New York Burning

Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan

De: Jill Lepore

Narrado por: Beth McDonald

A gripping tale and groundbreaking investigation of a mysterious, and largely forgotten, eighteenth-century slave plot to destroy New York City.

Over a few weeks in 1741, 10 fires blazed across Manhattan. With each new fire, panicked whites saw more evidence of a slave uprising. Tried and convicted before the colony's Supreme Court, 13 black men were burned at the stake and 17 were hanged. Four whites, the alleged ringleaders of the plot, were also hanged, and seven more were pardoned on condition that they never set foot in New York again. More than 100 black men and women were thrown into a dungeon beneath City Hall, where many were forced to confess and name names, sending still more men to the gallows and to the stake.

In a narrative rich with period detail and vivid description, Jill Lepore pieces together the events and the thinking that led white New Yorkers to make "bonfires of the Negroes". She reconstructs the harsh past of a city that slavery built, and almost destroyed. She explores the social and political climate of the 1730s and '40s and examines the nature and tenor of the interactions between slaves and their masters. She shows too that the 1741 conspiracy can be understood only alongside a more famous episode from the city's past: the 1735 trial of the printer John Peter Zenger. And, weighing both new and old evidence, she makes clear how the threat of black rebellion made white political pluralism palatable.

Lucid, probing, captivatingly written, New York Burning is a revelatory study of the ways in which slavery both destabilized and created American politics.

©2005 Jill Lepore (P)2005 HighBridge Company

Reseñas de la Crítica

"In this first-rate social history, Lepore not only adroitly examines the case's travesty, questioning whether such a conspiracy ever existed, but also draws a splendid portrait of the struggles, prejudices, and triumphs of a very young New York City." (Publishers Weekly)

Why does the audio version skip paragraphs of text?

Reading along with the audio version I found that paragraphs of text were skipped over heavily through out the audio version. It made it difficult to follow along and left out important details of this Microhistory. Very disappointing.

A cast of thousands

Not really, but it felt like it. I found it difficult to keep track of all of them, who was accusing whom, who got off, the races and positions of the players, etc. Might have worked better for me as a printed page and some tables on chronology and the cast list and some footnotes.

It is a series of events I knew nothing about but I couldn’t say I have a clearer picture now. A number of NYC buildings burnt, probably by humans. A number of people were burnt, definitely by humans. Some more people were hanged, imprisoned and pardoned. Some committed suicide. I think I recall some moving away. Some were Black and some were White. Some were women and some were men. Somebody in Boston didn’t like it.

Interesting

An obviously well researched book that was well written and is presented well by the narrator.

Heavily abridged

An excellent, well-researched, and deeply engaging history. The narration is also exceptionally good. Unfortunately, between 1/4 and 1/3 of the print book has been cut out in this version. This abridgment excises not only key events, but much of the poetic nuance and juxtaposition.

The audiobook also omits updated research and corrections that appear in newer editions.

As this is used in so many classrooms, and it is written by one of the U.S.'s most well-known and accessible historians, LePore's study really deserves an updated, unabridged recording.