Jacob rose early on a summer morning. For over a month he preached, he published, and he prepared for his long journey west. Enthusiastic supporters had sent him money, supplies, and guns. One had even given him a strong stallion to speed him on his way. Now his bags were packed, his horse was saddled and only one last thing remained. The time had come for Jacob to say goodbye and to leave his father’s house never to return. Jacob prayed a good long while beforehand, as he knew the hardest part of his journey would come at the beginning.
Predictably enough the Reverend Doctor Esau Channing was scribbling away in his study. Although morning had broken but a short time ago, it was obvious from the length of his lecture notes that Esau had been working for quite some time. When Jacob walked in and saw him, he wondered if his father had even slept at all. Bracing himself for the coming storm, Jacob said his goodbye. “The time has come father. I am leaving you now.”
Annoyed at the intrusion, Esau snapped at his son. “Your interruptions never did come at a convenient time. I would think that at some point in the last quarter of a century you would have realized that my work is too important to be stopped in mid-stream.”
Now it was Jacob’s turn to bear fangs. “Is it so important that it permits you to act as if you have no family? Is it so important that you neglected to raise your own son? Is it so important that you ignored my poor mother until she wilted away like a flower in need of sunshine?”
18Finally, Esau ceased his scribbling and looked over at his son. “You forget yourself Jacob. You may be a man now, but you are still my son. It is written that one should honor their father and their mother.”
Jacob waited not a moment before returning fire. “Does the son of a slave driver honor his father by blind obedience? Does he honor his father by neglecting his duty to speak out against the evil that dwells within his own house?”
Esau rose and crossed his arms defensively. “I am not a slave driver”Jacob would not yield. “Perhaps not, but you are not a father either. I learned the ways of manhood by myself. And so I now journey forth by myself.”
Esau looked down for a moment before continuing. “You intend to go through with this foolishness then?”
Jacob stood like a stone wall. “Yes, I fully intend to seek my destiny in the west. I am a man now, and I am going my own way.”
Esau shook his head and turned his back on his son. “So be it. Go out into the wilderness and starve alone. You never did have a thought in your head, and you will be dead by winter’s end.”
Jacob refused to be baited. “You say that your work is important. Well, my work is important as well. You have laid the intellectual groundwork for the abolition of slavery, and I have always admired you for it. But someone must put theory into practice, and it would seem that task has fallen to me. I know not why the good Lord set this path in front of me, I only pray for the courage to walk it without hesitation. Did not grandfather own slaves in your old house in Providence? Is it not also written that the sins of the father may be visited upon the sons, even unto the fifth an sixth generations? If you will not atone for the grievous sin that is upon our family’s head, then by my deeds I shall work for our repentance. I am going to Kansas and I am going to claim it as free soil. I will erase the dark blot of slavery from this family, and from this nation if I am able. So help me God.”
Esau found that he had no reply to his son’s tirade. He had been beaten, and he knew it. Jacob pulled a book from the bag by his side and continued. “You never did let me take a book from this study, so instead I shall bring one into it. You should read it father, it just might change your mind about a few things.”
Jacob placed a copy of Uncle Tom’s Cabin on top of Esau’s pile of notes. His father pushed it to the farthest corner of his desk. Jacob shook his head. “You never did listen to me father. Goodbye, and take care of yourself. It would seem that is what you are best at.”
Jacob turned on his heel and walked out of the study. He walked out of his father’s house and over to his horse. He tied down the last of his luggage and made a few last minute adjustments. Jacob climbed into his saddle and rode off on his journey with the wind in his face and the rising sun at his back.
