The Fires of Jubilee - Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion - Book Report/Review Example

The Fires of Jubilee - Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion A. Introduction Stephen B. Oates’ (1936) book titled ‘The Fires of Jubilee’ begins on a happy note where children, black and white alike played in abandon on the plantation fields without the slightest notion of how the adults would tear them apart when they grew to be adults themselves. Nathaniel Francis was among this group of children and he was especially close to one of the three sons of his Master who was named John Clark Turner. Besides playing among themselves, they collected small treasures, swam in ponds or rivers, explored the expanse of the forest, raided the neighboring melon fields, set traps for a couple of animals and even took time to admire the skilled carpenters at work. In the 1790’s when the Church was in its infant stages, the Turners became Methodists. Soon after the revolution, they broke away from the Anglican Church and set up their own Methodist Episcopal Church. The Turners were an affluent family with hundreds of acres of land and a big house. They had a cellar with almost 1,500 gallons full of rich apple brandy, that travelling Methodists enjoyed whenever they stopped by for shelter. Stephen B. Oates, sets his compelling story against this background and brings out the essence of what human behavior and emotions are all about. Stephen B. Oates was a prolific and award winning author who wrote a total of 16 books which included ‘The Approaching Fury’, and biographies of two great men titled – ‘A Life of Abraham Lincoln…’ and ‘A Life of Martin Luther King Jr.’ both of which won the Christopher Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Book Award. He is a teacher at the University of Massachusetts and a proud recipient of the Nevins- Freeman Award for the lifetime achievements in the area involving studies of the Civil War. B. Recapitulation ‘The Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner’s Slave Rebellion’ is a tragic and heart rending tale of a slave named Nathaniel, who was convicted and hanged for the fierce rebellion that he had started. This is a true story that took place in Southampton County in Virginia, where African American slaves lived in harsh and poor conditions. Oates story tells of the Slave Revolt that occurred in 1712 in New York City, which involved a hideous uprising that led to a treacherous manslaughter on both sides. The killing of nine whites by twenty- three African American slaves was responsible for snowballing the snuffing out of many innocent lives. The aftermath of these killings led to the arrest of about 70 blacks who got arrested. Twenty seven of them were sent to prison while twenty one were tried and executed. Oates tells us that the prevailing conditions of slaves working in the city, made it quite easy for them to keep in touch with each other for the purpose of communication and conspiracy. In addition to this, the slaves were poorly treated in abusive and harsh conditions and naturally resented their treatment.’ (Berlin, Ira and Harris Leslie, 2005) The actual rebellion was triggered during the night, on the 6th of April 1712, when some of the slaves gathered together and set ablaze ‘a building on Maiden Lane near Broadway.’ (Horton, James and Lois, 2005, and Katz, William Loren, 1997) when the white colonists attempted to snuff out the fire, the black slaves attacked them. This incident led to their arrests and imprisonment. While some of them were convicted and put to death, about 20 others were burned to death, while 6 others committed suicide. The aftermath of the rebellion resulted in strict laws in the country where African American slaves were not allowed to assemble in groups, not possess any sort of firearms. Crimes such as conspiracy, damage to property and rape was punished with death. In this book Oates not only gives his readers a deep understanding of the causes and events of the rebellion but also gives us details of the aftermath of this rebellion. C. Critique The author Stephen B. Oates critically examines the lives and times of the African American slaves, whose pitiable and harsh conditions led to a fierce rebellion between the whites and the blacks. This piece of prose is a sad tale of human torture and death. Being a history professor, Oates shows his expertise in the history of the United States during the 19th century. He moves his harrowing tale while linking it to the pages of history in a simplistic and seamless manner. The incidents narrated in the story have a historical significance because they had taken place around the time of the Civil War. Oates’ tale revolves around the Turner family who was Anglican initially, but became Methodists after the revolution to avoid the British stigma. The Turner family took an active part in the Church and lent their full support in its undertakings. The Methodists did not condone slavery and so did their bishop Ashbury, who at one of his sermons said, “O, Lord, banish the infernal spirit of slavery from thy dear Zion.” Many of the Methodists, Baptists and Quakers insisted that the whites set free their slaves from bondage. The author too did not condone slavery and has not failed to emphasize this aspect in the incidents that he makes use of to drive home the message of anti- slavery. Slave ownership was a means to exercise racial control and most whites did not want to lose it. The author is not prejudiced in anyway because these are true incidents that he has taken trouble to bring before his audiences. However, by the 1800’s the Methodists along with their bishop Ashbury were unable to gain control over the growing hostility from the South, began to accommodate slavery within the Church. In the beginning its members were prevented from buying and selling slaves, but gradually it became the norm to do so. The author seems to condone this fact because he states that ‘they settled down to saving the souls of ‘the poor Africans’ (Stephen B. Oates, Pg. 10) by converting them into Christians. In addition to this a special ordinance was passed by the Methodists whereby the preachers had to “admonish and exhort all slaves to render due respect and obedience …to their masters” (Stephen B. Oates, Pg. 10) Nat Turner’s grandmother was also a slave and worked in bonded labor. Oates presents the bloody rebellion led by Nat Turner, in a gripping and insightful account that was a vital turning point in America’s history. With detailed evidence the author narrates a complex but touching story and the legacy it left in the aftermath of the massacre which cast its shadows long after it had ended. Oates’ work on ‘The Fires of Jubilee’ justifies its title because the rebellion was triggered by some of the blacks setting fire to a building that housed whites. True historical facts of the many slave disturbances, form the backbone of this graphic and well documented account of the rebellion. The Quakers, Evangelists and black preachers (Pg. 112) were blamed for these disturbances that created havoc and fear among the whites. Various reports of slave disturbances and their demand for guns added chaos to an already dangerous situation. ‘Was Virginia about to be consumed by a racial holocaust?” (Pg. 109) Stephen B. Oates details many facts pertaining to the legendary figure of Nat. he highlights Nat’s childhood and growing up years and talks about what motivated Nat to start a rebellion. He speaks of the visions Nat supposed to have experienced and how he planned out the largest slave rebellion ever to have taken place in the history of America. Though Oates details all the facts and reasons that led to a Civil War, yet he does not accept the fact that Nat Turner could have been a mentally unbalanced man. D. Conclusion In his startlingly honest portrayal of the harsh realities experienced by the African American slaves and the bizarre events that led to one of America’s most horrendous rebellion, Oates supplies his readers with historical facts and figures, making his book on ‘The Fires of Jubilee’ one of the most brilliant human accounts of human behavior. The author states the facts as they happened in his sincere attempt to portray the problems that prevailed during the period of lave trade and bonded labor. References Berlin, Ira and Harris, Leslie, Slavery in New York, 2005 (New Press) Africans in America/Part 1/New York's Revolt of 1712 accessed January 5, 2008. Horton, James and Lois, Slavery and the Making of America, 2005, (Oxford) Africans in America/Part 1/New York's Revolt of 1712 accessed January 5, 2008. Katz, William Loren, Black Legacy, A History of New York's African Americans, 1997 (Atheneum) Rethinking Schools, accessed January 5, 2008. Stephen B. Oates, The Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner’s Fierce Rebellion Read More