Fires of Jubilee

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer discusses the book 'The Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion' that recounts the events that led up to the slave uprising in Southampton Country, Virginia, in August 1831. The writer notes that, taking the reader back into the history of American slavery, historian and author, Stephen B. Oates, describes Turner's ethnic roots, his childhood, and the manner in which his religious convictions led him to the belief that God was instructing him to lead an uprising against the oppressive white slave-owners. The writer points out that the author then gives a detailed report of the horrific and bloody insurrection that followed. The writer notes that the book ends with the death of Nat Turner, and the political and social consequences in the aftermath of the uprising.

From the Paper:

"Nat Turner's childhood was spent on a small, but prosperous, cotton plantation that was situated in Virginia. He was raised in an oppressive atmosphere that never allowed him to forget that he was owned, and was a regular witness of injustice and indiscrimination. His mother, a native African, could remember their homeland, which meant that Nat's childhood was filled with her passionate hatred of slavery, and probably tales of her previous life in Africa. Nat could also remember his father attempting to run away, and the obligatory punishment that he would have received upon his capture. Surviving under the most strictest and harshest of conditions, he often saw indescribable acts of violence that could not have failed to have scarred his young mind."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Stephen B. Oates, The Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion 1975. Harper & Row Publishers, p.9.

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• Analytical Essay # 9080 : "The Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion," by Stephen B. Oates"
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