This text is part of the Teaching Hard History Text Library and aligns with Key Concept 4 and 5.
Nat Turner was enslaved. That meant someone else controlled everything he did and took all the money from his hard work. As a boy, Nat was sold to three different plantations in Virginia. From sunup until sundown, Nat’s enslavers or overseers put him to work however they saw fit.
Nat’s first enslaver allowed him to learn how to read and write. He enjoyed reading the Bible most. Although being taught to read was a privilege many enslaved people did not have, Nat was still in bondage and had to obey his enslaver’s orders. From his Bible readings and prayers, Nat believed he had been given an important assignment to help his people escape from slavery. When the time was right, Nat knew exactly what he had to do.
For black people, being enslaved meant they did not have the same rights or freedoms as white people. Nat did not believe this was fair. He wasn’t allowed to go wherever or do whatever he wanted to do. Despite Nat’s reality, he dreamed of freedom. He knew the way he and his people were treated in Virginia and other Southern states was wrong. Something had to be done, but when? How?
During the day, Nat worked in the fields picking cotton for long hours in the hot sun. He was not paid for his work. He was told when to wake, when to work and when to stop. Although he enjoyed Sunday morning worship through prayer and praise, that wasn’t enough. His determination to be free could no longer be stopped. That important assignment he had been given was ready to be fulfilled.
Not long after his decision, Nat and a group of enslaved and free black people met to create a secret getaway. The timing had to be perfect so the enslavers wouldn’t find out. Most of the enslaved people who were part of Nat’s plan could not read or write, so they made code words through song. From one plantation to the next, Nat and his crew created signals in their songs that let the other enslaved people know they were escaping to freedom.
Enslaved people who dreamed of freedom followed Nat once they heard the code. Since it was illegal for them to escape from plantations, the group did whatever they could to prevent their enslavers from stopping them. This meant Nat’s journey to freedom had now become a revolt or rebellion. In order to succeed, he and the others had to attack anyone who stood in their way.
Although Nat remained hidden for almost two months after the rebellion began, he was eventually captured and killed. However, Nat Turner’s revolt in 1831 was so big, everyone heard about it. His determination to prove to those in power that slavery was wrong and his people deserved freedom was a spark for change.
It would be many more years, until 1865, when slavery became illegal. But Nat Turner’s bravery and his courage to overcome the system that kept black people in bondage are the reasons why he and his rebellion are still famous today.