HW for Feb 27: Argumentative text / Commentary
Write an articulate argumentative text on one of the following quotations, exposing and fundamenting your opinions in articulation with at least two other texts studied in class.
1. "It may not lways happen htat ou soldiers are ciizens, and the multitude a body of reasonable men. (...) we have every opportunity and every encouragement before us, to form the noblest, purest constitution on the face of the earth. We have it in our power to begin the world again. A situation, similar to the present, hath not happened since the days of Noah until now."
Thomas Paine, "Common Sense" 1676, (anthology pp. 91)
2. "I long to hear that you have declared an independency - and by the way in the new code of laws (...) I desire that you remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could."
Abigail Adams, Letter to John Adams, March 31, 1776 (anthology, pp. 96)
1.During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, numerous writers debated the right of America to have its own government, opposing it to the discussion over whether the King of England had the right to rule America. Most of them highlight wealth and prosperity as signs of God's benevolence and that the beginning of a new and progressive nation is according to His plan. In this excerpt of “Common Sense”, written by Thomas Paine in 1676, Enlightenment ideals are employed to advocate for a rational ideology, portraying the conception of the “new world" as a divine promise and an opportunity to establish a pure society.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, Paine draws a parallel between the seventeenth century America and biblical epochs, claiming that this opportunity has not arisen “since the days of Noah” (Paine, 1676). Similarly, John Winthrop, in “A Model of Christian Charity”, figures America as “the city upon a hill” (Winthrop, 1630). In both literary texts, the emergence of the new world is presented with religious significance, as a work of “God's Providence”.
On the other hand, John Winthrop emphasizes puritan ideals, such as communal unity and the importance of Christian love and charity in building a cohesive community. Therefore, he acknowledges the need for order and governance, but his focus is on spiritual and moral dimensions as the foundation of society. In contrast, Thomas Paine prioritizes the power of individuals and human agency, “we have it in our power” (Paine, 1676), reflecting enlightenment ideals of reason and individual rights.
Furthermore, Benjamin Franklin, in his autobiography, defends moral accountability and the importance of doing good to others, prioritizing the ideology of self-improvement, self-determination and advocating unity among individuals. Concurrently, Divine Providence is described as the mechanism through which God governs the world, implying the belief that God has a certain level of control over human's destiny. Thomas Paine has a similar view, since he affirms that the population of the colonies have the power to forge a different path in constructing this “new world” distinct from European nations, but he acknowledges that it is possible, only because God gave them the opportunity to (“a situation, similar to the present, hath not happened since the days of Noah until now” Paine, 1676).
In addition, “The Declaration of Independence”, written by Thomas Jefferson, constitutes the embodiment of the ideals exposed by Paine, defending the need of a new governmental system, the importance of individual rights and the reasons for the separation of America from England's “tyranny”. These change of ideals about the future of the “new world” represent the cultural and ideological changes occuring in the colonies throughout these two centuries, demonstrating a progressive moderation of religious fervor, as the Enlightenment ideals proliferate.
All things considered, the aspirations for a new and more just society articulated by writers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries often failed to align with the realities of colonial and early American society. While Thomas Paine acknowledges the historical challenges and imperfections of American citizens, he maintains a hopeful vision for the future, epitomizing the notion of the “American Experiment” as a departure from the old world of Europe towards a purer society. However, practices such as slavery, indentured servitude, discrimination against certain groups and the concentration of wealth and privilege persisted in America for centuries, contradicting ideological aims. Despite the initial aspirations for difference and superiority, the historical trajectory of America saw the replication of power dynamics characterized by stratification and inequality, similar to those observed in Europe.
Paine, Thomas. Common Sense, 1676.
Winthrop, John. A Model of Christian Charity, 1630.
Franklin, Benjamin. Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, 1791.
Jefferson, Thomas. Declaration of Independence, 1776.
2. Abigail Adams was very efficient and pragmatic and in the letters she wrote to her husband, John Addams, for we can say she was, in contemporary terms, an “activist” on topics modern days would find essential and somewhat surprising to see this passionately discussed by women in the 18th century, in this case, the role of the woman in a forming America.
ReplyDeleteAbigail Adams knew from the beggining the advantage of male issues over female’s with the entrance in her 31st march 1776 letter “I wish you would ever write me a Letter half as long as I write you”.
In the excerpt above, we can observe the obvious reference to Thomas Jefferson’s own Declaration of Independence, even if the same was only published 4 months after the letter from where the excerpt is from was sent. In Adam’s letter, she refers “I desire that you remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.”, while Jefferson refers in the declaration “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.”
