New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan

Jill Lepore

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2005

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 2

Chapters 3-4

Chapters 5-6

Chapter 7-Epilogue

Key Figures

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Fire

Fire is an important force throughout New York Burning, with its dangers deeply impacting the behavior of individuals throughout the story. 18th-century cities such as New York are especially vulnerable to the dangers of fires, with a single accidental fire capable of sparking a blaze that can reduce a city to ashes. In response to the potential deadliness of fire, New York plans several strategies for fighting fires, including the formation of a “bucket brigade” (42) and the purchase of two man-powered fire engines. However, even these tactics are sometimes not enough to stop fires. The blaze at Fort George in 1741 is only stopped after rain serendipitously puts the fire out, and Lepore suggests that without the rain, the entire city may have been destroyed. The incredible danger and unpredictability of fires helps to explain why some New Yorkers, such as Horsmanden, are so terrified by the prospect of a slave plot to burn the city to the ground.

However, fire in New York Burning also takes on a metaphorical significance, and the fires of 1741 become symbolic of the slaves’ long simmering frustration at being denied their freedoms. Rumors of the slave plot abound for years prior to the outbreak of the fires, and the slave’s discussions of rebellion at Hughson’s tavern could be understood as a way for the slaves to fantasize about finally fighting back and gaining their freedom. In 1741, these long-held dreams finally become reality when fire breaks out at Fort George, and in the weeks to follow, various slaves begin engaging in acts of rebellion and lighting new fires. Indeed, for some slaves, the sight of the fire instills feelings of joy and celebration: When asked to throw water on the flames, the slave Cuffee overturns the bucket and “huzzah’d, danced, whistled and sung” (43).

Freemasons

The Freemasons are a secret society that trace their origins to “London around 1720” (141), reaching Colonial America in the 1730s. The Freemasons often meet in private lodges, where educated men would gather to drink and discuss politics. Often, the Freemasons require any participants to first partake in an elaborate ritual, with “initiaties ‘kiss[ing] the book’ to swear to secrecy” (12). Newspapers would frequently carry stories of the Freemason’s rituals, often openly mocking the seeming ridiculousness of the Freemason’s activities.

In Lepore’s argument, knowledge of popular attitudes towards the Freemasons is necessary in order to understand the purpose of Hughson’s own initiations. Lepore notes that the rituals performed at Hughson’s tavern closely resemble stories of the Freemason’s own rituals, with one crucial distinction: The participants being made to swear to Hughson’s plot are all black. Lepore thus argues that Hughson’s initiations may have been nothing more than a drunken game, or “a topsy-turvy parody of gentlemen’s clubs and politicians and Freemasons so insulting and unsettling to whites […] that they mistook it for rebellion” (13).

Negro Burial Ground

The Negro Burial Ground is described in the Epilogue of New York Burning, where it becomes an important symbol for the continuing ignorance of the plight of slavery in the United States. The cemetery is formed in 1697, after the Trinity Church “banned blacks from its graveyard” (227). Any deceased slaves, including those executed by Horsmanden, would be buried in the burial ground. Slave funerals are closely restricted by New York laws, with little ceremony allowed, and no more than 12 mourners in attendance. Slaves are often buried with “shells or beads […] or delicately placed coins over [their] eyes” (227). The Burial Ground is kept in use until 1795, after which developers build houses atop the valuable land.

For nearly 200 hundred years, the buried bodies are forgotten about, until archaeologists rediscover the burial ground and begin to study the 400 burials excavated at the site. Although little is known about the identity of the burials, the archaeologists are able to examine the bodies to determine “who was a carpenter, who rode horses, who was a butcher” (229). As such, the burials become an important lens into the lives of hundreds of New York’s slaves, whose histories have otherwise been forgotten. However, Lepore notes that the buried slaves still lack proper historical recognition. In 2003, a memorial is planned for the 400 bodies, with coffins marched through New York’s streets. However, many in the crowd are frustrated that there isn’t more official commemoration of the slave’s plight, with one individual saying: “And did the mayor give the kids the day off from school for this? Did he close the schools today? No, they won again” (230). For many individuals, the discovery at the Negro Burial Ground signifies how little America has done to acknowledge the role that slavery has played in the country’s formation.