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Denmark Vesey And Nat Turner Rebellion

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Slave Revolts, particularly in the South, may be deemed unsuccessful by whites. Although, in the African American community, if one event attempted to plan a revolt it was for our freedom and the freedom of others for generations to come. Despite the fact that Denmark Vesey and Nat Turner died while plotting or carrying out a revolt, their death was not in vain. Their deaths sparked a wave of revolts throughout the South. The stories of Denmark Vesey and Nat Turner display how religion influenced their acts of rebellion. Denmark Vesey was the leader of the Charleston, South Carolina slave revolt. He began his life as a slave. He was able to purchase his freedom with the money he won in a local lottery. Over the years he became a wealthy and …show more content…

During that time whites did not want African Americans to worship in the same place as them. This resulted into the creation of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. When whites began to oppose the religious meeting of free and enslaved blacks, Vesey became aggravated. Soon his anger sparked an idea of a revolt. Since he was a devout Christian, Vesey used the Old Testament as guidance for his revolt. One scripture he used quite often was Exodus 21:16 which states, “And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.” This scripture was Vesey’s motive to kill whites. His original plan was to attack the town of Charleston and flee to Haiti but his plan took an unfortunate turn. White authorities found out through a slave who leaked the information. The Bible played a heavy influence on the slaves who joined Vesey. As the book states, one of the slaves who was persecuted, left behind a note saying, “Fear not, the Lord God that delivered Daniel is able to deliver us.” Sadly, Vesey was captured and put to death. Before his death, he was questioned by a judge who told Vesey, “you had therefore much to risk and little to gain. From your age and experience you ought to have known, that success was impracticable.” Vesey knew that another brave soul would rise up and lead his fellow slaves of the South out of

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