Prayer at the Congress

Letter number 2 in the series of letters between Abigail Adams and his husband John Adams talks about prayers at the congress. John Adams tells Abigail the time were they first planned to read prayers as an inspiration and guidance. A problem aroused because they were all different religions but they ended reading a prayer. Mr. Jacob Duche an assistance rector of the Christian church was in charge of that role. They decided it was ok because he was a good gentlemen and no matter what religion each individual were, word of inspiration from a good gentleman would not hurt. After he read several prayers and ended with a psalm everyone was stunned. The presence the words became to every heart was as Mr. Adams mentions the best he ever heard. Not only the words but the emotion that were placed in them. John Adams tries to convince Abigail to read this psalm and to show it to her friends to increase the patriotism and try to make them feel what he felt in the congress. In this short but clear letter we find several examples of rhetorical devices being used.

"After this Mr. Duche, unexpected to everybody struck out into an extemporary prayer, which filed the bosom of every man present. I must confess I never heard a better prayer or one, so well pronounced. Episcopalian as he is, Dr. Cooper himself never prayed with such fervour, such Ardor, such Earnestness and Pathos and in language so elegant and sublime"(Adams 677)
- this quote is an example of appeal to emotion. Mr. Adams relies on giving what he felt and emotions he perceived to explain how well the prayer was. He states how the people were affected by it and the specialty this prayer highlighted that made it better than the others. He described the first prayer in the congress using emotions and feeling which connected the reader with the writer and created an imagery of the event.

"I must beg you to read that Psalm. If there was any Faith in the sortes Virgilianae, or sortes Homericae, or especially the sortes biblicae, it would be thought providential"(Adams 678)
- this quotes is using the rhetorical device of persuasion. He moves Abigail Adams to read the Psalm by the uniqueness of the prayer and the effect it will have. He tries to convince her to read this trough persuasion in his writing.

work cited:
-packet handed by my teachers of John and Abigail letters
- picture of the first prayer in the continental congress: http://www.google.hn/imgres?imgurl=http://granitegrok.com/pix/TheFirstPrayerInCongress.jpg&imgrefurl=http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/06/first_prayer_of_the_continental_congress.html&usg=__TxFFFVbgagXVy5y99lCYHSwVB4A=&h=225&w=300&sz=14&hl=es&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=bXAFPWDHsaq4IM:&tbnh=163&tbnw=200&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dprayers%2Bat%2Bcongress%2Bmr.%2Bduche%26um%3D1%26hl%3Des%26biw%3D1116%26bih%3D468%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=516&vpy=99&dur=1053&hovh=180&hovw=240&tx=183&ty=155&ei=kB6gTNHoGcH48Ab3zfGXDQ&oei=kB6gTNHoGcH48Ab3zfGXDQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0

Blog #4 -Rebuting Patrick Henry-

Dear gentlemen while Patrick’s words seem so sweet, bitterness comes with all this. Shall he not speak his words? Of course he should, he has all the right to speak his opinion, but are they right? Gentleman Patrick wants war but can we afford war? Can we help seeing the many lives that are going to be lost? Will we suffer the price of war when we can’t afford to pay the consequences? You’re all mad and I agree but war is not the way to fix this, we can ask Britain for help and ask for representation and justice. Why die for something that can be handling through utter protest? Patrick states experience has helped him judge the future so why don’t you judge what happened with war. Foresee families left with no sons, a nation left with no people, and a militia destroyed in the field. War and violence is never the solution one should seek. With violence only more violence is obtained. Patrick tells us Britain is not hearing our petitions so why do they remove the acts we impose to follow? Why did they remove taxes when we protested? They are listening just that we need to shout louder. No not all solution is exhausted there is the choice of dialogue. Let’s speak to our fellow England and insist as much as we need but never fight. The war is coming but we need to stop it. Think of everything this will cause to America. We are young and inexperience while Great Britain has stronger armies more people and more experience. We will be defeated in fighting but we have more chance in winning with dialogue. He says god is with all of us and will be the greatest weapon. While god is the most powerful thing in the world he may accompany you but he will not fight for you. He is an image of peace and love why will he like violence between his people? Do not use him as a persuasion when god does not want this. He can be inside all your hearts, and if he is there he will bring love therefore no war. Patrick frequently restates we are being slaves but listen gentlemen is this really true? He repeats his liberty is being taken and he continually convinces England is deceiving all of you. We have protection from Britain in our land to keep us safe, and this you see beings slaves. Slaves are not taken care of, their prisoners. Liberty is granted because we can say what we like, we can protest toward Britain but not in the point of going against them. Is England really deceiving us or are we deceiving ourselves? We believe fighting and separating from Britain is what’s right. Listen to your hearts and ask yourself if war is your solution. We have hope and we can try harder. Let’s get in an agreement with Britain but separating from them will only make us week and venerable. We need their protection and they need us. Fighting leads to chaos and catastrophe and we do not need this. Peace is the right solution and for peace only dialogue is needed. So gentlemen of America, do you really think we are slaves, and do you think fighting with violence is the way we have to go to have justice? I believe many good words are stronger than swords and guns and I hope u feel it as well.

