Lecture and Book Signing with Daniel Rasmussen
In American Uprising: The Untold Story of America’s Largest Slave Revolt (Harper, 2011), historian Daniel Rasmussen examines the greatest act of slave resistance in American history.


Thursday, January 6 • 6–8 p.m.
533 Royal Street
Free and open to the public. Seating is limited.
Reservations: (504) 523-4662 or wrc@hnoc.org.

In American Uprising: The Untold Story of America’s Largest Slave Revolt (Harper 2011), the brilliant young historian Daniel Rasmussen examines the greatest act of slave resistance in American history. On January 8, 1811, a group of slaves began a violent rebellion on a River Road sugar plantation, their goal to establish a black republic on the banks of the Mississippi River. They marched toward New Orleans, enlisting more slaves to their cause as they closed in on the practically defenseless city.

Through astute detective work, Rasmussen reveals the details of the slaves’ elaborate plot and its shocking conclusion: federal officials and French planters exacted a terrible retribution, beheading more than 100 slaves and hanging their corpses from the city gates. This gripping book provides new insight into the American South soon after the Louisiana Purchase, with the Haitian Revolution a recent memory and the War of 1812 looming on the horizon.

On January 8, 1811, a group of sugar plantation slaves violently rebelled along the River Road outside of New Orleans and, enlisting additional slaves to their cause as they went, began marching on the practically defenseless city. Their goal was to establish a black republic on the shores of the Mississippi River.

To mark the 200th anniversary of the revolt, Rasmussen will speak and sign copies of American Uprising at The Collection on January 6, 2011, at 6 p.m. Copies of the book will be available at The Shop at The Collection for $26.99, and members of The Collection receive a 10 percent discount on all purchases at the shop. For more information, visit www.hnoc.org or call (504) 523-4662.

Daniel Rasmussen graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard University in 2009. His senior thesis on the 1811 revolt won three prizes, including the Hoopes Prize, Harvard’s top undergraduate academic honor.