A year after the murder of a black man in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, John Jay Chapman visits the town to deliver a speech about hatred and racism. Chapman is an American author who attended Harvard University, and believes in the equality of all people. This speech was given during 1912, a time when discrimination against blacks was almost mundane. A black man had just been burned alive and the entire country stood and watched. This is why Chapman gives his speech. He wants to address the lack of response to this murder and try to prevent this from happening again. When this occured, if they weren't cheering it on, Americans were watching silently. Chapman is writing to all of America, which is revealed when he writes,"All of us are tinctured by it. No special place, no special persons, are to blame. A nation cannot practice a course of inhuman crimw for three hundred years and then suddenly throw off the effects of it." (Chapman, 73) He wants the entire country to make an effort to prevent this from happening again. Something important that Chapman does is use the word "us." This inclusion of himself makes it seem less like he is pointing the finger at everyone else, and more like a group effort is required to make progress. This makes his argument more appealing, and makes him more successful in accomplishing his purpose. He is able to accurately get his point accross while maintaining a positive tone and minimal blaming. It could be argued that this essay has impacted America's views on racism and helped promote the end to racial discrimination.
Lynching of Zach Taylor, 1911
source: https://stumblingintheshadowsofgiants.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/zack-walker-coatsville-lynching.jpg
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