Nat Turner was born in October 2, 1800, on Benjamin Turner’s plantation in Southampton County, Virginia. His father was also a slave of Benjamin Turner’s and was believed to have successfully escaped and lived his life in the Great Dismal Swamp in southern Virginia and North Carolina. His mother was a slave named Nancy who used to live in Africa but was taken in 1763. Nat Turner was highly intelligent and imaginative even from early childhood, and his mother thought that he was destined for great things. He was overheard describing events that even happened before he was born, so the other slaves believed that he was destined to become a religious prophet. Nat Turner was a very religious slave who had many visions and led a rebellion against slavery. Nat Turner began as an abolitionist as a slave. His first master was Samuel Turner. When his master died in 1822, he was sold to Thomas Moore. In the beginning year of 1830, Moore died and Turner was moved again to another master, Joseph Travis, the new husband of Thomas Moore’s widow. His official owner was Putnum Moore, but he was still a young child. Turner described Joseph Travis as kind, and didn’t have any complaints against. While he had these masters, he also had many visions. 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... ... middle of paper ... ...rginia consider abolishing slavery, but decided to not cancel it and support a repressive policy against all black people by a close vote. Nat Turner’s religion helped him change his views with slavery and became famous because of his rebellion. He made everyone rethink about slavery and almost even abolished it. He made the African Americans rethink about being slaves and encouraged more rebellions. He had an important part in ending slavery, and he was an important Abolitionist. Works Cited PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014. "A Rebellion to Remember: The Legacy of Nat Turner." A Rebellion to Remember: The Legacy of Nat Turner. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2014. Altman, Linda Jacobs. Slavery and Abolition in American History. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 1999. Print.
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.
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.
This is a report on the book Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion, written by Stephen B. Oates. The story is about a slave revolt that happened in 1831 and the person who led it, Nat Turner. It tells of his life, the area and time in which he lived, and of the bloody revolt as well as the bloodier repercussions after it was suppressed.
Born into slavery, Nat Turner was perhaps one exception to the rule; he was a master's worst nightmare come true. Nat Turner was not only an intelligent man, he knew how to read and write; but he was also determined, willing to go to tremendous measures to gain his freedom, even if it meant killing. He was liked by both the whites and fellow slaves, some of whom came to think of him as a prophet, a savior of slaves.
Franklin, J., Moss, A. Jr. From Slavery to Freedom. Seventh edition, McGraw Hill, Inc.: 1994.
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.
Russell B. Nye: Fettered Freedom: Civil Liberties and the Slavery Controversy, 1830-1860. East Lansing, Mich., 1949
The "American Slavery" Book Review This book achieved its goal by reflecting on the past and history of American Slavery. We can see in much detail what America was and has become throughout the era of slavery. It was the Colonial era that America began to see what true slavery would soon become. The author, Peter Kolchin, tries to interpret the true history of slavery. He wants the readers to understand the depth to which the slaves lived under 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
Nat Turner led the largest slave revolt in history. The organization was one of the bloodiest slave rebellions before the civil war. This was the rebellion that served to change the course of American history. Nat Turner led a life by helping other slaves overcome suffrage during the 1800s by starting a rebellion between them and their slave masters. He also had a large religious following, which went on to inspire some of the greatest African American activist in history like Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. While he was a slave, he showed others how the divisions of blacks and whites shouldn’t be tolerated in this world. Nat Turner was living through god and justifying his actions as an act of god. And felt like his job was to be the punisher of evil on earth sent from god.
When the Nat Turner rebellion occurred, Gray had to have realized how big this story was. Not only had one of the biggest slave rebellions in American history just occurred, but also the authorities had the main instigator alive in a prison cell. Gray probably realized controversy would erupt over what Turner had to say, and so he left for Jerusalem, Virginia right away to interview Turn... ... middle of paper ... ... acts of the number dead are hard to change.
Northup, Solomon, Sue L. Eakin, and Joseph Logsdon. Twelve years a slave. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1968. Print.
Nat Turner was an enslaved African American who led what was called the “Nat Turner’s Slave Rebellion” where slaves and free blacks who were located in Southampton County, Virginia. This rebellion took place on August 21, 1831, and as a result at least fifty-five whites were murdered. All of those who took part in this rebellion were to be executed, including Nat Turner. While Nat Turner was awaiting execution he was interviewed for two months by a man named Thomas Ruffin Gray, a wealthy lawyer and slave owner himself. Thomas Gray’s purpose for writing “The Confessions of Nat Turner” was to put what Nat Turner said into writing and for it to be published.
For most American’s especially African Americans, the abolition of slavery in 1865 was a significant point in history, but for African Americans, although slavery was abolished it gave root for a new form of slavery that showed to be equally as terrorizing for blacks. In the novel Slavery by Another Name, by Douglas Blackmon he examines the reconstruction era, which provided a form of coerced labor in a convict leasing system, where many African Americans were convicted on triumphed up charges for decades.
Knowles, H. J. (2007). The Constitution and Slavery: A Special Relationship. Slavery & Abolition, 28(3), 309-328. doi:10.1080/01440390701685514