In 1831 America there was no sign of an end to slavery. Nat Turner, a 31-year-old slave seen by many as a genius, was convinced that he was a prophet and that it was God's plan for him to rebel and kill white people to end slavery. He joined with others and created a rebellion that lasted only a few days but ended in the deaths of 55-65 men, women and children. Of the 55-65 people killed, many were also children. Opinions on Turner over the years, decades and centuries vary. Hero or villain? Savior or scourge? Was he crazy? He reportedly had a vision about the rebellion shortly before launching it. Maybe he was "crazy". Slavery could have this effect on a person. In reality it may have been all of the above. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay To truly understand Nat Turner's action you must empathize with the psychic of a slave in America between 1400 and 1800. If you believe that men and women can be used as "beasts", murdered and raped, then do not you can really offer perspective. We must understand the series of traumatic events that led to the uprising. Slave owners had forced African Americans into slavery generation after generation. They tortured and mistreated men, women and children every single day of their lives, and it was never questioned, but when the slaves decided to rebel, they suddenly went “insane”. If you believed it was your right to destroy your family, entire families, why wouldn't you believe it was your right to destroy a race and end it once and for all? To understand a little behind Nat Turner's rebellion we first need to know who he was and his beliefs. Turner was a slave born in Virginia on October 2, 1800 during this century, slavery was still something that existed and as the years went by the debate and issues behind it arose. Nat Turner was a man deeply committed to his Christian beliefs and claimed that God was sending him messages and signs to rebel. During the later time period, Turner's religious commitment tended to approach piety, and he consistently claimed to have been chosen by God to lead his people out of slavery. “By the time he was in his 20s, Turner was a spiritual leader among his fellow slaves, and many people, including his mother and grandmother, believed he had been chosen by God to do great things. People often called him “The Prophet”. Around 1820 he had a series of visions through which he believed that God was commanding him to prepare for a great battle against evil. During the religious revivals of the Second Great Awakening, many Americans from all walks of life experienced visions or believed that God spoke directly to them, and Nat Turner's belief that God had intended him for a special purpose reflected the religious fervor of his time. But the purpose for which he believed God had chosen him was extraordinary. In February 1831, a solar eclipse seemed to Turner to be the sign he had been waiting for, and he began preparations for an insurrection. On August 13, the sun appeared blue-green in the sky, and Turner and his friends took this as the final sign. When the rebellion was underway, Nat Turner knew what he was doing and his actions were justified as he was fighting against an irrational establishment. Nat Turner led his warriors into a battle they could not win, but their sacrifice was for future generations to stand against a brutal, psychotic system of human slavery. In 1831, Nat Turner led this historic uprising in Southampton County, Virginia. The fighting lasted only about two daysbefore they were suppressed by slave owners and their pro-slavery militias. Many people were killed, including the largest number of white casualties in any slave rebellion in U.S. history. Nat Turner was clearly trying to send a message. There was nothing rational about the institution of racial slavery in America. Turner's campaign was inspired not by madness, but by the power of the human spirit to stand against brutal injustice. Racial slavery was an institution of mass madness sanctioned by barbaric laws and a nightmarish uncivilized tradition. The excuse used by prejudicial propaganda that the people who carried out armed attacks against the institution of slavery were “mentally unstable” is irrational. This excuse is very interesting because the treatment of slaves in America was perhaps the most psychotic barbaric behavior known to man. Slaves were brutally beaten, tortured and burned alive, torn to pieces and even forced to hate themselves. After slaves were hanged, sometimes “just for fun,” pieces of their bodies were removed and kept as “souvenirs.” What kind of madness is this? Nat Turner was inspired by the Bible and led a slave revolt that killed dozens of pro-slavery whites. Turner is a hero because he saw the injustice and inequity in the existence of slavery and tried to do something to end a barbaric social and economic situation. practice that has existed in various forms throughout the history of all humanity. Slavery is not a phenomenon unique to Turner or America. It arises due to the economic need for growth and development and the inequalities between stronger and weaker social groups. Turner's methods were barbaric, but no more so than methods that create any form of slavery of any kind. Yes, innocent people were killed as a result of Turner's actions, but on the scale of human history and the history of slavery itself this is a very small event. Like all heroes, Turner was tainted by good and evil, weaknesses and strengths. People, especially white people, tend to get hung up on the fact that Nat and his followers killed women and children in their quest for freedom. But the same people forget and/or overlook the fact that whites were brutally killing (as well as raping, maiming, and generally treating like animals) African American women and children for generations before Nat Turner came along. Nat also witnessed the brutality of slavery his entire life before deciding to try to do something about it. Furthermore, one could, in fact, argue that Nat was simply taking an eye for an eye (you live by the sword, therefore you die by the sword). Even when you consider all slave rebellions combined, African Americans still killed only a small fraction of whites, compared to the hundreds of thousands of blacks who were killed during slavery, Reconstruction, and the civil rights movement. .Remembering Nat Turner is not a celebration of violence or revenge. Calling him a hero because he incites violence is not hypocritical. A humble man of God, Nat Turner gave his life for the dream of bringing liberation to more than two million slaves. Her story and rebellion are not just about slavery, but also about fighting against oppression for one's freedom and the lengths to which a man, woman, or child is willing to go to regain it once taken. If ever there was a just war, Nat Turner's holy war against slavery was just that: a just war of liberation. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get an essay.