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  • Essay / Nat Turner v. Celia: Who Should Not Be Executed

    In 1850, slaves were generally used for forced labor on plantations and once the "owner" no longer needed them, he sold them, which required the slave to leave his family and it was usually a goodbye and we would not see each other again later. As a slave, you had no idea what was going to happen to you. You could be punished one minute and the next minute you could be sold to another plantation. In this essay I will explain the crimes committed by Nat Turner and Celia and give a recommendation on which ones should not be executed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Nat Turner was born a slave in southern Virginia, in Southhampton. Nat grew up in a typical slave life. He had little freedom, he could not marry, vote, own property or earn money. Nat was a spiritual leader to his fellow slaves on his plantation when he was in his twenties. Turner had a vision: “I saw white spirits and black spirits engaged in battle…” Nat Turner believed God was giving him a vision that he would have to do an insurrection, uprising or battle against authority or government. Turner lived with the Travis family who he said were good teachers and gave him great confidence. However, the night the Travis family had dinner with Nat after they had all fallen asleep, Nat and the other fellow slaves came in and murdered them. Nat Turner, Henry, and Will, their fellow slaves, went from plantation to plantation and murdered their white families, including women and children. Age and sex were to be spared from this uprising. Turner was determined to begin his journey to Jerusalem. Nat had a group of fifty to sixty fellow slaves, all mounted and armed with guns, axes, swords, and clubs. As they proceeded to the house of Mr. James W. Parker, they were met by a group of white men who had shot those at the door and dispersed them. Turner and his men all formed up and stopped under Turner's command and the white men began to march towards them, eighteen to be exact, and one of them fired against the captain's command. “I scratched. Hole under a pile of fence rails in a field, where I hid for six weeks...”. Nat Turner decided to hide and only leave for a few minutes at a time to get water. He was soon captured and taken to prison and tried. Now also Celia who was bought by Robert Newsom when she was fourteen. Robert bought her because his wife had died and he needed a new sexual partner. The same night he bought her, he raped her. In the book Celia, a Slave states: “Modern research indicates that rape victims experience a variety of reactions; fear, rage, an overwhelming feeling of violation, sometimes helplessness and a loss of self-esteem. Celia began having a relationship with Robert for about five years, but she also began having a relationship with another slave, George. She quickly became pregnant but did not know who the father was. George gave her an ultimatum telling her that she had to stop talking to Robert or he would stop talking to her. Celia reached into the corner and retrieved the large stick she had placed there earlier in the afternoon precisely for the purpose of defending herself if Newsom ignored her warnings. She began to beat him then burned his body to hide the evidence because she knew what would happen to her if..”