- About
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Student Exhibits
- Rebellions Abroad! — by Travis Heeren
- A Glossary of Black Women in Rebellion — by Kaylor MacLaughlin
- Rumored — by Serena Morgan
- Fragmented Individual Acts of Rebellion — by Twila Neiwert
- John Brown, Harpers Ferry, and the Media — by Bessie Rudd
- Louisiana: Rumors and Insurrections — by Stephanie Smith
- Revolutionaries & Art in Black Cuban Uprisings — by Jiesha Stephens
- Mapping Rumored Rebellions in the South — by Jalen Thompson
- Black Asylum and Sovereignty — by Adam Vernon
- Days in a Demi-Decade: Miscellaneous Rebellions in 19th Century African American Newspapers (1856-1860) — by Hannah Zeller
- Summarily Punished
July 11, 1857: In the Provincial Freeman, "Miscellaneous News"
The Full Page: Annotated "Miscellaneous News" Section
Scroll your mouse over this page from the Provincial Freeman's publication on July 11, 1857, to find the "Miscellaneous News" section. In it, you will find accounts of rebellion and resistance to enslavement that have been marked and transcribed.
A Closer Look: Annotated Rebellions in the "Miscellaneous News" Section
Below are each of the transcribed newspaper entries from the page above in a larger format. Alongside the entries are brief descriptions of the content of the entry and how it fits within a history of open rebellions against slavery.
"An Asylum for the Oppressed"
This text tells of a man named Col. Mendenhall who assisted in the escape of five enslaved women. The enslaved people were escaping from slavery in North Carolina, and according to the text were on their way to Ohio. The text congratulates Mr. Mendenhall for his repeated successful assists and states that he has helped to emancipate over fifty enslaved people. This text highlights a form of rebellion through escape and self-emancipation.
"About Two Weeks Ago..."
This article tells of an enslaved man who murders his wife and then commits suicide. The article states that these acts were committed by him because he could not live with the knowledge that his wife had been raped by her enslaver. This act could be read as a form of rebellion.
"Underground Railroad"
This account tells of another successful escape of a man, a woman, and their child who escaped from Delaware to Niagara Falls. It provides a description of the formerly enslaved people's responses to seeing Canada and obtaining their freedom.
"Reverend N. Sentenced"
This text relays the news that a Black Reverend was sentenced to eight years in prison for assisting in the escape of enslaved people. While the Reverend was apprehended, this text reveals the consistent efforts of enslaved people and their supporters to resist and escape enslavement.
"Poison of a Whole Family by Slaves"
This entry tells of an enslaver and his family that have been suffering from a mysterious illness for weeks. Two children died and the entire family was sick. Upon calling multiple doctors, and them investigating around the household, it is learned that the illness is caused by one of the people they enslaved poisoning their food. This account displays a type of rebellion that is often not marked as one, due to its ability to go unnoticed or undiagnosed.