John Henry Hopkins and Slavery
Early America was built on the back of slaves. Slavery was viewed by some in the church as something that was part of the divine plan. One of the most notable church leaders that supported slavery was John Henry Hopkins. He would often quote passages in the bible to support his ideology on slavery. “In his writings, Hopkins noted that slavery is mentioned in numerous stories in the Bible as part of the daily life of the time and place described. These biblical stories, together with the absence of explicit condemnation of slavery in both the Old and New Testaments, Hopkins contended, suggested a scriptural sanction for slavery, and the exhortations of Paul and Peter for slaves to obey their masters removed any doubt.” 1 He often preached in support of slavery in a way that has always been and always should be. His most important writing was a pamphlet called The Bible View of Slavery published in 1863. In this text, he discusses how the ideology of slavery was written into the bible a...