Generational Slavery : Nat Turner As A Slave

First of all, both Frederick Douglass and Nat Turner has a lot of similarities. Both were well-educated slaves, and education helped them to be different from other slaves. In fact, while learning to read and write, Douglass understood his real life of being a slave because he could develop his imagination and interpret what was happening around him. For example, at the end of the chapter two of his book “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself”, Douglass mentioned the slave song that he sang with other slaves when they were going to the Great House Farm which is the Colonel Lloyd’s plantation. When Douglass was a slave, he could not understand the real meaning of the song; however, when he grew up

Nat Turner was born a slave in Richmond, Virginia in 1831. In this narrative Nate Turner recounts his version of events and later recorded during his revolt in Southampton County, Virginia in 1831. The revolt lasted two days but Nate was not captured until six weeks after. He was then tried for insurrection. Thomas Ruffin Gray was said to be the lawyer who questioned Nate as his trial. Gray questions his state of mind, why he led the revolt and whether he felt mistaken in doing so. Gray also documents Nate’s confession as he explains in detail his personal struggles and the visions he encountered prior going through with the revolt. He also describes the people, places and the slaves that assisted him. No one was spared men, women and children were murdered with hand tools.

Gray’s “The Confessions of Nat Turner” opened with an overview of Turner’s early life. He included a passage in which Turner said that an odd moment in his life, when he recalled events that happened before his birth, “laid the ground work of that enthusiasm, which has terminated so fatally to many” (44). By declaring his revolt as an enthusiasm, which means that it was a divinely inspired pursuit, he already ingrained the prejudice of the confessions being the one of an overly religious man. The confessions persisted with the idea of Turner being an irrational self-proclaimed prophet. He was said to have many revelations in his life which convinced him that he was “ordained for some great purpose in the hands of the Almighty” (46). The purpose, as he saw it, was to lead his people to freedom.

Nat Turner was a leader from the very moment he was born. But unfortunately he was also born into slavery. He was hit with the regulatory slave rules, he could not get married, travel without the permission of his master, could not own property, and he could not earn money. During his slavery, he was sold to many different slave owners and each time, he was sold, he was forced to leave some part of his family, as well as his friends he had made. This was the brutal and demeaning system of slavery that he sought to overthrow. He was not just looking for his own individual freedom, he was fighting for the abolishment of the whole entire system of slavery, along with liberating African Americans from white tyranny. During the 1820s he had many visions of what he believed to be God commanding him to prepare himself to fight against great evil. He was not the only one that was “receiving visions from God” there were many other Americans that said to experience

Nat Turner to my option is one of the most well-known and slave rebel in our history, and to this day, his actions are still remains a focus of disagreement. Although Turner’s revolt may have had some adverse effects to solve the problem of slavery, but it did do one thing for sure, it opened many American’s eyes to the issue. Slavery of African Americans, commonly called blacks, was an accepted part of our society during his time frame, and even though during this time it was not frowned upon, it still was not civilized or considered right in anyway. To my opinion, from what I read the opinion of many others that, it was the unjust and hurtful treatment of the slaves by their masters during the 1800’s that eventually led to not only Turner’s slave revolt, but it also was a big help in the movement to abolish slavery.

Nat Turner’s Rebellion was one of the few slave revolts that took place during the early 1800s. Countless attempts at freedom by slaves were not successful due to a lack of precision and planning that Nat Turner’s Rebellion possessed. Turner spent years gathering information and planning the specific details of the revolt he led. Turner researched the various people he targeted and focused on during the events in the rebellion. Nat Turner’s Rebellion influenced the abolition of slavery and the ways individuals are dealt with present-day human trafficking. The rebellion shows the tactics Turner used when he created an effective and life changing rebellion. The revolt and uprising of slaves during the time period was uncommon, since slave owners had not treated slaves in a harsh manner. The ways in which Nat Turner worked to combat against slavery were evident through his childhood, where he spent hours each day reading and analyzing the bible. He spent several years planning the different aspects of the rebellion, doing his best to minimize the possibility of exposing slaveowners to the plan for the rebellion. The events following the rebellion led to massive changes to the institution of slavery.

