Putting It All Together Biddy Mason Sparknotes

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Putting It All Together
Biddy Mason

Some main themes in chapter 12 and 13 revolve around new ways of life, ideology, and America’s perpetuating wars. Biddy Mason’s life growing up around these multiple changes in her culture clearly reflect her actions when she is older. Mason worked on a plantation, coerced miscegenation, was heavily exposed to the new Mormon faith, walked across the continent, legally upheld emancipation, and was successful later on in California formerly known as Mexico. Biddy Mason’s successful life was possible because of the world she lived in and the newly added rights to African American women. The Dred Scott case in 1857 opened doors to the abolition of slavery and it led many to change their view on how America treated slaves. Biddy Mason, being born in 1818, was 39 at the time and was just the right age to see this Dred Scott case take place. Mason saw a new social status of African Americans take place before her eyes and took advantage of the situation. Biddy Mason opened the “First African Methodist Episcopal Church”(P.434) in Los Angeles soon …show more content…

Mormonism and its effect on Mason’s life was surprisingly not very influential. In the 1840’s, Mormonism was on its westward journey and eventually landed some followers in California. Being a slave to a Mormon apostle Amasa Mason Lyman and his 8 wives heavily impacted Biddy Mason’s view on religion (P.434). Being constantly around a faith that was fairly new didn’t completely rub off on Biddy, instead she went against the stream and aided the spread of proud African American culture by opening that Methodist church. Since the church, she opened was the first black church, it gave many opportunities for strong black communities that wasn’t restricted by the Mormon faith. Biddy Mason travelling against the stream of the influence of religion got many to follow her through her opening of the

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