Abrahams cussing

[Rob Wick]

I can no more send you a sermon from Enoch Conger (or any other preacher) on a specific profanity anymore than I could send you a sermon on black haired prostitutes vs. red-headed ones or madeira vs. moonshine. Your first post referred to the two words discussed in the movie but your subsequent posts referred to profanity in general. Your point that F*** and S*** were not used in the 19th century in any large amount remains questionable. There is no way to prove it. However, by looking at 19th century sermons, especially during revivals, one can see what was on the mind of the clergy, and vulgarity in language was a large part of it as was sexual immorality. Indeed, guards had to be posted at some revivals to keep men and women from going off into the woods (and they weren't going to pick berries). Some preachers believed that given the emotionalism rampant in revivals that men and women shouldn't worship together lest they become too excited.

Whether they were using a specific word misses the larger point, which from the outset is that today we seem to look at times past with the idea that we have somehow devolved where morals are concerned, and I think that's wrong. The only difference between 19th century American society and society today is that words and actions are more visible today due to a media which has let those words which have always existed (and were always used) enter into the national conversation.

I don't think anyone in the movie ever said Lincoln used the word F***, but he most certainly did tell the Ethan Allen story, and he most certainly did use the word S***.

Best
Rob