Letter 2: [PRAYERS AT THE CONGRESS]

John Adams to Abigail Adams

Letter 2

[PRAYERS AT THE CONGRESS]

         In this letter, Mr. Cushing, a delegate, proposed that the congress should commence with a prayer. Nevertheless, various delegates disapproved the suggestion due to the religious differences within the congressmen. The idea was finally approved and Mr. Duchè was allotted to read the prayers and the 35^th Psalm. The prayers caused inspiration and amusement in John and, at the same time, they were apt for the situation, given that Boston had been bombarded the previous day. At the end of the letter, John encourages Abigail to read the prayers with her friends and family and in addition, he expresses his profound admiration towards Mr. Duchè, one of the greatest and fervent orators in the Episcopal order.

Persuasion

“I must beg you to read that psalm. If there was any Faith in the sortes Virgilianæ, or sortes Homericæ, or especially the Sortes biblicæ, it would be thought providential” (John Adams 678).

   The previous excerpt portrays persuasion. John Adams is begging Abigail to read the Psalm, which indicates he is trying to encourage her. Moreover, he even uses an affiliation (using the sortes Virgilianæ) in order to induce and urge his wife to read the Psalm. This quote is significant to the letter overall because it expresses John Adams’ doggedness. John Adams wanted his wife to read the letter, and therefore was persistent. This gives the reader an idea of the magnitude of importance the Psalm had in John’s life.

Appeal to Reason

“It was opposed by Mr. Jay of N York  and Mr. Rutledge of south Carolina, because we were so divided into religious Sentiments, some Episcopalians, some Quakers, some Anabaptists, some Presbyterians, and some Congregationalists so that we could not join in the same act of Worship” (John Adams 677).

   The former quote expresses appeal to reason. John Adams is justifying why the congress could not start with a prayer. He is stating, with shrewdness, the valid reasons of the disapproval of the congress (the congressmen have diverse faiths). This quote is important to the overall of the letter because it manifests the motives of the rejection from the congress towards the proposition. This passage conveys the whole intention of the congress.

Works Cited

Adams, John and Mary. Letters. English class packet.

http://www.tfaoi.com/am/14am/14am195.jpg