In the next two weeks I am going to begin focusing more intensely on the texts I have selected for my casebook.

This post will focus exclusively on selections from The Confessions of Nat Turner and Related Documents [1]

What follows are three articles from Southern newspapers that reported the event of the Southampton Rebellion. I have isolated some phrases and words that bring to bear the perspective of the white Southern reporter during this time. The final article included is from William Lloyd Garrison and the article that appeared in his publication, The Liberator.

What exactly is my focus in this endeavor? I am looking at David Walker’s Appeal, as well as William Lloyd Garrison’s work in The Liberator and focusing specifically on the language of anti-slavery protest literature, how it is used, and how it compares and contrasts with the language used to describe the Southampton Rebellion. Why does this matter? Walker’s Appeal is written before the Southampton Rebellion, but there are very clear intersections between Walker and Garrison in terms of how they write the script for rebellion, present the language of early American dissent, and fill in some of what we can never know about the black American experience of slavery. Since accounts of the rebellion are largely those of white newspaper reporters, who are shocked by the events and begin to frame it as an aberration, the perspective of Garrison and Walker is essential in filling in some of the holes that have been created by white Southern accounts or recreations of the events of the Southampton Rebellion. What are the problems with this approach? Each of these contributions to the experience of slavery is fraught with its own prejudices and lend an element of personal bias to sift through. At root, the language and content should certainly be sifted through personal bias and perspective.

The Richmond Compiler, August 24, 1831

excitement
insurrection of negroes
insurrection had broken out among the blacks
several white families had been destroyed
the disturbers
names of the families, that are said to have been destroyed…destroying…destroyers
slightest intimation or dream of such movement. We have no doubt that the transaction has been much exaggerated…exaggerations
mischief
range of the evil
wretches, mad, infatuated, deceived by some artful knaves, or stimulated by their own miscalculating passions
ruin
folly and infatuation
subjected to this visitation
infected district

The most insightful line appears on page 62, where the reporter, seemingly in a moment of incredulous rage, states, “The wretches who have conceived this thing are mad – infatuated – deceived by some artful knaves, or stimulated by their own miscalculating passions.” Looking at some of the other words the author of this newspaper account uses the author seems to be genuinely befuddled by the entire rebellion and marks it up to the work of extreme imagination. The use of words akin to imagination and exaggeration seems to undermine the impact of the rebellion. An overwhelming implication of fantasy-ridden slaves surfaces through this account and the language downplays the seriousness of the rebellion, relegating the rebellion to the acts of wretches engaging in idle mischief. Particularly the use of “infected district,” raises images of slaves being infected by delusions of justice, independence, freedom. Nowhere in this account is there an identification of the goal the slaves most ardently sought: freedom.

The Constitutional Whig, August 29, 1831

appalling dangers
insurrection
mischief perpetrated, perpetrators
insurgents
butchered
slaughter
ruthless villains
murdered
helpless
disorderly
atrocities
wound up to a high pitch of rage
suppressed
enraged inhabitants
ulterior object/purpose
fanatical revenge
blind fury
murder and destroy all before them
horrors of the late scenes
feel safe in their homes

Again, the word mischief comes up in the language of this account of the rebellion. The slaves involved in the rebellion are referred to as insurgents, ruthless villains, and perpetrators, which only further figures them as objects or mischievous agents of the rebellion, and not as humans seeking freedom. Something else I was thinking about in these newspaper accounts is the element of intimacy affronted by these seditious acts. Throughout the reports there is a distinct theme of shock and surprise. The rebellion came as a complete surprise to the Southern white Americans in this region, as they treated their own slaves well (or so they thought). The use of words associated with delusional misgivings, “fanatical revenge,” is used here as well. I am also fascinated by this use of the word destroy and disturb (in the previous newspaper account). There seems to have been a serene tranquility in Southampton that was disturbed or destroyed. This is an event unlike anything these people have ever seen and has come as a complete shock to their community system.

The Richmond Enquirer, August 30, 1831

strange events in the county of Southampton
horrible ferocity of these monsters
parcel of blood-thirsty wolves rushing down from the Alps
former incursion of the Indians upon the white settlements
helplessness
distressing time
massacred
infernal brigandage
[Nat] artful, impudent and vindictive
scheme
nefarious expedition
murderous career
wretches
murderous deeds
[Nat] ring-leader

The words of this account spit from the mouth of the reporter. Wretches, monsters, blood-thirsty wolves. The frequency of the word wretches in these accounts is rather telling of the white American perspective of slaves in the South. The line “parcel of blood-thirsty wolves rushing down from the Alps” is illustrative of the white American description of the slave revolt, further relegating them to animals, brutes. The slaves involved in this revolt are animal-like, out for blood, the basest animal, hopeless, depraved, sick. This event is perceived as an act in response to an illness of the mind, of the body.

The Liberator, September 3, 1831

first step of the earthquake
shake down the fabric of oppression
first drops of blood (coming from gathering clouds)
first flash of lightning
first wailings of bereavement
sackcloth
hour of vengeance
prophecy
fulfillment of prophecy
poetry/imagination realized
record of slaughter
dreadful retaliation
the oppressor and the oppressed equal at last in death
spectacle
combat (instead of insurrection)
prison is crowded with victims destined for the gallows
oppressors
crime of oppression is national
sufferings
brutes
patriotic hypocrites
panegyrists
condemnation
heroes
excesses

Contrary to the other accounts, Garrison’s account marries with some of the perceptions of these reporters, with the use of words such as “brutes,” “slaughter,” and extends some of the more brutalizing words of the insurrection, which further bridges the gap between the Southern white American perspective of the event with the way in which the event is received elsewhere, particularly by anti-slavery constituents. Repeating “first” three times in the beginning of this article, Garrison underlines the idea that this will happen again, this is truly the first in a series of revolts on American soil. Garrison also links this up with elements of nature, comparing the possibility of an insurrection to an earthquake, lightning, gathering clouds. Aligning the insurrection with the fulfillment of a prophecy also places the events of the Southampton Rebellion with Biblical prophets who were victims of struggle in their own times. It is important to notice this use of language, reserved for the white victims of the Southampton Rebellion, to describe those slaves who participated in the rebellion: “prison is crowded with victims destined for the gallows,” “heroes,”  “combat.” These are the seeds of dissent concerning the American institution of slavery. Also, it is interesting to notice the fulfillment of the fanatical events in the line where Garrison talks of poetry and imagination being realized. White American accounts in the South place so much emphasis on the delusional nature of the slave rebellion, where Garrison places it closer to the realization of a dream.

I wonder if this dream — dreaming being something we fantasize about, something we wish and hope for, but something that may not be uttered into words — is at the root of the civil rights movement.

[1] Greenberg, Kenneth S., ed. The Confessions of Nat Turner and Related Documents. The Bedford series in history and culture. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin’s Press, 1996.

Racism is the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. It can affect how people react to certain situations. And racism can also be a personal ideology. How you are brought up and the information you receive, are some of the factors that determine your actions and your perceptions. Both Nat Turner and Willie Lynch believed that their race is superior and that they have a duty to either perpetuate or improve their situation. Both lived in an environment where race is an issue. Not only that, both of them also believed that they were chosen and destined to do something great that will change or improve how other people live their lives. But with those similarities they also differ in their ways of attaining their goals. Nat Turner’s goal was to stop racism, while Willie Lynch’s was to perpetuate the oppression and make the oppressed submissive.

