Would you expect a young, black, educated slave, to be a leader of one of the most bloodiest slave rebellions ever? On October of 1800, Nathaniel “Nat” Turner was born a slave on Benjamin Turner’s plantation in Southampton County, VA. He was allowed to read, write and learn religion (“Nat Turner”). Samuel Turner was in a lot of debut so Reverend Zalthall set up appointments for Nat to preach to slaves from plantation to plantation. The slave owners hoped this would make their slaves want to work willing and to be obedient. In return the slave owners would pay Samuel Turner. While preaching, Nat has experienced the way his people were being treated. This bothered him so he started up a meeting for anybody who wanted to rebel(Birth of a Nation). …show more content…
From the day he was born, Turner’s family always thought he was special and placed here for a purpose (Smith,Sam). His slave owners treated him differently than the other slaves. He got special privileges. When he was young, his master’s wife took him to live in their house so he could learn to read and write. She felt like since he could sign out words, he had the ability to actually learn to read and write. She did not want his ‘gift’ to be taken for granted (Birth of a Nation). He was exceptionally smart to the fact that his owner wanted him to assist their children in literature. He drove his master around and worked in the big house. Before his master died, he told his wife that he thinks Turner would now be more useful working in the fields now (Birth of a Nation). He used the way he was treated by the slave owners to his advantage. He stayed out of trouble and he would do everything that was asked of him (“Nat Turner and the bloodiest slave rebellion”). Many believed that Turner’s education and intelligence played a major role in his ability to be able to be a leader of such a bloody rebellion (Klein,Christopher). His rebellion made a statement. They ended up killing 51 white people including children (“Nat Turner”). He had slave owners and their families in fear. They feared for their lives and had to change the way they did things in their life. They also feared their slaves because they did not know what was going on in their mind. So they tried to be prepared for anybody on their plantation who tried to start a
Turner’s rebellion consisted of other slaves, around fifty to sixty in numbers, went through the county killing people from farms to plantations. Their plan was to destroy some farms in Jerusalem, VA, but their plan didn’t go accordingly and
His actions also enacted even harsher laws against slaves in the south. His bloody rebellion also helped inspire the abolitionist movement in the north. Turner could be considered both as a hero and villain. Nat Turner was used as an example of African Americans standing up against white oppression. His actions help prove that African Americans are not to be enslaved and reckoned
They helped him escape from slavery where they which meeting at Richmond. After escaping from his master he went to college and became one of the most known abolitionist for slavery. He is famous for being the fugitive African American that got recaptured after escaping. The lesson was learned at the first event because many of the Northerners were angered and increase the force of moral abolitionists. He had to overcome the trials he had to face from being recaptured to become what he is today.
Turner believed God chose him to free slaves. Less than a year after he was sold he witnessed a solar eclipse that made him believe he should plan an uprising (Britannica). Turner saw the sun turn bluish-green, which started the uprising as a sign of God (Willson). Only 75 slaves joined his uprising (Willson). They were chased by over 3,000 members of the Southern militia, the uprising ended in 48 hours, and his rebellion ended with 55 to 65 white deaths (Willson).
The Southampton Tragedy dubbed him as “a dreamer of dreams and a would –be Prophet, he used all the arts familiar to such pretenders, to trick, confuse and overwhelm the slave minds”(The SouthHamp…). Keep in mind this is a very biased view from a perspective of the slave state Virginia, additionally this article expresses their bitterness towards turners rebellion because it was purposely to hinder their economy. A Northern document from the American Beacon investigated that “He (Nat Turner) acknowledges himself a coward and says he was actuated to do what he did” (American Beacon). I find this document shows a more understanding of his side, although the interviewer has a different opinion towards his actions. Notice how they say “he acknowledges”, meaning he knows his rebellion was foolish and a coward attempt.
Discuss why and how the Nat Turner Revolt changed American history? Nat Turner, a slave that changed American History though his beliefs and vision of whites and African Americans fighting. Back in history the thought of white and African Americans battling were uncalled of because African Americans were slaves and suppose to be scared of the white folks. Nat Turners vision drove many slaves including himself to rebel against the white people; they called this the revolt. Many slaves set out on the night of August 20th, 1831, gathering weapons and supplies to kill the people.
The slaves looked to Douglass for the light they needed to fight. Lastly, the speech helped to change the way people thought of slavery and how it is a horrible thing. He tried to convince people to help abolish slavery, or end it, and told them how it needed to be
None of these were successful in ending slavery. However, Brown’s death had the greatest impact. Although John Brown and Nat Turner lived two very different beginnings, they ran parallel lives. John Brown acted like any other kid growing up but, grew up to be a well known radical abolitionist. He was born on May 9, 1800 in Torrington, Connecticut.
Paper Topic 1 After reading Confessions of Nat Turner (1831) in the course packet, and watching the film Birth of a Nation (2016) I was able to notice some key takeaways and differences between the two. The film Birth of a Nation was directed by Nate Parker, he also played the main role in the film acting as Nat Turner.
The journeys up to the north were horrendous. The routes held many challenges. Common challenges were weather, pro slavery white people, they risked getting shot, and worst they could be captured(Doc. 2). Lots of antislavery leaders, like Frederick Douglass, wrote editorials on the subject and held peaceful protests against it. Frederick Douglass was an African American man who was against slavery from the start.
Lizzie has lived with the fear of hatred of racism through her whole life. So she knew that the townspeople would not approve of them living together. Due to the fact that Turner has not experienced racism before, his knowledge and understanding of racism are limited. Both Turner and Lizzie are hated by the people on Phisppburg but because Turner is white and Lizzie is black, their different life experiences result in their different understanding of racism. Racism continues in America even today.
They were treated like they were animals and worthless. Animals were treated and cared for better than the slaves were. Most of the slaveholders were not nice to their slaves on purpose. It was an act that made the slaves believe that
Nat Turner’s Rebellion took place in Southampton County, Virginia in 1831. Nat Turner was a black enslaved man
Many African American authors and critics very strongly disagreed with how the white plantation owners and the slaves were portrayed in the book. For example Nat Turner’s first slave owner, Samuel Turner, was presented in very high light. This was probably not the case, and that is the reason it enraged so many readers. The book was also banned in some places because of the sexual violence that was portrayed in the novel. Before I get into the book itself it is important to know about the actual person who was Nat Turner and the rebellion that he led in 1831.
The white people viewed slaves as sub-human, and a black woman who was mentally superior was not something they would have encountered before. Dana explains what Margaret, Tom’s wife, may have been feeling; “I don’t think Margaret likes educated slaves any better than her husband does…. He can barely read and write. And she’s not much better” (Butler 82).