1741
RepressionBook sources
New York conspiracy prosecutions lead to executions
New York City
Following fires in New York, officials prosecuted Black people and white associates for an alleged conspiracy. Daniel Horsmanden’s account records the burning of Quack and Cuffee on 30 May and describes confessions obtained at the stake through deception and hopes of reprieve. A contemporary critic challenged the reliability of such confessions.
Dates preserve the source’s precision. This entry is part of a selected historical record; its qualifications and sources are retained below.
Context / qualification
Horsmanden was a judge involved in the prosecutions, not a neutral observer. Executions and coercive questioning are documented; the breadth and reality of the alleged citywide conspiracy remain disputed.
Sources
- Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States, chapter 2, p. 37; supplied print pages, edition/year unidentified
- Daniel Horsmanden, Journal of the Proceedings: trials of Cuffee and Quack, May 29–30, 1741 (published 1744; later editions/excerpts) ↗
- Letter to Cadwallader Colden, summer 1741, contemporary criticism of confessions, reproduced from Jill Lepore, New York Burning, pp. 203–205 ↗