Nat Turner grew up in a society where his being black was a racial issue. As a child he experienced being marginalized by Whites in terms of housing, employment, and most of all education. They were deprived of reading and writing. Nat Turner belongs to the oppressed and under-privileged race. So, it became his obsession to stop the oppression and free his people. He does not agree on the idea that because of his race he must be of service of the white people. He even stated that, “I would never be of any service to anyone as a slave” (The Confessions of Nat Turner, pg 1). His experiences molded him and caused him to believe that he is brought up to this world to do some changes as he stated, “I surely be a prophet, as the Lord had shown me things that had happened before my birth” (The Confessions of Nat Turner, pg 1). On the other hand, Willie Lynch lived in an environment where his race was the superior among all other races. But he was also similar with Nat Turner as he believed that he is chosen to help perpetuate the oppression of the blacks. He grew up thinking that his race was the lucky one, while the blacks were the unlucky one. And that’s just the way it is. He grew up believing that treating them unfairly is okay, which made him create a method called Lynching. His way of life made him believe that he was brought to this world to do something great as he stated, “I am here to help you solve some of you problems with slaves” (The Making of a Slave, pg 1). Willie Lynch and Nat Turner believed that they have a purpose and great task in people’s lives. Both have the same belief even though they grew up in a different time and environment.

Nat Turner grew up thinking that he’s chosen and so was Willie Lynch. But, Nat Turner was focused on one thing – stopping racism. And his way of stopping it was by killing the perpetrators – “Whites” as he stated, “all my time, not devoted to my master’s service, was spent either in prayer, or in making experiments in casting different things in moulds made of earth, attempting to make paper, gunpowder, and many other experiments’ (The Confessions of Nat Turner, pg 89). This is what he thought he’s destined to do. And by doing so he thought he was able to avenge for the oppression of his race. His ideology as he grew up made him think and act this way. It had become his obsession that he had to do something at all cost to save his people from oppression, from being looked down and from being marginalized. As a slave they were not allowed to learn to read and write. But he was so inquisitive and observant of his surroundings and he made every effort to learn to read and write. He was driven by his obsession to be the person to save his people from the bondage of slavery and oppression, so that he directed his life to reaching his goal. He grew up with a very religious grandmother and siblings and his master was a member of the church, so he also devoted much of his time in fasting and prayer as a way of attaining his obsession.

Willie Lynch on the other hand believed that he’s chosen to perpetuate slavery. He was the one who invented Lynching. Lynching will destroy a person emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. He uses fear, distrust, and envy for control purposes. It includes beating up a slave and embarrassing them in front of other slaves. He believed that distrust is stronger than trust and envy is stronger than adulation, respect, or admiration. He was very proud as he stated, “Ancient Rome would envy us if my program were implemented” (The Making of a Slave, pg 1). He shared his method with other Whites so that this will be used and his plan will be successful. “The Black slave after receiving this indoctrination shall carry on and will become self re-fueling and self generating for hundreds of years, maybe thousands.” He’s so convinced that his method of using fear, distrust, and envy for control purposes will surely control the slaves. With that he’ll able to accomplish his purpose of perpetuating the bondage of slavery for blacks. And as such, that the black people will accept it as their way of life and be submissive to the slavery. He believed that if blacks accept and submit to the life of slavery and marginalization the blacks will not fight against it and Whites will continue to be the superior race.

Nat Turner’s and Willie Lynch’s actions are one of the evidences that a person’s ideology can affect how we react to a certain situation. And even if there’s a similarity, there is only a little possibility that people think and act the way that everyone else will do. Some were raised thinking that being superior to other race is natural, accepted and common. What they don’t realize is that they can hurt and change the way people look at their lives. They might have good intentions but their intentions may differ based on the perceptions and beliefs that were developed as they grow up and the information they get.

There was an exam today for the Nat Turner class, which I think I did better on than the last. My hand started cramping up at the end. I wish there were typewritten exams. I can type so much better and faster than I can write.

We also handed in our Step 4 Casebook Assignment and got them back by the end of class with comments! Apparently they were being graded as we were completing the exam. The primary area in need of improvement was the last part of the Draft Thesis Statement component. It reads as follows:

Through the language used in the anti-slavery protest literature of Walker’s Appeal, and selections from Garrison’s The Liberator, we find a different pictures of the American system of slavery that contrasts the white American perspective of 1831.

I was hurriedly completing Step 4, so I can see that the last part doesn’t flow very well with the first part. After much diagramming, adding in, and revising I have come up with the following draft thesis statement, which I think works much better.

Through the language used in the anti-slavery protest literature of Walker’s Appeal, and selections from Garrison’s The Liberator, we are presented with a view of the American system of slavery that conflicts with the language used to describe the 1831 Southampton Rebellion.

It is hard to craft a clear thesis statement. Most things are simple and straightforward, such as “I will prove this by doing this, this, and this.” I think I am getting wrapped up in the complexities of everything.

Essentially, I am interested in anti-slavery protest literature the difference in language used to describe resistance to slavery and how that contrasts with white American accounts of both the institution of slavery and the Southampton Rebellion of 1831. I think it is in these early examples of protest literature that we see the seeds of American protest, outright resistance to a dominant American institution, and textual evidence that is created and exists on the fringe, on the margins. These marginalized accounts or perspectives are what, I think, serve to refocus the dominant system of historical narrative. History is told by the victors is something you can always hear in any history-based course, but it is the story told by the non-victors, written into the margins, emanating from the undercast, that I find most interesting.

I have a glass of Riesling from Columbia Winery on a small side table next to me, along with a voluminous amount of paperwork, notes, handouts, and photocopies of the readings for the Nat Turner class. There is an exam tomorrow, and while I feel confident in my readings thus far, for some reason I still need to go over all the material again.

Since the last exam we have been focusing on cultural materials that fictionalize Nat Turner and craft their own creative spin on the life of this historical figure. We were all broken up into small groups and had to prepare a group facilitation based on the material covered and present this to the class.

All of the creators of these works have contributed their own perspectives and takes on who exactly Nat Turner was and what he means to the time in which the work was completed. Many of the authors are largely unknown in the canon of American literature, which is very disheartening. Right now, I am thinking of Daniel Panger, Robert O’Hara, Ophelia Robinson, and others. Much discussion has taken place, but I still have additional questions, such as: How does one write the story of Nat Turner from a literary standpoint? Is the story of Nat Turner in the realm of historical fiction? What is the difference between the historical writing of Stephen B. Oates and the “meditation on history” of William Styron? What do either of these approaches (historical narrative, historical fiction) bring to the story of Nat Turner?

This week there was a question brought up about American Studies and what this means and involves? Much discussion took place about a segmented society, divided along racial lines, and broken up into African-American, women, Chinese-American, Japanese-American, etc. There was a question raised in connection with this discussion about if there could be an overarching sense of the “American experience.” Pointing to the idea of the “melting pot,” emphasizing heterogeneity of people, this ideal conflicts with a history of racial and class difference in America. This discussion seemed to turn over ideas I had already been thinking about since the beginning of the quarter. Throughout all of our readings there has been a multi-faceted dilemma of American studies. The interviews with William Styron, a Southern white writer, contrasted with Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D., was one of the biggest contrasts I have seen. Styron relates his experience of growing up in a racially segregated community in Southampton, Virginia and the largely invisible community of African Americans in that area of the country. Poussaint talks of his summer camp education, which included educating camp members (both white and black) of moments in American history of protest and revolution.

