as does the larger story of slave resistance. American Uprising represents a signal achievement.” -- The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“American Uprising offers a detailed, fascinating glimpse into a previously ignored part of history.” -- The Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“An incredible true story.” -- New York Post

“Daniel Rasmussen has performed an important service for American history. . .American Uprising challenges much of what we think we know about American slavery.” -- The St. Louis American

“Rasmussen provides a provocative, reader-friendly, though well-researched, account of the largest slave revolt in American history.” -- The Monroe News Star

“New Orleans has been the scene of many dark adventures, but none so shocking as the slave rebellion of 1811. Daniel Rasmussen has unearthed a stunning tale of freedom and repression and told it in gripping fashion.” -- Evan Thomas

“A deeply researched, vividly written, and highly original account of the largest slave revolt in the nineteenth-century United States. . . . Thanks to Rasmussen, we now have the full story of this dramatic moment in the struggle for freedom in this country.” -- Eric Foner

“Rasmussen adds fresh research to the story of the 1811 revolt, ushering it into the context of slavery, the history of the South, and the ugly brutality our nation built itself on. . . . Great reading for anyone interested in history.” -- The Portland Book Review

From the Back Cover

A gripping and deeply revealing history of an infamous slave rebellion that nearly toppled New Orleans and changed the course of American history

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. Ethnically diverse, politically astute, and highly organized, this self-made army challenged not only the economic system of plantation agriculture but also American expansion. Their march 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 rebel army's dramatic march on the city, and its shocking conclusion. No North American slave uprising—not Gabriel Prosser's, not Denmark Vesey's, not Nat Turner's—has rivaled the scale of this rebellion either in terms of the number of the slaves involved or the number who were killed. More than one hundred slaves were slaughtered by federal troops and French planters, who then sought to write the event out of history and prevent the spread of the slaves' revolutionary philosophy. With the Haitian revolution a recent memory and the War of 1812 looming on the horizon, the revolt had epic consequences for America.

Through groundbreaking original research, Daniel Rasmussen offers a window into the young, expansionist country, illuminating the early history of New Orleans and providing new insight into the path to the Civil War and the slave revolutionaries who fought and died for justice and the hope of freedom.

About the Author

Daniel Rasmussen 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.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper (January 4, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0061995215
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0061995217
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.03 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.93 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,072,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #558 in U.S. Abolition of Slavery History
- #1,923 in Black & African American History (Books)
- #5,536 in Discrimination & Racism

Customer Reviews:
261 ratings

About the author

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Daniel Rasmussen

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Dan Rasmussen was born and raised in Washington, DC, where he attended St. Albans School. He graduated from Harvard University summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 2009, where he studied History and Literature with a focus on American slavery and the 19th century American South. He wrote his senior thesis, Violent Visions, on the 1811 German Coast Uprising - the largest slave revolt in American history. Rasmussen's thesis won the Kathryn Ann Huggins Prize, the Perry Miller Prize and the Thomas Temple Hoopes Prize, Harvard's top undergraduate academic honor. The thesis is the basis for Rasmussen's first book, American Uprising: The Untold Story of America's Largest Slave Revolt. Read more about Dan at www.danrasmussen.net.

Customer reviews

5 star		72%
4 star		15%
3 star		8%
2 star		3%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Lantana

The biggest slave revolt in U.S. history is finally getting attention.

Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2016

Verified Purchase

I grew up in Louisiana steps from where this 1811 event occurred but we were never taught about it in school nor was it mentioned anywhere. Imagine my surprise to stumble upon it while researching genealogy and the history of slavery in America. Then I find out from a friend that she learned about it in school in the Netherlands at the same time I wasn't learning about it in Louisiana. Wow.

The omission of this important historical event from Louisiana and American history textbooks and classes is completely shocking to me. I'm glad this book is attempting to right that wrong.

American Uprising was an interesting and fast read. It's well-written and researched and grabs your attention immediately by talking about the people central to this story, the slaves and slave owners, their motivations and actions. The author also explains the political history at the time which helps set the stage for the story.

My only criticism is the Epilogue where the author equates violent protests with non-violent ones in the struggle for equality and justice. Both are relevant but the 1811 slave revolt and its brutal suppression didn't hasten the end of slavery in the South. However, it explains why the rebellion happened and why an economic system that relied on the slave labor of so many human beings for the benefit of only a few was so inhumane and shouldn't have lasted as long as it did in this country.