Drawing further similarities from the most important declaration in America until that date and Adam’s letter, both Jefferson and Adams name their target antagonist “tyrant”. In Jefferson’s declaration, the King of England:“He [the king] is at this time transporting large armies os foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny already begun with circumstances of cruelty…” (page 102 of the antalogy); in Adamn’s letter, men “Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could.”.
Another author capable of drawing attention to Abigail Adams’ letter, even if in a more apocalyptic and depressing light over the place of women, it’s Anne Bradstreet in her poem Before the Birth of One of Her Children.
As a Puritan, Breadstreet writing is remarkably more fatal and fearful, with its start of “All things within this fading world hath end” and “We both ignorant, yet love bids me”, referring that, even without knowing life or the world, the strongest and most confusing of all feelings still chooses her.
However, the biggest correlation with the verses “The many faults you know I have/ Let be interred in my oblivious grave/ If any worth or virtue were in me/ Let that live freshly in thy memory”. This sequence presents the want to take pride in women’s virtues as much as everyone seems to ignore men’s faults (their potential for tyranny).
The final verses for this commentary lie within the reference to the main reason women have been subjected to step back historically and brainwashed into thinking it's all their empathy was for. “And when thy loss shall be repaid with gains/ Look to my little babes, my dear remains”. Even if these verses are written with a sense of sorrow and worry, it shows the unifacet that women faced historically, of their own “remains” being their kids. The being “more generous and favorable” to women that Abigail Adams is referring to includes giving women a bigger legacy than their offspring.
Adams, Abigail. Letters, 1776.
Jefferson, Thomas, Copy of Declaration of Independence, 1776.
Breadstreet, Anna, Before the Birth of One of Her Children, 1678.
1) The quote belongs to the anti-British 47-page pamphlet “Common Sense” written and published by Thomas Paine in 1776. It was a critic to England imperial ties to the colonies and expressed desire for independence from the crown of England. By reading the quote one understands that Paine was in favour of creating the “noblest, purest constitution on the face of the earth”. He believed that through this set of laws written by the people for the people would have the power “to begin the world again”.
ReplyDeleteIn the pamphlet, Paine argued mainly for two things: one being the independence from England and the other being the creation of a democratic republic. “He wanted complete independence as the only possible outcome. Nor did he try to make a distinction, as Congress still did, between a wicked parliament and a benign sovereign. He called George III `the royal brute.' Indeed, it was Paine who transformed this obstinate, ignorant, and, in his own way, well-meaning man into a personal monster and a political tyrant, a bogey-figure for successive generations of American schoolchildren. Such is war, and such is propaganda. Paine's Common Sense was by no means entirely common sense. Many thought it inflammatory nonsense. But it was the most successful and influential pamphlet ever published.' (Johnson, 1997)
Besides being against the rule of England over the British colonies, He also was against the Monarchy. He believed that “The divine right of king is a lie; monarchy runs against God’s plans.” He declared instead that America should “create a government of our own based on the right principles.” He defended that there were two evils with the monarchy, one being monarchy itself and the other being the hereditary succession. There is “no reason to think that royal children will make good rulers. To the evil of monarchy, we have added that of hereditary succession”(Anthology).
Over the excerpt of the letter III in the Anthology one can also understand that Paine had the same ideology as Winthrop as shown in his sermon “A model of Christian Charity” (1630). Both wanted to make America an example for the rest of the world. Paine said that “We have an opportunity to remake America and make it an example of freedom for the world” and Winthrop said “In this, their New England, he said, they would build a city on a hill, as Christ had urged in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:14): “A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.” (Lepore, Jill, 2018). Paine focused on the freedom and Winthrop focused one the religion aspect.
Paine said that were three ways to reach independency: “(…) that there are three different ways by which an independancy hereafter be effected; and that one of those three, will, one day or other, be the fate of America, viz. By the legal voice of the people in Congress; by a military power. Or by a mob” (Anthology). In comparison there was Crevecoeur (1782) that also believed in the Independence of the colonies, but he defended an approach by conversation and not by force.
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ReplyDeleteMoreover, according to Crevecoeur (1782), this new man, the American had left his ties to his home country behind given that it gave him nothing. There was no need for sentimentality. “(...) can that man call England or any other kingdom his country? A country that had no bread for him, whose fields procured him no harvest, who met with nothing but the frowns of the rich, the severity of the laws, with jails and punishments, who owned not a single foot of the extensive surface of this planet? No!”. On top of that, the motto of all the emigrants of those colonies was “Ubi panis ibi patria”, phrasing in Latin meaning “where there is bread, there is my country”.
To sum up, since the beginning of the colonies in the Americas there had been conversations about what route should the settlers take. If they should remain loyal to the Crown or if they had the right to be independent and make their own rules free from royal reign. Paine (1776) even asks “Why should a tiny island across the sea rule a massive place like America?”. This question could be asked about all the colonies that European countries had all over the world.
