Whereas this resolution may be cited as the original resolution recognizing the courageous actions of Reverend Nat Turner; Whereas Reverend Nat Turner was born into slavery in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1800; Whereas after learning to read and write at a young age, Reverend Nat Turner became a pastor who, because of his professed prophetic visions, was dubbed The Prophet ; Whereas at the age of 30, Reverend Nat Turner led one of the most significant rebellions in American history on August 21, 1831; Whereas the rebellion, also known as the Southampton Insurrection, demonstrated the profound desire for freedom among enslaved persons; Whereas in his efforts to liberate those in bondage from the crime against humanity known as slavery, Reverend Nat Turner employed controversial methods, ultimately taking the lives of more than 55 people for which he was condemned and executed; Whereas in retaliation for the Turner rebellion to free the enslaved, militia, enslavers, and mobs murdered as many as 120 African Americans, both enslaved and free; Whereas also in retaliation, slave State legislatures passed laws to fortify slavery by restraining rights of the enslaved to learn to read, write, and assemble; Whereas the Turner rebellion was a harbinger of war to come between slave States and free States, the Civil War; Whereas Reverend Nat Turner’s actions inspired other acts of resistance among enslaved human beings determined to realize the Jeffersonian unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and kindled the national debate concerning the injustices of slavery; Whereas this debate contributed to the eventual abolition of slavery, a critical step forward toward the realization of the noble Jeffersonian ideal of all persons (enslavers and enslaved alike) being created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness