Rebellion was one of the last resorts for slaves to make a statement. Most rebellions were squelched rather quickly. Nat Turner's is one of the most famous because of its size and the chaos it caused. Before Turner, at least three previous rebellions had caught the attention of the public: one in New York, one in Stono, SC, and one in Louisiana.
Turner's rebellion took place in the early morning of August 22, 1831. Rebellion was a form of resistance that took careful planning. Turner and his followers met previously and decided to meet on the afternoon of August 21 to make their final plans. The group commenced the rebellion at 2am with the murder of Turner's master: Mr. Joseph Travis and his family. For the rest of the day Turner and his followers ripped through Southampton County killing any white people they found. Women and children were not excluded from this rampage. On August 23, the rebels were finally stopped and arrested. Turner escaped ad went into hiding, where he stayed until October 30th, when he was finally uncovered. He was tried and convicted on November 5 and was executed six days later. Fifty-five whites were slain in TurnerŐs rampage.
The news of Turner's violent resistance reached far and wide, causing an uproar on both sides of the slavery debate. William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator made a call for immediate emancipation. He used Turner's outbreak as an example of the length slaves would go to for freedom. Garrison believed that emancipation was the only way to prevent any future rampages. The opposite reaction was felt on the pro-slavery side. Slave owners were looking to each other on how to regain control of their slaves. Turner's rebellion sparked discussions and controversy on how to prevent another outbreak. This rebellion fueled both sides of the slavery debate until the final eruption into Civil War.
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