He was influenced by those closest to him, including his father and mother strengthened him in the belief of his divine gift, along with his grandmother, who was very religious (Gray, 5). Clearly, The Confessions of Nat Turner could be turned to the purposes of audiences with vastly different agendas. Turner describes two other ways that God communicated with him. He resigned as a Justice of Peace. Like other scholars, Tomlins examines the material that Gray added to the text to pinpoint Gray's agenda, which "cage" the text by directing readers' interpretation in a certain way (38). Nat became a preacher who said that he had been chosen by God to lead the slaves away from Bondage. E-Texts in American Studies Return to North American Slave Narratives Home Page, Return to The Church in the Southern Black Community Home Page, Return to The North Carolina Experience Home Page. Grays description of his own apprehensions while transcribing Turners confession was intended to demonstrate the insurrections effect on slave owners at the time. How did generals Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor differ? Armed resistance from the local whites and the arrival of the state militiaa total force of 3,000 menprovided the final crushing blow. The biggest was led in 1831 by Nat Turner, a Virginia slave preacher, whose rebels killed 60 whites before he was captured and hanged.. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine He is a complete fanatic, or plays his part most admirably., Turners narrativepresented, Gray insisted, with little or no variation, from his own wordsgave an autobiographical history of the late insurrection and the motives behind it. He claims that, without being questioned at all, Turner commenced his narrative in the following words (Gray, 5). First, God communicated directly to him: at one point, the Lord had shewn me things that had happened before my birth. At another point, the Holy Ghost had revealed itself to me. On May 12, 1828, the Spirit instantly appeared to me. When asked by Gray what Turner meant by the Spirit, Turner responded The Spirit that spoke to the prophets in former days. Turner saw himself as a modern prophet. Turners reported answer: Was not Christ crucified?, The pamphlet created a powerful, enduring image of Turner narrating his own story as Gray looked on in horror: The calm, deliberate composure with which he spoke of his late deeds and intentions, the expression of his fiendlike face when excited by the enthusiasm, still bearing the blood of helpless innocence about him; clothed with rags and covered with chains; yet daring to raise his manacled hands to heaven, with a spirit soaring above the attributes of man; I looked on him and my blood curdled in my veins., Virginia newspapers helped to promote and publicize the Confessions of Nat Turner. What reasons does Gray give for publishing Nat Turner's confession? On August 27, 1831, the Richmond Compiler asked: Who is this Nat Turner? At the time, Turner was hiding in Southampton, Virginia, not far from the site where he launched the most important slave revolt in American history. Instead it seems more likely that Brantley was drawn by Turners millennialism, Turners ability to convert Brantleys heart, and Turners success in stopping the outbreak of a disease where blood oozed from Brantleys pores. Updates? It was in August of 1831 that Nat Turner led a rebellion of Virginia slaves that left dozens of people dead, including small children. Although the book is a primary source, future historians and literary scholars have found bias in Gray's writing indicating that Gray had not portrayed Turner's voice as much as he claimed he did. Tens of thousands of Americans have come to know the event only through William Styrons 1967 novelThe Confessions of Nat Turner. The text was taken from a jailhouse account given by Turner in 1831, shortly before his death. His mother was an African native who transmitted a passionate hatred of slavery to her son. Perhaps Turners religious separation from the black community can help make sense of perhaps the most surprising thing about Turners religion: the only disciple that Turner named in his Confessions was Etheldred T. Brantley, a white man. The opportunities to assess and reassess Turners legacy, however, are far from over: The Sundance sensation Nat Turner film, The Birth of a Nation, arrives in theaters in October. Nat Turner, by contrast, freely and voluntarily confessed his role as mastermind of the 1831 uprising and offered a detailed account of the conspiracy from the perspective of the rebel leader. Turner believed that God also communicated to him through the natural world. All Rights Reserved. How was George Washington treated by Edward Braddock? In Southampton county Black people came to measure time from Nats Fray, or Old Nats War. For many years in Black churches throughout the country, the name Jerusalem referred not only to the Bible but also covertly to the place where the rebel slave had met his death. While The Confessions of Nat Turner remains the ur-text for anyone who wants to understand Nat Turner, this 5,000-word account creates as many questions as it answers. By stating this, it is implied that Turner gave his accounts of that night freely and honestly and that Gray transcribed Turners story word for word. Any suggestion of a voluntary collaboration between Turner, a Black slave accused of insurrection, and Gray, a white lawyer with a keen interest in maintaining the Southern social order, struck Fabricanta practicing lawyeras naive and dangerously misleading. Additional materials, such as the best quotations, synonyms and word definitions to make your writing easier are also offered here. This horrific image of Turner was intended to shape the minds of the public in such a way that their minds would be made up before even reaching turners actual confessions. Thomas R. Gray, The Confessions of Nat Turner, 1831 [ p. 3] TO THE PUBLIC. Nat Turner, (born October 2, 1800, Southampton county, Virginia, U.S.died November 11, 1831, Jerusalem, Virginia), Black American slave who led the only effective, sustained slave rebellion (August 1831) in U.S. history. Abraham may have been his father. Nat begins to think back on his past life and tells the novel in a series of flashbacks. Turner believed that God continued to communicate with the world. Gray is a lawyer and he understands the situation of his client ( Nat Turner) . Gray, who claimed to have said little during Turners narration, asked Turner at one point if he did not find himself mistaken now that the deeds to which he had been called by the spirit had ended in calamity. Turner pleads not guilty and is quickly found guilty and sentenced to death via hanging (p. 20). Destructive 'Super Pigs' From Canada Threaten the Northern U.S. Did an Ancient Magnetic Field Reversal Cause Chaos for Life on Earth 42,000 Years Ago? Most slaves could not read. He was familiar with the outlines of Nat Turners life and the plot, and he was aware of the intense interest and the commercial possibilities of its originators narrative. How did Booker T. Washington impact Georgia? Grays chilling reaction to Turners confession suggests the type of panic this document created amongst whites slaveholders throughout various parts of the United States. [2], Their land they owned was next to the plantation of Joseph Ruffin who was Edmund Ruffins's father's cousin. With the eclipse, the seal was removed from my lips, and I communicated the great work laid out for me to do, to four in whom I had the greatest confidence, the first conspirators to join his plot. What were the motives for Nat Turner's Rebellion? How did Thomas Jefferson show civic virtue? Turner had many reasons for revolting, but his most important motive was his hatred of slavery and the suffering his people had to endure. Through the open cell door, we see the barely visible features of NAT TURNER covered in chains in the small jail cell. His neighbors saw stars in the sky, not realizing that according to Turner, they were really the lights of the Saviour's hands, stretched forth from east to west. More often Turner looked at prodigiesor unusual natural phenomenaas indirect messages from God. Gray hoped to replace a thousand idle, exaggerated and mischievous reports with a single, authoritative account of the event. The authenticity of this document is something to be contested. Turners views were clearly unacceptable to the whites who controlled Southamptons interracial churches. When 1821 comes around hes built his own house, bringing his property worth up to about $500. That sense of purpose was why Turner once ran away but soon returned to the plantation and to bondage. Why did people like Booker T. Washington? With the help of his father, Gray acquired extensive holdings in land and enslaved people. Tomlins' first chapter focuses on the most important source on the revolt, Thomas R. Gray's The Confessions of Nat Turner (Richmond, 1832). Why did Nat Turner believe slavery should be abolished? As a result, the document has become a springboard for artists who want to imagine the life of the most famous American to rebel against slavery. Gray, who claimed to have had little influence on Turner's narration, asked him at one point if he did not find himself "mistaken" now that the prophecy which he had been called upon to fulfill ended in tragedy. A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials. In an essay titled Thomas R. Gray and William Styron: Finally, A Critical Look at the 1831 Confessions of Nat Turner, published in the American Journal of Legal History (1993), Fabricant theorized that most scholars accepted the Confessionsof Nat Turner at face value despite seemingly obvious reasons for doubting its veracity because they had an enormous literary-historical stake in the authentication of the Gray-Turner narrative. At this time I reverted in my mind to the remarks made of me in my childhood, and the things that had been shewn meand as it had been said of me in my childhood by those by whom I had been taught to pray, both white and black, and in whom I had the greatest confidence, that I had too much sense to be raised, and if I was, I would never be of any use to any one as a slave. He shares his mission with four fellow slaves and begins planning; details of how the party was assembled are given on ensuing pages. See Page 1. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Virginia Humanities acknowledges the Monacan Nation, the original people of the land and waters of our home in Charlottesville, Virginia. What makes the Turner Thesis so provocative? Gray said there was 55 white people killed in each of his 4 revisions (remaining consistent) and he also gave the names of 18 of them. Not long afterward, in 1825, Turner had a second vision: I saw white spirits and black spirits engaged in battle, and the sun was darkenedthe thunder rolled, and the blood flowed in streamsand I heard a voice saying, Such is your luck, such you are called to see, and let it come rough or smooth, you must surely bare it. This spirit confronted Turner again in May 1828: I heard a loud noise in the heavens and the Spirit instantly appeared to me and said the Serpent was loosened, and Christ had laid down the yoke he had borne for the sins of men, and that I should take it on and fight against the Serpent, for the time was fast approaching when the first should be last and the last should be first.. From 1822-1830 was a financially unstable time for his family with his father and Edwin (his brother) falling into debt. Everything connected with the rebellion was wrapped in mystery, until Nat Turner the leader of the violent and savage band, was captured. Why did Turner write the Frontier Thesis? ALSO, AN . Throughout the region, Protestant churches run by whites ministered to both whites and blacks. How are Thomas Jefferson and George Washington different? The most consequential signs appeared in the months prior to the revolt. When Turner tried to join one of these churches, the church refused to baptize the religious slave who saw himself as a prophet. As a lawyer working on Turners case and a supporter of slavery, Gray probably did not feel compelled to present Turners motives and description of the insurrection. Nat Turner, (born October 2, 1800, Southampton county, Virginia, U.S.died November 11, 1831, Jerusalem, Virginia), Black American slave who led the only effective, sustained slave rebellion (August 1831) in U.S. history. What was the purpose of Nat Turner rebellion? Moreover, there is a chance for irregular supplies of grazing resources and a high incidence of pests and diseases in livestock (Bhasin 2011). 14. [9] There were 4 revised versions of the amount dead over 4 months. The repercussions of the rebellion in the South were severe: many slaves who had no involvement in the rebellion were murdered out of suspicion or revenge. A deeply religious man, he "therefore studiously avoided mixing in society, and wrapped [him]self in mystery, devoting [his] time to fasting and praying. He also says that he had a natural talent for planning and leadership, so that, even when he was a child, the other black children expected him to plan their roguery because of his superior judgment (Gray, 5). copyright 2003-2023 Homework.Study.com. Yet, when Turner fell ill, the date passed without action. Do clownfish have a skeleton or exoskeleton. The text of the confession also suggests that neither of these statements is actually accurate. His revolt hardened proslavery attitudes among Southern whites and led to new oppressive legislation prohibiting the education, movement, and assembly of slaves. What is A person who sells flower is called? Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Before his family settled in Southampton County, Virginia they lived in Nottoway Parish, Virginia. Why did Winfield Scott recommend Robert E. Lee? Turner immediately understood this peculiar event as a signal from God that the time to begin the revolt had arrived. Why did the population expert feel like he was going crazy punchline answer key? Nat's first master was Samuel Turner, a wealthy Virginia aristocrat who believed in educating his slaves. Nat Turner on His Battle against Slavery. How did Thomas R. Gray describe Nat Turner? In Virginia in August 1831, Nat Turner led the only effective and sustained slave revolt in U.S. history, during which some 60 white persons were slain. Describe Southampton Nat Turner Slave in Virginia who started a slave rebellion in 1831 believing he was receiving signs from God His rebellion was the largest sign of black resistance to slavery in America and led the state legislature of Virginia to a policy that said no one could question slavery. The next session of the Virginia Legislature was the scene of several speeches that used the rebellion as reason to call for abolitionincluding one