Nat Turner and John Brown:

The struggle for Black freedom does not begin in 1831 with Nat Turner. But the rebellion he sparked is the first to reach regional and national level of awareness. The weaknesses and abuse of the then wide spread practice of human slavery was exposed to the light of day. The fact that many areas of Virginia were overwhelming populated by black slaves is of crucial interest. This fact insured that fear of other uprisings became a driving force from 1831 forward in American race relations. Indeed fear not tranquility underlies the entire South from 1831 until as late as 2008. Long term fear will over time extract a dreadful toll.

How is the story of Nat Turner recounted? In almost every history text book he is described as a Black religious fanatic and portrayed as being totally or partially insane. The term brutal and the famous quotation of Patrick Henry both appear in research material. Nat was found guilty of the capital offense of murder on November, 5 1831 and hung on November 11 some 6 days later. After death his body was flayed beheaded and quartered. No burial location is given.

The result of this unsuccessful revolution was that both abolitionists and slavers became more entrenched and more bitter and fearful. Some 55 Black persons were executed by the state as being suspect in Nat Turners rebellion. An addition 200 Black people many completely innocent we set upon by angry white mobs and beaten to death or lynched.

As a direct result of the events of 1831 the events leading up to Harper’s Ferry in 1859 occurred. John Brown became convinced that he must help his children defend their land in Kansas against attack by slavery supporting white southerners. Lawrenceville Kansas was attacked by a roving band of what amounted to white terrorists. Five people died in this attack. John Brown led a counter attack that killed 5 white southern ruffians some 5 days later.

The Kansas Nebraska Act attempted to resolve the expansion of slavery issue. Stephen A Douglas US Senator from Illinois and friend to railroad interests crafted this bill. Essentially it repealed the Missouri Act of 1820 and permitted the residents of either of these new territories to decide if they would enter the union as free or slave states. After some months in congress the bill was passed by both houses and signed into law by President Pierce on May 30, 1854. Interestingly enough both Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri and Sam Houston of Texas opposed this Law. Though the die was cast another result was the Lincoln-Douglas Debates which placed Lincoln in center stage for the presidential nomination of a new political party.

Events continued to spin out of control and what Abraham Lincoln was to complete; John Brown began when he attacked a federal Arsenal at Harpers Ferry Virginia in October of 1859 with the express purpose being to arm Black slaves in and about this location on the border of Maryland and Virginia. John Brown hoped that armed slaves could and would preserve their freedom by force of arms. This did not in fact come to pass and John Brown was executed for the crime of treason on December 2, 1859 some 11 months before Abraham Lincoln was elected to the office of President.

These two men were not the first to die and countless thousands more would die in the struggle that followed. The struggle is still going on in such places as Jasper Texas. Truly the vintage that John Brown’s boots trampled from the grapes of wrath is still being drunk by both sides in this ongoing conflict.