Nat Turner's Rebellion for kids: Background History, the Cotton Cash Crop and
the growth of Slavery
Nat Turner's
Rebellion was a direct result of the growth of slavery in the
South. The invention of the
Eli Whitney Cotton Gin had
made slave labor vastly more profitable
as cotton became a highly
profitable cash crop that used the slave plantation system of
farming. The rise of 'King Cotton' ended all hopes of peaceful
emancipation in the South.
Nat Turner's Rebellion for kids: Background History, the Fear of Slave
Revolts
Nat Turner's
Rebellion, and its bloody aftermath, had been feared and anticipated
by U.S. slave owners since the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804), a
slave revolt in the French colony of Saint-Domingue with coffee and
sugar plantations in which over 60,000 people were slaughtered.
Southerners realized that their own slaves might rise up against
them. And they were correct. Small, short-lived slave revolts had
been had been suppressed during the following insurrections in
Southern states:
1800 - Virginia - Gabriel Prosser
1803 - Georgia - Igbo Landing
1805 - Virginia - Chatham Manor
1811 - Louisiana - German Coast Uprising
1815 - Virginia - George Boxley
1822 - South Carolina
- Denmark Vesey
Nat Turner's Rebellion for kids: Background History, the Abolitionists
About a year before Nat Turner's
Rebellion a new movement in favor of the negroes began in the North.
A preacher called William Ellery Channing (1780 – 1842), proposed
that slaves should be set free, and their owners paid for their loss
from the sale of government owned lands. A Boston journalist called
William Lloyd Garrison (1805 – 1879) began the publication of
a paper called the Liberator and went one step further. He proposed
for complete abolition of slavery without payment to slave owners. Abolitionism was
based in the North, and white Southerners alleged it fostered slave
rebellion. The religious revival movement, referred to as the
Second Great Awakening, also inspired slaves to demand freedom. Nat
Turner, unlike most slaves, had learnt how to read. He was deeply
religious man, he experienced a series of 'visions' and no doubt
influenced by the Second Great Awakening and probably the literature
of the Abolitionists. The
Abolitionist Movement was
established in 1830. Also refer to the
Fugitive Slave Act.
Nat Turner's Rebellion
All of the above factors were
relevant to the insurrection and the subsequent events surrounding
Nat Turner's rebellion.
When did
Nat Turner's Rebellion take place?
Nat Turner's
Rebellion began on August 21, 1831 and ended when he was
captured on October 30, 1831.
Where did
Nat Turner's Rebellion take place?
Nat Turner's
Rebellion took place in Southampton County, Virginia. The small
group of conspirators met at a place called Cabin Pond with the
immediate goal of getting to Jerusalem (now renamed Courtland) The
town of Jerusalem was a small hamlet with less than 200 people.
What was the effect and impact of
Nat Turner's Rebellion?
The
effect of Nat Turner's
Rebellion was:
● There was
hysteria throughout the South, rumors of slave armies abounded
and bloody, retaliatory acts of revenge were inflicted on slaves
throughout the South who had not been involved or implicated in
the revolt
● The
severed heads of slaves were displayed at crossroads, mounted on
poles, as a deterrent to any further acts of rebellion
● Frightened
Southerners believed that the actions of Northern Abolitionists
and their anti-slavery agitation would lead to more rebellions
● Some
Northerners also opposed to Abolitionism led to
anti-abolitionist riots in New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey
and New Hampshire
●
Southerners called upon the government to ban the dispatch of
the Liberator, and similar "incendiary publications", through
the mail
● The bloody
slaughter of innocent slaves, as retaliatory acts to the
rebellion, led to bitter resentment among the slave population
and sympathy in the North. This led to the formation of groups
dedicated to helping slaves escape from slavery - These groups
would become known as the
Underground Railroad
What was the Significance of
Nat Turner's Rebellion?
The Nat Turner's
Rebellion
● Southern
fears of a general slave uprising significantly increased and
had a profound effect on the attitude of Southerners towards
slavery
● The
Virginia legislature passed new legislation in the Spring of
1832 making it unlawful to teach slaves, free blacks, or
mulattoes to read or write
● A state
law was also passed restricting all blacks from holding
religious meetings without the presence of a licensed white
minister
● Other
Southern states implemented the same laws which resulted in
widespread illiteracy among slaves
● The
proposed bill to restrict 'incendiary publications' failed to
pass in the Senate - it was opposed as an act of censorship,
against the freedom of the press
● Thousands
of anti-slavery publications descended from the North, which
infuriated Southerners
Nat Turner Rebellion Facts for kids
Interesting Nat Turner Rebellion Facts, Timeline and Biography for
kids are
detailed below. The history of Nat Turner's Rebellion is told in a
biographical timeline sequence consisting of a series of short facts
providing a simple method of relating the life of the slave, his
owners, a history of the revolt with timeline dates, his capture,
the imprisonment and the death of Nat Turner. The revolt was well
documented in the newspapers of the era and on December 1831 "The
Confessions of Nat Turner" were published in Baltimore, Maryland
by a lawyer called Thomas Ruffin Gray. The "Confessions" of Nat
Turner were dictated to Thomas R. Gray whilst he was imprisoned in
the Southampton County Jail. The Nat Turner Rebellion Facts,
Timeline and Biography are taken from a number of these sources.