In The Fires of Jubilee Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion: Stephen Oates gives an account of the brief but deadly slave revolt in and around Southampton, Virginia. His controlling theme is that of religion and the profound influence that it had on the development of Nat Turner's charismatic persona and his rationale for engaging in a project of deliberate murder of people who had at least in the context of slavery as a given of Turner's experience, treated him quite decently. The effects of Nat Turner's rebellion were profound. The insurrection of Nat Turner was inspiration for all slaves, even if just 60 whites were killed to the 140 blacks. I am

     The Fires of Jubilee, is a well written recollection of the slave insurrection led by Nathaniel Turner. It portrays the events leading towards the civil war and the shattered myth of contented slaves in the South. The book is divided into four parts: This Infernal Spirit of Slavery, Go Sound the Jubilee, Judgment Day, and Legacy.

The book educates readers on the difficult life slaves had in America during the 1800’s and the life of Nat Turner and the rebellion he lead. The book focuses on Nat’s life and the adversities as well as challenges slaves had to go through to survive. The psychological effects slaves had for the fault of the system they were unjustly born into or put in, affected their decision making every day; either by making them obey their masters or fight for their freedom and die, rather than continue living as a slave. In the case of Nat Turner, life as a slave caused him to lead a rebellion whose sole purpose was to kill all of the white people who lived in Southampton County, Virginia, and its surrounding areas. Unfortunately, Nat’s rebellion is what caused his death.

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.

What was the importance of Nat Turner and where does he stand in American history? Nat Turner is an American slave, who has been forgotten about in history as well in the hearts of African-Americans. He led and organized one of the bloodiest slave rebellions in American history. This rebellion was "…the rebellion that served to change the course of American history in the three decades before the Civil War" (Goldman 10). Within this paper, it is to analyze on his impact on the nation.

Thomas Jones, Louisa Picquet, and Nat Turner were all slaves in America during the nineteenth century. Both Thomas and Louisa wrote stories of their experiences in order to raise money to free someone in their family from slavery. Nat Turner on the other hand voluntarily wrote of his experiences while serving time in prison, which possibly could not have been much worse than being a slave. The type of slavery that Jones, Picquet, and Turner experienced differed greatly from slavery in other countries during this time period. Slavery in America was much more demeaning than slavery in other countries because the system was based solely on skin color rather than religion or social class. During this time, American slave owners maintained slavery

Nat Turner was a slave and a preacher in Virginia. He was tired of being a slave and

She, of course, was flabbergasted of this knowledge he contained. Nat’s parents supported and praised his intelligence. In the book it states the following, “Nat’s parents, his grandmother, and the other Turner slaves all agreed that he was “intended for some great purpose.” ” Since Nat’s playmates knew about his brilliance, they wanted to use it to their advantage. His playmates’ plans for his brilliance weren’t subjects that he specifically was interested; he thought that his brilliance needed to be enforced in a better manner. His master, Benjamin approved of his literacy and as well encouraged the boy. He encouraged the boy to study a more religion based literacy which included Nat reading the Bible and taking him out to prayer meetings. Master Benjamin was very proud him. From this point and on, Nat would be encountering unexpected events. First, his father ran away from the Turner place, leaving Nat and his family behind. Also, in late 1810, Master Benjamin died of a typhoid which became an epidemic around the surroundings. Every slave, including Nat, now was the property of Benjamin’s son, Samuel. Master Samuel was a stricter master than Benjamin. This meant Nat’s literacy wasn’t on his master mind. To make matters worse for Nat, he has now turned 12, the age where slaves must go to work. Even with his hardship, Nat was able to find tranquility in religion. Religion is

Nat Turner was born into slavery. Nat Turner, according to www.biblography.com) was born on October 2nd,1800. He was born in Southampton County, Virginia. Kyle Baker wrote a graphic novel called Nat Turner. According to (http://www.merriam-webster.com) a graphic novel is “a fictional story presented in comic-strip format and published as a book.” He was born on the Virginia plantation of Benjamin Turner. Benjamin Turner allowed him to be instructed in reading, writing, and religion. When Nat Turner was only ten he taught himself how to read and write with the help of the master’s son. Nat Turner’s father ran away when he was just eight or nine years old. Nat Turner was sold three times during his childhood. Nat Turners real name was Nathanial Turner. Nat Turner was a black slave who led the only effective, sustained slave rebellion. (www.history.com). Nat Turner was the leader of a violent slave rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia in 1831. Nat Turner was a hero in my eyes because he didn’t allow the circumstance of his birth to predict his success, he overcame his fears and acted because of the spirts of God, he forced the world (specifically America) to look, talk, and act on why the lives of blacks mattered.