The plain style in early anti-slavery discourse: Reassessing the rhetorical beginnings of Quaker and Puritan advocacy

The two earliest public protests against slavery in British North America—the Germantown Quakers’ petition and Samuel Sewall’s The Selling of Joseph—are primarily discussed as rhetorical failures and have been largely reduced to entries on an anti-slavery timeline. The texts are further diminished for their lack of intensity compared with later abolitionist discourses. This essay reassesses these germinal protests as dynamic texts that engage and challenge two distinct conceptualizations of the plain style. In so doing, the texts and the plain style are both given renewed significance in the rhetorical history of the anti-slavery movement.     

The Role of God in the Eyes of Early Puritans

In Christianity,God is always a significant role no matter in the physical or mental world.As for early Puritans,who proclaimed to purify God’s doctrine and lead an economical life,had an even stronger belief in God.When they began to set a colony in New England,they faced extremely tough challenges both from the native Indians and natural environment.During such a procedure,their reliance on God was clearly witnessed.Mary Rowlandson is an early colonist of New England,who was captured by native Indians and was finally redeemed.Basing on a close discussion of the narrative of her captivity and restoration,the paper would explore the importance of God in the eyes of early Puritans.     

论清教徒文化对美利坚民族性格的塑造

源于《圣经》的清教文化塑造了美利坚民族的务实创新和霸权性格,对美国的成长和发展起到了深刻而久远的影响.文章跟踪清教徒的足迹,从三个方面论述了清教文化对美利坚民族性格的塑造.