Throughout the history of the United States, Americans have always strived to maintain their unalienable rights and fight for what they believe to be righteous. They have dealt with various situations in which their freedoms were infringed upon. Strict and oppressive laws have often arisen in the country’s past, and Americans always fight to abolish these unjust restrictions. However, rebelling to acquire more independence is not always proven to be effectual. For example, before gaining sovereignty from Great Britain in the revolutionary era, the Coercive Acts of 1774 shut down Boston Harbor and implemented further restrictions on the patriots as a consequence of the Boston Tea Party. In Antebellum America, the United States’ Southern slave-based …show more content…
This specific revolt took place in late August of 1831 in Virginia. A slave known as Nat Turner, spiritually convinced it was his personal duty to overthrow the entire system of slavery, began by killing his master and his whole family. Gathering more and more slaves desiring to be free, the uprising rapidly grew. The rebels gradually moved on to destroying neighboring plantations. However, the following morning a larger group put down the revolt and Turner went into hiding (Gresko 236). The leader was eventually caught. Although today Nat Turner’s Rebellion is one of the most well known slave revolts, it was highly unsuccessful. Around nineteen of the rebels were sentenced to death, and a new feeling of fear and panic was spread. Because some freed blacks were involved with the revolt, even their rights became restrained. In Maryland, free blacks no longer enjoyed the right to trial by jury (Gresko 241). Many historians even believe that Nat Turner’s Rebellion played a contributing role in eventually leading the state of Virginia to secede from the United States during the time of the civil war. Instead of becoming freed, many of the rebels lost their lives, and Virginia even imposed a stricter enforcement of the already existing slave …show more content…
The civil war was mainly focused on the idea of the abolition of slavery, although states’ rights were also still a growing problem. Slaves were yet to be freed and many still craved their independence. This led to various uprisings right before and during the midst of the civil war (Walters 159). Most of these rebellions, being small and somewhat insignificant, merely led to a loss of lives rather than a gain of
Nat Turner has an unbelievable life story that portrays his exponential amount of courage and his willingness to fight for anything that he believed in. With his courage in mind, many other slave rebellions occurred after the massacre led by Nat Turner. Throughout his whole entire life, Nat Turner was looked upon as a leader, and using his influence, he had a huge impact on slavery. “He was said to have described events that occurred before he was born, leading several of his relatives to believe that he was a prophet.” (“Nat Turner”)
Black, Colored, Negroes, Niggers… All names that had been given to describe “darker” skinned toned individuals whom only wanted the pleasure of being free in a land full of opportunity. Imagine being taken from what you know as home to be turned into someone’s property and considered no more as free; to be considered no more as human but as chattel. The question is, who? Who in the hell would want to be a slave? “The Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turners Fierce Rebellion” by Stephen Oates happened to be one the most vivid books in which provided its audience with details that placed the reader in the shoes of the characters whom suffered for years because of a law that imprisoned human beings because of the complexion of their skin, filling their heads
One of the events in the history of the anti-slavery fight in the United States that caused the highest number of fatalities was The Nat Turner Rebellion. It was a highly important event that has changed the course of American history and the slavery abolishment. The United States became an entirely other place than it would have been without the rebellion. Thus, there is no wonder that even literature covers this period and these events. The book The Fires of Jubilee written by Stephen B. Oates depicts the atmosphere of trouble and chaos resulting from Nat Turner's rebellion and tells a story of a man who was born as a slave to gain freedom.
Lord Dunmore started the first anti-slavery movement, initiating his "proclamation" in November 7th, 1775, gathering a few hundred slaves within several weeks to join him. Unfortunately, he became ill in August 1776. His proclamation offered freedom, but only to those who would flee and serve. While it was supposed to disable rebellion, it caused nothing but that. Thousands of escaped southern slaves would then join the British forces in the south, seeking to end slavery.
