Introduction
Nat Turner was a slave in Southampton County, Virginia. He was born in Southampton County on October 2. He was an educated man who was born into slavery. He also had superior intelligence levels, evidenced by his ability to remember his time as an infant. He is, however, associated with a slavery rebellion in 1831. The rebellion finally led to his death by having in 1831. Nat Turner is not well known, but the Turner rebellion was most successful because of his education, intelligence, and strategy skills that led to many white deaths and the subsequent restriction on the education of African-Americans.
Annotated Bibliographies
Givens, J. R. (2016). “He was, undoubtedly, a wonderful character”: Black Teachers’ Representations of Nat Turner during Jim Crow. Souls , 18 (2-4), 215-234.
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The journal by Givens gives a clear description of the life of Nat Turner. Specifically, it tells of the interesting character which Turner had, as represented by the way he lived his life and the career and how it was important in shaping the slave era period.
The journal is important because one of the issues it delves into is the perceived or real high level of intelligence that Turner possessed. From a young age, Turner possessed a high level of intelligence, which was unusual for a person of his age and racial standing in society. For example, he is said to remember all the events that took place immediately after he was born. Most of the success of the rebellion against slavery that he led in1831 is down to him.
Tomlins, C. (2016). Debt, Death, and Redemption: Towards a Soterial-Legal History of the Turner Rebellion. In Exploring the ‘Legal’ in Socio-Legal Studies (pp. 35-56). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Tomlins, in his analysis, looks at the events and all the issues surrounding the rebellion, as led by Turner. During the war and the rebellion by the slaves, Tomlins delves into details and talks about the deaths and the sacrifices that had to be made by various actors.
Of importance from the journal by Tomlins is how Turner planned the rebellion. The rebellion was not just another ordinary rebellion that came up spontaneously. Instead, Turner played a huge role in its planning. Most of the success of the rebellion is due to the strategies that were planned and well laid out by Turner.
Jay, B. (2019). Nat Turner’s Revolt, 1831. 50 Events That Shaped African American History: An Encyclopedia of the American Mosaic [2 volumes] , 20.
Jay delves deeply into all the events and important variables in the revolt led by Turner. During the war that lasted four days for it to be eventually quelled, there were many deaths, sufferings, and escapes by both the black slaves and white slave owners. All this is captured well in the journal.
The Journal by Jay is important in the wider schemes of things because it details the role played by Nat Turner in the rebellion. Nat Turner was at the center of all the planning and execution of over 60 white slave owners and their families. The role of Turner in all there is, therefore, well understood.
Wilmore, G. S. (2018). Black Religion: Strategies of Survival, Elevation, and Liberation. Journal of the Interdenominational Theological Center , 21 (1), 2.
The journal by Wilmore explores the role played by religion in the black community during the slavery period. The author recognizes that black slaves were deeply religious people. Their religion played an important role in their way of life and culture, including how they behaved and viewed their slavery. For some, religion made them accept their situation where some were motivated by religion to revolt.
Religion played a great role in the Turner rebellion of 1831. Turner was a deeply religious person. His Christian upbringing cultivated his deep religious beliefs. He, therefore, believed that he was chosen by God to lead the rebellion and ensure that the black people were no longer in the shackles of slavery.
Parker, N. (2016). The Birth of a Nation: Nat Turner and the Making of a Movement . Simon and Schuster.
Parker, in his book, looks at the impact which Nat Turner had on how slaves viewed their slavery situations and conditions. Though there were many rebellions at the time, the author posits that most of them were about improving their living conditions and the environment as slaves. Few of these rebellions were about emancipating themselves from slavery.
Nat Turner played an important role in the making of a strong movement. In the aftermath of the tuner rebellion, rebellion by slaves sprung all over. These rebellions drew their inspiration from the Turner rebellion of 1831 and the impact it had on the whites. It motivated the black slaves who eventually released that even the white people were mortals who had their weak areas.
Harrold, S. (2015). The rise of aggressive abolitionism: Addresses to the slaves . University Press of Kentucky.
In his book, Harrold gives a detailed analysis of how the laws and regulations of various states evolved. It especially gives an insight into how laws were before and after the Tuner revolt. The books show that laws became even more stringent and oppressive against the slaves.
The book details how laws and regulations in many states became stringent was on education due to Turner. Nat Turner was an educated individual. The whites perceived that his education was the biggest factor that led to his successful planning of the revolt. They, therefore, introduced stronger laws, banning the teaching of African-Americans how to read and write.
