While attending Junior High and High school in Washington, DC I was presented with the stories of Nat Turner. But never were the stories or leanings so harsh. I learned that Nat Turner organized and set in motion a one night slaying of slave masters and their families. I was taught that the murder count was only a few dozen. But upon reading the article from "The Confessions of Nat Turner", an article by Thomas R. Gray from an interview with Nat Turner, I was astounded by the events that had happened. There was no slaying, it was a one night "massacre" led by Nat Turner. The murders on the quiet night of August 22, 1831 in Southampton, Virginia was organized by a man who was possessed, had no clue how to use his power of persuasion, and whose …show more content…
Nat Turner believed that God spoke to him and showed him how to live his life. Turner believed that he was "intended for some great purpose". Turner escaped to the woods only to hide from his master not to escape slavery as his father did before him. Turner hid in the woods for over a month where he said he saw entities in the sky of white and black men fighting and killing one another. He believed this was a sign from God, that this was his great purpose he was destined for, slaying his enemies with their own weapons. So after a month in hiding he returned to the plantation, much to the spite of the rest of the enslaved African Americans. Here he came up with a plan with four other black men, who were under his power of persuasion, to go on a one night massacre of as many white people as possible. He didn’t care who it was, young or old, male or female, if they were white and were caught in his path he would slaughter them. He killed over 60 white people that night and around 40 to 50 of his African American followers were killed while helping to execute his deadly plan. What God do you know that would tell a man to kill anyone innocent or guilty, deserving or un-deserving! So I say to you that Nat Turner was no prophet, he was a man possessed by the Devil, not guided by …show more content…
Because of some coincidental events that happened while Turner was a youth the community of enslaved African Americans thought of Turner as a prophet of God. People listened to Nat Turner. They believed whatever he said was the words of God. Turner had the ability to persuade people into doings as he said because of this thought. But instead of doing great things with this gift he sought different measures. Instead of encouraging people to get their education so the whites couldn’t hold them back any longer he told them to kill. Turner had the ability to help the Black community revolt against slavery stand up for themselves, but yet he told them to kill. Turner had the ability to change the way of life in those days but he had no clue what to do with his gift. He was powered by hatred for the white man instead of love for his fellow
...s aimed at blacks. I was horrified while reading the fate of Georgia resident, Sam Hose (or Holt), and believe that that occurrence alone would motivate Robert Charles to murder. I was also disgusted with the South's lack of justice. Some whites were tried for murder, and although clearly guilty, received no punishment.
Nat Turner planned a slave revolt in which himself and 80 slaves went from farm to farm and killed 60 whites. They killed several women and children. After the revolt, Turner and 17 other rebels were executed.
The hypocrisy and double standard that allowed whites to bring harm to blacks without fear of any repercussions had existed for years before the murder Tyson wrote about occurred in May of 1970 (Tyson 2004, 1). Lynching of black men was common place in the south as Billie Holiday sang her song “Strange Fruit” and the eyes of justice looked the other way. On the other side of the coin, justice was brought swiftly to those blacks who stepped out of line and brought harm to the white race. Take for instance Nate Turner, the slave who led a rebellion against whites. Even the Teel’s brought their own form of justice to Henry Marrow because he “said something” to one of their white wives (1).
The Fires of Jubilee, by Stephen B. Oates, tells an account of Nat Turner’s rebellion. Beginning with Nat’s early life and finally ending with the legacy his execution left the world, Oates paints a historical rending of those fateful days. The Confessions of Nat Turner by Thomas R. Gray and approved by Nat himself is among Oates’ chief sources. Oates is known as a reputable historian through his other works, and has strong credentials however, in the case of The Fires of Jubilee there are some limitations. It is, therefore, worth analyzing Oates’ interpretation for reliability. In doing so one sees that The Fires of Jubilee, because of its weak use of citations, failure to alert the audience of assumed details and the way in which Oates handles the chief source Confessions, quickly begins to shift from a decently steadfast description to an untrustworthy and unreliable account.
After careful consideration, I have decided to use the books dedicated to David Walker’s Appeal and The Confessions of Nat Turner and compare their similarities and differences. It is interesting to see how writings which has the same purpose of liberating enslaved Black people can be interpreted so differently, especially in the matter of who was reading them. Akin to how White people reacted to Turner’s Rebellion, which actually had promising results while most would see the immediate backlashes and to which I intend to explain more. As most would put emphasis on the Confession itself, I assume, I decided to focus more on the reactions and related documents regarding the Rebellion.
Nat Turner was a slave himself and every couple of months, he would get visions from the Spirit telling him things to do or look out for. Throughout his years, he was moved to different owners. In February 1831, there was an eclipse of the sun and Turner saw this as a sign that he needed to take action. Him and his four most trusted men got together and planned to hold the insurrection on July 4th. They were unable to do so on that day due to Turner’s illness. On August 13, there was another sign in which the sun appeared bluish-green. Turner set out to Joseph Travis, his owners house and killed the whole family. After that, they continued to kill all white people they came in contact with. As the rebellion continued, Turner’s men were being captured and killed. Turner escaped but was then captured and sentenced to execution. Nat Turner still remains a controversial black figure because of the rebellion, but his legacy of inspiring other slaves to find freedom by any means will still remain. Turner’s rebellion had a huge impact on the south because he was standing up for all of those who were in slavery.
