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Emancipation proclamation ab lincoln
Emancipation proclamation ab lincoln
Essay on emancipation proclamation
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“The Civil War as a Theological Crisis” written by Mark A. Noll, presents an in-depth view on the conflicts surrounding the interpretation of the Bible, slavery and the Civil War. In addition, he explains how the opposing interpretations of the Bible, slavery and the Civil War remain connected throughout. Moreover, his work depicts the complexities regarding Bible analysis and how these accounts were formed and debated. Mark Noll, is a Historian of Christianity in America and a Professor at Notre Dame is considered an expert in the field. The major argument of this work suggests “The United States in 1860 was not uniquely religious, but was nonetheless, and by almost any standard of comparison, a remarkably religious society”.
Regardless of a colony’s religious situation, whether they allowed complete freedom of worship or were occupied by strict religious laws, all thirteen colonies were affected by a movement called the Great Awakening. Generally, the Great Awakening is characterized by a fervent revival in religion practice. Although, this movement had a major impact on most aspects of colonial life, it is important to note the effect it had on religion and how that in turn affected the political life of the colonist. Because of The Great Awakening, many ministers lost authority the authority they held over because more people were taking to studying the Bible in their own homes. This idea would have larger implications for the future.
Instead he began to propagate the belief that sharing religion with the slaves would “lay them under stronger obligations to perform the greatest diligence and fidelity”. Though a number of protestant religions moved throughout at the time the Baptist church eventually took ahold of the south to become the most practiced religion. Frey discusses briefly the African culture that made some influence on the lifestyle of the African slaves. Most of the African cultural practices were bogged down or destroyed by the slave owners and American society.
Anthony Rizzo Mr. Curdt English 100 4/12/16 Frederick Douglass’s view on Southern Christianity Although Frederick Douglass condemns the blatant hypocrisy of Southern Christianity most forcefully in his account of his desire of a Sabbath School, a close reading of when Frederick describes about Mr. Johnson reveals how Douglass celebrates those who, in their compassion and charity, reflect the true model of Christ. Douglass condemns the blatant hypocrisy of Southern Christianity most forcefully in his account of witnessing his Sabbath School forcefully broken apart. During Douglass’s time at St. Michael’s, a white man named Mr. Wilson starts up a Sabbath school designed to teach slaves how to read the New Testament on the Sabbath. Mr. West and Mr. Fairbanks were the ones who “broke up our virtuous little Sabbath school. ”(75)These two men who led classes to teach scripture to whites, on the grounds that they don't want slaves to learn to read at all.
David Walker says, “whites have always been an unjust...set of beings, always seeking power and authority,” to call for slaves to revolt against their masters. Angelina Grimke builds upon Walker’s position, saying “the opposition of slavery has done its deadliest work in the hearts of our citizens,” to illustrate how slavery has caused nothing positive to the nation and is only diverting the country apart. The Northerners also had the interpretation of “holding slaves is morally wrong...upon precepts taught in the bible, and takes (the bible) as the standard of morality and religion” (Slavery and the Bible,1850) to further question the justification of holding slaves and how the morals of Christians in the North aided by the rise of the abolition movement during the Second Great Awakening. The morality of slavery was being questioned in the United States during the nineteenth century because of the denial of happiness and human rights among those under the rule of southern plantation owners. Reformers expressed their point of views, and many northerners began to join the abolition movement, however their attempts couldn’t influence the southerners and slavery continued on plantations in the southern
Christianity was, to the slaves of America, (something with a double meaning). In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave, Frederick Douglass, the author, argues about how Christianity can mean one thing to a free white man and something completely different to a black slave. The slave owners follow the ‘Christianity of the Land’ while the slaves follow the ‘Christianity of Christ.’ Frederick begins to build his credibility to a, white, northern, audience by including documents from trustworthy writers and by getting into personal experiences through his writing. Throughout the narrative, he is articulate in how he writes, and it shows the reader that he is well educated.
Douglass is relentless when attacking the church, he states, “The American Church is Guilty” (Douglass 1039). This has a slightly taste of irony, because here Douglass, a colored man, is calling out the most “sacred” body of people. It almost as if he was the master and they were the slave now. Next, the main theme expressed by
Throughout his narrative, Douglass’s descriptions of the white slaveholders expose the Christian hypocrisy found in the American slave system. Douglass first does so by exposing how the lesson taught by Christians to help those in need is contradicted by the experiences Douglass has especially with hunger. Douglass reflects on these experiences when he states that for the “first time during a space of more than seven years” feeling the effects of the “painful gnawing’s of hunger…” (54). This event shows the Christians’ lessons of selflessness and kindness is hypocritical as they treat their fellow humans as subhuman. The Christians at the time rely on scripture to make a case for slavery in America.
If thou doesn’t love thy neighbor as thyself, thou was unchristian like. Fervent sermons transferred meaningful ideas of equality to everyday citizens. Reverend Miller presented this sermon at the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The Methodist denomination was one of the most outspoken anti-slavery sects. The Methodist gained the most membership during the Second Great Awakening, in fact one in five Americans belonged to the Methodist Church (Keillor 1).
The church teaches against the help of slaves and leans toward the confederacy. This is problematic because
This being the case Douglass criticises the ideal of religious inequality. For instance, Douglass recites the cultural of the society when he was a kid, “One class of the population is too high to be reached by the preacher; and the other class is too low to be cared for by the preacher. The poor have the gospel preached to them, in this neighborhood, only when they are able to pay for it. The slaves, having no money, get no gospel” (Douglass n.p). Here Frederick reveals the systematic inequality brought by the injustices of slavery.
‘But,’ said the poet, "you must not expect to find all masters like Mr. R. He has always felt his great responsibility deeply, as a Christian master of slaves; and with his best powers and faculties, he fulfils (sic) its obligations, faithfully and affectionately. Among all the apostles, there was but one St. John." ‘And but one Judas,’ interposed a bystander. ‘True,’ continued the poet; ‘and if there be not found among slaveholders, - as I think there are not, - a greater proportion who shamefully and cruelly betray their trust, there would seem no good reason for the wholesale condemnation of the institution; which we are so often pained to hear, knowing as we do, that the laboring negroes of the South are so far more comfortable than the laboring poor, both white and black, at the North.’
Slaves could not hold their own services. This was for the fear that there might be a revolt against their master. “The Anglican missionaries not only identified themselves with the masters but went out of their way to stress that the Bible taught slaves to be obedient (224).” Although the Anglican missionaries and some slave holders wanted the slaves to convert they still wanted the slaves on separate and unequal terms. Some slaves wanted to know more, but it was illegal for them to be able to read and write.
Throughout the readings and class discussions thus far, I have noticed that religion has played a key role in the enslavement and the liberation of African Americans. In fact, the story of African-American religion is a long and complex tale that spans over centuries. Before colonization and slavery, Africans had their own beliefs and religious practices. These enslaved Africans that were transported to the New World at the start of the fifteenth century, brought with them a bevy of local religious beliefs and practices. The diversity of customs and practices they brought with them elucidated the many cultures and languages from which they had come.
Religion and its relationship to slavery is a contradictive subject, whether it was forced upon slaves or was a form of hope and freedom is still commonly debated about to this day. However, these individuals were devoted Christians in the abolitionist movement who all
