arrived over sixty whites lay dead. Although the uprising was a brutal bloodshed Degler makes it clear that the true impact of the uprising was felt in the aftermath. As news of the uprising spread extreme paranoia set in thruought the south. Subsequently, many blacks were killed in the frenzy following the insurrection before federal troops arrived to calm the fury. The paranoia was not necessarily unjustified, in 1830 the black population in Virginia outnumbered the white population by 81,0005 so, if in fact the black population did unite as a whole they very well could take over Virginia and if the slave insurrection spread the whole south would be in jeopardy . Degler emphasizes this event because it is at the heart of the black influence in the early south. In essence Degler is showing that blacks and whites had an equal influence on each other. The black influence was driven by fear and suspicion and the white influence was driven by power and control. Also, Degler eludes to a common theme thruought southern history in that the primary goal of the whites was to prevent interaction between themselves and the blacks. In doing so they keep the blacks alienated from normal societal interactions which in turn reduces the number of whites that sympathize with the black position. That is why Degler gives so much credit to the southern dissenters in this book. Because they crossed those lines.Degler is obviously very partial to the southern dissenters and rightfully so. Degler argues that if one is to understand the south it is important to understand the role the dissenters played in the south and what they had to endure in order to do so. The book sheds much light on the sheer complexity of the southern dissenters situation. The dissenters faced a monumental task in that they were pushing to change the economy and politics of south. Unfortunately for the dissenters politics and economy were the most rock solid institutions in the sou...
