Town Hall Meeting; Abigail Adams

My name is Abigail Adams. Most of you may know me as John Adams’s wife or the second First Lady of the United States of America. Like many wives and mothers, I am considered a “homemaker” who should have no opinions on social and political matters. However, although I lack formal education, I know what is right and wrong with our policies today. I am aware that I am no saint due to growing up around my family who are slaveowners and my husband John and I having black servants of our own. I stand before you today as an advocate against slavery and believe that we should take matters into our own hands to completely abolish it. 

I spend lots of time with my husband and other politicians hearing about different perspectives on the matter, even though most are afraid to discuss this topic. Over the years John and I have written letters to each other when we are apart. These letters would normally contain information regarding some of my political beliefs. I wrote this to my husband in March of 1776, “I have sometimes been ready to think that the passion for Liberty cannot be Eaquelly Strong in the Breasts of those who have been accustomed to deprive their fellow creatures of theirs. Of this, I am certain that it is not founded upon that generous and christian principle of doing to others as we would that others should do unto us.” 

What truly opened my eyes to the horrors and ungodlyness of slavery was my trip to Europe. I witnessed firsthand the amount of poverty and mistreatment there was towards the poor in Britain. This made me realize that that is exactly how we are treating black people, by enslaving them in America. This treatment is not only disgusting but also inhumane. On September 22nd in one of my letters to John I wrote, “It always appeared a most iniquitous scheme to me - fight ourselves for what we are daily robbing and plundering from those who have as good a right to freedom as we have.” Why are we fighting for our own rights as a country and leaving out a portion of our citizens? I have said that, “We have done evil or our enemies would be at peace with us. The sin of slavery as well as many others is not washed away.” We must move forward as a country with open minds and open hearts. 

I once knew a young boy named James who was a black servant for our family. We loved James and his friendly kind demeanor he showed towards us. One day James came to me asking if he was allowed to attend an evening school, which per his request I approved. To me it was in James’s best interest to go to school and gain an education. However, when James began to attend his classes, I started to receive complaints. To my surprise it was not regarding James’s grades, attendance, or behavior it was about the fact that the other boys “Did not choose to go to school with a black boy.” This was strange since the boys were not offended by James going to church or dances, just by him trying to have the same opportunity to an education like everyone else. I was frustrated by the situation and wrote to John saying “Attacking the principle of liberty and equality upon the only ground upon which it ought to be supported, an equality of Rights.” Nobody no matter the color of their skin should have to endure this hideous behavior. 

I do not judge those based on race, I judge based on your character. I urge everyone in this room to continue advocating for the abolishment of slavery and to stand on the right side of history.

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 Gen 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 you 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's acceptance of slavery as a reason to support these practices. Statements including "Not one word of criticism did the Lord ever utter against slavery. 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 to 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 of 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 differently, especially because of the many 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. Hence, it is important to be objective, look at the facts, and think through outside influences of the time. 

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is a group of nine influential individuals who are all passionate about upholding the law in the United States. The President nominates the Justices, who are then voted on by the Senate to secure their positions on the court. Being part of The United States Supreme Court is an extremely high honor. These people hold power that is unlike any other in the government and are put in charge of determining if cases are constitutional or unconstitutional regardless of political affiliations.

While watching the Supreme Court video, I learned some very insightful information about the court. I discovered that in 1801, The Supreme Court was put into temporary quarters. Before watching the video, I assumed that the court had always had a physical permanent position in our government and was held to the utmost respect by citizens. However, this respect for the court was not earned until the Marshall years, when John Marshall served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States.

Also, the video mentioned that Justices don't bring issues to the court, the issues are brought to them. This fact makes it easier to understand and realize that judges are not "out to be activists," but instead they are there to do their duty to uphold the Constitution regarding issues that people deem a problem.

Additionally, I found it surprising how often opinion pieces written by the Justices can be revised. These pieces can be revised throughout the year until they are all due in late June at the end of the term. Prior to knowing this information I believed that opinion pieces needed to be written and finalized in a quick amount of time rather than having multiple months to be completed.

Now that I have learned more about the Supreme Court I have changed my perspective on how critical the Supreme Court's rule is in protecting American citizen's freedoms. Our Justices do everything in their power to make the best decisions possible for the people of the United States.