RPTM Podcast Episode Eleven: Prostitution, Slave Codes and Revolts, and the Great Awakening

When presenting an episodic look at American history, I have done my best to flesh out every decade, if not every year, of our history books. Usually, this is not a problem as there are enough stories and anecdotes to stuff every show. I end up having to record extra content as I refuse to trim the fat of our history. But I must be honest with you; it's been a rough one this time around. There are not many events that made a more massive splash on the historical scene in the early 18th century, at least in terms of the United States. That is not to say that critical things did not happen, especially in the global scheme of things, but the content in today's episode will skip around quite a bit. We even almost work our way up to the American Revolution.
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Also, let me backtrack a second. If she is listening, my beautiful wife is rolling her eyes because I used the phrase "I must be honest with you." This, of course, implies that I have not been honest up to this point and can trivialize my narrative up to this point. She works in sales, and she deals in lies like currencies. But as a historian, our trades are not that different. Every historical figure is a salesperson trying to sell you their narrative. And as detectives, we need to determine if we accept the lies as truth and find the truth.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Prostitution continued to flourish into the eighteenth century as women disregarded the rules and officials became lax concerning enforcement.
• In the 1705, the Virginia General Assembly passed a law that transformed black indentured servants into slaves: the Virginia Slave Act of 1705 condemned many men, women, and children to a lifetime of slavery, even if they were only days away from being freed of their indentured status.
• In response to that New York Slave Rebellion of 1712, strict codes were enacted, which included—but were not limited to—harsher punishments as the slaveholders saw fit, decreased contact among slaves, and prohibited slave-owned firearms.
• The comprehensive Negro Act of 1740 was passed in the Province of South Carolina, during colonial Governor William Bull's time in office, in response to the Stono Rebellion. 
• Dr. Samuel Johnson revised his moral philosophy textbook; it contained a system of morals built upon his philosophical idealism, and the conclusion of this entire system (moral, philosophical, and rhetorical) is that all human endeavor aims towards happiness, a condition realized when one fully understands and obeys God's will.
• The earliest manifestations of the American phase of this phenomenon—the First Great Awakening—appeared among Presbyterians in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

CHAPTERS
0:00 Start
0:37 Intro
2:21 Prostitution Part One
7:10 Virginia Slave Codes
14:14 New York Slave Revolt
17:10 Stono Rebellion
25:26 Samuel Johnson
32:21 The First Great Awakening
38:14 Outro

RESOURCES
The History of Prostitution Reform in the United States
Were There Sex Shops in the Time of George Washington?
Recognizing What Women Done Did
Slavery in Virginia and the 1705 Virginia Slave Act
New York slave rebellion of 1712
Stono Rebellion
Samuel Johnson (American educator)
 The First Great Awakening

Episode 10

RPTM Podcast

Episode 12