This Month in History: Who Was Nat Turner?

 

In August 1831, Nat Turner—a deeply religious, enslaved Black man in Southampton County, Virginia—led the most significant slave uprising in American history. Fueled by visions he believed were divine signs, Turner and a small group of followers rose up against the brutal system that had shackled them since birth.

Nat Turner with the Head of his Master Kerry James Marshall 1955

Over the course of two days, Turner’s rebellion resulted in the deaths of around 60 white slaveholders. Though swiftly suppressed, the revolt sent shockwaves through the South. In retaliation, white militias killed over 100 Black people—many of whom had no connection to the uprising.

Turner was captured after weeks in hiding and executed on November 11, 1831. But his legacy endures. To some, he was a dangerous radical. To others, a freedom fighter and martyr. What’s undeniable is that Turner shattered the myth of the “contented slave” and forced America to confront the violent reality of slavery.

His rebellion sparked harsher laws against Black literacy and worship—but it also lit a fire in the abolitionist movement. Turner’s story reminds us that resistance, even when crushed, can still echo through history.

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