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Paine, Thomas. “Common Sense” (1776)
Winthrop, John. “A model of Christian Charity” (1630)
Crevecouer, Michel-Guillaume. Letter III from “Letters from an American farmer” (1782)
Johnson, Paul. "A History of the American People". (1997). Harper Perennial
In the pursuit of independence, laws and rights addressing minority groups, e.g., women were often disregarded. However, reading the excerpt from Abigail Adams’ letter to her husband John Adams, alongside the works of influential figures like Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, it becomes apparent that the call for freedom and equality extends beyond the boundaries of gender. Abigail Adams’ appeal to her husband John Adams, imploring him to "remember the ladies" captures an important moment in the discourse surrounding gender equality.
ReplyDeleteAdams’ call for gender equality finds resonance in the influential documents of the American Revolution. In Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence, he proclaims, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." While Jefferson’s words are celebrated as a foundational principle of American democracy, they also underscore the exclusionary nature of early American society, which downgraded women to subordinate roles. However, as Abigail writes to her husband, "I long to hear that you have declared an independency" she emphasizes the need for women's voices to be included in this declaration, urging for their rights to be remembered alongside those of men.
Similarly, Thomas Paine's Common Sense advocates for the abolishment of monarchy and the establishment of a government that reflects the will of the people. Yet, in this pursuit of liberty, the voices of women are frequently disregarded. Adams astutely observes, "Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could" highlighting the need for precautions against the tyranny of unchecked power and the importance of recognizing women as equal participants in the governance of society.
Moreover, John Adams’ response to Abigail’s appeal expresses the usual attitudes towards gender roles at the time. While he acknowledges her concerns, his reply implies his averseness to fully embrace the notion of gender equality, he writes "As to your extraordinary code of laws, I cannot but laugh."
In brief, Abigail Adams’ call to "remember the ladies" serves as a call to action, insisting the framers of the new code of laws to prioritize gender equality and inclusivity. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of recognizing women as equal participants in the quest for independence and liberty.
Adams, Abigail. Letters, 1776.
Jefferson, Thomas, Copy of Declaration of Independence, 1776.
Paine, Thomas. Common Sense, 1676.
In the quotation assigned from “Common Sense”, Thomas Paine advocates for the importance and necessity of the independence of America from Britain. The author highlights essencial and cohesive arguments in order to conceive his point; one of them being supported by the religious narrative as of the Noah’s Ark, as the excerpt substantiates. Paine defends that God’s mission for America was meant as in a “sanctuary to be persecuted in future years”. In order to convey his position about the fallacy of the relationship of Britain towards America as a “parent”, the author goes on, stating even that time and the “distance at which the Almighty hath placed England and America, is a strong and natural proof, that the authority of the one, over the other, was never the design of Heaven.” Indeed, the belief in God’s providence, no matter the ways in which is written as long as the end is achieved, does appear in other documents, such as “Of Plymouth Plantation”, as Bradford describes how it favoured God for a seaman to be thrown out of the Mayflower, since he was spreading distress among the people on board; “it was an astonishment to all of his fellows, for they noted it to be the just hand of God upon him”. Another great evidence this credence and this trust is John Winthrop’s sermon, “A Modell of Christian Charity”, which outlines and the obligations one has towards his fellows “we must bear one another’s burdens, we must not look only in our own things, but also on the things of our brethren”. This statement highlights how a “plot” cannot be always linear, or how people’s lives cannot be always full of fulfillment. There’s no light without darkness, no good without evil, hence why the “discovery” of the America might have felt as “late” gift from God, however, a very necessary opportunity for redemption from the past, to build a “brand new world” from the “Noah’s Ark”.
ReplyDeleteCarla Alves
18th-century America and the problems within the scope of it revolve around the power dynamics between the political structures, racial differences and gender roles. The frequent fights involving the aforementioned subjects had a multifaceted nature and were touched upon by many figures throughout American History. Abigail Adams, wife and advisor of then-president John Adams, was one of the figures who dwelled upon the power dynamics between the gender roles in one of her letters to her husband: ”I long to hear that you have declared an independency - and by the way in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire that you remember the ladies and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could.”
ReplyDeleteIn her letter, Abigail Adams states that she wants to hear news regarding independence, thus requesting a new constitution, which should incapsulate a new set of laws that will protect women from their spouses, who may turn out to be tyrants in their marital relationships. This letter is a criticism and mutiny towards the power dynamics between the gender roles within the society of 18th century America and an attempt to give voice to the troublesome female experience. The traditional patriarchal system is pointed out by referring to men’s potential cruelty if they have unlimited and unchecked power in the palm of their hands; connecting a present phenomenon with that of the past, pointing out the fact that the social norms draw parallels with the time of their ancestors.
