Whose America
Whose America
Brittney Gregg
ENG 491
Julie Miller
June 30, 2014
Writers use what they know to make their work into something that can be treasured for years. They share what they know, they paint pictures with their words that allow their readers to get a glimpse of their lives and in some cases they use what is going on around them to share what they are feeling, or what they are not feeling. In some cases the writers use other pieces of literature or other people’s ideas to get their point across. In the early years of the United States there were many different kinds of authors and many different kinds of people. Occasionally those authors use what is going on with the country around them to make a point. One such author is Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln used what the founding fathers wrote about all men being equal to base his argument that the slaves should be freed. Lincoln chose to take the fact that the founding fathers wrote that “All Men were created equal” as the truth and that all men should be free to make their own choices based on the life that they wanted to live. In many cases other people disagreed and that caused many problems for Lincoln as time passed. Lincoln changed the rhetoric of the founding fathers to make people agree with him. He changed it from just being words that made people agree with the founding of a new nation to words that made people want to be a better nation that the one that they came from. Lincoln wanted the United States to be better than just words on a page that passed for a country. Lincoln introduced a theme of honesty in his work and in all truth he also introduced the United States to a new and better time even after his death. Along those same lines Harriet Jacobs used the same ideas to share the fact that living as a slave changed her life. She introduced a theme of truth, honesty and sharing into literature when she chose to write about her experiences. Jacobs was not the only slave
Brittney Gregg
ENG 491
Julie Miller
June 30, 2014
Writers use what they know to make their work into something that can be treasured for years. They share what they know, they paint pictures with their words that allow their readers to get a glimpse of their lives and in some cases they use what is going on around them to share what they are feeling, or what they are not feeling. In some cases the writers use other pieces of literature or other people’s ideas to get their point across. In the early years of the United States there were many different kinds of authors and many different kinds of people. Occasionally those authors use what is going on with the country around them to make a point. One such author is Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln used what the founding fathers wrote about all men being equal to base his argument that the slaves should be freed. Lincoln chose to take the fact that the founding fathers wrote that “All Men were created equal” as the truth and that all men should be free to make their own choices based on the life that they wanted to live. In many cases other people disagreed and that caused many problems for Lincoln as time passed. Lincoln changed the rhetoric of the founding fathers to make people agree with him. He changed it from just being words that made people agree with the founding of a new nation to words that made people want to be a better nation that the one that they came from. Lincoln wanted the United States to be better than just words on a page that passed for a country. Lincoln introduced a theme of honesty in his work and in all truth he also introduced the United States to a new and better time even after his death. Along those same lines Harriet Jacobs used the same ideas to share the fact that living as a slave changed her life. She introduced a theme of truth, honesty and sharing into literature when she chose to write about her experiences. Jacobs was not the only slave