A slave from Southampton County, Virginia, whose name was Nat Turner, was a well educated man taught to read and study the bible. Turner was a strong believer in Christianity and use his beliefs to get him through his struggles. Turner was born into slavery on October 2, 1800 to a kind and tolerant family. Benjamin Turner, Nat’s first owner, allowed him to read and play with his children. Although Turner’s owners were kind to him, he still felt a strong urge to rebel. When Turner was 12 years old he fled from his plantation only to return a month later because he had a vision telling him to do so. Turner’s religion played a huge part in his life. He claims he had spoke to god several times as well as having visions. When Benjamin Turner died …show more content…
Nat and his men would go from plantation to plantation killing as many whites as possible regardless of age or gender and would free the slaves on each plantation. News spread quickly among the slave community and motivated them to rebel against their owners and join Nat. Over the course of that day, Turner rallied over 60 men to fight with him. His men were armed to the teeth and some even on horseback. Turner’s plan was to terrorize all people between the Travis plantation and the town of Jerusalem which was 10 miles north. By the time Turner and his men reached Jerusalem the morning of August 23, 1831, his men managed to kill over 55 whites. Turner’s rebellion ended here at Jerusalem. The white community heard the news of what was going on and where to find them. They gathered as many as they could and armed themselves and met Turner along with his men at the outskirts of Jerusalem. The majority of Turner’s men were killed while Turner and a few others escaped. There was a rigorous manhunt for Turner, he eluded capture for 2 months until he was found on October 30th. He was then tried and executed by hanging on November …show more content…
It increased the restrictions on slaves and blacks rights as well as increased the hatred for the black community. Many southern states adopted new laws to restrict slaves and blacks’ rights. They made laws that forbid blacks to gather and they outlawed education and religion. They felt that education and religion were key factors to Turner’s motive. They thought that being educated made them dangerous and a risk to their owners safety. Therefore they forbid it. Not only did they restrict their freedom but they also killed and persecuted them due to immense paranoia that spread throughout the states especially amongst slave owners. Hundreds of innocent blacks were killed because of the widespread panic and the fear that another uprising may occur. A northern newspaper called the Christian Register published an article that says “another such an attempt [insurrection] will end in the total extermination of their race in the southern country—bloody as the remedy may be, it will be better thus to rid ourselves of, than longer endure the evil”. Turner’s rebellion stirred enormous amounts of conflict between northern and southern states. The reactions that came from northerners and southerners led to Americans turning against one another. Turner’s actions also influenced others to commit such crimes. Another abolitionist named John Brown was motivated by Nat Turner to use violence as well to make a statement. This statement that