he was born a slave on a virginia plantation. he i was a devout christian, and he preached his visions of freedom to other slaves. in 1831, turner led a group of slaves in a rebellion against local white landowners. fifty-five whites were killed, including turner's master, joseph travis, and travis's family. a militia caught the gang and hanged about 15 slaves. both pro- and anti-slavery forces saw turner's rebellion as a reason to fight for their causes. this and other uprisings led state leaders to toughen their slave codes, laws that prohibited educating slaves and restricted their movement from place to place.
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