Today, in honor of Black History Month, we remember Nat Turner, who led the only effective, sustained slave revolt in U.S. history (in 1831). They killed over 50 people, mostly whites, but the authorities put down the rebellion after a few days. Turner survived in hiding for several months. The militia and racist mobs, in turn, slaughtered up to 120 free and enslaved black people, and the state executed another 56, and severely punished dozens of non-slaves in the frenzy that followed the uprising. Turner’s revolt set off a new wave of oppressive legislation by whites, prohibiting the education, movement and assembly of enslaved and free blacks, alike.
Today in Labor History, October 30, 1831: Nat Turner was arrested after leading the bloodiest slave rebellion in United States history. The rebels killed between 55 and 65 White people, but the uprising was suppressed within a few days. The militia and racist mobs, in turn, slaughtered up to 120 free and enslaved black people, and the state executed another 56. Turner managed to evade capture and survived in hiding for over 30 days, before he, too, was tried and executed.
Today in Labor History October 2, 1800: Slave rebellion leader Nat Turner was born. In August, 1831, Turner led the only effective, sustained slave revolt in U.S. history. They killed over 50 people, mostly whites, but the authorities put down the rebellion after a few days. Turner survived in hiding for several months. White slave holders got together and executed over 50 slaves and severely punished dozens of non-slaves in the frenzy that followed the uprising. His actions set off a new wave of oppressive legislation by whites prohibiting the education, movement and assembly of slaves and free blacks, alike.
Today in Labor History August 21, 1831: Nat Turner launched a 2-day slave revolt in Virginia. They killed over 50 whites. In response, scores of African-Americans were lynched, including many who did not participate in the revolt. Turner survived in hiding for more than two months. Mobs & militias killed around 120 enslaved and free African Americans. In the aftermath, state legislatures passed new laws prohibiting education of free and enslaved black people and restricted the civil liberties for free blacks.
The rebellion is referenced in “Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown.” Thomas R. Gray wrote an 1831 pamphlet, “The Confessions of Nat Turner,” based on his jailhouse interview with Turner. Harriet Beecher Stowe referenced Turner's Confessions in her 1855 novel “Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp.” Harriet Jacobs, an escaped slave, refers to the pogrom against blacks following Turner's rebellion in her 1861 classic, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.” In the 1990s, Tupac Shakur honored Turner with a cross tattoo on his back "EXODUS 1831."
Today in Labor History July 2, 1822: The authorities hanged Denmark Vesey and 34 others for plotting a slave uprising. An estimated 9,000 were involved in the plot, but only 67 were convicted of any offense. Vesey was a free man living Charleston, South Carolina, who still had enslaved family members. He cofounded the African Methodist Episcopal church (AME) in Charleston, quickly gaining near 2,000 members and the support of white clergy. Charleston at the time had far more black residents than white, including many upper-class free blacks, some of whom had their own slaves. Additionally, many white refugees from the Haitian Revolution moved to Charleston with their black slaves. Consequently, there were many black residents who wanted to replicate the Haitian slave uprising in South Carolina and many whites who were fearful of such a rebellion.
Many of the congregants in Vesey’s church were current slaves and he used the church to help organize the revolt. The uprising was supposed to occur on July 14, Bastille Day, since the victors of the French Revolution had abolished slavery in Saint Domingue. The plan was to attack the arsenal, kill as many white slave owners as possible, like they did in the Haitian Revolution, and then commandeer ships to Haiti. Vesey’s success at organizing thousands of free and enslaved blacks was also his downfall. So many people knew about the plot, that word easily leaked to the white slaveowners. In the end, he was betrayed by two slaves who were loyal to their masters. Several white men were also convicted of participating in the plot. None were known abolitionists and all the white allies received lenient sentences.
Many writers have depicted Vesey or his rebellion in their writing. The title character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel “Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp” (1855) is a composite of Denmark Vesey and Nat Turner. Probably inspired by contemporary criticism of “Uncle Tom,” who she portrayed as a passive martyr, she made Dred a revolutionary escaped slave. Martin Delaney also refers to Vesey in his serialized novel, “Blake; or the Huts of America” (1859–61). Delaney was, himself, a revolutionary free black man. He was an abolitionist, writer and the first and only black man to achieve the rank of major during the Civil War. He was also the first black nationalist, who coined the phrase, “Africa for Africans.” African American writer John Oliver Killens (1916-1987) wrote a biography of Vesey “Great Gittin' Up Morning” (1972). And, more recently, Orson Scott Card portrays Vesey in his “The Tales of Alvin Maker” series (1987-2003).