Herbert Aptheker, Nat Turner's Slave Rebellion (2006)

Herbert Aptheker, Nat Turner's Slave Rebellion (2006)

The book specifically addresses its concerns of previous research done concerning the Nat Turner Rebellion, claiming that previous historians brought white supremacy into the writing on the Rebellion. The book brings the reader through the environment of Southern society at time, which was in economic depression. The author through the use of Newspapers shows various responses throughout the South, including that of North Carolina. North Carolina citizens were very alarmed about the Rebellion, and responded with mass fear throughout the State. Their fear lead slaveholders in the state to suspect that their slaves were also about to revolt. Slaveholders tortured many of their slaves, many of whom gave false confessions. The book is important to helping us understand the response across North Carolina to Nat Turner’s Rebellion.

Aptheker, Herbert

1966-XX-XX

Scholarship

Book

Fear created suspicion, suspicion led to torture, torture to confessions. Or, it is possible, and that is but a guess, that panic, or part of it, was maintained by people interested in the purchase of slaves at a low price. Another hypothesis was suggested by Basset: "It would be interesting to know whether or not these frights were of political origin." Probably all ideas help explain the terror. Much of the panic was groundless, perhaps some stirred up for selfish reasons and probably there were rebellious movements on the part of some Negroes and poorer whites in North Carolina.

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