blog #3 -plan to change the world-

  Changing the world is quite complicated and wide but my plan in fact is simple and concrete. Most of you ask this question frequently, how can I change the world? But part of that is not always changing something but accepting it. The world is something out of our control to change its something bigger than ourselves. But I place in front of you the answer to changing in a way possible for human beings. Accepting human differences is what I propose to all of you. By which this idea and acceptance is practiced in every person a change will be seen.  It’s as simple as the words express. No building things, no creating things, no destroying thins just accepting them. When we learn to live on what we have we can improve it making it a better place. So I call for all the word to listen because in needs of all collaboration. Every individual must have this goal placed upon them. As we can see most of the conflicts faced in our everyday lives are related to the differences of each other. They may be differences in religion, government, ideas, principals, customs ext.  All being a difference. As human beings we cannot change the fact we are different and I accept it to be that way, because part of humans is having a variety of ideas and personalities unlike the others.  The thinking of us differently is what makes the world able to advance. I don’t ask you to be the same therefore the world will not change to the good but to accept those things that make us different. Accepting something as I recall is not always liking it or agreeing but living with it. Accepting is the act of living with it and stopping of the discrimination of what’s not like you. If we as human beings accept the basic principles of the world which are love, respect, and liberty we learn to accept these differences as well. If we start implying the acceptance of what’s different we create a new generation of people with this same belief forming a new society.  Establishing a variety of cultures and interacting with different people make us know something contrary from ours and therefore understand it. Education is the nucleus to understanding this.  Educating ourselves to see change and differences, we educate ourselves to become better. Seeing antithesis and learning to see their perspective not necessarily changing ours but it helps you comprehend your difference. The people who will accept this offer and apply it to their lives and to their hearts are the ones who want change and see the world in a different perspective. This people are adventurous and hungry for what’s new.  People in different factions would also like for others to respect their ideas and will respect others as an example to do the same. Because it is in our nature of men to struggle accepting equality, there are others who are not willing to imply this because they have a strong dislike to differences. They are not open to change and they are blinded to see something not like them. This people are what slow the advancement and improvement of what we called our world.  But part of my idea is also to accept those who oppose this and to learn to live with them. So I recommend those against to think of how the world would change with just the changing of thought of its people. How will we unite forming greater things and uniting our qualities and ideas to create one strong world.


work cited pics: 

• #1- http://www.google.hn/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fuegin.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/United_Colors_of_Benetton3.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fuegin.com/65-publicites-creatives-united-colors-of-benetton/&usg=__o2pRD0szf_E7utfO7hkd5yl_lCo=&h=290&w=400&sz=32&hl=es&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=1TXrpVcGbnAG5M:&tbnh=133&tbnw=184&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dunited%2Bcolors%2Bof%2Bbenetton%26hl%3Des%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D619%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=128&vpy=267&dur=40&hovh=191&hovw=264&tx=185&ty=77&ei=00eETPW_HsK78gbO6slw&oei=00eETPW_HsK78gbO6slw&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0
•  #2-http://www.google.hn/imgres?imgurl=http://vig-fp.prenhall.com/bigcovers/0136103014.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/product/Understanding-Human-Differences-Multicultural-Education-for-a-Diverse-America-3E/9780136103011.page&usg=__vNjd_31iNvV_-m91yKJgUwNpvGc=&h=648&w=518&sz=138&hl=es&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=NBCgU1GIO-__JM:&tbnh=164&tbnw=131&prev=/images%3Fq%3Daccept%2Bhuman%2Bdifferences%26hl%3Des%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D619%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=679&vpy=64&dur=4122&hovh=251&hovw=201&tx=132&ty=111&ei=MkiETM3fFYH88Aavz-ll&oei=MkiETM3fFYH88Aavz-ll&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0