This paper is about what my position of authority would have been in America in the 1850s. There were many fantastic occupations in government I could have chosen from, but the one that I thought would work best is an abolitionist. An abolitionist was a person who wanted to put a stop to slavery and all of its terribly evil practices. The reason I picked this position is because I personally believe that slavery is very wrong and cruel and should not be used anywhere in the world.
With all of the chaos and trade that was booming in the cotton industry, even with all of that should not have made the men more selfish for more money by locking up and making slaves of thousands of Negros from over the water. This is against what Jesus said in the Bible, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Unfortunately, slavery also shows utter hatred for other men who are just minding their own business in their own country when a bunch of white men come and take the black man away to a place where he knows no one. This also shows the pride of man in the sense that he thinks that he is better than the Negro that comes to his house to work and live because of his skin where he has come from when he has done nothing wrong.
If I were an abolitionist, I would try to stop slavery the best that I possibly could without taking drastic measures as many others have. Many have been very violent in how they handle the issue of slavery. In the state of Kansas, 200 people were killed because both abolitionist and proslavery supporters decided that it was time to fight it off. This I would not have done but would have tried to do it peaceably, without the fighting and chaos.
I am a Christian, and I believe that abolishing slavery by force is wrong and that doing it by legally is the best way to go. A man named John Brown is a fine example on how abolitionists can get violent and out of control. In the year of 1859, John Brown got a group of slaves and told them to come with him and revolt. They did and he raided Harpers Ferry, VA. He lost and was hanged for treason soon after.
Now this is why I would want to be an abolitionist, so I could help to end this evil that was in our country and which plagued the hearts of men for so long.
I am a Christian too, and also a believer in the doctrines of grace. But I completely disagree that it was wrong to abolish slavery by force. Slavery was not just an inconvenience. It was a great wickedness of injustice and immorality and the nation which coddled and cursed it at the same time was hypocritical. History shows that slavery could not be eliminated except by the violence of Civil War. Sometimes wickedness becomes so strong that only force can be used to stop it. When government becomes entrenched and entangled in that wickedness, then righteous people must try their best to stop it. Unfortunately have have little correct understanding of Brown and his intentions. Brown’s intention was intended as a minimalist program in which fighting was only a last resort. I am a biographer of the man and I am weary of the lack of sound information spread about him. I find this particularly troubling because Brown was a devout and godly Christian man. With all due respect too, I think you tend to read slavery as a grandiose problem that was not as problematic as the idea of violence. My guess is that you yourself are a white man by identity (not talking about your skin color, I’m talking about your psyche), and like most people of that caliber you subordinate black people’s human rights to standards of legality that were never used for Europeans, even when their only complaint was “taxation without representation.” I wonder if you would be so self-assured and judgmental if your mother and sisters were subjected to rape and your fathers’ and brothers’ labors were systematically stolen. What John Brown showed in getting “out of control” (as you put it) was his ability to humanly identify with blacks, which in 19th century white society was “getting out of control.” You proclaim the truth in your blog and I believe you pursue the truth of God’s word. Sola Scriptura. Sola Fide. But I hope someday you revisit John Brown and find that while most whites were equivocating and compromising over the blood and bodies of enslaved people, one Christian man at least TRIED. If that’s “getting out of hand,” then may God always raise up Christian men and women to “get out of hand.”
By: Lou DeCaro Jr. on April 17, 2008
at 5:42 pm
Hello Mr. Decaro,
I thank you for expresing your opinion on my post. Its also so great to hear that there is another TRUE Christian out there who is standing with the Word of God. I do not take this personaly, I take it as a complimnet to research my history better and mabye not be so HARD in my writing(thats a bad habit of mine). I just hope I did not offend you in my blog. But I do believe that John Brown, while he was TRYING to do the right thing, he did do it with drastic measures. Thank you for your opinion. If you could pray that God whould use this blog to show others the Truth. God Bless!!
Thanks!
Daniel
By: semperfi3 on April 18, 2008
at 10:21 am