Abigail Adams proceeds to end her letter with these words: “Regard us then as beings placed by providence under your protection and in imitation of the Supreme Being make use of that power only for our happiness”(p. 97). As a female figure who faced discrimination within the society she lived, she had no choice but to rely on the Supreme Being’s will, mercy and justice, echoing the story of Mary Rowlandson, who was held captive for 11 weeks by the Natives and lost one of her children along the way, whose experience as a woman epitomizes the standardized position of women in society.
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ReplyDeleteRowlandson was a Puritan just like Adams, and the societal structure to which they belonged was rather strict and challenging regarding women’s roles in a societal context and domestic environment. According to the Puritan doctrine, women should only be devoted to and dependent on their husbands and their God. The subordination of women to men as the “second sex” was forefront in every aspect of society. Despite her hardships and sufferings, Rowlandson frequently acknowledges God’s grace in her work, “The Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson”, which becomes a quintessential emblem of the challenges women went through during the colonial times. Similarly to the last lines of Abigail Adams’ letter, Rowlandson had her faith in God, and continuously mentioned his mercy towards her: “…still the Lord upheld me with His gracious and merciful spirit, and we were both alive to see the light of the next morning” and “…Yet the Lord still showed mercy to me and upheld me and as He wounded me with one hand, so he healed me with the other” (p. 50). In her narrative, Rowlandson touches upon the hardships she went through during her captivity by stating: “All was gone, my husband gone … my children gone, my relations and friends gone, our house and home and all our comforts- within door and without— all was gone” (p. 49) Considering the Puritanical and highly patriarchal era she lived in, Rowlandson exhibits a quite valuable and inspirational set of treats by becoming the voice of many women.
Another substantial voice we hear during colonial times is Anne Bradstreet, who tries to express the weight of the societal expectations that women shouldered during the Puritan era. By wielding a sincere pencil that produces poetry, she emphasizes the unrealistic and even delusive duties that are assigned to women. In her poem “The Birth of One of Her Children”, Bradstreet reflects on the problematic yet primary role that was assigned to women, that is motherhood. Considering how often women died during childbirth in the 17th century, Bradstreet is indeed aware of the potential dangers of labour, such as loss of life or the loss of intellectual pursuits as a writer. She requests that the audience remember her not only through her offspring but also through her poetry: “…if chance to thine eyes shall bring this verse / With some sad sighs honour my absent Herse; / And kiss this paper for thy loves dear sake / Who with salt tears this last Farewell did take” (p. 45). Bradstreet challenges the standardized norms regarding women and tries to become a voice through her poetry.
Bradstreet’s attempts to earn her living through poetry resemble the experience of Rowlandson’s during her captivity. Rowlandson talks about how she tries to acquire basic needs such as food, through sewing and knitting. As a captive woman, she attempted to hunt and search for edible food to secure her living. Their endeavours capitalize on the notion that women were and are able to take care of themselves by adapting to the current conditions that surround them, even the society claims otherwise.
As a result, one can argue that despite living in different periods, Abigail Adams’, Mary Rowlandson's and Anne Bradstreet’s histories have several similarities regarding their gender. By providing insights and shedding light on the turmoils of women, they became important figures to look up to and give ear to. Abigail Adams’ plea to her husband reveals the dark and cruel natural context of colonial America, and to further understand this, other female figures and their works gain even more recognition and importance.
Adams, Abigail. Letters, 1776.
Rowlandson, Mary. A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, 1682.
Bradstreet, Anne. Before the Birth of One of Her Children, 1678.
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ReplyDeleteFrom Mrs. Rowlandson, to Adams and Paine, all evoke God and religion, Rowlandson uses God as a way to deal with her imprisonment and get through such a time of her life, Adams uses it as a way to compel a sense of resemblance to the Supreme Being to motivate the better treatment of women and Paine using God to justify his reasonings and beliefs. They all show the importance God and religion had on American societies, something we can still see today.
The voices of women like Abigail Adams were sadly missing from the conversation as the founding fathers discussed how to create a new country. The failure to address women's rights highlights the unfinished work of freedom, a stark error that casts a shadow over the American Revolution's legacy.
In conclusion, the narratives of Mary Rowlandson's captivity, Abigail Adams letters and Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" converge to illuminate the imperative for gender equality in the formation of a new nation. The quest for independence must encompass the quest for justice, ensuring that the rights of all citizens, regardless of gender, are upheld and protected. As we reflect on the founding ideals of a nation, let us heed the words of Abigail Adams and strive to build a society where men do not hold tyrannical amounts of power over women, and the rights of all individuals are respected and cherished.
Adams, Abigail. Letters, 1776
Rowlandson, Mary. A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, 1682.
Paine, Thomas. Common Sense, 1676.