Thus far I can see layers of difference, set along racial and class lines. I don’t think there is any answer to the question of commonalities of American experience in the overarching American Studies umbrella. I do believe there is a history of the established, ruling class, or the empowered, and the disenfranchised, non-ruling class, or the disempowered. This would of course need much more research, but it seems like there is a long and distinguished history of creating rule and order and railing against this rule and order. I am speaking of a nation founded on the principles of freedom and democracy, paired with a capitalist enterprise, and complemented by a vast body of ruling and subordinate members. Racism and racial tension definitely still exist and my intention is not to lump race into stock categories. American Studies seems to be the study of difference, tension, conflict, competition for independence or freedom.

American Studies is also the study of protest. Protest is what brought about the American Revolution. Although where that figures today I am not sure.

I have not been updating this blog for quite some time now and, even when I do, it is sporadic and mostly for thrills. I think “Confessions of an Inter-disciplinarian” is much more apt and representative of my interest. I promise to never change it again, for this title seems like home to me, if a blog title could feel like home.

Aside from outlining a blog title change, I also wanted to process a bit about a class I am taking right now on Nat Turner. This week I will be turning in my proposal for my final paper, and as with any research process my research question has gone through may permutations. As of my last casebook my question was submitted as follows:

“How does the language of anti-slavery protest literature contrast with white American accounts of the events of the Southampton Rebellion? How is the language used to describe the person (Nat Turner) and the event (the Nat Turner Rebellion) influenced by the divided historical realities of Black and White Americans?”

My question took form after watching a video clip of James Baldwin speaking during a debate, “Has the American Dream Been Achieved at the Expense of the American Negro?” [1] In this debate he states that a response to this question is predicated on one’s system of reality. He also talks of the American Negro’s fractured sense of reality, for the America in which they find themselves does not make space for them. In the educational system, he goes on to say, they are taught of white American expansion and the displacement of Native Americans and it is not until much later when this lack of space and consideration is fully realized that the American Negro looks back on this education and realizes that they should have been rooting for Native Americans.

This video clip was pivotal in getting at the beginnings of my topic, as it complemented the largely silent perspective of both Nat Turner and the Southampton Rebellion. Since that time I have been focusing on (circling and highlighting in-text) the way in which the event was described. I have seen accounts that refer to the event as “Insurrection,” “Rebellion,” “Massacre,” “Affair,” etc. This last one seems most telling to me in that it seems to disregard the severity of the event: “Affair,” as though it was a momentary indulgence with no serious claims to commitment.

Beyond this, I have been able to investigate the perspective of an African-American historian, Vincent Harding, and his re-envisioning of the Nat Turner Rebellion. Harding makes no explicit links between David Walker’s Appeal, but links Nat Turner and David Walker through a “river of struggle.” He also employs this fascinating inter-textual technique of parenthetically referencing the black American perspective.

From the secondary source of Vincent Harding, I decided to look at David Walker’s Appeal for my investigation of a primary source document. After reading through the Appeal twice I was drawn to recurrences of certain words and phrases. I would suppose that using phrases and words over and over again would instill a call to action. I am not 100% certain, but it seems like a trademark of rousing rhetoric could be found in repeatable phrases that stick out in the mind of those who listen, read, and are audience to these statements. I took the text of the Appeal, which I found on the Documenting the American South website, extracted page numbers (e.g., Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, etc.) and put the entire text of the Appeal into Wordle, an online tool that provides a word cloud visualization based on words appearing most frequently and those appearing less frequently [2].

Right now I am conducting a lot of research into anti-slavery protest literature around the time of the 1831 rebellion, such as Liberator and Freedom’s Journal, but often I am finding reprints of articles that appeared in newspaper publications of pro-slavery news sources, such as Constitutional Whig or The Richmond Enquirer. William Lloyd Garrison is of great interest to me, since he started The Liberator in 1829 and it is thought that this publication and its ultimate distribution to black slaves and free blacks throughout the region contributed to the Southampton Rebellion. Aside from the essay of Garrison that appeared in Liberator a few days after the events had transpired I can find no dissenting views of the Southampton Rebellion.

Since this is my space to process, I would like to freely expound on the question outlined above. I am primarily interested in the language of resistance or dissent in the textual rendering of the events of the Southampton Rebellion. I may have to come at this from a reverse in time, as there is very little (that I can find as of this writing) protest literature around the Southampton Rebellion, other than what I have been able to find in Garrison’s writing in Liberator. Although I have indicated that I want to look at the way in which descriptions of the person (Nat Turner) and the event (the Nat Turner Rebellion) have been influenced by divided by historical realities, I am primarily interested in how the event itself has been described, how those divided perspectives mediate the event in historical memory. Walker’s Appeal was written before the Southampton Rebellion, but contains the language of resistance and conveys an alternate viewpoint. I could also look at the essay of Thomas R. Dew to the Virginia legislature, “Abolition of Negro Slavery,” responding to the call for an emancipation of slavery based on the events of 1831.

Still processing….

[1] James Baldwin v. William F. Buckley Jr. Debate, 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbkObXxSUus&feature=youtube_gdata.

[2] Walker, David. “David Walker, 1785-1830 Walker’s Appeal, in Four Articles; Together with a Preamble, to the Coloured Citizens of the World, but in Particular, and Very Expressly, to Those of the United States of America, Written in Boston, State of Massachusetts, September 28, 1829..” Documenting the American South, September 28, 1829. http://docsouth.unc.edu.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/nc/walker/walker.html.

On October 2:

1800 Nat Turner, a US slave who led a slave rebellion, was born.

1852 Scottish chemist William Ramsay who discovered the noble gases, was born.

1890 Groucho Marx was born.

1904 English novelist Graham Greene was born.

1907 Scottish chemist Alexander R. Todd was born.

1917 English-born Belgium chemist Christian de Duve, winner of Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, was born.

1921 Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury, was born.

1925 John Logie Baird performsedthe first test of a working television system.

1948 US fashion designer Donna Karan was born.

1949 US photographer  Annie Leibovitz was born.

1950 Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz was first published.

1950 Genesis co-founder Mike Rutherford was born.

1951 English musician Sting was born.

1958 Guinea  declared its independence.

1986 Slice of Heaven, the song written for the Footrot Flats movie, hit #1.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

On October 17, 2009, PLP’ers are joining many others at Harper’s Ferry to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Harper’s Ferry raid which sparked the Civil War that ended chattel slavery in the U.S.  Join us!

Denmark Vesey, Nat Turner, Osborne Anderson, John Brown, Harriet Tubman — these bold leaders of the anti-slavery struggle understood that the millions of enslaved Africans and millions more of the workers and small farmers oppressed by the slave oligarchy would, under the right conditions, rise up against slavery. They acted on this confidence in the masses and shook the world, from Charleston, S.C. and Southampton, Virginia, to bleeding Kansas and Harper’s Ferry. We should emulate this boldness in our struggles today, for the oppressed of the world will also, under the right conditions and communist leadership, rise up to destroy their exploiters.

Racist ideology intensified in the run-up to the Civil War as the rulers tried to ideologically undermine the anti-slavery cause. Blacks were portrayed by Southern slaveowners as an “inferior breed,” “happy” with slavery, and unfit because of their “inferiority” for a life of freedom alongside whites. Racists in the North repeated the picture of blacks as servile, shuffling, meek, cowardly and dancing in blissful ignorance.