Turner and his loyal followers who planned the rebellion did not manage to pull off a large-scale slave war as anticipated, majority of the black slaves stayed loyal to their white masters, and the entire movement lasted for only three short terrifying days. Yet, they came very close to changing history than anyone could have imagined possible. Though many slaves were thought enough to fall into their roles as field hands or servants, Nat Turner was significantly
During these times, the division between the whites and blacks was higher than ever. Whites were extremely scared of the rebellion so they usually punished people by falsely accusing of them of planning revolts. Some slaves did plot ways to rise up against their owners though. As more and more slavers were imported from Africa, the fear and reality of the rebellion increased greatly. In New York City in 1712, several enslaved Africans and Indians set a building on fire.
It wasn’t a smart idea because he didn’t really have much time to prepare. “On August 21, 1831, Turner and his followers began their revolt against white slave owners starting with Travis family” (Biography.com). For Nat, starting at the roots of his slavery was the best part. After that, Nat and his followers were unstoppable. Although their plan didn’t succeed, they contributed to help start the abolition
In 1831 a slave named Nat Turner led a rebellion in Southhampton County, Virginia. A religious leader and self-styled Baptist minister, Turner and a group of followers killed some sixty white men, women, and children on the night of August 21. Turner and 16 of his conspirators were captured and executed, but the incident continued to haunt Southern whites. Blacks were randomly killed all over Southhampton County; many were beheaded and their heads left along the roads to warn others. In the wake of the uprising planters tightened their grip on slaves and slavery.
In August of 1831 tensions between slaves and their owners had risen. One such example was slave Nathaniel Turner of Southhampton County, Virginia. He organized a rebellion with other slaves and they all went around killing 55 to 65 slave owners. While some thought he was a hero, he was truly a mad man.
Nat Turner (October 2, 1800 – November 11, 1831) was an African-American slave who led a slave rebellion of slaves and free blacks in Southampton County, Virginia on August 21, 1831 that resulted in 60 white deaths. He led a group of other slave followers carrying farm implements on a killing spree. As they went from plantation to plantation they gathered horses, guns, freed other slaves along the way, and recruited other blacks that wanted to join their revolt. At the end of their rebellion they were accused of the deaths of fifty white people.[2]
The act of Norfolk Mayor of being irrational roused Governor Floyd’s upheaval. Amid the insurgence of Nat Turners, the frenzy of the Norfolk Mayor was put by bits of gossip and suppositions that the present uprising was an extensive, effective occasion. Slaves in Virginia, far outnumbered the white populace and an across the board rebellion could demonstrate terrible to the whites. The Governors resentment was halfway vanity and in addition pride.
Bianca Hammaker Professor Page AMH 2010 25 November 2016 Paper Two (Abolition) Abolitionists preached to the public people on how slavery was unjustified, cruel, immoral, and inhumane. A widely accepted thought was to degrade colored people to that of the thinking capacity of apes and to treat them as animals. Most of the states were slave-holding at this time in history with slaves being the ones under the direction of the owners. Buyers (whites) of slaves sought for cheap labor and gave no credibility to anything the slaves accomplished.
I think the only thing I support about this revolts is that it kind of open others mind to fight for themselves. I support more of Vesey’s way of rebellion because it wasn’t too violent were as Turner killed innocent women and children. On Turner rebellions, it is bloody but I think since it became one of the famous rebellion it really push lots of slaves to speak up for what they believe is right. I understand that whites needed the slave to work on their plantations but not to the point where the slaves did not have rest or they get paid so little and some of them not even.
In my opinion this was nothing compared to the next thing which is the death of Nat’s Master. After all of the talk about Nat’s freedom due to the fact that he was almost useless as a physical working slave, the old man died taking Nat’s freedom with him. The repercussions of Master Benjamins death proceeded to be the exchange of Nat now being property of Master Benjamins eldest son, Samuel Turner. Samuel much like his father was a very religious man. Samuel worked his slaves hard and used faith in the Lord to scare slaves into being obedient like most other Southerner’s.
This rebellion only enhanced the feelings of the slavery supportive southerners, who used the event to further prove that slaves were barbaric and in need of suppression. The abolitionist northerners disagreed, seeing it as an act of desperation and a call for help. The rift between whites and blacks and the continuous mistreatment of slaves soon led to the Abolitionist Movement, which would eventually end slavery in