Nat Turner Research Paper

Nathanial “Nat” Turner was born on October 2, 1800, in Southampton County, Virginia, he was a slave born on the Virginia plantation of Benjamin Turner. The slave owner allowed him to be instructed in reading, writing, and religion which later he took theses abilities and became a preacher when he was a slave. As a child, he always thought something was very special about him because of the many talents that he possessed. He was a very religious child and often read the holy bible as well as pray and fast on his free time. In his younger days, he often thought that he had a special talent because he could describe things before he was born. His mother Nancy, and his grandmother often told turner that he was intended for some great purpose. Over the years Nat Turner worked on a few plantations and ran away from them too, but after
running away from Samuel Turners, his former owners brother in 1821 it was a little different. After Nat hid in the woods thirty Days he returns to the plantation after having visions that believed that was from god. He then started to believe these signs and started hearing divine voices. In fact, in 1825 he has a vision of a bloody conflict between black and white spirits. These visions sparked the ideas and the start of what was called the slave rebellion which would be the biggest slave rebellion in history. Throughout the years he continued having visions of what lead to the slave rebellion.
Being that he was a preacher and feeling like he was a prophet of god he followed these signs and visions. And one of his last signs that he had believe to have seen from god was that god would give him a sign to let him know when to fight. He would soon know when to do what he believes he was called to do when one time he saw an eclipse of a sun in 1831. He believed that the time to rise had come, but he didn’t do this alone with the help of several other slaves in the area.
Believing that he was doing what he was chosen to do Nat Turner acted by gathering several slaves and led the rebellion.” On August 21, 1831, turner and his supporters began their revolt against the white slave owners with the killing of the Travis family”. As the time moved on Nat Turner alliance started growing to a group of 40 to 50 slaves as the violent rebellion continued throughout Southampton county. The rebellion was going well at first for Nat and his followers. They were able to gather guns and other weapons as well as horses from the people they already
killed.
Lots of sources say that about 55 white men, women and children died during Turner’s rebellion. Turners plan was to reach the country seat of Jerusalem, and take over the armory there, but he and his men plan were soon crushed. Their plan took a complete halt when they had a bloody gruesome face off against a group of angry armed white men at a plantation near Jerusalem, and this conflict turned to complete chaos. Then soon after the big brawl turner fled into the woods. Turners followers were captured and all lynched but turner on the other hand wasn’t caught until the end of October in 1831. He was later tried, and confessed to the big role he played in the rebellion without any remorse. Later after confessing he was sentenced to death and hung in Jerusalem. “The Nat Turner insurrection of 1831 and the simultaneous drive of the abolitionists against slavery brought forth the enactment of many new repressive measures in other parts of the south as well as in Virginia and neighborhood states”.