These lies continue today in various forms and are applied to every ethnic group of workers to keep people divided and
demoralized. Left out of today’s picture is the
eleven-month Stella O’Doro strike in NY, the sit-down strike at Republic Windows and Doors in Chicago, the massive outpouring of opposition to the racist attacks on the Jena 6, black students who fought back against oppression in Louisiana, and hundreds more actions, large and small, around the world.

Anti-slavery rebels knew, contrary to the racist images, that enslaved and free blacks and anti-slavery whites planned and carried out ingenious and daring escapes from slavery with courage and fortitude in the face of whippings, jailing and death. Thousands of slaves escaped to the Dismal Swamp in Virginia, to the Florida swamps, and to the mountains of Jamaica to form egalitarian maroon societies in defiance of the slave system, defending their communities by any means necessary. Slaveowners and their racist apologists claimed that these fighters were the “lunatic fringe,” but John Brown and other anti-slavery activists knew better.

The slave rebellion led by Nat Turner in Virginia in 1831 terrified slaveowners because it demonstrated that every enslaved person was a potential “assassin” of his “beloved” master.  Brown and other activists eagerly studied the formation of armies of thousands of the enslaved on the island of Santo Domingo and their success in annihilating their French masters in establishing a black Republic of Haiti in the 1790s.

These experiences led to two profound, if simple, conclusions: people fight back against oppression and their struggle causes change. These conclusions are often poorly understood.  Today, many workers say, “Nobody where I work wants to do anything” or “You can’t fight City Hall.” or “You can’t win.” Or “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” But PLP knows better, and acts on the historical knowledge contained in those two simple conclusions.

While the anti-slavery movement grew apace, the European revolutionaries Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were sharpening the working-class fight against wage slavery. Based on their participation in the revolutionary movement and their study of history they developed the philosophy of dialectical materialism. This philosophy, outlined in the Communist Manifesto of 1848, proven true over the years, explains that class struggle is the motive force of history. Periods of seeming passivity among the oppressed, however prolonged, are replaced by blazing struggle, like the explosion of a seemingly dormant volcano. Systems of class exploitation, although they seem at times, permanent, and even “natural,” end. We are no longer cultivating crops and building pyramids in the Nile Valley. Slavery is ended. Feudalism has ended. Capitalism will also end.

Most people do not yet realize this, just as most people in 1859 did not yet realize that slavery was on the verge of extinction. The enslavement of Africans and the system built on this edifice had existed for over 200 years and appeared permanent, like capitalism today. But, with the growth of the PLP and a communist revolution in the face of imperialist war and the continuing crises of capitalism, communism will replace capitalism and all forms of class society.

by Rick Gunderman

Today marks the 178th anniversary of Nat Turner’s attempted slave revolt in Southampton County, Virginia.

Southampton County was an atypical example of contemporary Southern life. Rather than large cotton or tobacco plantations, most plantations and farms were small in this southeastern county owing to poorer soil quality than in the Deep South.

The slavery culture was different in Southampton County as well. Because farms were smaller, families typically owned three or four slaves instead of dozens. Whites in the region, and indeed in the entire state of Virginia, believed that their form of slavery was a benevolent system. They treated “their niggers” better than the whip-happy cotton plantation owners.

Most of the Southern United States had been turned into a virtual garrison, with militias ever-present to prevent an insurrection. In Virginia, most young men volunteered for the militia and ran drills throughout the year, but few believed that a slave uprising was likely in their state, where the slaves were submissive and happy.

Nat Turner was a deeply religious and highly intelligent slave who had lived in Southampton County his entire life. His piety reached a point where, on top of preaching Baptist services, he was convinced that God was sending him visions. These visions would come to instruct him to initiate a slave rebellion.

Turner’s forces started out small but snowballed to include more than 70 escaped and freed African-Americans. Turner took an atmospheric disturbance on August 13, 1831 that made the sun appear bluish-green as a sign to start the rebellion. A week later, his forces were on the move, going from house to house freeing slaves and executing the slaveowners.

Within a day, a white militia twice the size of Nat Turner’s forces and reinforced by three companies of artillery put down the rebellion.

To this day, Nat Turner’s legacy is controversial. On the one hand, some historians claim that he engaged in tactics of indiscriminate slaughter of whites civilians. It has been noted, however, than Turner spared many poor whites because he believed that they “thought no better of themselves than they did of negroes.”

Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676 had convinced the white ruling class of colonial Virginia that poor whites and poor blacks could be united against the establishment, which led to the harshening of racial lines in the colonies. Turner’s refusal to attack poor whites was a bold attempt to reverse a century and a half of a constructed racialized culture.

A contemporary newspaper took note that “Turner declared that ‘indiscriminate slaughter was not their intention after they attained a foothold, and was resorted to in the first instance to strike terror and alarm.’”

It is interesting how history is looked at differently when the participants of a rebellion, insurrection or revolution are white compared to when they are African, Native, Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, etc. Modern readers might find the idea of a band of armed black men terrifying, while at the same time holding a romantic, idealized conception of the American Revolution and the Civil War, where bloodshed was plentiful.

Nat Turner’s rebellion stands out as one of many attempts by slaves in the United States to achieve their freedom by any means necessary. Turner stands in the same tradition of demanding freedom, rather than asking and waiting for it, that motivated George Washington (to an extent), Rosa Luxemburg, Che Guevara and Malcolm X alike.

On this day, the 178th anniversary, all socialists should reflect on how far the fight against racism has advanced, but to also soberly consider how much further we have to go.

Until all of the oppressed people in our respective countries have achieved their liberation, and until the working class has united with them to smash capitalist tyranny in the economy and to bring full democracy to our political systems, we cannot declare victory for the anti-racists. We cannot consider the fight over as long as racist thugs still prowl the streets and sit in parliament.

I enjoy working at Reader Services when I get the chance, as the proximity to the graphic novels section gives me more of a chance to be distracted by and grab something to read. Kyle who works down there told me Kyle Baker’s book Nat Turner was good so I read it on my lunch. It’s the historical story of a slave rebellion led by Nat Turner who’d taught himself to read and write and then became an agent of God who killed (with the help of the slaves he freed) 40 some odd people. The book starts off in Africa where it’s nearly wordless (at one point a man is stopped from shooting a slave by a slaver saying “$!”). As it goes on the pictures are embellished with Nat Turner’s own explanation of what happened. Axes are used quite a lot. People go back to kill the infants they forgot about. The whole thing was a quick read and brutal.

“Got a gun named Mandela and the clip full Nelson/ Scope from the soviets, we call it Boris Yeltsin”

Drug Dealer, Drug Dealer is a throwback to another era the wally era if you will, one that is fond to everyone here at HHTT (H2T2) and is often romanticized about when we  build.  We are all true 80’s babies who came of age in the late 80’s/early 90’s and we were all sponges keeping our mouths shut while our ears and eyes stayed wide open, taking it all in.  Av (Brother Menelik) was no exception, coming up in certain sections of Worcester this song was and still is his reality, bowdown to the Main South King, Brother Menelik.

Download/Stream–>http://www.zshare.net/audio/6347288244e32c5b/

just a link for our A-Alikes….the struggle continue’s!

Slave Revolts

Today is Bastille Day. Bastille Day celebrates the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789 by the French. It is not one of the Top 173 Things in History, largely because it just falls under the umbrella of something much larger that is.

But, in the wake of discussing the Defenestration of Prague, let us pause to recognize the people who got it right. The people who knew, “This is how you start a revolution.”

