In New York Burning, author Jill Lepore traces the history of the conspired slave rebellion, which transpired through “[a] series of fires in the winter of 1741.” As “panicked white colonists” began to fear “a slave uprising, [they] set off a cycle of arrests, accusations, hasty trials, executions and more arrests.” This was New York City in 1741 and the victims were predominantly slaves. Through the limited sources found on the slave conspiracy, Jill Lepore questions the validity of the writings found and takes a deeper look at the legislative and societal conditions between the slaves and their masters. By making use of excerpts from Jill Lepore’s New York Burning, I will discuss the contradiction of white colonists idea of liberty, versus their enslavement of thousands of African Americans and their justifications for it.…