Holy Rebellion

Hello, my name is Nat Turner, and I am one of, if not the most important figure in the early abolitionist movement. I was born the son of an unknown father, (many think he ran away), on a small plantation. My mother was a native African who engrained her passion of hatred into me. I learned my ability to read from one of my master’s sons. In the early 1820’s I was sold to a neighboring plantation. Around this time, I became fas

cinated with religion. I knew that I was destined for greatness in the eyes of the Lord, even referring to myself as a chosen child of GOD who was called upon to lead my enslaved race of people out of bondage. My influence was so powerful that those around me began to refer to me as "The Prophet."

One fateful day in 1831 there was an eclipse of the sun; I knew this was my time to strike. I first enlisted the help of four other slaves. We were forced to abort this attempt however. The second time I enlisted the help of 6 others and killed a slave owning family. After this I felt empowered like I was really carrying out the Lord’s will on his behalf. I then decided to enlist the help of 75 additional slaves. This resulted in the murder of an estimated 57 whites. After what was a long two day killing spree, my revolt was finally brought to a halt. I however, managed to escape. During this time militias and white mobs killed an estimated 160 slaves. State officials thought it’d be fit that I’d stand trial for my actions, even going as far as offering a $500 reward for my capture and subsequent safe return. This amount of

money is the equivalent of $18,091.72 today. I thought that it’d be smart for me to hide out in a nearby cave due to amount of heat that was on me because of the situation. I chose to hide out in a nearby cave. This however proved itself to be a bad idea due to the fact that I was found by a local farmer who didn’t live that far away from the cave. In my jail cell I was interviewed and recorded by a local planter and lawyer. These so called “Confessions of Nat Turner” became a pamphlet short after this time and subsequently the basis for a bestselling book as we as operating as the definitive source for nearly all accounts of the event.

I was hung shortly after these events took place. Nineteen of the thirty men who were arrested for carrying out my plan were convicted and executed. The rest of them, along with 300 free blacks from the area, agreed to be exiled to Liberia in Africa. My rebellion led to a passage of new laws, opened up the door for discussions regard

ing the end of slavery, and forced the Virginia legislature to have some difficult discussions around slavery that they would not have otherwise had. In the short term however, this holy rebellion ended in the implementation of harsher penalties on the activities of both enslaved and free blacks in the state of Virginia. Other slave states soon followed suit as well; with placing restrictions on their rights to travel, preach, and the opportunity to learn how to read and write. People always used to ask me why I did it and the answer remains the same every time, I simply say it was the Lord’s will.