Denmark Vesey's Bible
eBook - ePub

Denmark Vesey's Bible

The Thwarted Revolt That Put Slavery and Scripture on Trial

  1. 216 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Denmark Vesey's Bible

The Thwarted Revolt That Put Slavery and Scripture on Trial

About this book

A timely and provocative account of the Bible’s role in one of the most consequential episodes in the history of slavery

On July 2, 1822, Denmark Vesey, a formerly enslaved man, was hanged in Charleston, South Carolina. He was convicted of plotting what might have been the largest insurrection against slaveholders in US history. Witnesses claimed that Vesey appealed to numerous biblical texts to promote and justify the revolt. While sentencing Vesey to death, Lionel Henry Kennedy, a magistrate at the trial, accused Vesey not only of treason but also of “attempting to pervert the sacred words of God into a sanction for crimes of the blackest hue.” Denmark Vesey’s Bible tells the story of this momentous trial, examining the role of scriptural interpretation in the deadly struggle against American white supremacy and its brutal enforcement.

Jeremy Schipper brings the trial and its aftermath vividly to life, drawing on court documents, personal letters, sermons, speeches, and editorials. He shows how Vesey compared people of African descent with enslaved Israelites in the Bible, while his accusers portrayed plantation owners as benevolent biblical patriarchs responsible for providing religious instruction to the enslaved. What emerges is an explosive portrait of an antebellum city in the grips of racial terror, violence, and contending visions of biblical truth.

Shedding light on the uses of scripture in America’s troubled racial history, Denmark Vesey’s Bible draws vital lessons from a terrible moment in the nation’s past, enabling us to confront racism and religious discord today with renewed urgency and understanding.

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Yes, you can access Denmark Vesey's Bible by Jeremy Schipper in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Historical Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraph
  6. Contents
  7. List of Illustrations
  8. List of Major Figures
  9. Timeline of Major Events
  10. Preface
  11. Acknowledgments
  12. Introduction. Crimes of the Blackest Hue
  13. Chapter One. He Shall Surely Be Put to Death
  14. Chapter Two. By the Mouth of Witnesses
  15. Chapter Three. With Fear and Trembling
  16. Chapter Four. Now Profitable
  17. Chapter Five. They Shall Be Your Bondmen Forever
  18. Chapter Six. For He Is His Money
  19. Epilogue. No Respecter of Persons
  20. Appendix
  21. Notes
  22. Bibliography
  23. Image Credits
  24. Index