John Brown: An Evil Sin Against God

“Every villain is a hero in his own mind,” quoted Tom Hiddleston, an English actor best known for playing Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From this quote it is understood that every person perceives “right” and “wrong” differently and will act according to their perception. People consider a person as either a hero or villain by looking at their actions. John Brown, was a white American abolitionist who believed that armed rebellion was the only way to overthrow slavery in the United States. With the evidence provided with different resources, such as the article John Brown: Villain or Hero? by Steven Mintz, it can be seen that John Brown is a villain.

Referred to as a “antislavery zealot” by some and as a “heroic hand” by others, John Brown was certainly one who stained history with blood. John Brown’s conduction of anti-slavery raids to fight “fire with fire”, triggered by his radical ways to fight the tyranny that was slavery,Brown impacted the whole country. During this time most anti-slavery supporters were peaceful and only tried to fight slavery “morally”, however John Brown lead many anti slavery raids his most famous and the one which he would have to pay with his life being, the Harpers Ferry Raid. The seizing of federal armory and arsenal with a group of men with just a mere hope of the local slave population helping him in order to reach success and create a nation wide effect failed miserably when the slavery population frightened did not join his raid. Captured, John Brown delivered one of the most enticing and alluring speech during his trial, his last speech, his address to the court in which he admits his actions in his “crusade” to fight slavery as well as patronizingly accepts his punishment without regret or remorse. In his speech he address one objection, being that if he was fighting on behalf of the rich, high class and those who supported and benefited from the tyrant slavery system,he would have been rewarded and praised instead of punished, proving that once again the tyrant, oppresing, racist and discriminating federal government was being run by bias men who aimed to keep the inhuman hierarchy

John Brown was very similar to Nat Turner they both believed that they were chosen by god to lead slaves into freedom and if that required a fight then that was what they had to do. John Brown had a goal and that was to abolish slavery throughout the united states. The trouble in Kansas began when the Nebraska Act was signed by President Pierce, this act engaged that people make a determination on whether Kansas territory should be free or slave. In hopes that Kansas would become free of slaves, the opposing side which was named Border Ruffians invaded their territory and forced the pro-slavery election. After John heard about the fear of Kansas becoming a slave state and after also hearing that the Border Ruffians ransacked the town of Lawrence

Throughout history John Brown has been described as a terrorist, mentally ill, and a failure among other things. Because he stood strongly for what he believed in, and his goal was eventually achieved he can be seen for the most part as a hero. Brown was described as “an American who gave his life that millions of other Americans be free” (Chowder,6). Brown was a headstrong abolitionist who claimed that he was told by God to end slavery causing him to see himself as “a latter-day Moses” (Chowder, 6). With this, he stopped at nothing to fulfill these expectations. Brown’s heroism is displayed through how he was recounted by others during and after his lifetime, the actions though drastic he took when fighting for what he believed in, and

John Brown was a misguided fanatic. He was admired by many abolitionists for standing up for the rights. However, was seen outrageous in the eyes of many Southerners. He has went far beyond outrageous and carried out a killing spree in order to prove slavery was wrong. He had a plan, however stirred in a lot of problems along with it gained him the name a “misguided fanatic”.

Brown's attack on Harper's Ferry affected American culture more than can ever be understood. Tension between the North and South was building in the 1850's. Slavery among many other things was dividing the country into two sections. Brown was executed on December 2, 1859 for his murderous out-lash on society. Was his mind so twisted and demented that he would commit cold-blooded murder? The answer is no. John Brown was a man with a goal and a purpose. When he said that abolition could not be achieved without blood he was right. It is one of histories great ironies; John Brown's struggle preceded the Civil War by only 17 months. Thousands of people were killed in the Civil War, yet John Brown

To many in the anti-slavery and abolitionist North, John Brown was seen as a driving force and as a martyr because of the fact that he was not afraid to die for his beliefs and what he believed

Thesis: John Brown was a man full of honor and passion when it came to the abolishment of slavery. Not only that, but he was a man who believed that his actions were justified by his beliefs and social standpoint. Even though, he was a strong willed man; capable of standing up for his philosophies on life, he was a man who acted upon his emotions, and killed, interrogated, and terrorized towns and people. Your beliefs and morality do not justify the amount of terror that you cause, and it does not justify the amount of blood you spill; John Brown was a terrorist.

John Brown’s beliefs about slavery and activities to destroy it hardly represented the mainstream of northern society in the years leading up to the Civil War. This rather unique man, however, has become central to an understanding and in some cases misunderstandings about the origins of the Civil War. The importance of Brown’s mission against slavery was colossal to accelerating the civil war between the North and the South. His raid on Harpers Ferry in1859 divided the United States like nothing else before, and could have been the main event leading to the Civil War.

John Brown came from a line of men who were passionate about their convictions. In 1620, Peter Brown, a passenger aboard the Mayflower and signer of the Mayflower Compact, began the Brown legacy in America (Weiser). John Brown’s grandfather, his namesake, was a captain in the Revolutionary War when he lost his life to dysentery while fighting for his beliefs in 1776. He left behind his wife and ten children, including his five year old son, Owen Brown.

John Brown was both, a hero and a terrorist. While he did manage to kill a lot of people he did have good intentions for it. John Brown, who is a leading abolitionist, did have the hope of helping to end slavery. He somehow managed to kill just a few people. Everyone messes up every once in a while, right?

In our class debate about John Brown, many interesting points and arguments were made. Personally, I was in group C, a group that claims John Brown is a violent abolitionist and did very little for abolitionism. While I do not agree with the views of the other groups, I respect the arguments that they shared with the class. In group A, an argument was made saying that John Brown is a hero and is a competent man. They supported this argument with several evidences, such as the freeing of many slaves from the Christmas Raid and the saving of the free-soilers in the Bleeding-Kansas. Group A also touched onto the fact that John Brown was a religious man who rejected the idea of slavery and had spent his life contributing to the cause of emancipation.

John Brown was an abolitionist during the 1850s who gave his life, and two of his sons, in the name of freeing the slaves. He believed that the abolitionist movement during his time was not being proactive enough to make any noticeable progress in freeing the slaves and decided that an armed uprising was the only way to make progress. Brown planned on raiding an armory and arming the slaves so that they could lead an insurrection against their masters. However, the attack failed, most of his men were killed, and he was captured and executed for murder and trying to lead a slave uprising. Though John Brown was seen as a hero to slaves and radical abolitionists, he was sometimes seen as too radical by northerners, and was seen as a terrorist by southerners.

The positive actions of john brown, and the impacts he had on other abolitionists throughout the United States. John Brown is a well-known abolitionist known for leading a charge against Harpers Ferry later coming up short in failure. Many believe that he had the intention of arming slaves to help aid their escape. Many people today view him as the first American terrorist and some view him as a martyr as. I disagree with him being a terrorist because he was a man who fought for his beliefs and what he thought was right.

His views on cruelly ending slaving with violence and bloodshed only prove is madness. “Several of his colleagues also petitioned that the courts should look at Brown’s questionable mental state when it came to his actions.” With all the “violence” John Brown tried to create with his radical actions to end slavery, his actions did very little to end slavery. On the contrary, slave owners in the south treated slaves more barbaric because they started to feel threatened as his actions. Many thought his rebellion was going to succeed so many treated the slaves as the target. Many believe that his actions help stir up the civil war. In conclusion, John Brown tried to terminate slavery in savage ways many times and each time revealed his level of