Author Daniel Rasmussen and the Largest Slave Uprising

When you visit New Orleans, you won’t see any obvious remembrance of the largest uprising of African slaves in American history. You can find there Claiborne Avenue, however, named for William C.C. Claiborne, the first governor of the State of Louisiana, who found it politically expedient to cover up the true story of the slave revolt of 1811. You’ll also find a street named for Gilbert Andry, and another named for Francois Trepagnier, two martyred white victims of the slave revolt. But the leaders of the revolt - Charles Deslondes, Kook, and Quamana - their memories almost were entirely lost to history. Daniel Rasmussen, who graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard University in 2009, has reclaimed their stories. His book “American Uprising: the untold story of america’s largest slave revolt,â€? began as his  senior thesis at Harvard, and has now been published and become a New York Times bestseller.