When Nat started proclaiming that he had been spoken to by the Holy Spirit, other slaves flocked to him and seemed very interested in what he had to say. Eventually this led to meetings behind the Turner's meeting house or by a church close to the North Carolina line. Nat described to the slaves what he had seen and tried to get them enthused about a revolt. "Nat styled himself a Baptist preacher" because he wanted the slaves in the area to appreciate and like him. After Nat told the people what he had seen, "the slaves were astounded. Many of them had known Nat all his life and had always expected him to become a prophet like this" (37). After all of this, Nat gained the reputation of "a great enthusiast" (37). One of the reasons Nat gained so much support through his rebellion was because of the ways in which he spoke about Jesus Christ and what he would have to offer them if they committed their lives to him. Nat spoke of how God thundered the earth and commanded him to rise above his enemies, slaying them with their own weapons (122). All of this began Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion and "he related carefully now how his visions, miracles, and revelations had led him to rebellion- (121). Even though many of Turner's men were killed in the rebellion, the "story of Ezekiel in the Old Testament [offered] some insight. .
Pounds 3.
Nat becoming a revolutionary martyr was partly because of the amount of support he gained from the slaves and the impact that his rebellion made on the lives of many people. Even though he was tried and hanged for his wrong-doings, the impact of his example encouraged many people to look at the ways in which slaves were treated. Religion became more easily practiced by the slaves and the slaveholders eventually tolerated a lot more. .
In the beginning, Southern slaveholders felt that liberating the slaves was not right due to the fact that owning a slave or slaves in the Ole South was considered a major status in society.
