Apess/Emerson

After reading Apess's "An Indian's Looking-Glass for the White Man", I really understood many of the points Apess made. Basically, the main point he was maintaining in my mind was that "All men are created equal." He brought up really great points about how if someone did something noble, is it not as noble in God's opinion if it's not done by a white man? He refers to God and Jesus a lot, in which he describes actions that both white men and everyone else are capable of, and then displays how they are no different in the minds of God and Jesus Christ whether you are white, black, etc. Why, Apess asks, must prejudice and oppression, especially to Native Americans, exist when everyone knows it's not right yet it keeps going on? I found Emerson's speech to be a lot harder to grasp. In his speech, he too describes what it is to be man. While Apess writes about how all men were created equal, thus should be treated equally, Emerson narrows down mankind into one who is "Man Thinking". "Man Thinking" isn't just a human being, but one that can perform and make the world a better, more efficient place. Just "Man" is the man on the farm, yet "Man Thinking" is the man who is utilizing the farm, and using it for the better of society. "Man Thinking" is what separates humans from all other beings. The ability to utilize yourself and become productive by using thought and logic creates a whole new type of being, different than the one who was born without any real experience in the world. We turn into "Man Thinking" throughout our lives, so what I feel that Emerson is getting at is that though we are all created equal, some utilize their abilities to think and make logic of things more often and better than others, creating inequality. He describes the "American Scholar" as a person that can do this, and a person who other people stive to be, some being more successful than others. That is the main difference I found between Apess's writing and Emerson's speech.