Bastille Day is like the Defenestration of Prague plus logic.

Bastille Day is like Independence Day plus action.

Bastille Day is like Independence Day minus aliens.

Bastille Day is like the Boston Tea Party minus Indian costumes and the foresight of the British.

Bastille Day is like Nat Turner’s rebellion minus slavery and the William Styron novel.

Bastille Day is like Shays’ Rebellion, plus some other guys.

Bastille Day is like Flag Day plus one month.

Bastille Day is like the Boston Massacre, except it actually happened.

Bastille Day is like the French and Indian War, except there are only French.

Bastille Day is like the unification of Italy, except opposite.

Bastille Day is like Abraham Lincoln’s “government of the people, by the people, for the people” speech, except replace “government” with “revolution.”

Bastille Day is like the Tennis Court Oath, except that it looks cool in paintings.

Bastille Day is like Boxing Day, except we know what it celebrates.

Bastille Day is like those Washington, D.C. license plates that say “Taxation without Representation,” except that it got something done.

Bastille Day is like Tiananmen Square, except with a sessile fortress and not tanks.

Celebrate Bastille Day responsibly.

my quite outspoken and heartfelt socio-political convictions are well known to readers of this bloog, friends on facebook, and basically anyone who knows me.  i despise our 2 party systems, corporate control of our government, and various things that this control has either created or perpetuates, chief among them our foreign policy, our deplorable healthcare system and the ridiculously disproportionate distribution of wealth in our society.  in my previous bloog i had an entry entitled “10 reasons why america is not the greatest country on earth”, and to many this was outright treason.  i saw it more as an exorcism of some of our nations demons, in either making people aware of things they may not have known, or for those who do know and don’t care, to perhaps try and change their apathy.  this is a very difficult thing to do, because many people like to hide behind the label of patriotism.  wrapping oneself up in a flag and chanting “u-s-a” apparently helps them disregard the outright criminal activity of our government and the dark & disturbing events of our past (and present).  the purpose of the united states was never for the citizenry to have a “love it or leave it” attitude.  if so, our founding fathers would’ve faced a difficult problem of having to either love their british overlords or leave the colonies, considering they didn’t love them.  the fact is, in my estimation, patriotism is not being blind, deaf & dumb with a flag in your hand, but rather it is in dissent.  the celebration of the 4th of july is a celebration of rebellion.  of revolutionaries. these men were nothing short of wasp pre-incarnations of che guevara.  but, 233 years after the continental congress put forth the declaration of independence, the greatest declaration of political rebellion i’ve ever read and most certainly my favorite, the united states has become what great britian was to those who signed it.  and that is nothing short of a travesty.  that is precisely why jefferson said “every generation needs a new revolution”.  read the declaration, it never gets old, and if you’re not familiar with it, you will likely be amazed at how inflammatory and truly revolutionary the words are.  and, you might get inspired to want to reclaim the constitutional civil liberties guaranteed to us that have been illegally taken away from us back. today is in many ways a day of mourning, i personally read the declaration and think “what in the hell happened?  how did we go from fighting imperialism to becoming the most imperialistic nation in the history of mankind?”, and wonder if there’s any way to change this.  what can we the people do?  how do we craft a new declaration?  how do we restore our constitutional civil liberties?  the answer is i don’t know, but there are many who’ve gone before and many who lead the way today to try and show us how.  and though i reject the phrase “proud to be american” because pride is as st. augustine said “the commencement of all sin”, i do find strength in the words and actions of the following, and certainly feel much better about being an american knowing that they were and are on this same vast stretch of land fighting for truth, justice, freedom and progress.  

these include the likes of roger williams, samuel adams, thomas paine, benjamin franklin, daniel shays, chief joseph, sitting bull, geronimo, black hawk, sequoyah, nat turner, frederick douglass, sojourner truth, harriet tubman, harriet beecher-stowe, john brown, booker t. washington, the shakers, william llyod garrison, ralph waldo emerson, henry david thoreau, sarah & angelina grimke, william llyod garrison, theodore weld, dorothea dix, the molly maguires, emma goldman, helen keller, walt whitman, w.e.b. dubois, eugene debs, upton sinclaire, susan b. anthony, jane addams, langston hughes, mother jones, the wobblies, paul robeson, john rawls, a.j. muste, flannery o’connor, walker percy, gore vidal, ralph nader, howard zinn, noam chomsky, paul tillich, reinhold nieburh, billy graham, dorothy day, cesar chavez, bobby kennedy, martin luther king, jr., el-hajj malik el-shabbaz (malcolm x), stokely carmichael, huey p. newton, bobby seale, eldridge cleaver, angela davis, alice walker, thomas merton, bernie sanders, dennis kucinich, russ feingold, rev. cornel west, jim wallis, tony campolo, e.j. dionne, becky garrison, brian mclaren, rob bell, brian p. moore, rev. gene robinson, mary lou wallner, naomi klein, amy goodman, matt gonzalez, and on and on.  

and, i love the land itself.  this is a beautiful country, and we should be quite thankful and appreciative of that beauty – and protective of it.  and, we’ve given the world many wonderful things, from the idea of people being in power and overthrowing oppressive regimes (an idea we need to reconnect with) to more lighthearted yet amazing things from sports like baseball to so much of popular music – jazz, blues, folk, country, rock & roll, r&b, soul, funk, punk, hardcore, indie rock, hip hop and so on.  that’s something that always makes me feel better when the actions of our government cause disgust.  

during those times i also think back to the words of a random swedish couple i was talking to one night in providence, and one of them said when i asked why they’d leave such a seemingly utopic place for america “i’d rather be here, everywhere you go is beautiful, and everywhere you go sucks”.  how true.  

happy 4th.

MEJOR GUIONISTA

• Kyle Baker, NAT TURNER, Abrams books
• Ed Brubaker, CAPTAIN AMERICA, Marvel Comics
• John Gallagher, BUZZBOY, Sky Dog Comics
• Jeff Kinney, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
• Grant Morrison, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics

MEJOR DIBUJANTE

• Gabriel Ba, UMBRELLA ACADEMY, Dark Horse Comics
• Kyle Baker, NAT TURNER, Abrams Books
• Jimmy Gownley, AMELIA RULES, Renaissance Press
• Jason Kruse, WORLD OF QUEST, Yen Press
• Frank Quitely, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics

MEJOR CARICATURISTA

• Lar deSouza, LEAST I COULD DO, www.leasticoulddo.com
• John Gallagher, BUZZBOY, Sky Dog Comics
• Al Jaffee, TALL TALES, Abrams Books
• Jeff Kinney, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
• Thom Zahler, LOVE & CAPES, Maerkle Press

MEJOR ROTULISTA

• Jimmy Gownley, AMELIA RULES, Renaissance Press
• Rob Leigh, THE SPIRIT, DC Comics
• Doug Sherwood, LOCAL, Oni Press
• John Workman, MARVEL 1985, Marvel Comics
• Thom Zahler, BUZZBOY, Sky Dog Comics

MEJOR ENTINTADOR

• Rich Faber, BUZZBOY, Sky Dog Comics
• Jamie Grant, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics
• Jeff Kinney, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
• Mark Morales, THOR, Marvel Comics
• Ryan Winn, THE DARKNESS, Image Comics

