William Apess' "An Indian's Looking Glass for the White Man" is a work written to defend the Native Americans against discrimination by white people. Apess uses a combination of logical and religious reasoning to appeal to his readers. Most of the logical reasons he states involve exposing the white man's hypocrisy and evil, such as when he mentions asks if "different skins were put together, and each skin had its national crimes written upon it—which skin do you think would have the greatest?"By asking this, Apess is bringing attention to the fact that not only do white people have an inordinately
high number of crimes commited by their race, but also the fact that the Native Americans have an inordinately
low number. Apess' religious reasoning consisted of him referencing Bible verses in which the equality of all people is mentioned and also logically defending the status of other races using religious logic. He states that if other races besides white are disgraceful to God, then "it appears that he has disgraced himself a great deal—for he has made fifteen colored people to one white and placed them here upon this earth."
Occom's work is a stark contrast of Apess' work. Occom seems to make no attempt to defend his people or bring attention to the evils of the white man. His aptly named autobiography seems to simply detail some key events of his life. Of course, the entirely thing is absolutely inundated in religion and religious exclamation. The only way this work seems to try to appeal to people to look at Native Americans in a new light is through pity, in such lines as "I believe it is because I am a poor Indian... [that] I Can’t help that God has made me So."
--Wald der Eins
Apess becomes a prominent leader in the fight to secure rights for Indians. Occom tried to help establish a school for Indians, but Wheelock stole the money that Occom raised during his trip to England. Occom's viewpoint was limited a bit more than that of Apess. I think that it is necessary to remember that the Indians described by Apess were hurt by all of the things that he mentions as well as rampant disease. The number of Indians killed by various epidemics, according to research cited in 1491, has historically been vastly underestimated; he says that it might have been as high as 85 to 90 percent who died. In other words, whites had been victorious for various reasons, and some in their number took as much advantage as they could manage. Remember, too, that wars had been prosecuted among the Indian tribes, some of which were terrible, before the arrival of the whites.
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