Journal #8 Response to Lacy McGrath

In Lacy’s journal she discusses the similar use of Christianity in “John Brown’s Last Speech” and Jefferson Davis’s Inaugural Speech.” I thought this was a really interesting point to further investigate because these two men obviously had very different views on slavery yet they have a common bond because they are using their faith as a tool to relate and draw in their audience. Lacy said that since people’s lives revolved around God at that time, they pretty much believed and trusted something if it was in reference to their religion. These two men obviously knew what they were doing when they cited the will of God in their speeches in order to appeal to their audience. They knew that people were more likely to agree with their views if they trusted in God and felt it was their religious duty to either abolish slavery or preserve the Confederacy and slavery.

I really liked that Lacy discussed specifically what each man viewed as his duty to God. John Brown said that the Bible taught him that he should be helping his less fortunate enslaved brothers and sisters. Davis states that he feels he will be judged righteously by God and everyone that has acted in the same manner as he, will also be approved by God. He doesn’t believe that God disapproves of his actions in regard to slavery or in trying to preserve the government that our founding fathers laid out.

I didn’t really notice the similarities in using Christian references until after I read Lacy’s journal. She did a really excellent job of discussing both men’s points and beliefs and how they would appeal to the different opinions at the time. I also started think about how people in this time were really set in their ways concerning slavery and once they brought God into the matter, it became even more heated. When religion is involved people aren’t usually willing to budge in their views and it is really astounding what lengths people will go to when they believe that it is God’s will for them to do so. It is also so strange how two people can have a common religion to bind them together, but have such opposing views on what God wants them to do or what is morally right.