As Zinn reports, plantation owners complained that during the Civil War, enslaved black people showed they could not be trusted, because there were so many instances where those most trusted were the first to desert the plantation owners to go to the North, and in many cases fight for the North army against the South.
One minister observed in 1862, "I think every one, but with one or two exceptions will go to the Yankees. Eliza and her family are certain to go. She does not conceal thoughts but plainly manifests her opinions by her conduct — insolent and insulting."
Quoting Zinn:
And a woman's plantation journal of January 1865:
"The people are all idle on the plantations, most of them seeking their own pleasure. Many servants have proven faithful, others false and rebellious against all authority and restraint. . . . Their condition is one of perfect anarchy and rebellion. They have placed themselves in perfect antagonism to their owners and to all government and control. . . . Nearly all the house servants have left their homes; and from most of the plantations they have gone in a body."
Excerpt From
A People's History of the United States
Howard Zinn
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