The Life of William Apess, Pequot
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
The Pequot Indian intellectual, author, and itinerant preacher William Apess (1798–1839) was one the most important voices of the nineteenth century. Here, Philip F. Gura offers the first book-length chronicle of Apess's fascinating and consequential life. After an impoverished childhood marked by abuse, Apess soldiered with American troops during the War of 1812, converted to Methodism, and rose to fame as a lecturer who lifted a powerful voice of protest against the plight of Native Americans in New England and beyond. His 1829 autobiography, A Son of the Forest, stands as the first published by a Native American writer. Placing Apess's activism on behalf of Native American people in the context of the era's rising tide of abolitionism, Gura argues that this founding figure of Native intellectual history deserves greater recognition in the pantheon of antebellum reformers. Following Apess from his early life through the development of his political radicalism to his tragic early death and enduring legacy, this much-needed biography showcases the accomplishments of an extraordinary Native American.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The 1836 delivery of the "Eulogy on King Philip" a resounding indictment of young America's prejudice toward Native Americans as well as a memorial that elevated the reputation of New England Wampanoag leader, King Philip, to the ranks of the early republic's patriots brought Apess to the attention of contemporary students of American literature. In his engaging, insightful, and thoroughly detailed biography, Gura (Truth's Ragged Edge), a dean of early American literature, brings Apess more fully to life. Born in 1798 on the Connecticut frontier, young Apess endured hunger, went about clothed in rags, and often had no cover at night against the harsh weather. Apess had a tumultuous childhood with several adopted families and struggled with alcoholism, but he converted to Methodism and began an itinerant ministry after serving as a soldier in the War of 1812. Gura nimbly chronicles Apess's development as a writer, (his A Son of the Forest in 1829 was the first autobiography published by a Native American author), his growth and struggles as a frontier minister, and his leadership in the Mashpee Revolt, in which he advocated the equality of Native Americans and whites. Gura's storytelling draws us naturally into this fascinating life of a man who strove to claim a place for himself and his people in this new nation. Illus.
