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Discussion of the week's reading and writing:

Each piece of the reading you have done over the past two weeks offers one response to the major issue of the Early American Republic--the Slavery Problem. The Slavery Problem was the single most difficult problem addressed by the emerging nation. The responses you'll now read extend from civil disobedience, to writing editorials, to writing slave narratives that sought to inform others about the realities of slavery, to an attempt to lead a slave revolt, to an attempt to ferment an armed slave rebellion, to passive resistance, to attempts to find political solutions, to attempts to create  powerful symbols to fight for, and, finally, the last resort, to fighting a civil war.  

In and of it self, each text offers insight into Antebellum America, how Romantics attempted to create art which responded to political problems, various aspects of Abolitionist Literature, and a "how to" case study on the process of American political change.  As you will learn, slavery could not co-exist with American political ideals.  Leaders as early as Jefferson and Franklin recognized how fundamentally incompatible some social beliefs and practices are with our belief in natural, inalienable rights and maximized liberty within a system of just, equally applied law.  

How to expel social practices which were incompatible with the new democracy and maintain the right of the individual to believe as they will has have been a constant problem for America, and as you have and will see, literature has played a fundamental role in forming our solution to such problems. Franklin and Jefferson tried in their draft of the "Declaration of Independence" to attack slavery as a product of outdated European tyranny, but slavery was a battle Jefferson, Franklin, et al chose not to fight.  In the process, they probably--we can never be sure--preserved the new, vulnerable nation long enough, helping to embed the notion of liberty and freedom in the world views of both sides, for the nation to survive the inevitable Civil War, come back together, and retain a shared ideology of freedom.  

The reading over the next weeks addresses one of the fundamental themes of this course or, for that matter, any American Literature course:  "What are the most productive, useful, correct relationships between the individual and a democratic society?"  Embedded in this question are a host of related questions:

1. What allegiance, if any, does the American citizen own the current American government?
2. Is there a difference between civil, moral, and natural law, and what is the citizen to do when she finds herself with different views than those of her community, society, and the government?
3. Is civil disobedience the correct answer? Is it a requirement for our government to work and, hence, a civil duty?
4. What are the best tactics to form group, like minded action?
5. Are there situations in which violence is the right answer?  John Brown arrived at this answer.  He took over a national armory and attempted to arm slaves for a slave revolt.  He was killed as an example, but--as Thoreau's essay and the songs "John Brown's Body" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" show, Brown also became a martyr and powerful symbol for the North and for "correct" national behavior in the face of evil.
6. Are there differences between Brown's solution and that of the North?  Listen to the "Battle Song of the Republic" and "John Brown's Body," both the North and the South saw themselves as acting morally and in ways consistent with their belief in God.  In fact, both Brown and the North invoked the belief that God would stand by them and lead them to victory.  Look at Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" and the "Second Inaugural Address." As Mark Twain pointed out, both the North and the South shared and fostered this view.
7. Which is more important--a state's right to sovereignty or an individuals' right to liberty?  
8. Who gets to decide which liberties are worth fighting, killing, and dying for? How do we make these decisions as a society?
9. What beliefs and attitudes have helped you and others decide these questions?

Answering these questions was, is, and should not be easy.  It is now a cliche to say the Civil War divided brother and brother, but one reason brother could end up fighting and killing brother is that answering these questions comes down to individual beliefs about liberty, right, and honor.  There are times when our individual beliefs will and do put us into conflict with others  Issues like state's rights and slavery have to be resolved, and there are times when spoken discourse fails and the discourse of violence--either implied or actual--begins.

As always, contact me with questions and concerns.