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Whats Behind Rev Henry Ward Beecher?

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Plymouth Church was found in 1847 by 21 New Englanders who wanted a Congregational church that had a simple order of worship, governed by the congregation. With this Purpose they named Henry Ward Beecher the first pastor of this church. Throughout time, Henry Ward Beecher was seen as a great abolitionist who would do anything to help slaves, but also as the pastor who was involved in a sex scandal. This scandal followed him all through his life making him a man of great controversy. Although, this problem got him unnecessary problems it didn’t stop him from achieving great things as a pastor. Now Plymouth Church has been designated as a historical landmark since 1961 for the impact it had towards the abolitionist movement thanks to him.

Rev Henry Ward Beecher is honored in Plymouth Church until this day. Besides being the first pastor of this church he brought the church a lot of popularity from the great things he got to accomplished. According to a book titled A Biography of Rev Henry Ward Beecher it states that Henry Beecher was a congressionalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, Known for his support in the abolition of slavery (Beecher). Therefore, he was asked to be a pastor in Plymouth Church and he accepted stating he will be a pastor of the church mainly so it can help him stop slavery. Beecher preached for thousands of people. After two years of the church just being founded it burned out and a new one was immediately build. Its design was completely different. The church was designed to seat 2,800 people. Many people even compared it as being like a theatre than a church (NYC AGO). This was all fixed so people would be able to hear Beecher preach.  His sermons were categorized by its originality, logic, pathos, and humor (Plymouth Church). Also he never stopped mentioning how Gods love was so important and that God loved with no discrimination of any kind. He even helped many slaves by buying them to set them free from their owners. One of the most famous slaves he bought was a girl named Pinky. Raising $900 the segregation of the church was able to buy Pinky from her owner. She was given a ring that was obtained with her purchased the moment that she was set free to commemorate her freedom. In 1929 she went back to the church to give back the ring and also to express her gratitude towards the church and specially Beecher (Beecher). The church was even part of the Underground Railroad because it was a common place were slaves used to hide in thanks to Beecher. It even became known as “The Grand Central Depot” of the Underground Railroad. Through his sermons he became known all over New York. Even Abraham Lincoln went to listen to him preach.

On the other hand some people didn’t like Henry Ward Beecher because apart from being abolitionist they though he was a “fake”. The reason for this was because of the sex scandal he was involved in. In 1870 Beecher was accused of seducing Elizabeth Tilton. She was the wife of his former friend and protégé a journalist named Theodore Tilton. In that moment Mrs. Tilton was one of the parishioners of Plymouth Church. This caused the scandal to escalate rapidly. Soon after the news was just starting to spread out, a radical feminist, entrepreneur and clairvoyant woman named Victoria Woodhull published the scandal in the national press, causing the story to spread out even quicker (Applegate). Even though Beecher tried to ignore it, it was too late many people demanded to know what was going on. The people that hated him for being abolitionist used the scandal in favor of them to put Beecher’s reputation down. By 1875, Theodore Tilton sued Beecher of “criminal conversation”. As the trial went down Elizabeth Tilton was asked to speak in various occasion, but she contradicted her statement every time. On some statements she stated that Beecher was Guilty, and in others she stated he was innocent. This let the jury to the conclusion that Beecher was innocent due to inconclusive evidence. The jury voted 9 to 3 in favor of Beecher (history engine). Therefore, Beecher was exonerated from the case. This scandal that lasted 2 years caused the separation of Theodore Tilton and Elizabeth Tilton. It also left some people thinking who Beecher really was.

Henry Ward Beecher has been one great abolitionist that did everything that was on his hands to help slaves. But in the other hand, he also has shown himself as pastor that spread Gods love to people, meanwhile committing adultery and braking peoples marriage. Well it is said that Henry Beecher already had a reputation of flirting too much. It was supposedly his “clerical weakness” (Giles).  He was a man that captivated the attention of thousands of people through his sermons. He made woman in Plymouth church fall in love with him causing a lot of problems in his marriage and in the marriage of all the woman who felt for him too. Obviously, this was something his wife was that okay with. She was known to be “famously jealous.” Here he was helping so much people all over the US. Buying slaves so they could have a chance to be free, so why as a man of God was he flirting and destroy marriages? That’s something to think about. What’s interesting is thinking that in either way during that time, he was going against the law with his all his actions. He was hiding slaves in the church’s basement and helping them in any way he was able to when back then it was illegal to do all that. He was also committing adultery with his friend’s wife. This could be taken as Beecher being a man that liked to go for illegal things. But it could also be considered as a mistake that shouldn’t be judged so harshly.  At the end of the day he was a pastor that help slaves gain their freedom through his preaching’s.

