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.