• Home Page
  • John Jay Chapman's Essay On Coatesville

John Jay Chapman's Essay On Coatesville

Improved Essays
Show More
In John Jay Chapman’s essay, “Coatesville”, he expresses his horror and rage at the burning of a black man while hundreds of white onlookers did nothing. In this piece he states how the American people are bound to cruelty, during the age of slavery. Chapman originally addresses his primary thesis at a prayer meeting in 1912, were he establishes that all of America was to blame in the tragedy and that we are all guilty. This process of racism and prejudice had been extended for too long and with this horrific nature of crime over time, there is a personal accountability. All of us are tinctured by the wickedness of the inhuman crime for three hundred years. Being since there is a psychological effect on everyone in society, the legacy of slavery lives on. A nation cannot practice this type of behavior for three hundred years and then try to suddenly throw off the effects of slavery. Chapman calls for an awakening and a spiritual cleansing of America, calling for a revival of repentance to humble the hearts of the people. Collectively there is need for a new life and everyone needs to turn their life over to God. In Chapman’s argument he has a firmly held belief and …show more content…
Also describing the passive inactivity of nearby onlookers who did nothing to prevent the brutal act. An attempt to prosecute the chief criminals had been made, but had failed; because the entire community was really involved in the guilt. “The failure of the prosecution in this case, in all such cases, is only proof of the magnitude of the guilt, and of the awful fact that everyone shares in it.”(71) Leading to the author’s secondary claim stating that everyone is in need of repentance collectively in order for their sins to be forgiven. His secondary claim reveals that there is a demand for a mass revival. “It seems fitting …hold a prayer-meeting… mercy may flow into us,” Chapman states

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Benjamin Banneker's Argument Against Slavery Analysis
    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Benjamin Banneker's Argument Against Slavery Analysis

    Since the birth of the United States of America, there have always been issues that have split the country. These hot-topics have changed over time, in the recent years we’ve seen the repercussions of the divide over gay marriage. Currently, we face racial inequalities that many believe to need a reformation. These racial inequities have existed for much longer, however. In 1791, we saw this inequality in slavery; one of the most disgusting things this country has ever faced.…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Case For Reparations By Ta-Nehisi Coatess Analysis
    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Case For Reparations By Ta-Nehisi Coatess Analysis

    In “The Case for Reparations”, Ta-Nehisi Coates sets forth a powerful argument that the United States must find a way to atone for past injustices against black Americans. Rather than asking for money or anything of the sort, Coates basically argues that it’s the idea of reparations that counts. He believes that such is necessary for Americans to come to terms with the injustices that occurred, partially due to the belief in white supremacy, and to go through a spiritual renewal of some sort. Through various techniques, Coates supports the claim that paying reparations is both paying a moral debt and acknowledging past injustices.…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Redemption The Last Battle Of The Civil War Analysis
    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Redemption The Last Battle Of The Civil War Analysis

    Redemption, The Last Battle of the Civil War Slavery, suffering, suffocation… three words that will surely make emotions rise. It is with these words that I will begin to describe the eloquent writings of this book. Throughout the span of the book, there are two themes presented: the amount of devastation survived by the Negroes and the long sought after balance of politics between Negroes and Whites. It is upon this foundation that the author, Nicholas Lemann had such courage and intelligence to write of such great happenings that caused our mother country to become of what it is today.…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Precariousness Of Empathy Analysis
    • 232 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Precariousness Of Empathy Analysis

    Hartman’s utilization of the white abolitionist John Rankin’s admonishment of slavery through imagining himself and his family as enslaved demonstrates how it actually “inadvertently confirms the expectations and desires definitive of the relations of chattel slavery” (Hartman 19). Hartman recognizes Rankin’s intentions as well-meaning, but argues, “the effort the counteract the commonplace callousness to black suffering requires that the white body be positioned in the place of the black body…” (Hartman 19). This analysis of the “precariousness of empathy” acts as preparation for Hartman’s examination of how whites have often hijacked the black experience for pleasure, both as an instrument of empathy and with nefarious intentions. This…

    • 232 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Thinking Through The Past Case Study
    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Thinking Through The Past Case Study

    Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, Inc. 2014. Horton, James Oliver, and Lois E. Horton. Slavery and the Making of America. New York, NY: Oxford University Press Inc., 2005. 54 -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ].…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Myths Of Slavery In The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass
    • 1163 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Myths Of Slavery In The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

    During this time, many white men carried the belief that they were overly responsible for the care of African civilization. This was because many of them felt either spiteful for how they slaves been treated or simply because blacks were labeled as property. The spiteful beliefs of whites was supported in that some whites felt they [blacks] were not capable to live for themselves. Although in some cases this was not true, they were mostly correct, because in reality, slaves were barely able to live under the conditions and rations at their various homes. Over time, slaves and Douglass alike began to turn to, “stealing, begging, or praying in order to survive…” (31).…

    • 1163 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    What Role Did Slavery Play In American Colonization
    • 1778 Words
    • 8 Pages

    What Role Did Slavery Play In American Colonization

    In general, the African Americans resisted their new way of life and struggle to maintain their human dignity and to develop social institutions that would sustain them through the rest of their lives (Robin, Kelley & Lewis, 2005, p. 27). For the most part, in the colonial societies, the African Americans were considered the lowest of the social order. In the colonists’ view, they were considered as imported human property in which their sole purpose was to work for those who purchase their rights. In fact, they were considered as a “bad race” in which the term originated in Europe and strengthened the American cause of why they should enslave the African Americans (Robin, Kelley & Lewis, 2005, p. 27). In contrast, the…

