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Analysis Of Nat Turner 's Rebellion Essay

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When you first contacted me about creating an exhibit for the new museum, it became a challenge to develop one. It is not as if there is not enough history to pull from. My concern was about leaving a lasting impression on the museum visitors. I wanted to show them that even in the darkest times of African American history, there were still some people who were able to see the light. Particularly, when it comes to slavery, slave revolts are a shining example of the oppressed somehow managing to find the strength to battle against their suppressor, all in the name of fighting injustice. With this exhibit I will focus on Nat Turner’s Rebellion. I find it crucial that attendees learn about this for it was a turning point in the slave era. Nat Turner and his co-conspirators did something truly incredible, although it was through extreme violence, the statement would shape slavery’s future, and their reasons behind their brutality were incredibly human. Nat Turner rebellion took place in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1831. Turner’s intention was to move through the countryside, household to household, killing as many whites as possible. He did not care whether they were a man or women, child or adult. Turner was quoted as saying that “indiscriminate slaughter was not their intention after they obtained a foothold, and was resorted to in the first instance to strike terror and alarm. Women and children would afterwards have been spared, and men too who ceased to resist.”

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