by Thomas Jefferson Randolph, the founding fathers grandson, and C.J. The story began, Turner said, in his childhood, when he had an experience that seemed to his family an indication of the powers of prophesy. Nat Turners rebellion put an end to the white Southern myth that slaves were either contented with their lot or too servile to mount an armed revolt. When Joseph Ruffin died, he freed a slave named Charles and also gave one slave to each of Thomas Gray's children. The previous August, Turner, a enslaved preacher and self-styled prophet, had led the only successful revolt of enslaved people in Virginias history, leaving fifty-five white people in Southampton County, Virginia, dead, the slaveholding South convulsed with panic, and the myth of the contented slave in tatters. [3], Gray said in 1834 that he had studied law in his youth but theres no record of him going to college or a law school at any point. Some of the reaction to that book, at least as expressed by TIME, now reads as dated: the magazines review of the responses called the black writers blinded by their own racism against Styron, who was white. How is Socrates portrayed differently by Plato and Xenophon. Thomas Ruffin Gray (1800 - unknown) was an American attorney who represented several enslaved people during the trials in the wake of Nat Turner's slave rebellion. Thomas R. Gray was a lawyer in Southampton, Virginia, where he visited Nat Turner in jail. Public curiosity was at a stretch, he said, to understand the motives behind the rebellion. Styron fictionalized a historic character, Nat Turner, but nevertheless remained faithful to the known facts, most of which came from the 1831 Confessions of Nat Turner. These confessions were intended to create a powerful, yet vicious, image of Turner and his reasons for initiating such a devastating. The growing emphasis on Turner as an author in control of his own Confessionsof Nat Turner drew a sharp rebuke from legal historian Daniel S. Fabricant, who read the document as a legal and literary instrument of repression. "The Confessions of Nat Turner, the leader of the late insurrection in Southampton, Virginia, as fully and voluntarily made to Thomas R. Gray, in the prison where he was confined, and acknowledged by him to be such when read before the Court of Southampton; with the certificate, under seal, of the Court convened at Jerusalem, November 5, 1831, But he himself only ever lived in Southampton. question, I suggest you search "The Confessions Of Nat Turner by Turner, who saw the revolt in Biblical terms, never reconciled himself to this date. Why was john brown viewed differently than Nat Turner? Then in 1828 he became a Justice of the Peace and served as a magistrate for the first time. Turner describes two other ways that God communicated with him. His confessions, dictated from Turners jail cell to a Southampton lawyer, have provided historians with a crucial perspective missing from an earlier planned uprising, by Gabriel (also sometimes known as Gabriel Prosser) in 1800, as well as fodder for debate over the veracity of Turners account. During a span of approximately thirty-six hours, on August 21-22, a band of enslaved people murdered over fifty unsuspecting white people around Southampton, Virginia. Stone cautioned, however, against viewing the Confessionsof Nat Turner as a fixed pole of reference, setting terms for critical discourse and settling questions of historical fact or interpretation. Each retelling of the story represented a new social transaction in which Grays text figured as one more or less authoritative voice. How did Nat Turner believe he was set apart? After his revolt was violently suppressed by local whites and the Virginia state militia, Nat Turner went into hiding but was eventually captured, tried, and hanged. Although it is not surprising that whites rejected Turners religious views, they were also suspect in the black community. Cookie Policy Why did Frederick Douglass admire John Brown? Gray used Turners voice to serve his own agenda, which was to ease the impact if the insurrections and to reaffirm slave owners as to why slavery is justifiable. [6][7] Gray partook in the military observation of the murders done by the rebellion. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The Confessions of Nat Turner was published within weeks of the Turner's execution on November 11, 1831, and remains an important source for historians. How did he conclude that that something had to do with slavery and rebellion? Gray, the Holy Ghost had revealed itself to me who said he. The purposes of audiences with vastly different agendas enslaved people to each of thomas 's... Covered in how did thomas r gray describe nat turner in the military observation of the event his slaves,! Purposes of audiences with vastly different agendas in land and waters of home. And begins planning ; details of how the party was assembled are on... 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