The author of this book is Stephen B. Oates. He is a former history professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The author is an expert on 19th century American history. The book is about a slave named Nat Turner, who organized a revolt in opposition to their white masters. The rebellion helped end discrimination against Africans with the help of their white accomplices. The theme of this book is the emancipation of black slaves from the white masters who oppressed them. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Consistent with Oates, the location of this book is in Southampton, a small town in Virginia. The town consisted of identical plantations and houses. Slave owners in that region claimed they no longer oppressed their slaves. Instead, they claimed to have granted them a number of rights. Some of the rights afforded to slaves included: going to church, holding reward meetings, dancing, and singing. Furthermore, it is said that most slave owners were no longer particularly cruel to their slaves, but actually gave them the opportunity to exercise many of their freedoms. In truth, most slave owners allowed their slaves to go out and even gave them the opportunity to spend time in the evenings with their families. The nation of Virginia had slave masters who were more lenient towards their slaves than the slave owners of the Deep South. This was partly because a third of Southampton's white farmers did not own slaves. Furthermore, the farmers of the state of Virginia had no longer experienced slave revolt. For this reason, the white slave owners of Southampton considered the rebellion a far-fetched thing that could only occur to other people. The absence of slave revolts in Southampton helped spread the idea that slaves in the care of their white masters were happy. While many slaves were raised to believe they were destined for slavery, “General Nat” displayed great characteristics from his birth. When he was born, his body possessed birthmarks that were considered signs of leadership in African society. Additionally, Nat was able to recognize events that occurred in the past without being alerted. His teachers also allowed him to look at the Bible, a privilege no longer afforded to many children. In addition to his brilliance, Nat had impeccable conduct which caused his white masters to offer him the opportunity to entertain their white friends. Unintentionally, however, this unique remedy that was granted to Nat somehow helped foster in him the belief that he could one day be free from the chains of slavery. As a result, as the time comes for him to start the hard work in the fields, it becomes a heartbreaking time for him. To the extent that the choice of abolishing slavery was consistently available, white farmers had become very familiar with it because of the economic benefits, which they had been unwilling to prevent from exercising. Another element that seemed to discourage the abolition of slavery became the Christian impact. While it is true that some Christian sects denounced slavery, there were several that used the Bible to justify it. In this regard, some white owners were enthusiastic about the version of Christianity that emphasized for slaves the quality of existence they faced after death. This seemed to suggest that slaves had to endure the hardships thatthey encountered every day because of slavery. To assuage their sense of right and wrong, some white masters decided to treat their slaves with kindness. This was made known by the fact that they viewed slaves as instrumental in maintaining their financial reputation in society and that they no longer wanted to remove them . Slavery is said to have been widely practiced in the southern part of the United States. Indeed, it was considered an ordinary part of existence by the citizens of that part of the United States. It is even claimed that the governor of the state of Virginia disapproved of it primarily for financial reasons. This is because it ended with tariff discounts for the states involved. In addition to supporting white masters in achieving their economic goals, slavery was widely used as a means of “racial control.” This way, slaves would be kept so busy that they would not have time to prepare for revolts against their white masters. Despite the fact that slave owners in the state of Virginia granted their slaves some freedoms, the slaves' conduct was enforced by the use of the military guard. However, it is evident that the slaves were of the opinion that their masters oppressed them. Eventually, among those slaves arose a person called "General Nat", who became instrumental in organizing a rebellion against their white slave masters. Likewise, “General Nat” was considered very intelligent and believed to be a prophet. “General Nat” began life as an asset of Benjamin Turner, who later purchased it from another slave owner, Joseph Travis. It is argued that Turner was intelligent and all who met him were of the opinion that his genius might have been wasted if he had remained a slave. Perhaps due to the impact of the Christian teachings he was taught during his formative years, at some point Turner began communicating with spirits who continued to push him to fight for freedom. Turner became considered a totally obedient slave and also a completely religious Christian. This helped Nat gain favor with his masters. Nat was later purchased by another slave named Joseph Travis, who continued to grant him privileges just as in the case of his previous master. Joseph Travis wasn't even convinced that Nat was the best-behaved slave he had ever met. As a result, Travis allowed Nat to continue attending church meetings without supervision which provided Nat with the opportunity to recruit and teach some humans the need to gain freedom from slavery. Whites in the state of Virginia feared an insurrection, but did not understand why slaves resorted to violence in an attempt to free themselves from slavery. White slave masters failed to understand that it was morally wrong to govern the lifestyle of every other human being. Slave masters in the state of Virginia failed to address the plight of their slaves, and it is this failure that prompted the slaves to hastily plan a revolt against them. Therefore, Turner was able to organize a group of about eight boys, who began to kill all the unscrupulous white masters, including their children and infants. The reason Turner preferred a much smaller institution was that, previous attempts to use larger organizations had consistently failed because word would leak out before the venture could begin. For this reason, Turner became convinced that his small group of men could have a higher function to have a great impact on their white masters because they could catch them by.