In conclusion, Plymouth Church is one of the most historic churches in New York. Its popularity increased since the first day Henry Ward Beecher became the pastor of the church. He may had his flaws but he achieved great things for this society. No one is perfect, but what counts is what you could do to make this world a better place to live on.  I assure you Beecher did his part for humanity. It only take to go inside Plymouth Church to know that.

Citations

  • Beecher, William. A Biography of Rev Henry Ward Beecher. Kessinger, 2007. Print.
  •  United States. NYC Organ Project. Plymouth Church. 2000. Print. <http://www.nycago.org/Organs/Bkln/html/PlymouthChurch.html>.
  • “Henry W.” Plymouth Church. n. page. Print. <http://www.plymouthchurch.org/our_history_henry-wardbeecher.php>.
  • Applegate, Debby. “Henry Ward Beecher.” New York Times 2005, n. pag. Print. <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/henry_ward_beecher/index.html>.
  • “Scandals and Public Discorse.” History Engine n.pag. Web. 1 Dec 2013. <http://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/3953>.
  • Giles, Mathew. “Preacher Beecher, a Sex Crazed Creature.” New York News and Politics 04 01 2012, n. pag. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. <http://nymag.com/news/features/scandals/henry-ward-beecher-2012-4/>.

The Significance Of Plymouth Church

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Plymouth Church was founded in 1847 by 21 New Englanders who wanted a Congregational church that had  a simple order of worship, governed by the congregation. With this Purpose they named Henry Ward Beecher the first pastor of this church. This decision made the church increase its popularity rapidly. This reason is because Henry Ward Beecher stated  from his first sermon he was abolitionist and that he will be the pastor to have a greater possibility to stop slavery. When Plymouth church burned out a new one was rapidly build with a more sophisticated architecture to be able to accommodate Beecher and its people better. Now Plymouth Church has been designated as a historical landmark since 1961 for the impact it had towards the abolitionist movement, and there are around 4,000 adults and schoolchildren that tour Plymouth Church each year.[1]

In 1847 when the church was founded its Location was in Cranberry Street. It was a normal church that had the same amount of seats a ordinary church has. Beecher as a pastor and abolitionist gave speeches on this church but it didn’t have enough space for people to come listen to him preach. Two Years from its foundation the church burned. Even though the fire wasn’t that bad they decided to change its location and to rebuilt it so people were able to still listen to Beecher preach.

The location was moved to Orange Street. It was Designed by architect J.C Wells a founder of the American Institute Of Architects. The Church was Designed to seat 2,800 people. Therefore, it was made so people were able to listen to Rev Beecher preach. Its architecture was unique it looked more like a theatre or a huge auditorium than a church.[2]

 

[1] http://www.plymouthchurch.org/our_history.php

[2] http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/04/01/a_building_with_a_mission_brooklyns_plymouth_church.php

Brainstorming Poject 4

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For project four am decided to write about Plymouth Church because since I did my informative speech on it I’ve already done research about it and it really intrigues me to know more about this church and its history. Is fascinating that this place is so near from City Tech and that through out history it has had a great affect on slavery. Even President Lincoln has visited the church. On project four I mainly would be writing about the change the church had when the place burned out years ago and how they rebuild it according to Beechers desire. They accommodated the seats in a way that all the people would fit in the church to listen to Beecher preach.

Reading Lucy by Jennifer Egan

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Jennifer Egan’s essay, “Reading Lucy” from the collection Brooklyn Was Mine conveys Egan’s relationship to Lucy Kolkin and how it develops throughout letters written by Lucy to her husband. At the begging of the essay Egan talks about two month friendship she had with Lucy Kolkin until Lucy decided to move to California. Later on in the essay we understand that by that she meant that she spent two months reading Lucys letters to her husband that joined the navy on 1944. This relationship developed because Egan was doing research on a novel  she was writing about which was about a woman who worked in Navy Yard during World War II and she came up with Lucy who also worked at the navy yard for almost two years. To help her research  she decided to read the lecture notes lucy had when she took shipfitting school. While she examine the notes she noticed lucy did to-do lists just the way she did so it intrigued her to know more about this woman. Therefore, she decided to go to BHS to read the letters BHS had archived from her when she used to write to her husband. Jennifer Egan spend 2 months reading this letters and she got so into lucys life that she felt she was there a with lucy back in 1944.  Even if she didn’t get the chance to meet Lucy it was like if she already knew her by the emotion lucy put in those letters to her husband. At the beginning when she said she got to know lucy until she moved to California she meant that that was the last time she got to read lucys letters because lucy went to live to California to be with her husband, so obviously the letters stop at that point. Egan learned Lucy did have kids and grandchildren but that sadly she died. After that Egan decided to read some letters that Alfred Kolkin send to Lucy and she was happy and satisfied knowing that Alfred had the same amazing personality Lucy had.

