Benjamin Cross Speech

Words: 2684
Pages: 11

Benjamin Cross slams the paper on the table, anger and shame bubbling deep in his stomach. He clenches his fists, making the veins on his muscled arm strain against his tanned skin. The written words of him repeatedly whisper themselves inside Benjamin’s head, each syllable making his rage grow. At the sound of his fit, Benjamin’s wife, Peggy, walks into the dining area. She seems concerned, but not surprised at the sight of her husband scowling at the newspaper. “Husband, I do wonder what has made you so distressed.” Benjamin turns his frown to his wife, but his features soften at the look of her caring gaze. “Samuel, the mudslinging fellow, is yet again attempting to stain my character. He calls me a frowzy and selfish unlicked cub, as …show more content…
His first speech is taking place in Wilmington, North Carolina, where many slaveholders reside, sitting comfortably in their mansions, drinking wine as slaves are working themselves to the bone in the fields for them. Also, despite the hard work of the slaves, who gets the profit? Oh yeah, the fat planters that do nothing but sit on their butts all day. Samuel feels himself getting angry as he rants in his head. He looks at the large plantations, the malnourished and exhausted slaves, contrasting greatly to the crisp and proper home, exuding wealth and pride. His temper arises once again as he thinks of his enemy, the one that not only owns slaves, but also has the audacity to insult him. Of course, it was Samuel who first began the exchange of insults, but he did not expect for Benjamin to return the abuse. Samuel remembers the first time he and Benjamin fought through the press. Samuel, having heard many intriguing, though untrustworthy rumors, implied that his enemy had killed his own father in order to inherit the plantation and wealth. Benjamin had replied through a newspaper of his own, denying the accusations he faced and making some of his own. He wrote mercilessly of the duel Samuel had been in, during the years of the war, when he had nearly killed a fellow American