Skip to main content
Back to Show
Rogue History

The Secret Group That Planned Insurrection Against Slavery

Season 2 Episode 7

Moses Dickson, a traveling barber in the years before the Civil War, had a secret– he was one of twelve members of a covert society that planned to recruit men who were “courageous, patient, temperate, and possessed of sound common sense.” Their goal? Launch a coordinated insurrection against slaveholders and claim land for black people in the South. And they almost did.

Support Provided By
Season
The Working Class Uprising They Don’t Teach You About
10:09
How did a wealthy pacifist’s protest spark a working-class uprising?
The Indigenous Rebellion That Terrified the Colonies
10:35
After peace at Thanksgiving ended, a Wampanoag leader fought back against colonization.
The Founding Father They Don’t Teach You About
10:41
Thomas Peters challenged the British Empire on their broken promises to Black Loyalists.
The Colonial Mean Girl Who Almost Ended America
11:51
Peggy Shippen came closer to ending the American Revolution than any general ever did.
The Unhinged Hero of the American Revolution
12:01
Was the founding father of the American Navy a pirate?
How The Aztec Empire Was Built By Spies
7:43
A network of traveling merchant-spies were essential to the expansion of the Aztec Empire.
These Hidden Figures Cracked an Impossible Soviet Code
9:56
A group of women mathematicians uncovered Soviet spies– but received none of the credit.
The Misunderstood Legacy of Ninjas
10:06
Ninjas are famous in popular culture, but behind the stereotypes lie a legendary history.
This Gender Nonconforming Secret Agent Almost Caused a War
11:02
Chevalier d’Eon was a spy, fencer, and gender identity trailblazer who blackmailed a King.
How A Spanish Chicken Farmer Tricked Hitler
9:27
“I wanted to start a personal war with Hitler. And I wanted to fight with my imagination.”
Traitor or Hero? The Black Musician Spying on His Community
9:09
This musician spied on Black socialists then criticized the government for being racist.
Spy Balloons Have A Longer, Weirder History Than You Think
10:17
A year into the Civil War, the Union Army unveiled their secret weapon: spy balloons.
Active loading indicator