Nat Turner
Rebellion Facts, Timeline and Biography for kids
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact 1:
1800: Nathaniel
Turner was born on October 2, 1800 in Cross Keys,
Virginia
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact 2:
His mother was an
African slave, who was given the name Nancy. His father
was her owner, Benjamin Turner
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact 3:
His mother rejected
the mixed race child and Nathaniel was placed in the
care of a slave couple called Harriet and Tom
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact 4:
Nathaniel learns how
to read, it is not clear who taught him but it was
probably a preacher, and he was allowed to read the
Bible. There is Methodist society in Cross Keys who
worship in Benjamin's meeting house
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact 5:
1809: Benjamin
transfers the ownership of Nathaniel to his son Samuel
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact 6:
1810: Benjamin dies
and Nathaniel is set to work in the fields by Samuel
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact
7: 1810: Nathaniel's
foster father, Tom, escapes
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact
8: 1817: Nathaniel
experiences his first spiritual message, others follow
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact
9: 1821: Nathaniel is
forced to marry a slave called Cherry. Cherry is
believed to have two children
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact
10: 1823: Samuel Turner
dies and Nathaniel and Cherry are put on the auction
block and sold to different owners.
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact 11:
1823: The name of
Nathaniel's new owner is Thomas Moore. Cherry and the
children are sold to Giles Reese for $40
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact 12:
1825: Nathaniel
experiences spiritual visions and slaves believe he has
divine powers.
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact 13:
1828: His owner
Thomas Moore dies and the ownership of Nathaniel is
passed to six-year old Putnam Moore
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact 14:
1828: Nathaniel
experiences a vision that commands a Holy War
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact 15:
1830: Thomas Moore's
widow marries Joseph Travis who becomes the stepfather
of Putnam Moore (Nathaniel's owner)
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact 16:
August 14, 1831: The
Cross Keys congregation visit the Barnes Methodist
Church and the sermon calls for slaves to join the Holy
War
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact 17:
August 21, 1831: A
solar eclipse was seen as a sign to stage an
insurrection.
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact 18:
August 21, 1831:
Seven men (Nelson Williams, Sam Francis, Jack Reese,
Will Francis, Henry Porter and Hark Travis) dine
with Nathaniel at Cabin Pond. The revolt begins that
night.
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact 19:
August 21, 1831: The
Travis household was their first target - the entire
family is killed.
Nat Turner Rebellion
Fact 20: August 21, 1831:
Other slaves join the revolt and the killing continued
through the night until the next day.
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact
21: August 22, 1831: The
number of slaves in the revolt increased further, to
about 60 in total, most of whom were on horseback
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact
22: August 22, 1831: By
the afternoon the slaves were making way to Jerusalem,
the nearest town. But the news of the revolt had spread
and the militia had been called out. By this time about
60 white people had been killed
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact
23: August 22, 1831: The
slaves fought state and federal troops. Some were
captured, others including Nathaniel escaped. The slave
army dispersed.
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact
24: At least 200 slaves
were murdered by white mobs fuelled by the hysterical
climate that followed the revolt - the skulls of
beheaded slaves were displayed at crossroads
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact
25: October 30, 1831:
After 70 days on the run Nathaniel is captured by
Benjamin Phipps who discovered him in a ditch covered
with fence rails
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact
26: October 30, 1831:
Nathaniel is taken to
Southampton County Jail where he is whipped
Nat Turner Rebellion
Fact 27: November 1-4, 1831:
The "Confessions" of Nat Turner were dictated to the
lawyer Thomas R. Gray who had previously represented
several other slaves charged in the uprising
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact
28: November 5, 1831: The
trial at the Southampton County Court. Nathaniel is
found guilty as an insurgent (rebel) and is sentenced to
be hanged.
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact
29: November 11, 1831:
Nathaniel is hung at noon.
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact
30: November 12, 1831:
The body of Nathaniel is desecrated - he is skinned, his
flesh is ripped from the bones, his body was beheaded
and quartered
Nat Turner Rebellion Fact
31: December 1831:
"The Confessions of Nat Turner" were published in
Baltimore, Maryland by Thomas R. Gray.
Nat Turner
Rebellion Facts and Biography for kids
Black
History for kids: Important People and Events
For visitors interested in African American History
refer to
Black History - People and Events.
A useful resource for
teachers, kids, schools and colleges undertaking
projects for the Black History Month.
Nat Turner's Rebellion for kids - President Andrew Jackson Video
The article on the
Nat Turner's Rebellion provides an overview of one of the Important issues of his presidential term in office. The following
Andrew Jackson video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 7th American President whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1829 to March 4, 1837.
Nat Turner's Rebellion
●
Interesting Facts about
Nat Turner's Rebellion for kids and schools
●
Key events
Nat Turner's Rebellion for kids
●
The Nat Turner's
Rebellion, a Important
event in US history
●
Andrew Jackson Presidency from March 4, 1829 to March 4, 1837
●
Fast, fun, interesting
timeline
about Important events
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Foreign & Domestic
policies of President Andrew Jackson
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Rebellion for schools,
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