States of Insurrection: Race, Resistance, and the Laws of Slavery Sean Kim Butorac A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2020 Reading Committee: Megan Ming Francis, co-chair Jack Turner III, co-chair Michael W. McCann Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Political Science ©Copyright 2020 Sean Kim Butorac University of Washington Abstract States of Insurrection: Race, Resistance, and the Laws of Slavery Sean Kim Butorac Chairs of the Supervisory Committee: Megan Ming Francis, co-chair Jack Turner III, co-chair Department of Political Science This project tracks how resistance to enslavement durably altered the making of law and race in Barbados and South Carolina between 1650 – 1899. It explores four critical junctures: Interracial resistance during the 1650s, the Stono Uprising in 1739, the Denmark Vesey Uprising in 1822, and the construction of the South Carolina Penitentiary in 1867. I demonstrate how resistance to enslavement yielded new laws and legal institutions designed to suppress that resistance, as well as new ideas of race to underwrite and support those institutions. This process furnished the foundations of two institutional developments: the construction of separate-but-interrelated legal orders to govern blacks and whites and the expansion of racial capitalism, as well as two ideological developments: the consolidation of whiteness and institutionalization of white ignorance, and the stigmatization and criminalization of blackness. Acknowledgments This project would not have taken shape without many wonderful people. First and foremost, I want to thank my committee for their unwavering support during my diverse and sometimes scattered intellectual journey. Megan Francis is a force to be reckoned with—she showed me that resistance is the stuff of politics and has supported this project since it was just an idea of an idea. As intellectually rigorous as professionally savvy, she has been a shrewd mentor and fierce advocate for me and my work. Chip Turner was the reason I chose to attend UW and the reason that I have stayed. He has been a constant source of wisdom and support, always unrelenting in challenging me to be the best possible version of myself. Michael McCann has been a constant pillar in my thought—he taught me to conceive of race, law, and rights in new and unexpected ways that continue to inspire my work. Truly, the form and content of this project are indebted to him in countless ways. Underwriting the following pages are so many conversations and heated discussions about race and power, but I would especially like to thank Becca Thorpe, Sophia Jordán Wallace, Christine DiStefano, and Jamie Mayerfeld for their guidance in my intellectual and professional development. This project also would not have taken shape without a lot of institutional support. For the past seven years, the Department of Political Science at the University of Washington has been by second home, generously supporting my research, as well as conference travel to develop this project. The department provided a Camden Hall Graduate Research Grant that was essential to my early archival work and data collection. The Washington Institute for the Study of Inequality and Race (WISIR) generously supplied a research grant that enabled me to perform further archival research. The Sawyer Seminar on Capitalism and Comparative Racialization not only generously supplied research funds but was also integral in developing my thinking on racial capitalism. Many thanks to the research librarians at the University of Washington, the University of South Carolina, the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, and the Library of Congress for their assistance in finding and gathering the archival materials that appear throughout this project. Finally, I would like to extend a special thanks to the Mellon Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies for their generous provision of a Dissertation Completion Fellowship, which has enabled me to spend this past year focused on writing and research. My intellectual trajectory took shape in the Department of Politics and Government at the University of Puget Sound, and I am forever indebted to the faculty and staff for their support during my undergraduate studies and while returning to teach my own courses. Spring 2010, I was fortunate enough to meet Alisa Kessel, who I count myself lucky to call a mentor and friend. She is the reason I believe that people can be better than they are, and why I see the world as a site of novel possibilities as much as a justifiable object of critique. Robin Jacobson has remained instrumental in my intellectual and professional development—she inspired my interest in race and the carceral state and has supported me at every step on this journey. Finally, not many people would see parallels between political theory and violin performance, but Maria Sampen somehow found a way, empowering me to perform as both a scholar and musician. For the past seven years, I have been fortunate enough to be part of an incredibly supportive community of peers and friends who challenge and inspire me. Special thanks to my very best friend and closest intellectual collaborator, JP Anderson, for countless late nights and boundless ideas. I would not have survived graduate school or loved my time nearly this much without the support of Carolyn Dapper, Chelsea Moore, Emily Christensen, Vanessa Quince, Emma Rodman, David Lucas, Mathieu Dubeau, Jennifer Driscoll, Rutger Ceballos, Grace Reinke, Will Gochberg, Eric Schwab, Kirstine Taylor, and Hannah Walker. I also count myself lucky to have an amazing circle of friends who shared this journey and have endured hearing about my work, especially Alexa Finelli, Sam Ng, Hayley Hedges, Steffen Minner, Frankie O’Donnel, and Greta Heller. Likewise, for the past three years, my industry family at Toulouse Petit have kept me smiling and ensured that I make time for fun—you all are simply the best. I fully expect all of you to visit me in Chicago! Above all, I would not have completed this undertaking without my partner, Jordan, whose love and support are imprinted on every page of this work. Even after ten years together—and, perhaps more impressively, after three months of quarantine—he is still finding new ways to make me laugh and love our life together. Our family would not be complete without two very strange and special dogs, Percy and Olive, who always make sure that I go outside and find time to be a person. Finally, this work is dedicated to my mother, Cindy, who has always been my greatest supporter and is the reason I have some this far. Her strength, kindness, and love continue to set an example that I strive to follow. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................................. 43 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................................................. 83 CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................................................... 122 CHAPTER 4 ............................................................................................................................................... 176 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................... 232 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................................... 238 Introduction Resistance, Repression, and Retrenchment In recent years, the United States has experienced a visible resurgence in the use of political protest as a tactic for challenging some of the nation’s most racist ideas and institutions. From the disproportionate and violent policing of black communities, to the exploitation of indigenous lands and the violation of tribal sovereignty, a new generation of activists have harnessed novel and disruptive protest tactics to contest racist structures and the ideas of race underwriting them. These tactics have caught the attention of lawmakers: Since 2016, eighteen states with conservative and liberal legislatures have introduced or voted on expansive legislation to criminalize and repress protest. These laws legalize harsher fines and the seizure of assets, institute longer mandatory minimums, criminalize a range of political acts, create new criminal categories, and shield acts of violence against protestors from prosecution. Citing the BLM Ferguson protests, a Missouri bill would prohibit protestors from wearing any hood or mask that concealed their identity or protected that person from tear gas. In Oregon, a bill would require community colleges and public universities to expel any students found guilty of participating in ‘violent riots.’ A Minnesota bill would make it a gross misdemeanor to block a road or highway. When asked about the bill, one representative responded by invoking a familiar narrative that bifurcated disruptive and socially acceptable protest: “Well, there is a cost to that. Rosa Parks sat in the front of the bus. She didn’t get out and lay down in