Pusey, A. (2015). Nat Turner Tried for Slave Rebellion. ABAJ , 101 , 72.
The book by Pusey lays out the charges leveled against Nat Turner. The philosophy of the book does not, however, focus only on Turner, but also on many other black slaves who, at various point in time, had been found to have led rebellions. It also details the hanging of Turner and the subsequent disposal of his body.
The book is important because it suggests that after being hanged, Nat Turner’s body was skinned, divided, and distributed to the whites. It is an important aspect of the book due to the symbolism that it brought. It was meant to assure the white men that they were safe and could continue with their slavery activities.
Baker, H. R. (2017). The Birth of a Nation, Nat Turner, and Slave Trials: A Teaching Moment for Social Studies Teachers. Social Education , 81 (1), 6-9.
Baker details the punishment of slaves. Specifically, the capturing and hanging of the revolting slaves in public. The public hanging was meant to send a message to others that this was the same fate that would befall them. It was therefore meant to discourage slaves from rebellion.
Nat Turner’s death was no different. As a leader of one of the bloodiest slave rebellions to hit the white slave owners, the whites wanted to make an example of him. Details from the book, therefore, show that he, too, was also hanged in public. His trial was, however, different because he was not buried in a marked grave as other slaves hanged. Instead, his body was skinned distributed among the whites.
Wrenhaven, K. L. (2015). Slaves. A Companion to Ancient Education , 464-473.
This source is important because it looks into the educations of the slaves. Though not seen directly, the educations of the slaves are evidenced directly from the type of skills that they had. Such skills included carpentry, masonry, nursing skills, crafts, civil service, among others. It showed that for a moment in time, slaves had no limits in their education and the skills they acquired.
The information above is important concerning Turner. The laws in various states were eventually revised, and these education benefits were made illegal. All these changes in education laws draw their motivating from Turner as the white men saw education as the motivating factor to rebellion.
Tomlins, C. (2017). The work of death: Massacre and retribution in Southampton County, Virginia, August 1831. In Legal Violence and the Limits of the Law (pp. 92-107). Routledge.
According to Tomlins, the rebellion led to the death of not just the black men, but also of over 60 white slave owners together with their families. They were killed using crude weapons such as machetes, knives, and clubs. Previous rebellions were easily thwarted, and no significant negative impact on the white slave owners and their families reported.
The massacre of the whites and their families was a unique happening. It represented a well-planned strategy that was also well-executed. Though the retribution came later on that led to the killings of many of the slaves that participated in the rebellion, the killing of the whites was all attributed to Turner.
Conclusion
In the slavery period, Turner played an important role in a successful rebellion due to his high level of intellect and education. He led the Turner Rebellion, which led to the death of over 60 whites. Most of those rebelling were eventually captured and hanged. It, however, provided an impetus for rebellion all over and led to the drafting of laws that barred African-Americans from learning how to read and write.
References
Baker, H. R. (2017). The Birth of a Nation, Nat Turner, and Slave Trials: A Teaching Moment for Social Studies Teachers. Social Education , 81 (1), 6-9.
Givens, J. R. (2016). “He was, undoubtedly, a wonderful character”: Black Teachers’ Representations of Nat Turner during Jim Crow. Souls , 18 (2-4), 215-234.
Harrold, S. (2015). The rise of aggressive abolitionism: Addresses to the slaves . University Press of Kentucky.
Jay, B. (2019). Nat Turner’s Revolt, 1831. 50 Events That Shaped African American History: An Encyclopedia of the American Mosaic [2 volumes] , 20.
Parker, N. (2016). The Birth of a Nation: Nat Turner and the Making of a Movement . Simon and Schuster.
Pusey, A. (2015). Nat Turner Tried for Slave Rebellion. ABAJ , 101 , 72.
Tomlins, C. (2016). Debt, Death, and Redemption: Towards a Soterial-Legal History of the Turner Rebellion. In Exploring the ‘Legal’in Socio-Legal Studies (pp. 35-56). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Tomlins, C. (2017). The work of death: Massacre and retribution in Southampton County, Virginia, August 1831. In Legal Violence and the Limits of the Law (pp. 92-107). Routledge.
Wilmore, G. S. (2018). Black Religion: Strategies of Survival, Elevation, and Liberation. Journal of the Interdenominational Theological Center , 21 (1), 2.
Wrenhaven, K. L. (2015). Slaves. A Companion to Ancient Education , 464-473.
