Nat Turner and David Walker in a Rebellion War Against Slavery

In 1830, slavery was an indispensable choice for white riches. African-Americans no longer wanted to be part of this slavery. So, they constantly tried to stop white people from working for them, for nothing. Two of the African-Americans were Nat Turner and David Walker who tried rebellion against slavery.

David Walker was not a slave, he was a free African-American. He had a second hand clothing store on Boston. He had mostly sailors as customers because his store was close to waterfront. He believed that killing was not going to harm African-Americans, and he said ' they want us for their slaves, and think nothing of murdering us. . . therefore, if there is an attempt made by us, kill or be killed. . . and believe this, that it is no more harm for you to kill a man who is trying to kill you, than it is for you to take a drink of water when thirsty.'

Walker began to associate with African-American activists. He also involved with the first African-American newspaper which is called the Freedom's Journal. Later, he published his Appeal on newspaper. Slaves were inspiring and getting hope from his words. That scared whites, because slaves were starting to write and read, and that could lead to a rebellion. They banned anti-slavery literature and put a prize on Walker's head. However, he insisted on publishing his Appeal. After two months he was found dead in his house.

On the other hand, Nat Turner was an ordinary slave, he led a large slave rebellion with more than fifty supporters. Unfortunately, this effort was failed. But the events and the results are worth mentioning. Nat Turner was born as a slave, stands out from the rest with his keen intelligence and quick insight. He learned to read and write at a young age and became familiar with the Bible. Turner, who became a very religious figure over time, claimed to have seen God and received revelations from him when he was 22 years old.

He was allegedly commissioned by God to serve a supreme purpose. He convinced most of the slaves in the field where he worked to believe himself. He even had white believers. This did not take long to help a slave rebellion. He said that he would fight the kingdom with their own weapons. His first followers were his slave friends (Will, Jack, Hark), who worked in the same field. They used sharp tools and sticks to avoid attention instead of firearms.

The rebels liberated all the slaves they found around the house and killed all the whites they saw without considering if they were women or children. More than fifty slave owners were killed. Turner believed that he would empathize with the violence to white slave owners. However, the rebellion was suppressed within two days. Meanwhile, nearly 200 black people were killed. The slaves who had no connection to the rebellion were also killed. Even the budget needed to capture the slaves were met by taking taxes from free African-Americans. Turner hid and disappeared after the rebellion was suppressed. But he found after few months and hanged.

It can be said that this rebellion was a war crimes after women and children were killed without hesitation. As a result, the event did not give slaves a sympathy. As a result of the deaths, the slaves influenced the public consciousness in a bad way. Many scholars of this time agreed that slavery was necessary.