Zinn Chapter 9

Throughout our lives we have always been taught by teachers, parents, and friends to stand up for what you believe in and for what you believe is right. We live in a country where we have a right of freedom of speech, and to express ourselves anyway we wish. So when I read Zinn Chapter 9, I was very shocked at the way the rebellious slaves were treated.
Zinn Chapter 9 starts off with explaining how successful the plantation fields were in the 1800s. In 1808, a law was passed to illegalize the imporation of slaves in the United States. However, this law did not prevent plantation owners to keep goin on with their business. “From the beginning, the law went unenforced,” says John Hope Frankline. They realized how hard of workers the African-Americans were and continued on importing slaves into their plantations. This success was because of the hard work the African-American slaves put in day in and day out. Between tobacco, cotton, and rice, African-American slaves were benefiting the white economy in the early years of the United States. However, the African-Americans hard work would not benefit the African-Americans. Slave revolts were not common in the United States because of the fear of the unexpected. However the when the largest slave revolt did occur in the United States, there were great consequences. In the year 1811, near present day New Orleans, four to five hundred slaves came together after a rising at a plantation. With cane knives, axes, and clubs in hand the slaves began marching from plantation to plantation. Along the march, their number began to increase more and more. The slave revolt was eventually attacked by the United States Army. Out of the slave revolt, sixty-six were killed on the spot and another sixteen were tried and killed.
How could the plantation owners continue with the importing of the slaves even after a law was passed to prohibit such a thing? The plantation owners were well aware of the law but they were too greedy to follow it. John Hope Franklin was quoted saying “The long, unprotected coast, the certain markets, and the prospects of huge profits were too much for the American merchants and they yielded to the temptation…”.
Although this reading was one of the more difficult ones to finish, I enjoyed what Zinn had to say. I believe the way he writes and paints a picture in your head as you read, benefits him as a writer. However, I was surprised to see the plantation owner’s actions and how they suffered no consequences yet the African-Americans slaves are the ones who are punished and killed.