Nat Turner's Woodcut 'A Horrid Massacre'

Chien Pham

Doctor Yang

History 200

4 April 2015

Source 12.4 Journal

During the 1820’s and the 1830’s there were often many slave revolts. Most leaders of these rebellions used religion to their advantage. They “radicalize and mobilize communities” (p. 417). One of these leaders was an enslaved man named Nat Turner. In 1831, Turner and a group of men violently attacked white people. “His group killed about 60 people but could not seize the country because the militia counteracted” (S12-8). The event was depicted by on a woodcut, “A Horrid Massacre”. This woodcut was made in 1831 and it appeared in many Virginia newspapers. It was made to depict the rebellion. After looking at the woodcut, I noticed that the artist portrayed African-Americans differently. Thus, the author of this woodcut may have wanted to convey his ideas about how white and black people are different.

However, they are represented as very different types of individuals. The white people in the picture appeared to be more civilized while the black people are very violent. The black people in the top sequence of the woodcut are either attacking or about to attack white people. Most of the white people are not attacking anyone. Some of the white people in this sequence are women and children. This implies that the author of the woodcut probably had a fear of slaves, since many “whites were fearful and they thought that Turner portend the violence to come if they did not improve the treatment of their slaves” (p.418).

A difference in weapons that white people and back people had can be seen in the first sequence of the woodcut. The black people are depicted with smaller weapons like small swords and hatchets. One of the white men in the picture has a big long sword. This difference in weapons suggest attitudes about the positions of white and black men in society. It suggests that white men were richer and more high-classed than black