The Fires of Jubilee Book Report

Fires of Jubilee Book Report

        The Fires of Jubilee written by Stephen B. Oates is an account to the fierce slave rebellions led by Nat Turner. Nat Turner was an African American who was born and enslaved in Southampton County, Virginia, where he was able to practice reading, writing, and religion. From the time he was born in 1800 to the 1820s he was sold three different times and eventually hired out. Growing up with religious beliefs Turner preached the word. Throughout his preaching he realized that God called him to lead the slaves to freedom. This is when the rebellions commenced. The Fires of Jubilee lets the reader understand many different things from an era of slavery in Virginia in different parts. The different parts the story are organized in are Part One: This Infernal Spirit of Slavery, Part Two: Go Sound the Jubilee, Part Three: Judgement Day, and Part Four: Legacy.

        Part One: This Infernal Spirit of Slavery begins by showcasing the young life of Nat Turner, where he played with the kids from the neighboring plantations. Furthermore, this so called chapter includes the crucial information referring to the Methodist ways in the late seventeenth century and into the eighteenth century. Learning about the different stages of Methodism and what it ended up being helps the reader understand Turners beliefs. Different events occur including Nat Turners realization that he really is a slave and that whites believe they are more superior than Negroes; which painfully made him realize how he needed to help abolish slavery. Despite these moments he still worked and observed the way the white people treated him and the other slaves. Later on Turner escapes from the plantation, but comes back on his own because he believes he should follow his master on Earth which means he is following his master in heaven. Part One is based upon the developing of Nat Turners life and things he faced to become aware of the true problem he was in.

        In Part Two: Go Sound the Jubilee Nat begins his preaching after he read the bible where Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt to the promise land. Turner believed that this was a sign that he should follow in Moses’ footsteps to conquer slavery. He began preaching every Sunday to the other slaves, and none of the masters had a problem with it. In fact, many of the slave owners believed that it might help the slaves become more disciplined and have a better morale. He told the slaves that he was preparing them for a “mission” but did not specify his intentions. On May 12, 1828 it became clear to Nat Turner what he was being called to do, now all he needed to do was to wait for God to tell him when to begin his task of killing the whites. He had to keep his mouth shut, but failed to do so when he mentioned his idea to Moore. After even mentioning Negro liberation, he went through a lashing. Eventually Thomas Moore died and his nine-year-old son was given the legal ownership of the slaves. A man named Joseph Travis assumed the role of Moore and Turner kept his mouth shut in front of him. After waiting and waiting for another sign, Turner finally saw it. This sign was an eclipse of the sun. Turner believed it to mean “as the black spot passed over the sun, so shall the blacks pass over the Earth.” (Oates) Although no one besides himself knew his plan word got around and people started creating ideas. This chapter gave Turner the confidence he needed to finally begin his mission.

        Part Three: Judgement Day began with the quarreling of Governor Floyd and the President over the constitutional rights of people. Governor Floyd opposed human bondage and wanted to start a project on emancipation. While Floyd dreamed of emancipation, little did he know that Nat Turner was about to begin his mission. Nat and his lieutenants sat in the woods while the white families were at church and talked about their rebellion. Their plan was to strike the white men on Sunday night after the whites had a long day at church, but then one of the slaves concluded that they were too few to rebel. Although they came to this conclusion, Nat thought it a good idea to take out his masters that night. Around two in the morning Turner and his crew bolted into the Travis’ home and slaughtered all four of them. Nat Turner no longer had and earthly masters. He was free at last, after thirty years. They continued to many other households, but stopped when they reached Wiley Francis’ plantation. Francis heard what was going on and his slaves were ready to fight the rebels. Turner and his men took off and stated that “Wiley Francis wasn’t worth killing anyway.” (Oates) Word eventually got out to other slave owners that there were blacks killing whites. This began when one of the slaves from the Travis farm ran to tell Nathaniel Francis all about it. At first, Francis thought the kid to be foolish and ignorant. Francis took matters into his own hands and went to go investigate. Sure enough they found the family to be dead in their home. Nat was eventually captured and taken to court. The whites were very intrigued and wanted to know exactly why and how the rebellion happened. Sixty whites and more than 200 Negroes were killed. Part Three showcased the many rebellions that took place and the consequence of death Turner and his men had to face.