9/21/2023 0 Comments A son of the forest apess summaryIn early American literary history, Apess was matched in his skills at argumentative and persuasive rhetoric only by Thomas Paine and Frederick Douglass. Now I ask if degradation has not been heaped long enough upon the Indians? And if so, can there not be a compromise? Is it right to hold and promote prejudices? If not, why not put them all away? Having a desire to place a few things before my fellow creatures who are traveling with me to the grave, and to that God who is the maker and preserver both of the white man and the Indian, whose abilities are the same and who are to be judged by one God, who will show no favor to outward appearances but will judge righteousness. The first sentences of “Looking-Glass” establish the conversational style and tone, pointed social and spiritual arguments, and audience engagement that are hallmarks of the essay: Perhaps most notably, Apess also published (as an addendum to his edited collection of conversion narratives The Experiences of Five Christian Indians of the Pequot Tribe) an essay that distills much of his unique life, impressive work, and potent voice into a concise, very readable form: “An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man” (1833). The Pequot Indian’s contributions to American culture and history are undeniable. Apess was a strong proponent of change for the better, striving to improve the quality of life for Native Americans in the fledgling United States of America. As a passionate advocate of Native American rights, he helped the Mashpee Revolt of 1833-1834 gain traction, later documenting its legal and cultural triumphs in the book Indian Nullification of the Unconstitutional Laws of Massachusetts (1833). He was also the author of the first published Native American autobiography, A Son of the Forest (1829). We can only regret it, and flee from it, and from henceforth, let peace and righteousness be written upon our hearts and hands forever.” –William Apessīorn in 1798 in Colrain, MA, William Apess was a mixed-race man who began life as an indentured servant, served in the army during the War of 1812’s Quebec campaign, and became a traveling Methodist minister. O'Connell provides an extensive and invaluable introduction and footnotes to aid the reader in the recovery of this important Native American figure.“You and I have to rejoice that we have not to answer for our fathers’ crimes, neither shall we do right to charge them one to another. Nowhere is this more evident than in his ``Eulogy on King Philip'' and ``The Indians: The Ten Lost Tribes,'' which are at once impassioned pleas on behalf of Native Americans and fierce denunciations of white colonialization. O'Connell notes as especially remarkable that Apess, unlike many of his contemporaries and their white tutors (who saw Christianity as a way to speed the Native Americans's cultural assimilation), used his Christianity to better assert his Indianness. Eleven years later, he was ordained a Methodist minister. A Son of the Forest tells the story of Apess's early life (he was scarcely 30 when he wrote it) and of his conversion to Christianity in 1818. Further, he did so with only six years of formal education. A member of the Pequot tribe of Massachusetts, Apess became, in 1829, one of the first Native Americans to write and publish an autobiography. O'Connell, a professor of English at Amherst Collegesince there's also UMass Amherst, has performed a real service in compiling and editing the complete works of Apess.
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