Nat Turner, and the Bloodiest Slave Rebellion in American History

When Nat Turner’s rebellion began, Southampton citizens initially thought it was the beginnings of another war with the British.  Once it was realized that slaves were responsible for such action and that Nat was the leader, reasons for the insurrection were explained away by “religious fanaticism” (101) and Nat’s influential abilities.  After Nat was turned in to authorities, strange religious-inspired drawings and writings with “…no definite meaning” (102) were found with Nat’s wife, which justified the belief that a single “religious maniac” (102) had plotted the entire attack, and that the revolt was more of a delusional impulse than action based on a negative stance toward slavery.  Ultimately, Southampton County learned that the “…hostilities had been confined to Southampton and no widespread plot had been uncovered.” (109)  Nat’s intention was martyrdom; he chose to use his mysticism and religion as a facade for the uprising that was desired and imagined by many slaves.

What was overlooked in the midst of investigation into the slave rebellion was the true motivation.  Nat admitted to lawyer Thomas Gray that he was fortunate enough to have masters that treated him fairly well and encouraged his education and religious beliefs, but also that he did not believe his efforts to rebel were wrong.  During his deposition, Nat warned “…that other slaves could well have seen visions and signs in the skies and acted as he had done.” (122)  Nat was certainly exercising his wit with his suggestion that visions could be widespread among slaves, but the representation of those visions as motivation is tragically poignant.  Nat’s mystic childhood visions and memories may have shown him the history of slavery, but slavery in Nat’s time was a practicing history; these “visions” could be witnessed by any black person sent out to the fields.  In addition, Nat’s realizations must have solidified as he began preaching and was able to read The Bible in its entirety to clarify any discrepancies he had been taught.

The reality of insurrection in their own backyard showed Southampton County that “all was not sweetness and sunshine in their slave world.” (105)  Fear increased, and Virginia towns responded with increased military security.  Rumors of insurrections spread throughout the South.  Though many of these rumors were false, blacks were retaliated against for acts not yet committed through a type of vigilante justice.  Across the once relatively peaceful Southampton County, blacks were murdered and their bodies left in public to remind other would-be slave rebels that defiance would not be tolerated.  All slaves involved in the rebellious massacre (and some who were not) were executed by hanging, and owners were reimbursed for their losses.  This reaction to possible religious motivation is another contradiction in his own right; a black man who knew and understood true Christian beliefs was labeled as a criminal and fanatic when fighting against oppression.  The white response to such condemnable brutality and violence by slaves was not recognition of the injustices of slavery, but their own condemnable revolt against the enslaved population.

Blame for the events was eventually transferred to the traditionally non-violent Northern abolitionists, especially William Lloyd Garrison.  Due to abolitionist pressure and Governor Floyd’s financially-motivated tendency to lean toward abolishing slavery, talk of “gradual abolition” (139) began in Virginia, but the legislation was rejected because of cost and the belief that “the state could not legislate such prejudices away.” (141)  Instead, the Virginia General Assembly passed new legislation making it unlawful to teach slaves, free blacks or those of mixed race to read or write.  Laws also limited black church congregations, maintaining that a white person must be present at the meetings to discourage collaboration of another insurrection plan.  In addition to strengthening laws to keep slaves at bay, rights were also taken away from free blacks and in some instances, even restrictions of slavery criticism by whites.  The main lesson whites learned from Nat Turner’s rebellion was ironically not the injustices of slavery, but the frightening possibilities of educated blacks.  In attempts to control future situations, legislation encouraged even harsher treatment of blacks than what Nat and the others originally rebelled against.

Religious righteousness and superior white intelligence were two major justifications for the enslavement of black people in the Southern United States.  Nat Turner’s cunning planning of the bloodiest slave rebellion in American history shattered those theories.  His wise use of intellect and religion to manipulate white masters proved equality – regardless of skin color, and changed the misconception that slaves were too ignorant to know or want freedom. The insurrection, although never meeting Nat’s personal expectation of freedom, resulted in a course of events leading to further outcry against and ultimate disintegration of the institution of slavery.

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Oates, Stephen B. The Fires of Jubilee Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion. New York: Harper Perennial, 1990. Print.