Town Hall Reflection

The town hall meeting today was full of opinions as anti-slavery activists and speakers came together to attempt to persuade the town to join the abolitionist movement. Everyone at the town hall meeting took a different approach with some giving anecdotes about their own stories and others looking more at the impact slavery has on our country. 

While everyone's arguments took a stand against slavery, one really stuck out to me, Richard Allen. Mr. Allen was first to present at our Town Hall meeting, but his argument stuck out most to me. He is a very persuasive speaker which was only exemplified by his clear passion for the issue. 

I found Mr. Allen's argument the most compelling because he incorporated both a story about his life and a call to action which incorporated biblical ideals.

Richard Allen was born into slavery and fought hard for his own freedom. At a very young age he found himself under the control of Mr. Sturgis who was the new master of both him, his siblings and his parents after Mr. Chew sold them. Mr. Allen grew up without hope for a better day, but he still sought comfort in the Methodist church he attended.

Years later, Mr. Allen's plantation was visited by Reverend Freeborn Garrettson who shared the gospel with the slaves and planted to seed of anti-slavery ideals which would grow in Mr. Allen's head. 

Mr. Allen decided that he would make a deal with his master and work for his own freedom. Once Mr. Allen found himself a free man, he founded a church for other former slaves. He worked hard to make sure people found peace with the Lord as they entered their new lives. 

Mr. Allen's argument was also engaging for me because he focused in on God's view of slavery. During this time many people are using the Bible as evidence on both sides of the slavery argument, but Mr. Allen's was different.

He argued that the ideas of slavery that were planted into people's heads came directly from Satan. Mr. Allen also believes that God would never side with hatred, but instead work hard to seek freedom for his children.

In the end, Mr. Allen argued that slavery hurts both the master and the slave, so it should be abolished.

Overall, the town hall meeting was lovely. It was a joy to get to hear from so many others who are fighting alongside me to end this cruel practice. 

I will never forget the things I heard from Mr. Allen and many others as they spoke of their anti-slavery ideals and their own lives. 

Town Hall Meeting

My name is Sarah Louisa Forten Purvis. I am an anti-slavery poet from Pennsylvania and am a part of the Female Literary Association. Many people know me because of the wealthy family I come from. However, I am defined by much more than my family’s wealth. One of my most well known accomplishments is co-founding The Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society alongside my mother, sisters, Lucretia Mott and Mary Ann M’Clintock. We formed this society to give women a way to help their fellow sisters. We work mostly to fundraise for drives against slavery and provide supplies to help runaway slaves survive their new lives. 

My poems have often been used in support of many abolitionist campaigns. I began writing at the age of seventeen and was published by the Liberator. Some of my most famous poems include The Grave of the Slave, An Appeal to Women and The Slave Girl’s Farewell. It was important to me to use the talents I was gifted with to help my fellow brothers and sisters escape the horrors we are oppressed with today. God blessed me with the kind of providence that placed me in a life which prevented me from facing the evils of slavery myself, but I am sympathetic toward the same oppression because of my heritage and the discrimination I did face. 

Today I stand before you to urge you to stand up alongside your brothers and sisters and fight for their freedom which we, as a nation, claim to stand upon. My white sisters have found virtue from their fairness, so we should work together to help our enslaved sisters make it to the other side. It does not matter if we ourselves have faced this cruelty because we all recognize it is not right, so we should do something about it. 

I believe you cannot consider yourself a good person if you stand on the side of slavery, on the side of an institution that is built upon taking advantage of those we stand beside. In the end we all bleed the same, so why are we acting so divided? We can know that slavery should be stopped because slaves right now are wishing to die because that would be a better alternative to the life they are living. When our brothers and sisters begin to look toward death as their only escape from the cruelty they face in their lives, we need to make a change. 

At the end of our lives when we are buried, both slaves and masters are put in the ground together, so where do our souls go when we are all put into the same ground? We all end up side by side, buried in the dirt so why do we believe it is okay to oppress one another and rule over each other while we are alive? Our souls are all equally valued by the God up above, so why do we not value each other the same way. God is on the side of the slave as He looks down on them fighting for their liberation. We must make a choice today to stand by our brothers and sisters who are fighting for the right to their lives.

Imagine a young girl sitting with her mother on a West Indian Island with the sun barreling down on them, crying because her life’s story has become too much to bear. The mother tries to comfort the girl while breaking down herself because in just one day they are going to take her baby girl away. 

I leave you today with my poem, A Slave Girl's Farewell, about this girl and the horrors we are making her and so many others face;

Mother, I leave thee-thou hast been

Through long, long years of pain

The only hope my fond heart knew;

Or e’er shall know again.

The sails are set-my master waits

To bear me far from thee;

I linger-can I give thee up,

And cross the fearful sea?

Oh, let me gaze! How bright it seems

As busy memory flies

To view those scenes of other days,

Beneath those bright blue skies.

The little hut where I have played

In childhood’s fearless hours-

The murmuring stream-the mossy bank,

Where I have gathered flowers.

I knew not then I was a slave,

Or that another’s will,

Save thine, could bend the spirit’s pride;

Or bid my lips be still.

Who now will soothe me at my toil,

Or bathe my weary brow?

Or shield me when the heavy lash

Is raised to give the glow?

Thy fond arms press me-and I feel

Thy tears upon my cheek;

Tears are the only language now

A mother’s love can speak.

Think of me, mother as I bend

My way across the sea;

And midst thy tears, a blessing waft,

To her who prays for thee.

