Exploring American Histories: Printed Page 237

Document 8.2

Mary Hassal | Secret History, 1808

The Haitian Revolution elicited a range of emotions from Americans who read or heard about the island’s violent slave uprising. Unlike most people in the United States, however, Mary Hassal of Philadelphia was in Haiti during the historic event. She relayed her firsthand interpretation of the revolution in a series of letters to her uncle, Vice President Aaron Burr. The following excerpt describes the grim fate of three black rebels.

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Source: Mary Hassal, Secret History; or, The Horrors of Santo Domingo (Philadelphia: Bradford and Inskeep, 1808), 99–100.

  • Question

    What did these slaves do to receive such severe punishment?

  • Question

    How does Hassal describe the men’s reactions to their deaths?

  • Question

    What effect did the executions have on the people of Cape Francois, white and black?

Put It in Context

Question

How might reports like this one have contributed to American slaveholders’ fear of slave revolts?