47 people found this helpful

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Christopher J. Helvey

Hidden Slice of American History

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2020

Verified Purchase

American Uprising does a real service by bringing a little known event in America to light. The Louisiana slave revolt of 1811 is a segment of the dark side of Americana that has been consistently overlooked, and Daniel Rasmussen does readers and students of history a service by bringing it to light. However, even though the events and people involved are important and interesting, one might even say fascinating, Rasmussen fails to bring them as fully to life as they might have been. When reading this book, I had the sense at times (especially in the final third of the book) of reading an academic text. Still, it is a volume worthy of reading. 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

6 people found this helpful

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Mark R. Brewer

Brief But Interesting Tale

Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2016

Verified Purchase

This is a well written tale about the largest slave revolt in U.S. history. It has not gotten the attention that the revolts by Nat Turner and Denmark Vesey have, the author says, because the whites of New Orleans, Louisiana, where the revolt took place, made a conscious effort to squelch any memory of it. Thus, there is little information available. Indeed, the narration of the revolt itself is told in a very few pages. The author and editors have done all they could to stretch this essay-length narrative into book length. Still, the fine writing and obscurity of the event make for an entertaining read.

25 people found this helpful

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A Constant Reader

Not enough material on the actual events

Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2021

Verified Purchase

The book contains very little on the actual events of a very important piece of American and Black History (perhaps due to the effectiveness of it being buried), and not much support for the historical and political context the author contends existed. My opinion is the book is mis-titled and needs more development of its primary focus.

2 people found this helpful

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Remy LeClair

Spoiled by Marxist rhetoric

Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2021

Verified Purchase

Why do these indoctrinated and brainwashed history students have to ruin the past to suit thier political ideologies?

This is (again) another example of an overpriced and obsolete education at work. The constant references to "angry white males" and "those poor blacks" is laughable and inconsisitent with actual history.

Are we to judge 18th and 19th century mindsets and survival settimgs with the the dictatorial progressive movement that has infested the world.

I most certainly hope not.

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Mark A. Wilson

Fascinating and troubling

Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2017

Verified Purchase

The slaves around New Orleans organized and staged the largest slave rebellion in US history - and almost none of us have heard of it. What happened, who took part, and how it was all forgotten form the arc of this terrific - and important - history. Highly recommended for the greater understanding it provides not just of the revolt, but what that revolt reveals about our society and our past.

10 people found this helpful

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Arkay

Hidden History...wow!

Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2017

Verified Purchase

We used to hear about TASS (?) in Russia hiding news from the people. We thought, "How horrible to keep people ignorant of events." Meanwhile the same was happening right here in the good old USA. The author tells a lot about dirty politics in gaining land for the USA and the cover-up of our nations largest slave revolt in Louisiana. Now I'm going to look for a book about black "Wall Street" in Oklahoma.

8 people found this helpful

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truckproductions

Wow thank you for writing this

Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2020

Verified Purchase

A really interesting and thought provoking account of a well mobilized slave rebellion. I can't believe I'd never heard about it before. Thank you for bringing this story to light!

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Kindle Customer

Strong Debut for New Writer

Reviewed in Canada on March 25, 2018

Verified Purchase

Congratulations, Mr. Rasmussen. I look forward to your next book.
I hope that this book will inspire more research into American slave revolts, a neglected subject in American history. Don't believe me? Search Amazon for books about the subject, and you will find only a few older books, many of which are disfigured by obsolete points of view or, if more recent, they are too damned expensive for buyers with average incomes.

Lynn Louque

"His" story but NOT History

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2014

Verified Purchase

An imaginary story of the 1811 revolt on the German Coast, Louisiana. Based on a real event, but critically lacking evidence where needed. Notes are nebulas, confusing and frequently with no relation to the 1811 revolt. Seemly well researched, Rasmussen relies on secondary sources, unnamed "eyewitnesses" quoted in various newspapers and letters (sometimes written months after the event) and even "local myths" for the majority of his representation of this revolt. Devoid of actual evidence, and failing to verify his sources, he cites numerous inaccurate accounts and even his own data base as primary source material in an attempt to link this revolt to events covering over 100 years (from about 1740 through reconstruction) which have no relation what-so-ever to this revolt but does add pages of ideological, neo-abolitionist revisionism to "his story" of Louisiana. Why didn't he just link Charles Deslondes to Spartacus? Even a cursory check of the official documents on this revolt will prove much of what Rasmussen thinks happened is dead wrong. I labored through this book, at times so frustrated I had to put it down for hours before continuing.
My greatest fear is that this hatchet job of a book is believed to be an actual "History" of the revolt and not the romantic novel based on an historical event which it is. This book is obviously written with the idea a film will be made in the current mode of anti-slavery films recently produced.

One person found this helpful

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