1. AIM: Who was Nat Turner and what is his legacy?
(5min.) DO NOW: Take out Slave Register HW.
Have you ever led a group of people against an authority figure? Describe the situation. If not, if you were ever going to be a leader, what would you fight for?

2. Early Years
B. Oct. 2, D. Nov. 11, 1831
A slave on a Southampton County, Virginia plantation.
Smart and religious. Seen by some as a prophet.

3. A Visionary…
Nat’s 1st vision:1821. Ran away but returned after 30 days. The Spirit told him to "return to the service of my earthly master." The next year, following the death of his master, Samuel Turner, Nat was sold to Thomas Moore.
3 years later Nat had a 2nd vision. He saw lights in the sky and prayed to find their meaning. Then he said, "... while laboring in the field, I discovered drops of blood on the corn, as though it were dew from heaven, and I communicated it to many, both white and black, in the neighborhood; and then I found on the leaves in the woods hieroglyphic characters and numbers, with the forms of men in different attitudes, portrayed in blood, and representing the figures I had seen before in the heavens."

4. A Sign to Rebel
In February, 1831: eclipse. Turner took this to be the sign he had been promised and confided his plan to the four men he trusted the most: Henry, Hark, Nelson, and Sam. They decided to hold the insurrection on the 4th of July and began planning a strategy. However, they had to postpone action because Turner became ill.

5. The Rebellion Begins
August 13: the sun appeared bluish-green. This was the final sign.
August 21, Turner and six of his men met in the woods to eat dinner and make their plans. At 2AM, they set out to the Travis household, where they killed the entire family as they lay sleeping. They continued on, from house to house, killing all of the white people they encountered. Turner's force eventually consisted of more than 40 slaves, most on horseback.

6. Insurrection
Rebels marched toward Jerusalem, a nearby town, in the afternoon of August 22.
Word of the rebellion had spread. Confronted by militia, the rebels scattered and Turner's force became disorganized.
Turner and the rebels spent the night in hiding, then attempted to attack another house, but were repulsed.
Several rebels were captured. The remaining force and state and federal troops met in 1 final skirmish, in which one slave was killed and many escaped, including Turner.
In the end, the rebels had stabbed, shot, and clubbed at least 55 white people to death.

7. Capture and Confession
Nat Turner was captured on October 30, His "Confession," dictated to physician Thomas R. Gray, was taken while he was imprisoned in the County Jail. On November 5, Nat Turner was tried in the Southampton County Court and sentenced to execution. He was hanged and skinned on November 11, 1831.

8. Effects of Nat Turner’s Rebellion
In total, the state executed 55 people, banished many more, and acquitted a few.
The state of Virginia reimbursed the slaveholders for their executed slaves.
Because of the hysterical climate that followed the rebellion, close to 200 black people, many of whom had nothing to do with the rebellion, were murdered by white mobs.
Slaves as far away as North Carolina were accused of having a connection with the insurrection, tried, and executed.
The state legislature of Virginia considered abolishing slavery, but in a close vote decided to retain slavery and to support a repressive policy against black people, slave and free.

9. Discussion Questions
How might the non-enslaved community have viewed Nat Turner’s Rebellion? (Hint: Think about location, emotions, reasons, and be sure to take into account the various non-enslaved groups of people).
How might the enslaved community have viewed Nat Turner’s Rebellion? (More than one possibility, please).
In your opinion, was the rebellion worth it? Explain.

10. Bibliography Slide 2: Illustration of Nat Turner: Origin Unknown
Slide 5: 19th century engraving from The Granger Collection, New York.
Slide 6: “Horrid Massacre in Virginia” illustration from Library of Congress
Slide 7: Benjamin Phipps engraving, 19th century; “Confessions” title page from the Library of Congress
Historical information from