The Gabriel Prosser Conspiracy of 1800 was one of the earliest and most extensively planned slave insurrections in American history. The plan, which was drawn up by a slave named Gabriel Prosser, called for slaves to seize weapons, kill their white masters, and free thousands of fellow slaves throughout Virginia. If a tumultuous thunderstorm and an act of betrayal had not undermined the plot, many historians believe the rebellion would have been successful.

The word "conspiracy," which has come to have almost exclusively negative connotations, was the description used by whites at that time. The word conveyed the unwillingness of most slave-holding whites to recognize the widespread discontent in the slave community. The word also suggests the fear of slave uprisings that gripped antebellum white Southerners. Virginia was no exception. Stories of the bloody Haitian Revolution and the fiery Congressional debates over slavery made their way throughout slave communities. In Virginia, as in many other slave states, the seeds of rebellion were in place, but no charismatic leader had emerged. That leadership finally came from the slave named Gabriel Prosser, an intelligent and well-respected young blacksmith on the Prosser plantation just outside Richmond.

Gabriel Prosser (who took the last name of his owner, Thomas Prosser) taught himself to read and write by studying the Bible. His tremendous physical strength made him one of the best blacksmiths in the Richmond area. Recognizing this, Thomas Prosser permitted him to work for whites around town in exchange for a disproportionate share of his income. This angered and humiliated Prosser, but he agreed to the arrangement in exchange for the limited freedom to travel it would bring.

Prosser's strong opposition to slavery and his sense of impending political crisis facing the nation persuaded him that the time for insurrection had come. He selected the night of August 30 for the revolt and, with the aid of his wife and brother, he was able to spread word of the plot to slaves throughout the Richmond area. Prosser estimated that between 500 and 600 slaves stood poised that night to become the first in America to break the shackles of slavery.

But a severe thunderstorm hit Virginia that night, making both mobility and armed resistance all but impossible. Prosser attempted to postpone the insurrection until the next night, but two slaves had already betrayed the cause. By morning, hundreds of slaves were arrested. Prosser managed to escape by boarding a schooner headed for Norfolk, Virginia. Several days later, another slave, attempting to collect a $300 reward, betrayed Prosser by notifying the police of his whereabouts. He was arrested in Norfolk and sent to Richmond for trial.

Prosser and 26 other slaves were convicted of insurrection and executed. Many others faced long prison sentences. A crackdown immediately followed the foiled insurrection. Shaken by the rebellion, Virginia officials formed a state militia to monitor slave gatherings and prevent future uprisings. Throughout the South, laws restricting African American literacy were strengthened, and the freedom of slave artisans to contract out their labor was curtailed. Although Prosser's Conspiracy failed, it inspired similar failed plots in North Carolina in 1802 and in South Carolina in 1822.Contributed By: