November 10, 1831
Southampton, Virginia
Hello, reader. My name is Nat Turner and I am writing this to express my beliefs before I die tomorrow. I cannot escape my fate, for the white man will not let me. I am destined to be hung tomorrow, but I feel I am dying for an important cause. Although I am only 31, I have accomplished far more than many elderly men, especially for a black slave. I am here in jail because of the slave rebellion I started in August. It all started when I became a slave at the age of 12. My father had already run away long ago, which left an empty place in my heart and my mind. Being a slave meant going through rigorous and seemingly never-ending work, all so some lazy white man could have a little bit easier life. For years I worked for my master as a seemingly trustworthy slave, even though inside it was like there was a volcano of fury in mid-eruption. Eventually, I could not take it anymore. I broke free from the burning shackles of unrewarded servitude, ran away, and became a fugitive. However, I had to go back for my slave brethren, for I received a message from God himself. He told me that I had to go back for them, for it was my divine purpose to rescue them.
After my vision, I rushed back to my old plantation; I had to free my brothers. I arrived on the porch of my “owner” and turned myself in. He was so surprised, he did not even punish me, well at least if working your fingers to the bone every day for somebody else like every slave had to wasn’t considered punishment. The other slaves were confused about why I came back, but I would reveal why soon. I spent my days plotting and planning secretly, sharing everything with my wife, Cherry. After a few years of work, in 1822 to be exact, the plantation owner, Samuel Turner died, meaning the slaves would be appraised and sold. My mother, my wife, and my kids were all sold away from me, leaving me with a heart more bruised than my swollen arms. Luckily, my wife and children were still close to me, although it was not the same. I was tired of this injustice. Something needed to be done!
As I worked for years under my new owner, I kept up with my plans and started secretly rallying the slaves together. Finally, in August, 1831, my rallied army of 75 other slaves and I charged the plantation, killing all white people in sight. We had waited many long, brutal years and if they wouldn’t let us be free, we had to take our freedom by force! We killed 57 white people that day, no matter what their sex or age was. After the rebellion, I knew I had to run. I hid in the woods and swamps for two months, until I was betrayed by my own. My guess is that the white beasts that call themselves humane tortured one of my brother slaves until they blurted out my location. I was sent to jail to wait for my trial. There I wrote my Confessions, almost a diary of my life. I was sent to court on November 5, and found guilty. I will be hung tomorrow, and I can’t help thinking how unfair this is. If it was a white man being forced into slavery, millions would try to abolish it. If a white slave rebelled, it would be considered the right choice for the greater good, and slavery is wrong. But that is because they are human, and we are not. Our skin is a darker pigment, therefore meaning we are some sort of twisted human-like species that is only good for doing work. We have the same capabilities as white people, but none of the privileges. As I write my last composition before my death, I can’t help but think, will there ever be a time when we will be thought of as equal humans? How much will we have to do to get there? Well, as long as we stick together, and fight for our rights using all the fire in our hearts, I hope we can succeed. That is my final prayer.
Citations
Bisson, Terry. "'A Slave's Dream'." Nat Turner, Black Americans of Achievement. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 2007. African American History Online. Facts On File,
(accessed February 8, 2009).
Bisson, Terry. "'The First War'." Nat Turner, Black Americans of Achievement. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 2007. African American History Online. Facts On File,(accessed February 8, 2009).
Watts, Linda S. "Turner, Nat." Encyclopedia of American Folklore. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. African-American History Online. Facts On File,
(accessed February 8, 2009).
"Nat Turner's Rebellion." African-American History Online. Facts On File,(accessed February 8, 2009).
Bisson, Terry. "'Nat Turner's Legacy'." Nat Turner, Black Americans of Achievement. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 2007. African American History Online. Facts On File,
(accessed February 8, 2009).
February 9, 2009 3:48 PM
Post a Comment
Newer Post Older Post Home
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Sean, Period 1
ReplyDeleteNovember 10th, 1831
Southampton Virginia
Hello, my name is Nat Turner and I am expressing my beliefs before I am hung. I feel I am being hung for a great cause because I risked my life for others slaves. I was born as a slave on Oct 2nd, 1800 in Southampton County, Virginia. I began working for my owner when I was 12 years old. My father had ran away when I was a child, leaving me with long, treacherous work. The hours were never-ending. While I worked hard, I never receive a thanks in return, and all my owner did was sit in his chair and relax.
One day, I had a vision from God telling me to free my brothers; I was eventually caught by my “owner”. I was shocked he didn’t punish me for trying to free a slave. I had a plan to escape from the plantation. The only person I told was my wife, Cherry. We worked for years our owner died and my wife and kids were taken away from me. From that day forward, I knew something had to be done about this horrible situation.
I worked for my new owner, keeping my plan in mind. One day, God showed me a solar eclipse, telling me it was time. In August of 1831, I got together with 75 other slaves and we killed any white person in sight. That day, we killed 57 whites no matter what sex or age. We went to capture the army base and we were all captured by soldiers. I managed to escape for a few weeks before I was captured, I was then sentenced to be hung.
I will be hung on November 11th and I will say my final prayers that one day slavery will come to an end and all will be equal. African Americans are treated with disrespect and looked at as inferior. We are not counted as full human beings and experience daily hardship. We cannot vote and I am tired of our people having no say in society. If slavery were not put to an end, I would say this, “Give me freedom or give me Death!”
Cites,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3p1518.html
http://www.africawithin.com/bios/nat_turner.htm
http://www.historybuff.com/library/refslave.html
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASturner.htm
http://www.nndb.com/people/937/000110607/
AJ
ReplyDelete3/23/10
Per. 6
S.S.
July 21, 1831
Georgia,
Plantation
Greetings my reader. My name happens to be Nat Turner and I am writing this entry to show how I feel about what is occurring before something happens to me. I am 31 years old, and I’m still working to buy my freedom, but I am scared about what my white owner will do to me so I must work hard and write to show what is going on in my life, and probably many other black slaves’ lives. I hope no whites read this because some fellow slaves and I are planning a rebellion. Also, they can’t find out that I can write and read otherwise I will be punished severely. I’ve been a slave since I was 12 years old, and I’ve figured out what to do and where to do it around my white owner and his fellow white friends.
Although I’ve been a decently successful slave, the amount of work I’ve went through is tremendous, and I’m beginning to lose my patience, which is a cause in my attempt at a rebellion. After my rebellion, I am considering running away and becoming, finally, a free black man. I do not really know what I’m going to do after this, but I’ve also thought about freeing other slaves that I can without being caught or something worse. This will all be a long and tedious process though, so I must plan correctly and not get frustrated; for I am afraid my white owner will become suspicious. I have also heard of other successful rebellions made by slaves which have also factored into the inspiration of my upcoming rebellion.
Other slaves and I have been planning this rebellion for a few months now, and we’re all writing about it so it goes down in history. I know my future after this rebellion will not be very good, but hopefully my actions will inspire other slaves to revolt against this outrageous treatment that we are given. I really wish I was given a chance to do something productive in my life, and buying my freedom is just too much of a hassle. I’ve always wanted a family and children and somewhere nice to live, but the whites are just too cruel to give the blacks any opportunity for that to happen. The government states that everyone has the rights to a proper, free life, and no where do they say that slavery is allowed and should be used. So with that, I will continue my attempt at a rebellion and prove to the whites, and the world, that no matter what color you are how you look, we are all human.
Citations:
Asante, Molefi Kete. "Nathanieil Turner." Africa Within b. Biography Resource
Cent, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. .
Group, A Military. "Nat Turner's Rebellion of 1831." GlobalSecurity. N.p., n.d.
Web. 25 Mar. 2010. .
Highways, Online. "Nat Turner." Travel and History. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar.
2010. .
Mellard, James M. "1800?-1831 Nat Turner." Documenting the American South.
University of North Carolina Press, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.
.
Party, Kentucky Southern. "Secession Crisis Nat Turner." The War For States'
Rights. Kentucky Southern Party, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.
.
Kristen Period 9
ReplyDeleteAugust 13th, 1831
Virginia
Dear Journal,
The day has been set. God told me, he showed me a sign. The light that shines the brightest, the sun, was how he decided to show me. He turned the sun a blue-green to show that it was time to gather the mistreated people for our revolt. If I was not this close to god then my people would never have been able to take this next step towards freedom. And this is what we were fighting for, right, freedom? America right now isn’t allowing us to have that freedom. Us slaves, African Americans, were taken from our homes and brought here to live this terrible life. The government behind America was set up for all people to have equal rights. The Constitution was above establishing justice, promoting general welfare, insuring domestic tranquility, and secures the blessings of liberty. Although I have none of those rights. I don’t have the right to a fair chance because if I do something wrong I will most likely just be killed. My well-being is no concern to the government, even though that is clearly stated in the Constitution that it should be one of their concerns. Peace for me will never happen because of how hard slaves work and how they are just whipped for their repayment. Also I will never obtain the blessings of liberty since I cannot fulfill my natural rights while I am stuck in slavery. In slavery we, people of America, not just the white men cannot live a full life, cannot have our own property, and do not live the pursuit of happiness. Most slaves are treated horrible and even can’t go to church like I have in my childhood but other slaves, the lucky ones, have found their way around slavery and purchased their freedom. I have not been as lucky as those few slaves who were free from their master’s clutches.
I was born in America because my mother was taken from Africa and brought to Virginia, where the year before I was born she was purchased by Turner. I don’t believe that should be a thing to be purchased. We are not a toy that you can throw away when you’re done with it. Yet, that’s not how we were treated in America. If it weren’t for my family though, I wouldn’t know when it was time to take back that freedom or that we were people too, just as the whites were. My mother taught me to believe in prophetic signs and the day I was born she told me that I was here for some great purpose. My mother was very dear to me. Through my childhood I went to church and was raised as a catholic. My masters seemed to like me for this reason because I believe the same views as them, for most things at least. The other slaves liked me to and some said that they looked up to me. They said that I see things that they don’t. I think that being a good root doctor, I learned everything my grandmother could tell me, and also being a good preacher as well probably helped their respect of me. I am proud of myself for never smoking, drinking, or swearing and being helpful, calm, and keeping a good temper.
