New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, And Conspiracy?

The book, New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan written by Jill Lepore, takes you inside of eighteenth-century Manhattan in the year of 1741 and discusses the tales of the New York Conspiracy of 1741. Lepore showcases slave conspiracy, corruption and rebellion within New York City in a time of which our nation was split and rigid with tension between African American slaves and Caucasians. Throughout the book, Lepore brings to light the many pieces of evidence that end up criminalizing four Caucasians and over 100 African Americans. Because of this, the book written by Lepore does have more than enough factual information and historic details to allow me to write an accurate and effective essay. …show more content…
The first fire set Fort George ablaze on March 18. Following soon after, the house that belonged to Lieutenant Governor George Clark was burnt down. Then on the sixth day of April four fires raged. At first, citizens of New York thought the fires had to be accidental; however, there were more fires occurring than usual which led people to begin questioning the fires as the start of a rebellion of the slaves. Eventually, word had spread that there was a group of slaves and poor Caucasian men that were plotting to destroy New York City. This story had developed due to the fact that John Hughson held a rendezvous with slaves and Caucasians which was thought to have been a meeting to discuss actions to bring on a slave rebellion. During this meeting, it is said that they were going to burn the city and murder Caucasians except for the women. This was a conclusion many thought of since conflicts between African Americans and Caucasians were occurring more