MEJOR COLORISTA

• Frank Cammuso, OTTO’S ORANGE DAY, Raw Junior, LLC
• Jamie Grant, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics
• Laura Martin, THOR, Marvel Comics
• Wil Quintana, THE MICE TEMPLAR, Image Comics
• Dave Stewart, UMBRELLA ACADEMY, Dark Horse Comics

MEJOR PORTADISTA

• Frank Cho, BUZZBOY: SIDEKICKS RULE!#3, Sky Dog Press
• James Jean, FABLES, Vertigo Comics
• Jay Lynch, MINDSHAFT #23, Mindshaft Publishing
• Ken Rocafort, PILOT SEASON: CORE #1, Top Cow
• Alex Ross, JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA, DC Comics

MEJOR SERIE NUEVA

• THE DREAMER, IDW
• ECHO, Abstract Studios
• HIGH MOON, www.zudacomics.com
• NIGHT OWLS, www.zudacomics.com
• SUPERTRON, www.zudacomics.com

MEJOR SERIE REGULAR O MINISERIE

• ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics
• CAPTAIN AMERICA, Marvel Comics
• DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
• MICE TEMPLAR, Image Comics
• UMBRELLA ACADEMY, Dark Horse Comics

MEJOR PRESENTACIÓN BIOGRÁFICA, HISTÓRICA O PERIODÍSTICA

• DRAW!, editado por Mike Manley, Twomorrows Publishing
• HOW TO MAKE WEBCOMICS, Brad Guigar, Dave Kellett, Scott Kurtz y Kris Straub, Image Comics
• KIRBY: KING OF COMICS, Mark Evanier, Abrams Books
• SCORCHY SMITH AND THE ART OF NOEL SICKLES, editado por Dean Mullaney, IDW
• WORDLESS BOOKS: THE ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVELS, editado por David A. Berona, Abrams Books

MEJOR TIRA DE PRENSA O DE HUMOR GRÁFICO

• BREWSTER ROCKIT: SPACE GUY!, Tim Rickard, Tribune Media Services
• GET FUZZY, Darby Conley, United Features Syndicate
• MUTTS, Patrick McDonnell, King Features Syndicate
• THE NORM, Michael Jantze, Uclick Gocomics
• PEARLS BEFORE SWINE, Stephan Pastis, United Features Syndicate

MEJOR ANTOLOGÍA

• COMIC BOOK TATTOO, editado por Rantz Hoseley, Image Comics
• FLIGHT VOLUME 5, editado por Kazu Kibuishi, Villard
• MOME VOLUME 10, editado por Eric Reynolds, Fantagraphics Books
• PIXU #1, editado por Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, autoeditado
• POPGUN VOLUME 2, editado por Joe Keatinge y Mark Andrew Smith, Image Comics

MEJOR ÁLBUM ORIGINAL

• BOTTOMLESS BELLY BUTTON, Fantagraphics Books
• DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES, Amulet Books
• ESSEX COUNTY: THE COUNTRY NURSE, Top Shelf
• SKIM, Groundwood Books
• TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN, Top Shelf
• WORLD OF QUEST: VOL. 2, Yen Press

MEJOR ÁLBUM RECOPILATORIO

• AMELIA RULES!: FUNNY STORIES, Renaissance Press
• M, Abrams Books
• NAT TURNER, Abrams Books
• THE MICE TEMPLAR: VOL. 1, Image Comics
• QUEEN AND COUNTRY: VOLUME 3, Oni Press
• SKYSCRAPERS OF THE MIDWEST (HARDCOVER), Adhouse Books

MEJOR HISTORIA O NÚMERO ÚNICO

• ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY #19, autoeditado
• FIRST BORN: AFTERMATH #1, Top Cow
• LOVE AND ROCKETS, VOL. 3 #1, Fantagraphics Books
• M, Abrams Books
• NASCAR HEROES #5, NASCAR Comics
• NAT TURNER, Abrams Books
• THE AMAZING REMARKABLE MONSIEUR LEOTARD, First Second
• Y: THE LAST MAN #60, Vertigo Comics

MEJOR PROYECTO DE REEDICIÓN DOMÉSTICO (EE.UU.)

• ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS, IDW
• COMPLETE PEANUTS, Fantagraphics Books
• COMPLETE TERRY AND THE PIRATES, IDW
• SCORCHY SMITH AND THE ART OF NOEL SICKLES, IDW
• WACKY PACKAGES, Abrams Books

MEJOR EDICIÓN NORTEAMERICANA DE MATERIAL EXTRANJERO

• GUS AND HIS GANG, First Second
• POCKET FULL OF RAIN, Fantagraphics Books
• RED COLORED ELEGY, Drawn and Quarterly
• SOLANIN, Viz
• WITCHBLADE TAKERU MANGA #’s 11 & 12, Top Cow

MEJOR CÓMIC ON-LINE

• BLACK CHERRY BOMBSHELLS, Tony Trovarello y John Zito, www.zudacomics.com
• HIGH MOON, Scott O. Brown, www.zudacomics.com
• LEAST I COULD DO, Lar deSouza y Ryan Sohmer, www.leasticoulddo.com
• NIGHT OWLS, Bobby y Peter Timony, www.zudacomics.com
• PVP, Scott Kurtz, www.pvponline.com

PREMIO ESPECIAL AL HUMOR EN CÓMIC

• Lar deSouza, LEAST I COULD DO, www.leasticoulddo.com
• John Gallagher, BUZZBOY, Sky Dog Comics
• Al Jaffee, TALL TALES, Abrams Books
• Jeff Kinney, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
• David Malki, WONDERMARK, www.wondermark.com

PREMIO ESPECIAL A LA EXCELENCIA EN LA PRESENTACIÓN

• COMPLETE LOCAL: HARDCOVER EDITION, Ryan Kelly y Brian Wood, Oni Press
• KIRBY: KING OF COMICS, Mark Evanier, Abrams Books
• QUEEN AND COUNTRY: VOLUME 3, Greg Rucka, Mike Norton, Steve Rolston y Chris Samnee, Oni Press
• TALL TALES, Al Jaffee, Abrams Books
• WONDERMARK, VOL. 1: BEARDS OF OUR FOREFATHERS, David Malki, Dark Horse Comics

MEJOR NOVEL

• Matt Cassan, NASCAR: HEROES, Nascar Comics
• Bryan J.L. Glass, THE MICE TEMPLAR, Image Comics
• Laura Innes, THE DREAMER, IDW
• Tim Sievert, THAT SALTY AIR, Top Shelf
• Bobby Timony, NIGHT OWLS, www.zudacomics.com

Via: Robot 6

Burgan, M. (2006). Nat Turner’s slave rebellion (Richard Dominguez, 
     Bob Wiacek, and Charles Barnett III, illus.). Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.
Genre: Informational, graphic novel, non-fiction
Grade Range: 3-5

Nat Turner was a slave in Southhampton County, Virginia during the 1820’s and early 1830’s. He knew slavery was unfair and that his people did not deserve to be treated in such a way. He was also known among his fellow slaves for speaking to God. He claims God told him to lead a rebellion, and that is exactly what he did. The events leading up to, taking place during, and resulting from this slave rebellion are told in a way that will capture young audiences far more effectively than any textbook.

In this graphic novel, readers are provided with a fun and exciting way to study history as more of a story than factual information lost in a sea of paragraphs. As opposed to the boring and often confusing pages of a textbook, Michael Burgan uses simple narration and dialogue to get his points across. The book is directed toward a younger audience, providing explanations of concepts that children may not already understand. For example, Burgan describes the concept of slavery in the following way.