This has helped me gain the trust of many throughout my lifetime. This is why I convinced the slaves to join me in this rebellion. It was originally planned to take place of July 4th but I fell ill and we decided to not go that day. So after the sign from god given today I have set the day to be August 22nd. We shall go to the house of our master and take all the weapons we can. I hope that the number of recruits in this revolt will grow as time goes on. We hopefully will be much more than seven men once this all comes to an end. I don’t know for sure how this is going to end but I am willing to risk my life for it.
(works cited to be continued...)
(Kristen/Nat Turner continued...)
ReplyDeleteMcKissack, Patricia C., and Fredrick L. McKissack. Rebels Against Slavery. New York: Scholastic
Inc., 1996. Print.
"Nat Turner." Facts On File. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. .
"Nat Turner." Travel & History. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. .
"Nat Turner's Legacy." Facts On File. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. .
"Nat Turner's Rebellion." Fact on File. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. .
Kirsten M. Pd. 6
ReplyDeleteNAT TURNER
I Benjamin Turner, also known as Nat Turner was born on October 2nd 1800. I grew up, as a slave, in Southampton County, Virginia. I was a very smart boy growing up, I was taught to read and write. Mainly white men were educated, not black people so being black and educated was rare. I felt that I was destine to be something more than a slave. I threw myself into my studies and religious development. I escaped from my plantation, but then returned thirty days later to help others escape. My slave master then died and I was then under the control of a child. On July 4th 1831 I led a revolt, known to be one of the bloodiest slave revolts in history. I had between 60 and 80 followers in this particular revolt. We ended up killing between 55 and 65 white men within the first 48 hours.
The democratic government of this country is not all it’s said to be. We, the people of Africa, are treated as though we are property not people. The rights that the white people have are much more than the rights we have as Africans. We have almost no rights here as Africans. Back in Africa we had our tribes which were not run by a democratic government. We were brought here and it did not seem like such a nightmare at first because we had heard wonderful stories of America. Surely those stories were made by the free white people of America because we are treated much differently than we had heard.
Life as an African American slave in this country is a terrible life. We have no rights; we are treated as property not people. We are whipped and abused into doing hard labor for our “masters”. We are forced to call them master, and complete all tasks given to us. If we do not we are very severely punished.
CITATIONS
McKissack, Patricia, Fredrick McKissack. Rebels Against Slavery. New York 2006. Print
Watts, Linda S. "Turner, Nat." Encyclopedia of American Folklore. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. African-American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE01&iPin=EAFolk690&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 25, 2010).
Aaseng, Nathan. "Turner, Nat." African-American Religious Leaders, A to Z of African Americans. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. African-American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE01&iPin=AARL0139&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 25, 2010).
Kranz, Rachel C. "Turner, Nat." In Kranz, Rachel C., and Philip J. Koslow. The Biographical Dictionary of African Americans. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 1999. African-American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE01&iPin=afbio0304&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 25, 2010).
Nat Turner
ReplyDeleteI was born on October 2, 1800, in Southampton County, Virginia, where I owned a farm. I was very intelligent child I dreamed of events that happened before I was born. Before I knew it I was labeled as a prophet and became deeply religious. I was black preacher, and believed in freeing my people from slavery. In 1821 I decided I needed to run away from my master Samuel Turner. Although I came back a month later because I had a vision in which I was to return. The following year my master died. I married a girl named cherry and I was sold to a man named Thomas Moore for 400 $.
In 1830 I was moved to the home of Joseph Travis, the new husband of Thomas Moore’s widow. My official owner Putnum Moore was only 9 years old and still a child. During this time I continued to have visions, seeing lights in the sky and interpreting them through prayer. One night I saw a solar eclipse and took it as a sign to stage an insurrection. I knew in this democratic government as a black man I was owned by a white child. I realized I have no rights or life to develop into the leader I was meant to be. Equality is not occurring, me as black man is being owned by a 9 year old white boy. I need to do something, I need to have rights there is no difference, and color doesn’t matter. We blacks are being treated unfairly for our color. I am proud to be black. We need to fight back. We live our lives around white people we must do what they say and that is not equality.
On the night of August 21, 1831, I and 6 other men met late at night in the middle of the woods to make plans. First we went to the Travis household and killed the entire family as they slept. We went house to house killing all of the white people we encountered. As the night went on my force grew bigger and eventually hit more than 40 slaves, most of which were traveling on horseback.
On the afternoon of August 22 I started marching towards Jerusalem. But by then the word of rebellion had gotten out to the whites, and we were confronted by a group of militia. Me and my men went to attack another house, but several of the rebels where captured. The remaining of us then fought state and federal troops in which one slave was killed and many escaped including my self. In the end we had killed at least 50 people. I struggled to find hiding spots. I hid in several different places near the Travis farm. I hid for 2 months, but my road to happiness had soon ended when I was captured on October 30. While I was imprisoned in the county jail, my confessions dictated to Thomas R. Gray. On November 5, I was tried in the Southampton county court and sentenced to death. I was hung and then skinned on November 11.
Carly period 1