]> <hi rend="bold">"On Capital Punishment," Composition of John H. Bryan, May 17, 1843:</hi> Electronic Edition. Bryan, John Heritage, 1825-1891 Erika Lindemann Funding from the State Library of North Carolina supported the electronic publication of this title. Text transcribed by Erika Lindemann Images scanned by Mara E. Dabrishus Text encoded by Risa Mulligan First Edition, 2005 ca. 10K The University Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North Carolina 2005

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 <hi rend="italics">True and Candid Compositions: The Lives and Writings of Antebellum Students in North Carolina</hi> written by Lindemann, Erika Senior and Junior Orations, North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill "On Capital Punishment," Composition of John H. Bryan, May 17, 1843 John H. Bryan 3 pages, 3 page images 1843 North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Call number VC378 UO1 (North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

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 Library of Congress Subject Headings Erika's vocab English Education/UNC Curriculum Examples of Student Writing/Compositions, Examples of Social and Moral Issues/Other Social and Moral Issues 2005-05-11, Risa Mulligan finished TEI/XML encoding Document Summary

Bryan's brief essay opposes capital punishment because it makes women and children destitute; on the other hand, it may be conducive to the welfare of humanity.

 "On Capital Punishment," Composition of John H. Bryan, May 17, 18431

"This is your second failure in Composition" Mr. Deems' criticism on my Second Composition.

 Failure Third on Capital Punishment.

The subject of this essay is one which demands the attentive consideration of every enlightened citizen of our free and happy country, for many and various reasons. First: because it involves the destruction of human life, the greatest blessing bestowed on us by our all-wise Creator. Secondly: It deprives many a human creature, already sufficiently destitute, of her only support in this world,or involves numerous young children, too young to work to support themselves, in vile and intolerable disgrace, or casts them to wander through the wild world alone and by paths thick-set with snares and tending downwards to destruction. These weighty arguments, though they be but few, in number, are sufficient to show that the subject is one of deep and abiding interest and that it behooves every man, who has the well-being of humanity at heart, to labor strenuously to overthrow the system, if false and pernicious in its effects and to uphold it if, on due consideration, it shall be found to be conducive to their welfare. With these few desultory remarks I must close for the present my essay on the subject of Capital Punishment

Jno. H. Bryan Wednesday May 17th 1843. Raleigh No Ca.

1. Senior and Junior Orations (1842-46), NCC. The essay is bound in a volume containing 194 compositions written by 132 juniors between 1842 and 1846. The assignment for Spring 1843 required students to address the topic, "Should Capital Punishment be stricken from our penal code?"; thirty-nine students wrote on this topic between April 7 and May 17, 1843, the day John Heritage Bryan attempted the assignment for the third time.