Unfortunantly for the new leaders of the nation, they were left with many issues that challenged American ideals, including slavery. 1831 was a very pivotal year for the beginning of the abolishment of slavery. Soon after the eclipse, fear spread throughout Virginia of a possible slave rebellion. Eventhough some slave owners treated their slaves well, it did not mean they were safe from attack. On August 22, Nat Turner killed his master along with his family, the first account of slave rebellion in history. Turner’s Rebellion instilled fear in southern slave owners that a planned attack could occur at any moment (19). Thomas R. Gray, a slave owner and lawyer interviewed the slaves behind bars. He spoke with Turner for three day...
He is a myth due to the lack of historical evidence known about him. Although Styron’s The Confessions of Nat Turner shaped the views of the American population, many different views about Nat Turner are perceived. The views on Nat Turner varied from a hero of oppressed people, murderer of innocent women and children, and a powerful religious leader. William Styron was not a racist, he portrayed the thoughts, actions, and dialect of an African American male during that period in American History. Styron is heavily critiqued over the fact that he is a white male, but he lived in Virginia and he saw and heard about the horrors that went on there when slavery was going on in the south. Though Styron’s novel shaped the way Americans perceived the event, Styron did not intend the story to make such a large impact on the society’s views, even though it ended up being very controversial. Although many people have different opinions on Nat Turner, he will still remain one of the most mysterious historical figures in American
Turner was a very religious man, which influenced his views on slavery. He “studiously avoided mixing in society and wrapped himself in mystery, devoting his time to fasting and praying.” In 1821, Turner ran away from his first master, Samuel Turner, but returned 30 days afterwards because of a religious vision. The Spirit told him to “return to the service of my earthly master.” (pbs.org) After three years, Nat Turner had another vision where he saw lights in the sky. Afterwards he “discovered drops o...
Nat Turner is a slave man that was born on October 2, 1800 on a Southampton County plantation. When Turner was small, he has figured that he might have a special talent because he could describe what the life is like before he was born. Nat’s mother and grandmother told him that he was born with a great purpose. After hearing, what his mother and grandmother have said, he has grown deeply into religious and spent most of his time reading bible, praying and fasting. Over the year, Turner had worked for the Travis family. In 1825, Turner had a vision that he could see a bloody conflict between the black and white spirits. Then, in 1831, he asked other slaves to join his revolt against white slaves’ owners as they killed the Travis family.
Nat Turner's Rebellion was a slave rebellion that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, during August 1831. Led by Nat Turner, rebel slaves killed anywhere from 55 to 65 people, the highest number of fatalities caused by any slave uprising in the American South. The rebellion was put down within a few days, but Turner survived in hiding for more than two months afterwards. The rebellion was effectively suppressed at Belmont Plantation on the morning of August 23, 1831.
The Confessions of Nat Turner Throughout history people have published articles and books in order to sway the public to their side. Rulers such as Stalin and Mao used propaganda to keep themselves in power; people such as Thomas Paine used articles in order to start revolution. Thomas R. Gray, author of The Confessions of Nat Turner, had that power when he interviewed Turner.
Nat Turner was an African American slave who was born in Southampton County, Virginia on October 2, 1800. He started working on southern plantations 1831. When he was younger, everyone thought of him as being very smart. They saw that he was smart when he was about 3 or 4 years old. While young Nat Turner was playing with some of his friends, his mother heard him tell the children about something that had happened to him when he was born. She later had asked him about what he told the children. She asked him details about the incident, and it confirmed that he knew about this past event. From that time on, other slaves believed that in addition to his unique view, his physical markings were a sign that he would be a prophet. He was brought up knowing that slavery was wrong. He was taught how to read and write by his masters son.
Nat Turner's belief that he was a mystic, born for some great purpose; a spiritual savior, chosen to lead Black slaves to freedom, justified his bloody rebellion against slave owners in Virginia. His actions did not so much spring from the fact that members of his family had been beaten, separated or sold, but rather from his own deep sense of freedom spoken in the Bible. From the time Nat Turner was four-years-old, he had been recognized as intelligent, able to understand beyond his years. He continued to search for religious truth and began to have visions or signs of being called by God. By the time Nat Turner reached manhood, the path his life would take was clear; his destiny would be to bring his fellow slaves out of bondage.
Nat Turner is a very independent strong person who fought for what he believed in to change the world for slaves and African Americans. According to (google source) Turner was born into slavery on October 2nd 1800, in Southampton Country, Virginia. Tuner wasn’t an ordinary slave he was able to learn