“Reading Lucy” by Jennifer Egan

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Jennifer Egan’s essay, “Reading Lucy” from the collection Brooklyn Was Mine conveys Egan’s relationship to Lucy Kolkin and how it develops throughout letters written by Lucy to her husband Alfred Kolkin. At the begging of the essay Egan talks about two month friendship she had with Lucy Kolking until Lucy decided to move to California. Later on in the essay we understand that by that she meant that she spent two months reading Lucys letters to her husband that joined the navy on 1944. This relationship developed because Egan was doing research on a novel  she was writing about which was about a woman who worked in Navy Yard during World War II and she came up with Lucy who also worked at the navy yard for almost two years. To help her research  she decided to read the lecture notes lucy had when she took shipfitting school. While she examine the notes she noticed lucy did to-do lists just the way she did so it intrigued her to know more about this woman. Therefore, she decided to go to BHS to read the letters BHS had archived from her when she used to write to her husband. Jennifer Egan spend 2 months reading this letters and she got so into lucys life that she felt she was there a with lucy back in 1944.  Even if she didn’t get the chance to meet Lucy it was like if she already knew her by the emotion lucy put in those letters to her husband. At the beginning when she said she got to know lucy until she moved to California she meant that that was the last time she got to read lucys letters because lucy went to live to California to be with her husband, so obviously the letters stop at that point.

Fulton Ferry Landing

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There are many beautiful places in New York City. When we mention New York City the first thought people have is Manhattan. You should know that aside from the City, New York City has a lot of interesting things and places in all 5 boroughs. One of the most interesting boroughs is Brooklyn. Brooklyn is filled with a lot of historic places. One of them is Fulton Ferry Landing.  This was one of the first ferry services between Brooklyn and Manhattan in 1642. The restore pier was re-opened in 1997, This Ferry Landing offering visitors spectacular views of the harbor, Brooklyn Bridge and the Lower Manhattan skyline[1].

As I was walking around the neighborhood of City Tech I came up with this beautiful place where I was able to watch the Brooklyn Bridge and also a splendid view into Manhattan. To get to this place was very simple. When getting out of the main entrance of the Namm Building turn left and go straight staying in Jay Street. Then you make a left going to Prospect Street. Lastly turn right to Cadman Plaza. From there you keep on walking straight and you get to Fulton Ferry Landing. This place is very comfortable because you can just sit there and explore everything that is around you there are little chairs for you to make your experience even more amazing because you can just sit there and observe.

When I got to my point it was impressive how beautiful the view was. You can see all of Manhattan even the Statue of Liberty. The buildings were huge! The image I got to capture is good but you can capture the juxtaposition.  To admire its location you got to capture a larger image like I did. For example, by taking the picture in this point of view you are able to appreciate the contrast it has, You are able to see the left side of the Brooklyn bridge that there are a variety of unique buildings with a impressive architecture and in its right side of the bridge there’s buildings that look all the same and aren’t as big as the ones you see in the right left side. As you can see they also look old compared to the other buildings that are in the left side of the

bridge. Thus, in this case I think it did capture its juxtaposition even though it would be better to see this location in person to understand and see its juxtaposition more clearly.

I decided to pick the Fulton Ferry Landing as my topic because I find it fascinating how a place that was so important in history is still with us today. When I see this place I instantly imagine thousands of people traveling from Manhattan to Brooklyn or vice verse through this ferry landing to go to a important event in history.

“One day the city we built will be gone, and when it goes, we go.” This quote is from “City Limits”[2]. Through out this project we are learning about new places that exist in New York. there’s going to be a time were this places are going to change to new places that would be way different than what we saw the first time we looked at it and that’s when the place we knew will be gone. That’s why we should appreciate when the place we picked is still here because when is gone it would be like if a part of our life was erased.

“You start building your New York, once you lay eyes on it”[3]. This quote is also from “City Limits” it relates to my writing because I think that when I first saw Fulton Ferry Landing that was the starting point of my interest towards Fulton Ferry. Now I know this place and it became part of my life because is a memory of something new to me. Thus, the moment I first saw this place is going to stay in my memory regardless of any changes it makes in the future.

As a next step I would like to know more about the Ferry Landings history. For example, how many people were allowed to go on each ferry. Also if there was any discrimination on who was able to ride on the ferries. There’s so much that I would like to know about my location and is surroundings that am going to continue doing research about this to have more knowledge about the place I picked and become more fascinated with the things I find out that make this place even more special.

There are many historic places all over New York City. I never would have thought that Brooklyn would have as many historic places as I came to know now by enrolling to City Tech. Maybe because only few people have the time to really get know Brooklyn and explore its wonders. Thus, personally I am pretty impressed with the beauties the borough of Brooklyn has to share, especially Fulton Ferry Landing. This project helped me appreciate and examine thoroughly the history of the Fulton Ferry Landing. Therefore, now every time I visit this place am going to enjoy being there more than before because now I know perfectly were I am standing which brings me a whole lot of comfort and  happiness to my system.

