Nat Turner
The Life and Works of Nat Turner
Imagine being born into a tiny hut, having to work in a kitchen at age four, having no choices about anything, being beaten if you said one word about being free, and at age twelve, being forced to work in the fields for no money. Well, that 's what being born a slave was like. The injustice of slavery pushed Nat Turner to want freedom for himself and even more for others. Nat Turner was a hero because he fought for freedom of others, not just himself, and he was willing to accept the high cost of losing his life in order to be a leader of other slaves and to fight to the end. Nat Turner inspired many other slaves of his time by showing that freedom was worth fighting and dying for. He also motivated other slaves through his leadership and his courage in standing up for what he believed in, even if it meant being hung. It was his desire for himself and for others to be free and the willingness to die for that freedom that drove Nat Turner to lead one of the biggest slave rebellions of his time.
Nat Turner was born in 1800. His mother, Nancy Turner, had been captured from Africa and brought to Southampton County, Virginia to be sold to a white plantation owner in 1799. When Nat was still young, his parents searched his body for bumps or marks that were signs of prophecy according to an African folklore. Then he was told that his future was filled with amazing deeds, and his family decided that he was to become a Prophet.
The slave system that surrounded Nat was one of the cruelest systems ever created. People were stolen from their homes in Africa and sold as slaves to European colonies in America. Nat lived with his mother, father, and step grandmother in a tiny hut. When Nat was eight or nine, his father ran away into freedom. Later in life, Nat Turner also ran away and managed to hide from the search parties for two weeks. While he was free, he realized that it was not destined for him to only get freedom for himself, but for
Imagine being born into a tiny hut, having to work in a kitchen at age four, having no choices about anything, being beaten if you said one word about being free, and at age twelve, being forced to work in the fields for no money. Well, that 's what being born a slave was like. The injustice of slavery pushed Nat Turner to want freedom for himself and even more for others. Nat Turner was a hero because he fought for freedom of others, not just himself, and he was willing to accept the high cost of losing his life in order to be a leader of other slaves and to fight to the end. Nat Turner inspired many other slaves of his time by showing that freedom was worth fighting and dying for. He also motivated other slaves through his leadership and his courage in standing up for what he believed in, even if it meant being hung. It was his desire for himself and for others to be free and the willingness to die for that freedom that drove Nat Turner to lead one of the biggest slave rebellions of his time.
Nat Turner was born in 1800. His mother, Nancy Turner, had been captured from Africa and brought to Southampton County, Virginia to be sold to a white plantation owner in 1799. When Nat was still young, his parents searched his body for bumps or marks that were signs of prophecy according to an African folklore. Then he was told that his future was filled with amazing deeds, and his family decided that he was to become a Prophet.
The slave system that surrounded Nat was one of the cruelest systems ever created. People were stolen from their homes in Africa and sold as slaves to European colonies in America. Nat lived with his mother, father, and step grandmother in a tiny hut. When Nat was eight or nine, his father ran away into freedom. Later in life, Nat Turner also ran away and managed to hide from the search parties for two weeks. While he was free, he realized that it was not destined for him to only get freedom for himself, but for
Bibliography: Bisson, Terry. Nat Turner, Slave Revolt Leader. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988