(1800–31). A young African American named Nat Turner led the most serious slave revolt in U.S. history. Because of the revolt, Southern states passed strict laws to stop the education and group activities of slaves.

Early life

Nat Turner was born on October 2, 1800, as a slave on a plantation in Virginia. He learned to read and write, which was very unusual for the time. He also learned a lot about Christianity. Nat's mother did not accept the life of a slave and taught Nat to hate slavery, too.

Turner's owner sold him to a different plantation in the 1820s. There Turner's religious beliefs grew stronger. Many of the other slaves called Turner “the Prophet” because he believed that God spoke to him. He thought that God had chosen him to free all slaves. In 1831 Turner's owner sold him to the Travis family.

Revolt

That year Turner saw an eclipse of the sun. He thought it was a sign from God to start his revolt. On August 21, 1831, Turner and seven other slaves killed the Travis family. The men then traveled to Jerusalem, Virginia. On the way they attacked white people in their homes. Turner's group killed about 60 people in two days.

Turner's group increased to 75 slaves, but about 3,000 whites—local men and members of the state militia—soon stopped them. Whites captured and killed most of Turner's men, along with innocent slaves. Turner hid for six weeks. He was finally captured, put on trial, and found guilty.

Death and impact

White officials hanged Turner in Jerusalem on November 11, 1831. Before Turner died he told his story to a lawyer, who in 1832 published the story as The Confessions of Nat Turner.

Before the revolt Southern whites had believed that blacks accepted their lives as slaves. Turner changed that belief. Southerners became afraid of more revolts. As a result many Southern states made it illegal for slaves to be educated. Southerners thought that uneducated slaves would not want to change their lives. To keep slaves from planning revolts, some states also made it harder for slaves to gather in groups.