Slaves were the property of their owners. They had no legal rights and could not live where they wanted. Men called overseers made sure the slaves did what they were told.

In between the textboxes containing narrated text, historical characters from long ago come to life with dialogue of their own. A messenger on horseback warns a white farmer, “There’s trouble near Cross Keys. A bunch of slaves are killing white people.”

Children are able to comprehend the events even more effectively by looking at the illustrations than by reading the words. By presenting the story in comic book form, young readers are attracted to the text. Illustrators Domiguez, Wiacek, and Barnett use bold colors and well defined lines to make the characters come to life. Great detail is focused in the facial expressions, allowing the readers to see for themselves how these characters probably felt throughout the rebellion. Extremely action-packed, the illustrations move the story along as Nat Turner leads the rebel slaves in their revenge from farm to farm.

Purely informational, the author relays only the facts about the events of Nat Turner’s slave rebellion. He points out the controversy that exists concerning whether or not Nat Turner did the right thing and leaves readers with the opportunity to formulate their own opinions on the matter.

At the back of the book, Burgan provides readers with several helpful supplemental pages. One page lists several facts that give more information about Nat Turner’s slave rebellion that were not included in the story. There is also a glossary, providing readers with definitions of tough words such as “abolition” and “militia.” Lists of related internet sites, books on the same topic, and references all provide ways to find more information.

The great thing about this book is that there is more to read! Capstone Press’ Graphic Library includes over twenty other Graphic History titles.

View/buy the entire series!

About the author:

Michael Burgan was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1960. His hobbies and interests include playwriting, traveling, cooking, and watching sports. He is also a member of the Dramatists Guild of America.

About the illustrators:

Richard Dominguez is an illustrator for children’s books. He has illustrated other books including Frank Zamboni and the Ice-resurfacing Machine, Schoolchildren’s Blizzard, and Understanding Photosynthesis with Max Axiom.

Bob Wiaeck is the author and/or illustrator of many children’s books and books for young adults. He attended the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. Some of the works he has contributed to include X-Men, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Hulk.

Charles Barnett III is experienced in the art of graphic novels. Some of his numerous comic illustrations include CaptainAmerica, The Avengers, and Teen Titans.

Sources:

http://biography.jrank.org/pages/2050/Burgan-Michael-1960.html

http://www.jacketflap.com/persondetail

http://www.catskillcomics.com/barnett.htm

 http://www.nycomiccon.com/images/100453/2009_Graphics/bobwiacekweb.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g205/mrmaskrado/Chesty%20Sanchez/ElGatoNegroChestySanchezPoo.jpg

http://images.google.com

Ok, FTR…so like we jus’ said yer gonna be gettin’ much mo’ Good Stuff here onna much mo’ regular basis, n’ we ACTUALLY Meant It!

Az w/ otha thangz in “reality”…sometimez Life Happenz…so we didn’t get ta last night’z entry like we wanted 2. We had some unmitigated Dopeness ta pass on ta our many Readerz…n’ yes, People, we do this 4 U n’ U, alone…

Unlike otha writerz, bloggerz, editorz, or whateverz…we’re obviously not lookin’ ta score a corporate sponsorship or book deal outta any a’ this—we doubt very highly that Budweiser iz gonna wanna sponsor Black Folk who give propz ta Malcolm X n’ Nat Turner…not good 4 (their) bidness, we ‘spoze…but, if white folks n’ othaz can have their bud…then we say tha Brothaz n’ Sistaz n’ ALL like-minded, kind-spirited soulz can have theirz, too! No mo’ askin’ white folkz or anybody else ta “approve” Our High, God Damn It! If we wanna smoke…WE WILL n’ UN-apologetically so!!!

Our Personal Fave - Island Sweet Skunk Bud...Yeah, Mon!{( 8K

So…this entry iz specifically design’d ta address multiple issuez all in tha same post.

Here’z jus’ a taste a’ why we didn’t get this finished last night…We passed this lil’ bit a’ Dopeness on ta this Cool Chick—Mizz Lizzeelicious-ness–we’ve been talkin’ to, n’ we sincerely hope she duzn’t “quit” us over this one…but it’z only right y’all should get tha same info…along w/ some otha BadASS blogz/websitez ta check out @ yer Leisure. Enjoy:

…n’ It Don’t Stop there:

I don’t care what color this nigga iz…hiz shit on this entry iz soooo Dope, I ain’t even gonna write my own take on it. Judge (or not = ) 4 yo-selvez!

http://srjerman.wordpress.com/2007/08/15/the-declarizzle-of-independence/

So…Allow us ta recap…

From a Good Bud (One a’ Our Favorite White Boyz…or FWB, 4 short = ):

http://stuffstonerslike.wordpress.com/

Bud Good:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/28561896/

n’…Dopelicious Freedom Budding = )

http://srjerman.wordpress.com/2007/08/15/the-declarizzle-of-independence/

November 11, 1918

World War I ends

At 11 o’clock in the morning of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the First World War–known at the time as the Great War–comes to an end.

By the end of autumn 1918, the alliance of the Central Powers was unraveling in its war effort against the better supplied and coordinated Allied powers. Facing exhausted resources on the battlefield, turmoil on the home front and the surrender of its weaker allies, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire, Germany was finally forced to seek an armistice with the Allies in the early days of November 1918. On November 7, the German chancellor, Prince Max von Baden, sent delegates to Compiegne, France, to negotiate the agreement; it was signed at 5:10 a.m. on the morning of November 11.

Ferdinand Foch, commander in chief of all Allied forces on the Western Front, sent a message by telegraph to all his commanders: “Hostilities will cease on the entire front November 11 at 11 a.m. French time.” The commanders ordered the fighting to continue throughout the morning of November 11, prompting later accusations that some men died needlessly in the last few hours of the war. As the historian John Buchan has written of that memorable morning: “Officers had their watches in their hands, and the troops waited with the same grave composure with which they had fought.” As watch hands reached 11, “there came a second of expectant silence, and then a curious rippling sound, which observers far behind the front likened to the noise of a light wind. It was the sound of men cheering from the Vosges [mountains] to the sea.”

The Great War took the life of some 9 million soldiers; 21 million more were wounded. Civilian casualties caused indirectly by the war numbered close to 10 million. The two nations most affected were Germany and France, each of which sent some 80 percent of their male populations between the ages of 15 and 49 into battle. At the peace conference in Paris in 1919, Allied leaders would state their desire to build a post-war world that would safeguard itself against future conflicts of such devastating scale. The Versailles Treaty, signed on June 28, 1919, would not achieve this objective. Saddled with war guilt and heavy reparations and denied entrance into the League of Nations, Germany complained it had signed the armistice under false pretenses, having believed any peace would be a “peace without victory” as put forward by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in his famous Fourteen Points speech of January 1918. As the years passed, hatred of the treaty and its authors settled into a smoldering resentment in Germany that would, two decades later, be counted–to an arguable extent–among the causes of the Second World War.

But that would all come later. On November 11, 1918, the dominant emotion for many on and off the battlefield was relief at the coming of peace, mixed with somber mourning for the many lives lost. In a letter written to his parents in the days following the armistice, one soldier–26-year-old Lieutenant Lewis Plush of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF)–eloquently pondered the war’s lasting impact: “There was a war, a great war, and now it is over. Men fought to kill, to maim, to destroy. Some return home, others remain behind forever on the fields of their greatest sacrifice. The rewards of the dead are the lasting honors of martyrs for humanity; the reward of the living is the peaceful conscience of one who plays the game of life and plays it square.”

