Nat Turner

Nat Turner

Nat Turner 1800–1831, American slave, leader of the Southampton Insurrection (1831), b. Southampton co., Va. Deeply religious from childhood, Turner was a natural preacher and possessed some influence among local slaves. Apparently believing himself divinely appointed to lead fellow slaves to freedom, he plotted a revolt with a band of approximately 60 followers. After killing the family of Turner's owner, the band ravaged the neighborhood, in two days killing a total of 55 white people, mostly women and children. The revolt was soon crushed, however, and 13 slaves and three free blacks were hanged immediately. Turner himself escaped to the woods, but was captured six weeks later and hanged. Dozens more blacks were also killed in retaliation. The abortive uprising, by far the bloodiest and most serious in the history of slavery in the United States, led to more stringent slave laws in the South and to an end of the organized abolition movement there. Over the years, Turner became a figure of controversy, seen by some as a vicious fanatic and by others as a hero of black resistence.

Bibliography: See studies by H. Aptheker (1943 and 1968), E. Foner (1971), J. Duff and P. Mitchell, ed. (1971), K. S. Greenberg, ed. (2003), and S. French (2004); C. Burnett, dir., Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property (documentary film, 2004).

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"Nat Turner." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Turner, Nat

Turner, Nat (1800–31) US African-American revolutionary. Born a slave, he believed that he was called by God to take violent revenge on whites and win freedom for blacks. With c.70 followers, he took a solar eclipse as a sign to begin his insurrection. More than 50 whites were killed before the revolt was crushed. Turner was later captured and hanged.

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"Turner, Nat." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Turner, Nat." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-TurnerNat.html

"Turner, Nat." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-TurnerNat.html

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Turner, Nat

Turner, Nat, see Confessions of Nat Turner and Dred.

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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Turner, Nat." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Turner, Nat." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-TurnerNat.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Turner, Nat." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-TurnerNat.html

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Turner, Nat

Turner, Nat. See Nat Turner's Uprising.

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Paul S. Boyer. "Turner, Nat." The Oxford Companion to United States History. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Paul S. Boyer. "Turner, Nat." The Oxford Companion to United States History. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-TurnerNat.html

Paul S. Boyer. "Turner, Nat." The Oxford Companion to United States History. 2001. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-TurnerNat.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

RARE SOLAR ECLIPSE SIGNALED NAT TURNER'S HISTORIC REBELLION.(PORTSMOUTH...
Newspaper article from: The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA); 2/11/2001
Nat Turner before the bar of judgment: Fictional treatments of the...
Magazine article from: African American Review; 12/22/2001
Nat Turner: A Slave Rebellion in History and Memory
Magazine article from: The Journal of Southern History; 5/1/2004

Facts and information from other sites

Turner, Nat images
Nat Turner. Other (Public Domain)