Citations

[1] Granger, Russel. “Fulton Landing, 1850s.” White Mans Brooklyn . 2010 n. page. Web. 15 Oct. 2013. <http://www.whitmans-brooklyn.org/2008/06/fulton-landing-1855/>.

[2] Whitehead, Colson. “City Limits.” The Colossus of New York: A City in Thirteen Parts. New York: Random House, 2004. 1-12.

[3]  Whitehead, Colson. “City Limits.” The Colossus of New York: A City in Thirteen Parts. New York: Random House, 2004. 1-12.

BHS Summary

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On monday our class went to the Brooklyn Historical Society. We took a walk around the area of City Tech and then ended up in the Brooklyn Historical Society. I really enjoyed the walk because i am not familiar with the area. We first stopped by a post office which was once the Brooklyn Theater but was destroyed in a horrible fire that killed many people in 1876. We then went to Columbus Park where we saw the statue of Henry Ward Beecher who was a well known pastor and abolitionist who freed a slave named Pinky. Across the park we saw the Borough Hall building which was once the Brooklyn City Hall. Afterwards we walked to a location where we saw a great view of the Brooklyn Bridge and city, which was my favorite part. At last we went to the Brooklyn Historical Society and learned the history of the building. We also heard more about the story of Pinky who was a slave. This trip was a good experience for me since i got to learn more about the area and history.

Project #2

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Brooklyn Borough Hall

 

Brooklyn Borough Hall

For project #2 I chose Brooklyn Borough Hall for my location. It is located in front of Columbus Park which is right behind City Tech. By walking up Johnson St and making a left onto Adams St the building and park will both come into view. This building was originally the City Hall of the City of Brooklyn in 1848, before it merged with the City of New York in 1898. I decided to choose this building because it is one of the few historic buildings around the area.The building was completed in 1848 which i could tell by the greek revival architectural style. It does not fit in with the many modern ones surrounding it. Also, the building went from being “City Hall” to now “Borough hall”. This was an important building for Brooklyn city government which has now been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

I can relate to the quote from “City Limits” by Colson Whiteman from The Colossus of New York ” You start building your private New York the first time you lay eyes on it.” By walking past this building everyday it has become part of my own New York.

“Never listen to what people tell you about the old New York, because if you didn’t witness it, it is not part of your New York and might as well be Jersey.” Whiteman is saying that these buildings, restaurants and shops that surround you are part of your New York because you witnessed them, anything that was there before is not. This Borough hall building is part of my New York now, not the old Brooklyn City Hall building it was considered to be.

Summary of BHS

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On Monday our class went to a small field trip to  know and learn of  many places including the BHS. While we walked we came upon a really big court house. Prof. Rosen explained to us that that court house was once a big movie theatre but sadly it burned out. We learned that there were only 2 main exits thus, the people couldn’t get out on time. There we about 300 bodies found the next day! Then we crossed the street and saw a statue of Henry Ward Beecher. He looked so brave and with his eyes straight forward like if he was someone very important. there were Also kids trying to reach out to him like if he was their only hope. That’s when prof. Rosen explained to use that he was a very important preacher who use to help slaves. He received a lot of hate from people for trying to help slaves but many people use to cross on boats from Manhattan to Brooklyn just to listen to him. We also saw one of the church that he used to preach at. We also walked up to the edge of Brooklyn were we observed from across all of Manhattan. We was even able to see the Statue of Liberty. Lastly, we visited the BHS. it was very pretty and historic. There were heads of very important people surrounding the building. When we went to their library it was quite unique. Gladly I got to see these things in person not only through pictures. Its always better to see things in person that can see many more details that in a picture is not visible.

Cumulative Summary For “City Limits”

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In the essay “City Limits” taken from The Colossus of New York by Colson Whitehead, Colson expresses his idea of New York City through out his writing. Starting by the first paragraph he tells us that he was born in NYC therefore, he was ruined for anywhere else. By This he means  that like his born in NYC it already ruined the chance of him  liking any other place. For him the city is that  great that he knows for a fact theres no other place like his.

He also says New York is always changing into new things and new places but whats important  to you is how NYC is at the moment you first lay your eyes on it. That’s why you shouldn’t believe what no one tells you about the history of new York because they just telling you was THEIR New York City like not what your is. We see things as they were in our experience while others see it as they remember from their experience. His love for New York makes him see his version of New York Even though NYC is always changing it would stay the same way to you but as new people come to NYC the new places would be  their different NYC. Colson Whitehead expresses his sorrow by telling us that when places change unexpectedly you don’t get to say goodbye to them because you don’t really know when is your last time sitting on that place. That’s why is very important to remember this places before they’re gone because they are   very   important to you and is part of what makes YOUR NYC so special.