EN5
Facsimile
Transcription
labour. Thus far we have been
able to hold that matter in check
in the northern Church mind, by
the independent, & manly & christian
way, in which we have as Southern
churchmen dealt with the question.
But it is in church only. It is a
pent up thing. It is tremendously
pressed from the rear. It feels the
pressure & now & then crys out,
with{underlined} Hopkins article on Bishops{underlined} &
slaves,{underlined} -- upon which I took occasion, by
the way, to give him my mind very
fully,) & it is not in the nature of
things, if everybody else gives way
that it -- the northern church mind -- should stand. It is not
to be supposed if northern churchmen & every body
else gives way, that these states can
continue united. If they separate,
can the dioceses maintain their
union? The thing is impossible.
Impossible, because they of
the north will not desire it,
Notes and Questions
Please sign in to write a note for this page
Lines 11 & 12: It is likely that "Hopkins" refers to John Henry Hopkins, the 8th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. In 1851, Hopkins gave a lecture that was published as a pamphlet titled "Slavery: Its Religious Sanction, its Political Dangers, and the Best Mode of Doing it Away," which "in one form or another, its central content was to be repeated by the Bishop four times in the ensuing thirteen years with ever-increasing reverberations." (Levy, Ronald. "Bishop Hopkins and the Dilemma of Slavery." Pennsylvania State University, 1967, p. 56. journals.psu.edu.)
And according to the Hopkins family papers (Manuscripts Division, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan, found at quod.lib.umich.edu):
Aside from his ecclesiastical duties, he wrote the first book on gothic architecture in the United States (Essays on Gothic Architecture, with Various Plans and Drawings), drafted the plans for the University of the South, composed music, was a skilled engraver and artist, and wrote several dozen theological works.In 1861, he wrote his most controversial pamphlet, The Bible View of Slavery, in which he criticized abolitionists and declared that no scriptural basis for ending slavery existed. He came under fire in the North during the Civil War, but had a key role in uniting the northern and southern Episcopalians after hostilities ended.He died in 1868.