AHC ( and wish)Large scale visible passive slave resistence

You challenge, i you choose to accept it, is to have a large scale visible strike by slaves inspired perhaps by ideas from outside?

Bonus points if abolitionist had mangaged to persuade hill and back country whites that ending slavery served their intersts too.

(you could imagine slavery lasting longer, no acw and perhaps new reels or whatever?
 
Large scale strikes require a fast and easy means to communicate with the strikers so that 1) they can stay organized, and 2) support each other's morale. If they're not able to stay in contact one another, it's too easy for local groups to be defeated in detail, or enter into local compromises that subvert the large scale strike.

The early labor movement had telegraph wires and mass newspapers, and an initial means to mobilize early and create a core labor leadership and national organizations. Later that was supplemented by the telephone and radio. Later television. Now peopel can use the internet, email, twitter, and their cell phones.

No such things exist in the first half of the 19th century or earlier for anyone to use, much less slaves who are kept isolated and ignorant by their masters. To be honest, it's probably impossible to coordinate such a thing, and rather inconceivable that it could happen spontaneously.

Let's say you are a slave. Someone comes to you and says on June 1 you should simply stop working. All the other slaves in the US will stop working as well, and by doing so they will force the slaveholders to capitulate. Why would you actually listen to this guy? By refusing to work, you know you face immediate punishment (perhaps brutal or even lethal). You are not able to discuss this with the group of local slaves, as doing so will meet such punishment far earlier than the June 1 date. Furthermore, you are not sure all local slaves will even do this. Why would the favored house slaves or the rare highly skilled slaves risk it? How can you even know that all the other slaves across the southern US are doing so? What happens if there is no massive, large scale work stoppage, and you only make yourself a target? What happens if there is a work stoppage, but locally your group is wiped out. How does that help anyone (certainly not you)? If you hear about some other local group that's wiped out, what could you do to save them? What if everyone else quickly makes peace with the slave masters, but you hold out and get punished because you make peace too late?

In an age of modern communications, you can quickly verify whether there is a mass movement or not. You can respond quickly and efficiently to tactical changes, or seize strategic opportunities. You can organize quickly and develop a large membership with core leaders who negotiate better on your behalf, rather than negotiating in small groups that are easily bought off or intimidated. You can send support to groups who are isolated. None of these things are possible for 19th century slaves.

Local sporadic rebellions? Of course. But not a coordinated large scale protest.
 
Large scale strikes require a fast and easy means to communicate with the strikers so that 1) they can stay organized, and 2) support each other's morale.

I would imagine something like the Indian Mutany here, a plantation (or two or three near each other) has a revolt, were the slaves take contol. They quickly send out runners to other nearby farms / plantations with word spreading at the speed of running.

If the state officials are caught on the hop the slaves could get contol of an "national guard" armory......

With the northern states blocking fedral aid to the states to supress the revolt it spreads.
 
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