answer: c slavery
explanation: from 1791-1804, haiti fought its independence war (haitian revolution). this was no ordinary revolution, however; it was a massive slave rebellion. to people in the united states, particularly the american south, the haitian revolution was their worst nightmare come to life. to make matters even worse, a slave named gabriel prosser attempted to start his own slave rebellion in 1800. another massive revolt was started near new orleans in 1811 by charles deslondes. the greater the fear of american slave owners became over the idea of a slave insurrection, the harder they fought to defend the institution of slavery.
it was into this world that nat turner was born in 1800. a virginia slave, turner would end up leading one of the largest slave rebellions in american history. his revolt failed to topple the evil of slavery but still managed to shape the century and pushed the country closer towards civil war.
to understand nat turner's rebellion, we need to understand a little more about the world he lived in. in the early 19th century, americans started turning more and more towards religion to understand their lives. this sparked a massive religious revival known as the second great awakening. characterized by individual expressions of faith and a focus on a personal role in the church, this revivalist movement greatly impacted the lives of millions of americans.
nat turner was one such individual. he was a virginian slave, bought and sold several times, and he started to eagerly participate in the religious fervor of the era. he molded himself into something of an unordained preacher, spreading the gospel amongst his fellow slaves. he became pretty well respected for it, too, and emerged as a spiritual leader.
turner, like many americans at the time, felt he had a special role to play in this world. he believed that god had chosen him for a purpose, and in the 1820s he had a series of visions that confirmed his belief. turner interpreted these visions to mean that god had chosen him to start a slave rebellion and kill all the slave-owners.
nat turner told his six most trusted friends of his vision, and they decided to kill all white people connected in any way with slavery: including men, women, and children. then, they waited for a divine sign to start their insurrection. on august 31 of 1831, the sun appeared bluish-green due to an atmospheric irregularity. turner and his men had their sign.
they started on turner's own plantation, killing the entire family while they slept. from there, they moved onto 11 nearby plantations in 24 hours, gathering more supporters as they went. in total, turner inspired between 40 and 60 slaves to take up arms and follow him. fifty-five people were killed by the mob.
news of the rebellion spread quickly, and the governor assembled a militia to combat turner. the white citizens were so terrified at the stories of the rebellion that they were quick to join this militia. turner and his men turned from the rural plantations and started marching towards the town of jerusalem, with the intent of burning it down and killing all who lived there. however, they found the road blocked by the massive and heavily armed militia. the slaves panicked and scattered. many of the rebels were hunted down and killed, but nat turner eluded capture for two months before being captured.
