Overview

On the evening of August 21, 1831, Nat Turner and six men launched their infamous rebellion against slaveholders. The rebels swept through Southampton County, Virginia, recruiting slaves to their ranks and killing nearly five dozen whites-more than had ever been killed in any slave revolt in American history. Although a hastily assembled group of whites soon suppressed the violence, its repercussions had far-reaching consequences.In The Land Shall Be Deluged in Blood, Patrick H. Breen uses the dramatic events in Southampton to explore the terrible choices faced by members of the local black community as they considered joining the rebels, a choice that would likely cost them their lives, supporting their masters, or somehow avoiding taking sides. Combining fast-paced narrative with rigorous analysis, Breen shows how, as whites regained control, slaveholders created an account of the revolt that saved their slaves from white retribution, the most dangerous threat facing the slaveholders' human property. By probing the stories slaveholders told that allowed them to get non-slaveholders to protect slave property, The Land Shall Be Deluged in Blood reveals something surprising about both the fragility and power of slavery.

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9780199828005

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Reviews

Breen's work does offer valuable insight on the decision making of black Americans in and around the rebellion and convincingly demonstrates how white slave owners resisted a potential popular backlash. --Ben Wright, he Journal of Southern History A compelling, often gripping, narrative of the bloodiest slave rebellion in the United States, The Land Shall Be Deluged in Blood is the best history of Nat Turner's Rebellion yet written. Patrick Breen's clear prose, sensitive and careful reading of evidence, and persuasive arguments make the book both scholarly and accessible. --Eva Sheppard Wolf, author of Almost Free: A Story about Family and Race in Antebellum Virginia Breen offers a new look into the diversity of a Southern slave community and the 'fragility and power of slavery.' Highly recommended. All academic levels/libraries. -CHOICE The Land Shall Be Deluged in Blood tells the story of the most famous slave uprising in the antebellum United States, but it does not tell a familiar story. Patrick Breen uncovers the tensions and divisions running through both the black and white communities in Nat Turner's Southampton County. In the process, he sheds new light on the complicated and contradictory ways that slavery corrupted nineteenth century America. -James Sidbury, author of Becoming African in America: Race and Nation in the Early Black Atlantic Breen convincingly shows that the county's landed gentry and courts succeeded by both suppressing the rebels and protecting the investment in human chattel held by Southhampton's slaveholding elite. An original study of first-rate scholarship, this title is recommended for scholars and students of the antebellum South, African American studies, and all libraries. -Library Journal (starred review)

A compelling, often gripping, narrative of the bloodiest slave rebellion in the United States, The Land Shall Be Deluged in Blood is the best history of Nat Turner's Rebellion yet written. Patrick Breen's clear prose, sensitive and careful reading of evidence, and persuasive arguments make the book both scholarly and accessible. --Eva Sheppard Wolf, author of Almost Free: A Story about Family and Race in Antebellum Virginia The Land Shall Be Deluged in Blood tells the story of the most famous slave uprising in the antebellum United States, but it does not tell a familiar story. Patrick Breen uncovers the tensions and divisions running through both the black and white communities in Nat Turner's Southampton County. In the process, he sheds new light on the complicated and contradictory ways that slavery corrupted nineteenth century America. -James Sidbury, author of Becoming African in America: Race and Nation in the Early Black Atlantic Breen convincingly shows that the county's landed gentry and courts succeeded by both suppressing the rebels and protecting the investment in human chattel held by Southhampton's slaveholding elite. An original study of first-rate scholarship, this title is recommended for scholars and students of the antebellum South, African American studies, and all libraries. -Library Journal (starred review)

Author Information

Patrick H. Breen is Associate Professor of History at Providence College.

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