Thomas Paine and Nat Turner

Thomas Paine and Nat Turner

The study of the history of the United States up until the time of the Civil War provides a unique contrast of individuals and demonstrates the glaring prejudice that helped shape America's history. Although the United States was founded on the seemingly egalitarian idea of individual independence, it was also founded on the principal of enslavement and forced labor. As a result, every great triumph of the United States prior to the actual enforcement of the post-Civil War constitutional amendments must be tempered by the knowledge that those triumphs were built upon the humiliation and subjugation of millions of innocent people. When viewed from that perspective, almost all of America's original heroes were actually villains. However, it is inappropriate to impose today's moral standards on the people in America's history; instead, one must view these people in the context of their times. Doing so, I have come to the conclusion that I admire Thomas Paine and disapprove of Nat Turner the most, though I am far more sympathetic to Nat Turner than I am to Thomas Paine.

Thomas Paine was a British emigrant to the American colonies, and he played a crucial role in leading America into the fight for freedom. He anonymously published a pamphlet called Common Sense, which urged the colonies to fight for independence.

Because of that, Paine is considered the Father of the American Revolution. Common Sense did not present new ideas about the fight for independence, but it did approach the topic in a new way, making the material accessible to the average individual. In this way, Paine was able to begin a dialogue about revolution that spanned classes, which many of his more erudite peers had been unable to do. Later Paine moved to France, where he was influential in helping inspire the French Revolution by writing the Rights of Man. What is so admirable about Paine is that he worked within the limitations that existed, and used his skills to inspire people towards change. He understood that for revolutions to be successful they had to have popular support and the dialogue about revolution had generally been restricted to the higher classes. Therefore, he approached the issue from the point-of-view of the common man, and was able to inspire people to the idea of revolution.

Nat Turner is the historical person of which I most disapprove. Turner led the largest antebellum slave rebellion in the United States, which included the slaughter of white civilians. It is not that I disapprove of Turner's actions. As a man wrongfully deprived of his natural right to liberty, who, from descriptions in his wanted posters, bore the scars of routine abuse, and who had undoubtedly witnessed countless atrocities against his friends and family because of slavery, it is clear that Turner had the right to use any means necessary to attain his freedom. The fact that his rebellion led to the slaughter of white civilians would not be morally troubling, given that all of those civilians benefitted from the system of slavery, whether directly or indirectly, if it had had a chance at success. However, Turner was reportedly a very intelligent person with an education surpassing that of the average slave. He was undoubtedly aware of the probably consequences to his fellow slaves if the rebellion failed, and he was also aware that his rebellion was unlikely to be successful. Rather than engaging in more methodical planning to ensure the success of his rebellion, Turner relied on signs to dictate the timing of the rebellion. Moreover, he spared some whites, which virtually ensured that the authorities and other whites would be notified about the uprising. Because the rebellion failed, approximately 200 slaves were killed, even some who were not involved in the uprising. In addition, the uprising actually helped polarize pro-slavery whites, and led to the institution of policies aimed at further restricting the freedoms of both slaves and free blacks. Since his actions contributed to an increase in anti-black sentiment, I disapprove of Nat Turner.