“World War I ends.” 2008. The History Channel website. 11 Nov 2008, 11:34 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=52123.

On This Day

1620 – The Mayflower Compact was signed by the 41 men on the Mayflower when they landed in what is now Provincetown Harbor near Cape Cod. The compact called for “just and equal laws.

1831 – Nat Turner, a slave and educated minister, was hanged in Jerusalem, VA, after inciting a violent slave uprising.

1889 – Washington became the 42nd state of the United States.

1921 – The Tomb of the Unknowns was dedicated at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia by U.S. President Harding.

1940 – The Jeep made its debut.

1965 – The government of Rhodesia declared its independence from Britain. The country later became known as Zimbabwe.

1966 – The U.S. launched Gemini 12 from Cape Kennedy, FL. The craft circled the Earth 59 times before returning.

1972 – The U.S. Army turned over its base at Long Bihn to the South Vietnamese army. The event symbolized the end of direct involvement in the Vietnam War by the U.S. military.

1984 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan accepted the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as a gift to the nation from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

1991 – The U.S. stationed its first diplomat in Cambodia in 16 years to help the nation arrange democratic elections.

1993 – In Washington, DC, the Vietnam Women’s Memorial was dedicated to honor the more than 11,000 women who had served in the Vietnam War.

1996 – The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund unveiled “The Wall That Heals.” The work was a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that would tour communities throughout the United States.

November 11, 1885

George Patton born

George Smith Patton, one of the great American generals of World War II, is born in San Gabriel, California.

Patton came from a family with a long history of military service. After studying at West Point, he served as a tank officer in World War I, and his experience in that conflict, along with his extensive military study, led him to become an advocate of the crucial importance of the tank in future warfare. After the American entrance into World War II, Patton was placed in command of an important U.S. tank division and played a key role in the Allied invasion of French North Africa in 1942. In 1943, Patton led the U.S. Seventh Army in its assault on Sicily and won fame for out-commanding Montgomery during the so-called Race to Messina.

Although Patton was one of the ablest American commanders in World War II, he was also one of the most controversial. He presented himself as a modern-day cavalryman, designed his own uniform, and was known to make eccentric claims that he was a direct descendant of great military leaders of the past through reincarnation. During the Sicilian campaign, Patton generated considerable controversy when he accused a hospitalized U.S. soldier suffering from battle fatigue of cowardice and then personally struck him across the face. The famously profane general was forced to issue a public apology and was reprimanded by General Dwight Eisenhower.

However, when it was time for the invasion of Western Europe, Eisenhower could find no general as formidable as Patton, and the general was again granted an important military post. In 1944, Patton commanded the U.S. Third Army in the invasion of France, and in December of that year his expertise in military movement and tank warfare helped crush the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes.

During one of his many successful campaigns, General Patton was said to have declared, “Compared to war, all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance.” On December 21, 1945, he died in a hospital in Germany from injuries sustained in an automobile accident near Mannheim.

“George Patton born.” 2008. The History Channel website. 11 Nov 2008, 11:29 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=5515.

On This Day in Wisconsin

1915 – William Proxmire Born
On this date William Proxmire was born in Lake Forest, Illinois. Proxmire, a graduate of both Yale and Harvard, served in the Military Intelligence Service during World War II. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1951 and ran unsucessfully as the Democratic candidate for governor in 1952, 1954, and 1956. He did however successfully campaign for the United States Senate seat left open by the death of Joseph McCarthy in 1957. Proxmire held this seat until January 3, 1989. You can learn more about him, as well as see photos and read some of his his newsletters to constituents, in our Turning Points in Wisconsin History collection. [Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]

October 30, 1941

FDR approves Lend-Lease aid to the USSR

On this day in 1941, President Roosevelt, determined to keep the United States out of the war while helping those allies already mired in it, approves $1 billion in Lend-Lease loans to the Soviet Union. The terms: no interest and repayment did not have to start until five years after the war was over.

The Lend-Lease program was devised by President Roosevelt and passed by Congress on March 11, 1941. Originally, it was meant to aid Great Britain in its war effort against the Germans by giving the chief executive the power to “sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of” any military resources the president deemed ultimately in the interest of the defense of the United States. The reasoning was: If a neighbor was successful in defending his home, the security of your home was enhanced.

Although the Soviet Union had already been the recipient of American military weapons, and now had been promised $1 billion in financial aid, formal approval to extend the Lend-Lease program to the USSR had to be given by Congress. Anticommunist feeling meant much heated debate, but Congress finally gave its approval to the extension on November 7.

By the end of the war, more than $50 billion in funds, weapons, aircraft, and ships had been distributed to 44 countries. After the war, the Lend-Lease program morphed into the Marshall Plan, which allocated funds for the revitalization of “friendly” democratic nations–even if they were former enemies.

“FDR approves Lend-Lease aid to the USSR.” 2008. The History Channel website. 30 Oct 2008, 12:20 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=6633.

On This Day

1817 – The independent government of Venezuela was established by Simon Bolivar.

1831 – Escaped slave Nat Turner was apprehended in Southampton County, VA, several weeks after leading the bloodiest slave uprising in American history.

1938 – Orson Welles’ “The War of the Worlds” aired on CBS radio. The belief that the realistic radio dramatization was a live news event about a Martian invasion caused panic among listeners.

1943 – In Moscow, a declaration was signed by the Governments of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and China called for an early establishment of an international organization to maintain peace and security. The goal was supported on December 1, 1943, at a meeting in Teheran.

1945 – The U.S. government announced the end of shoe rationing.

1953 – General George C. Marshall was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1961 – The Soviet Union tested a hydrogen bomb with a force of approximately 58 megatons.

1961 – The Soviet Party Congress unanimously approved an order to remove Joseph Stalin’s body from Lenin’s tomb.

1975 – The New York Daily News ran the headline “Ford to City: Drop Dead.” The headline came a day after U.S. President Gerald R. Ford said he would veto any proposed federal bailout of New York City.

October 30, 1953

Eisenhower approves NSC 162/2

On October 30, 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally approves National Security Council Paper No. 162/2 (NSC 162/2). The top secret document made clear that America’s nuclear arsenal must be maintained and expanded to meet the communist threat. It also made clear the connection between military spending and a sound American economy.

The paper began by warning that the Soviet Union already possessed sufficient atomic weapons and delivery capabilities to inflict a “crippling blow to our industrial base and our continued ability to prosecute a war.” While in the short-term such action by the Soviets seemed unlikely, this did not mean that the United States could afford to slacken its efforts to stockpile “sufficient atomic weapons.” In specific situations, the United States should “make clear to the USSR and Communist China…its intention to react with military force against any aggression by Soviet bloc armed forces.” Nuclear weapons should be “as available for use as other weapons.”

NSC 162/2 indicated the growing reliance of the United States on its nuclear arsenal as a deterrent to communist aggression during the Eisenhower years. It also suggested that concerns were being raised about the ability of the American economy to support both a booming domestic standard of living and massive military expenditures. Its approval by the President was a definite sign of his so-called “New Look” foreign policy that depended on more cost efficient nuclear weapons to fight the Cold War.

“Eisenhower approves NSC 162/2.” 2008. The History Channel website. 30 Oct 2008, 12:15 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=2469.