Nat Turner, An Abolisionist

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Nat Turner was born in October 2, 1800, on Benjamin Turner’s plantation in Southampton County, Virginia. His father was also a slave of Benjamin Turner’s and was believed to have successfully escaped and lived his life in the Great Dismal Swamp in southern Virginia and North Carolina. His mother was a slave named Nancy who used to live in Africa but was taken in 1763. Nat Turner was highly intelligent and imaginative even from early childhood, and his mother thought that he was destined for great things. He was overheard describing events that even happened before he was born, so the other slaves believed that he was destined to become a religious prophet. Nat Turner was a very religious slave who had many visions and led a rebellion against slavery. Nat Turner began as an abolitionist as a slave. His first master was Samuel Turner. When his master died in 1822, he was sold to Thomas Moore. In the beginning year of 1830, Moore died and Turner was moved again to another master, Joseph Travis, the new husband of Thomas Moore’s widow. His official owner was Putnum Moore, but he was still a young child. Turner described Joseph Travis as kind, and didn’t have any complaints against. While he had these masters, he also had many visions. Turner was a very religious man, which influenced his views on slavery. He “studiously avoided mixing in society and wrapped himself in mystery, devoting his time to fasting and praying.” In 1821, Turner ran away from his first master, Samuel Turner, but returned 30 days afterwards because of a religious vision. The Spirit told him to “return to the service of my earthly master.” (pbs.org) After three years, Nat Turner had another vision where he saw lights in the sky. Afterwards he “discovered drops o... ... middle of paper ... ...rginia consider abolishing slavery, but decided to not cancel it and support a repressive policy against all black people by a close vote. Nat Turner’s religion helped him change his views with slavery and became famous because of his rebellion. He made everyone rethink about slavery and almost even abolished it. He made the African Americans rethink about being slaves and encouraged more rebellions. He had an important part in ending slavery, and he was an important Abolitionist. Works Cited PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014. "A Rebellion to Remember: The Legacy of Nat Turner." A Rebellion to Remember: The Legacy of Nat Turner. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2014. Altman, Linda Jacobs. Slavery and Abolition in American History. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 1999. Print.

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