David Stephens

William Apess was born in 1798 in the small town of Colrain, Massachusetts where his people, the Pequots, mostly resided on two small reservations. Not long into his young life his parents moved to Connecticut and entrusted him to his alcoholic grandparents who would beat him severely and even sell him off as an indentured laborer at the age of five.  He would eventually run from the house of his master and participate in the war of 1812, during this time he took up drinking as well, a habit that would eventually lead to his death. 

One way to look at Apess “An Indian’s Looking Glass For The White Man” is as a lens to which a Native American would look at the white man’s hypocrisy but Apess is using the looking glass more as the actual definition, a mirror where the white man can look and see his own hypocrisy for himself. Apess uses bible passages and historical evidence to support his claims. He also questions the purpose of missionary work due to the fact that they would largely still consider the ones that were converted to be inferior. 

Apess goes on to speak to the possibility that Jesus was born in a part of the world where he was likely an individual of color rather than white and that for a person of God to discriminate a person of color is hypocritical as he believed that Jesus was also a person of color. His belief is that surely the white man wouldn’t berate and disown Jesus regardless of color so why should one do the same to any other person, especially one that shares their belief in Jesus.