Nat Turner: A Slave Rebellion in History and Memory

Abstract

Nat Turner's name rings through American history with a force all its own. Leader of the most important slave rebellion on these shores, murderer of unarmed men and women, beacon of freedom, religious fanatic-this contradictory figure represents all the terrible complexities of American slavery. And yet, writes Kenneth Greenberg, we do not know what he looked like, where he is buried, or even whether Nat Turner was his real name. In Nat Turner, Greenberg gathers twelve distinguished scholars to offer provocative new insight into the man, his rebellion, and his time. The historians here explore Turner's slave community, discussing the support for his uprising as well as the religious and literary context of his movement. They examine the place of women in his insurrection, and its far-reaching consequences (including an extraordinary 1832 Virginia debate about ridding the state of slavery). Here are discussions of Turner's lurid visions-the instructions he received from God to kill all of his white oppressors. Louis Masur places him against the backdrop of the nation's sectional crisis, and Douglas Egerton puts his revolt in the context of rebellions across the Americas. We trace Turner's passage through American memory, and Greenberg includes a fascinating interview with William Styron on his landmark book, The Confessions of Nat Turner. Nat Turner has always been controversial, an emblem of the searing wound of slavery in American life. This book, coinciding with a documentary co-written by Greenberg, directed by Charles Burnett, and produced by Frank Christopher, offers a clear-eyed look at one of the best known and least understood figures in our history.