Journal #8

Two texts that I found conversing with each other was Henry Garnet's speech made before Congress and Mary Chesnut's diary entry. Although the two are provided in a different context, their meaning's walk along the same path. They both argue their ideal way of wife and their speculations on the matter, but their beliefs drive opposite ways. In Garnet's memorial, he preaches an equal opportunity for African-Americans, he states "... and all men holding allegiance to the government shall enjoy every right of American citizenship." Readers in that time can relate to the ideals of the American dream of which this nation was founded upon, the pursuit of liberty and happiness. That black men have every right to make a life of their own as does a white man. In times of such political turmoil and where a part of the American identity emerges, the meanings of the government are on everyone's mind. On the other hand in this situation, Chesnut's diary explores the deep roots of the Southern mind set. She talks about how she has nothing and the "Yankee's" will have nothing to take, but at the end of the diary she learns about Abe Lincolns assassination. She writes "The death of Lincoln I call a warning to tyrants. He will not be the last President put to death in the capital, though he is the first." They see him as a tyrant, that is their mindset. Their belief is their pursuit of liberty and happiness and they are entitled to that as much as any other American. She doesn't talk about her regret or a bad conscious, she just continues life with her mindset. And it all comes down to perspective, The North discontinued slavery and adapted to that way of life, which is the complete opposite of those in the South. It's all about one's way of life and perspective. But the lack of insight and appeal in the diary doesn't compare to Grant's memorial in terms of persuasive power.