Bible Challenge

Over the years many scholars and individuals have used the Bible as evidence for their anti-slavery and pro-slavery arguments, with each side taking specific verses and interpreting them to fit their own agenda. Now, it is understood that the slavery era was a negative time in our history and should not be supported. However, there is still some conflict within circles as to where the Bible stands on the slavery argument.

During the time of slavery, many believed that the Bible condemned slavery. However, this is not accurate. The Bible did in fact condone the act of slavery. Many white slaveholders of the time relied on the teachings of the Bible specifically from Genesis 9:25 and its statements such as, "A slave of slaves shall you be to your brothers" to solidify their views that slavery was religiously supported.

There were other parts of the Bible, including the story of Abraham where his slave Hager had an angel tell her to "return to your mistress and submit to her." Describing how religious figures such as angels wanted slaves to obey their masters because that was looked upon as the "holy thing to do". Many also viewed Jesus' acceptance of slavery as a reason to support these practices. Statements including, "not one word of criticism did the Lord ever utter against slaver. He was quick to attack moral evil but not slavery" are what swayed people to not view slavery negatively.

Also Charles Hodge, a Presbyterian theologian between 1851 and 1858, stated, "to call slavery sinful was a direct impeachment of the word of God", explaining that to think slavery was something wrong, was to go against Christian beliefs.

Therefore, based on quotes directly from the Bible itself and theologians of the 1800s, slavery was condoned by the Bible and Christianity.

While some people argue that the Bible is in support of slavery, these claims often come from specific verses that were taken out of context and manipulated to fit human ideas. Many books and scenarios in the Bible are clearly against slavery. As pointed out in the Condensed Anti-Slavery Bible Argument, we see that the Bible never specifically mentions slavery by name when arguing for or against it. Instead, it describes and discourages similar scenarios. In Exodus 21, the text talks about how a man who steals and sells another man should be put to death himself. This emphasizes a passage of the Bible that speaks directly to undesirable consequences given for putting other human-beings under conditions of slavery. 

Slavery is not only seen as an action that requires punishment, but it is also seen as the consequence of transgression. As expressed in Slavery and Sin: The Fight against Slavery and the Rise of Liberal Protestantism, we see that this argument could easily be taken out of context to say that the Bible was pro-slavery. However, when you put this argument into context it is clear that this passage is not about the kind of slavery that was present in America. If slavery is used as a consequence for sin, then the Bible would definitely not agree with subjecting individuals into slavery because of their race or status. 

It is also important to realize that the Bible has been translated and copied many times, so the way we interpret slavery is not necessarily the way the Greek or Hebrew words for slavery would have been interpreted in ancient times. It is pointed out in The Challenge of Bible Translation, that translations were often made with the goal of keeping the meaning the same, but there cannot be translations made for cultural differences. 

There are clearly two sides to every story and it is easy to interpret the Bible in different ways, especially because of the different cultures and languages in which it originated. While all arguments today are anti-slavery, it is important to remember that was not always the case. As source material is interpreted, it can often be manipulated to fit individual beliefs so it is important to be objective, look at the facts, and think through outside influences of the time. 

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is made up of nine Justices whose utmost responsibility is to the citizens of the United States. In a similar respect, the power of the court comes from the trust the American people hold in them. 

The Supreme Court holds a unique power because they are not affected by party limitations that hold other branches of the government captive. Presidential candidates often attempt to sway the courts with their nominations, but once Justices are in place they often refer back to their own beliefs and ethics rather than party beliefs. The Justices often place the weight of their decisions on their principles rather than the political parties they are supposed to align with.

The Supreme Court not only holds great power, but they also have significant limitations. The Supreme Court is not able to address just any issue they want, like the Legislative and Executive branches can. Instead, they must address the issues that the people raise and honor what is impacting Americans, not in their opinion, but in the opinion of the people.

The Supreme Court is limited by time constraints. They receive over 7,000 requests per year, but only have time to review a select few cases. I found it interesting to note that they give the same consideration to every request no matter who wrote it.

The Supreme Court is made up of nine Justices at a time, but there have only been around 100 Justices in the history of the United States. Justices are nominated by the President and then must go through a process to be appointed by Congress. However, once they are in office they serve for life or until they choose to retire. This is very different from the way other branches run with public authorities serving for terms of just a few years before re-election.

It is also important to point out that the Supreme Court is not selected by the people. This group of individuals is considered one of the most trusted in the nation, and there is an understanding that citizens obey the decisions of the courts, even though they do not directly elect them. 

Many people hold misconceptions about the Supreme Court and its daily operations. Many people believe that what goes on inside the court is quite different than what the public views. There have even been cases in the past when the public has lost trust in the Court for these reasons. However, the Justices make it quite clear that there is not inside story of a court. The court cases are held in public, and while the decisions are made in private the opinions are published for the public to see. 

Once a decision is reached by the court, an opinion is written by someone on the majority side. The opinion is the court's published statement about the case. It typically takes a long period of time to write because proper research must be done to support the choice the court made. The Justices are helped by law clerks who do research and help draft the opinion. Any of the justices can write a separate opinion if they disagree with the decision and explain their reasoning. A separate opinion may also be written to provide more evidence or a different side to the majority decision. These opinions range anywhere from a few pages to over eighty pages long. 

One thing I thought was interesting about the Supreme Court is that they shake hands at the beginning of every case to ensure everyone respects one another and comes out the other side without holding a grudge.  They also created a system where everyone on the court speaks once before anyone speaks twice. 

When I had thought of the court in the past, I often thought about them as a bunch of lawyers who sat around and argued all day. However, after watching the two Supreme Court videos, I realize that they are  just individuals trying to fight for the American citizens in the best way they know how. Their foundation is our trust in them and they work each day to not only protect us, but to respect each other.