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In August 1831, a rebellion erupted in Southampton County, Virginia that would send shockwaves across the United States,

led by a preacher named Nat Turner, a man enslaved from youth.

This violent insurrection challenged the brutal system in a way that white American enslavers had long feared.

Turner believed that he had been chosen by God to lead his people out of bondage,

and over the course of just two days, he and his followers carried out the most significant slave rebellion in American history.

The response came swiftly and violently.

Consequences of this event and its dreadful aftermath reshaped laws,

deepened racial fears, and polarized divisions across the South. To retell the story of this

seminal event, we're lucky to be joined by Dr. Vanessa Holden of the University of Kentucky,

where she is the associate professor of history of African American and Africana Studies

and serves as the director of the Central Kentucky Slavery Initiative.

Her work includes the award-winning surviving Southampton,

African-American women and resistance in Nat Turner's community.

Thank you. Hello, I'm your host, Don Wilden, and welcome to American History Hit.

Vanessa, nice to be with you.

Hi, glad to be here.

Before we discuss the events of the rebellion itself, let's look at what led up to its outbreak. When and where does

this happen? And why is this locale important and the timing especially important?

Well, in many ways, Southampton County isn't all that important until this rebellion happens.

...