This research will construct a narrative of the slave revolt led by Nat Turner in 1831, with reference to documents produced at the time of the event. The research will set forth the context in which the Turner rebellion occurred and will discuss the motivation of Turner, the causes of the revolt, and the goals of the rebels.
By the time Nat Turner and other slaves killed more than 50 white people in and around Southampton, Virginia, in August of 1831, the slaveholders of the South had little experience that might have prepared them for the realization that the institution of slavery could place their lives in jeopardy. A conspiracy led by Denmark Vesey, a free Negro living in Charleston, North Carolina, had emerged in 1822, partly out of public discourse over the Missouri Compromise (1821), which settled the geographical boundaries of slavery in the territory of the Louisiana Purchase. When a ôfaithful retainerö revealed the plot, Vesey and 35 others were hanged, and another 34 were exiled (Wiltse 71). By 1831, public discourse of slavery and antagonistic North-South debate had heightened with the appearance of GarrisonÆs abolitionist newspaper The Liberator. Nevertheless, Nat TurnerÆs slave rebellion was not anticipated, and this fact is supported by the commentary that contained a good deal of speculation about the revoltÆs causes and TurnerÆs motives.
It is clear that TurnerÆs leadership role was central to the rebellion, and there was a religious component to that role. The actions and goals of the rebellion were tied to TurnerÆs apocalyptic vision of the end of slavery. Beyond this, the objectives of the rebellion do not appear to have been sharply formulated, if TurnerÆs confession to Thomas R. Gray is to be taken as the truth. The absence of a well-organized strategy on the part of Turner and his followers did not prevent speculation that they were highly organized and had formulated a detailed plan. Pl...