    • 1778 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Frederick Douglass Romanticism
    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Frederick Douglass Romanticism

    The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an astonishing piece of work, and as highly affecting today as it was when it was published in 1845. Almost twenty years prior to the abolition of slavery, Douglass’s voice is one of strength and oratorical confidence. While the work is highly realistic, it is also romantic in nature. I want to show how the Romantic elements serve to create the highest possible effect for abolitionism. Prior to Frederick Douglass’s entrance in to the forum of Abolitionism, it was clearly recognized that blacks needed to speak with their own voices.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Between The World And Me Book Review
    • 895 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Between The World And Me Book Review

    In this book Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates reveals “in America, it is traditional to destroy the black body---it is heritage” (Coates 103). Coates uses words “destroy the black body” and “heritage” to provoke his audiences. This use of rhetoric conveys his strong message of African Americans live under injustice and discrimination for a very long time. This “heritage” can be traced back to the Colonial Era when enslaved Africans were forced to work in the plantation due to the triangular trade (Globe Fearon American History). In the triangular trade, Africans were brought to America and became properties of landowners, most of whom were whites.…

    • 895 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Examples Of Hypocrisy In The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass
    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Examples Of Hypocrisy In The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

    When describing the false benevolence of slaveholders who gave a short holiday at the end of every year, Douglass describes how it is “one of the grossest frauds committed upon the down-trodden slave” (43). Through careful choice of words such as ‘fraud’, he is able to not only portray the deceitful nature of slave owners, but also demonstrate how they were clearly acting to hurt the slaves; the term also implies a businesslike connotation, which portrays how the cruelties of slavery were a trivial business decision made by owners. While slave owners attempted to appear altruistic by providing time off for slaves, slaveholders were truly hypocritical in that they only afforded this privilege in order to subdue their unruly slaves. Douglass also portrays the negative impact of hypocrisy after a description of Mr. Covey, stating that “the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes… a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds,-- and a dark shelter under, which the darkest, foulest, grossest, and most infernal deeds of slaveholders find the strongest protection.” Integration of the word ‘infernal’ helps Douglass describe both the evil and hellish nature of slavery.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    The Case For Reparations Summary
    • 2480 Words
    • 10 Pages

    The Case For Reparations Summary

    As the name of the title aptly suggests, Ta-Nehisi Coates, in his article, “The Case for Reparations”, builds a case for the racial minority, that is black folk, to seek amends for the years of injustice and servitude rendered by them to the majority, here in America. Through the medium of Clyde Ross, a veteran but now ordinary citizen, representative of the plight of any other black person living in that era, Coates attempts to provide an argument for the ills and hardships that the Blacks were faced with throughout the previous few centuries, under the regime of white supremacy, in the land of opportunity. In his article, Coates emphasizes not only on the explicit forms and visible aspects of racism and discrimination prevalent, such as…

    • 2480 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Slavery Vs Slavery
    • 1543 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Slavery Vs Slavery

    Worse Than Slavery looks into the severe details of a ruthless period in our nation’s history when defeated white southerners and emancipated freed men rebuilt their area. They established new economic relationships and make new social statues in the late nineteenth century. Ironically, the cruel foundation of slavery overpowered the most intense racism violence. Slavery was a classification of harsh white control over most black people and it made black slaves more treasured in an innocently economic sense. However Without these established restrictions, freedmen were more defenseless and less treasured to resentful southern whites.…

    • 1543 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Analysis Of My Bondage And My Freedom By Frederick Douglass
    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Analysis Of My Bondage And My Freedom By Frederick Douglass

    “Slavery was brutal experience, from the initial capture in Africa, to the Middle Passage, to a degrading life of labor in America.” (Yazawa, 59) The slave’s human right was…

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    The Case For Reparations Ta-Nehisi Coatess Analysis
    • 1382 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Case For Reparations Ta-Nehisi Coatess Analysis

    Coates provides a wide range of evidence, using numerous sources, to advance his claim for reparations and the need for American society to reevaluate African American suffering. Specifically, Coates uses statistics in the interactive census map, facts from various published articles, books, and expert historians, stories from witnesses who personally experienced the injustice like Clyde Ross, primary sources such as De Bow’s Review and more, to provide sufficient and convincing sources that support his conclusions about racial inequality. Building from credible evidence, Coates constructs a cogent and organized essay by dividing the piece into various parts, each focusing on a specific topic in African American discrimination. For example, in section IV entitled “The Ills that Slavery Frees Us From,” Coates explains how the formation of America as a slave society and the continual exploitation of slave labor allowed white Americans to thrive, while black Americans endured cultural, familial and personal destruction (25). By dividing the essay into various parts, each with a specific focus that relates to the overall argument, Coates leads his readers from one premise to the next in a logical fashion, culminating in a decree for reparations.…

    • 1382 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Relationship Between The American Revolution And Black Freedom
    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Relationship Between The American Revolution And Black Freedom

    So the relationship between the American Revolution and the black freedom was based on untapped manpower or in exchanged of a cowardly son. As a result, this exchange came with the price tag of freedom. From a slave’s perception, that meant living a life of…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings