Was John Brown A Hero

“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.

In the mid-1800s, America was truly divided over the crucial matter of slavery-Northerners desired the abolishment of slavery, while southerners demanded the continuation of slavery. John Brown was a Northerner who resorted to the usage of violence to fight against slavery. Some people may believe that John Brown was an extreme radical. But on the other hand, he may be seen as an American hero, fighting for the abolitionism movement.. An American hero is a person who goes out of his or her way to make progress in America, rather it be socially, economically, politically, or in a way where it makes the country a morally better or more prosperous country. And John Brown was one of the many heroes of America.

Slavery was abolished after the Civil War, but the Negro race still was not accepted as equals into American society. To attain a better understanding of the events and struggles faced during this period, one must take a look at its' literature. James Weldon Johnson does an excellent job of vividly depicting an accurate portrait of the adversities faced before the Civil Rights Movement by the black community in his novel “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man.” One does not only read this book, but instead one takes a journey alongside a burdened mulatto man as he struggles to claim one race as his own.

By supporting the Revolutionaries actions to break free from British Rule, Douglass alluded to the similar fight that the American population faced to attain the same liberty that white citizens had. With the same courage the Founding Fathers had to create a free country, the American generation of 1852 faced a similar test to uphold the values of the Declaration of Independence, and liberate American slaves.7 After applauding the Founding Fathers, Douglass acknowledges that the emphasis of his speech is not to give praise, but to call on America to act on it’s own failures and begin to faithfully fulfill the nations oath.8 He asks his audience, “Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us [African Americans]?”9 This rhetorical question Douglass presents, challenges America to reevaluate what they are truly celebrating on the Fourth of July, for it is surely not the freedom in which they claim to have achieved. Douglass asserts that asking black people to rejoice in the “shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery”10 and do not respect the courage, and steps the Founding Fathers took to create a free, liberated nation.11

to which the president of the United States has signed his name,” (Dudley 181). Just by demanding that all slavery be abolished in certain areas, this considerably changed the ways of the African American people. With this new feeling of freedom, many African Americans began to fight for other rights to accompany this. (Dudley 180-183)

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 cold-blooded killer. Although John was trying to abolish slavery, violence was not the way to go. According to Robert E. Lee according to Robert E. Lee., John killed a lot of men. He killed 10 raiders, and captured 7. Although they were people who were for slavery, she should have never killed them. Martin Luther King didn't like slavery either but he found another way to stop it and that was by his protesting not killing. According to Fredrick Douglas, John's plan to abolish slavery was not that appealing. I don't think John was looking at both sides of things. I think all John was thinking was kill people who are for slavery but he didn't think about he could abolish slavery with his words and not his swords. According to

Textbooks withdraw their heroic sympathy that they give to almost any other historical figure from Brown, presenting him in a different tone; Brown was a devote Christian and instead of credit he receives blame of his devotedness; if they wanted to, they could've divulged into how Brown once was friends with a young black boy which convinced him that blacks aren't inferior, but they don't; textbooks also neglect the story of Brown as a defender, when he defended 35 free-soil men from several hundred pro-slavery men from Missouri; in addition to this, textbooks also tend to handicap his voice as they don't use any of his saying or phrases; Brown's ideas are often ignored as they represent something violent, which deemed him ineligible of sympathy

John Brown in my opinion was a freedom fighter, he worked hard for what he wanted and tried his best to succeed no matter what it took. He did do some things in life that he was not proud of but everyone makes mistakes in life, what he did cannot be replaced because we cannot replace innocent lives that were taken. John Brown as a child was against slavery and everything that involves with slavery. My personal definition of terrorism is a group of people that harm others to get something they want. Therefore I do not believe this is John Brown, here are some reasons why. As I said before as a child John was against slavery, he went through many experiences with slaves that made his think this way. As a child John had to watch a slave get beaten, he did not know what to do or think.

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”.

African Americans have come a very long way from 1865; they have fought many battles to earn their place in America’s Society. From the ending of slavery African Americans have had various achievements from their suffering. Some fought, some spoke, some marched, some sat, some cried, some died, some even dreamed, but all of these things left a footprint in history. In this paper I will discuss some very important events in African American history beginning with the ending of slavery which has brought us to the America we all enjoy today.

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.

Gilbert agreed with labeling John Brown as a terrorist and describes his disgust when Brown is praised for being a martyr. Gilbert argued that Brown had three main beliefs: “Society is sick and cannot be cured by half-measures of reform, the state in itself violent and can be countered and overcome only by violence, and that the truth of terrorist cause justifies any action that supports. While some terrorist recognize no moral law, others have their own “higher” mortality” (232). The same republic that Gilbert is defending, was the same republic that founded a constitution in which every person had a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; The same government that interpreted the bible in a way to make whites superior above all else. This white man who is given the ultimate power by the government is the one who labeled blacks as property, beat them profusely, and stripped away at any possible humanity they were entitled to. They took blacks from their home country, labeled them as inferior and as “subservient knee-benders”. John Brown grew up witnessing these horrid actions and, on without any violence. However, these passive actions were combated with his removal from the church for trying to allowing blacks to sit in his pew in church, Elijah Lovejoy (an antislavery minster and editor), was killed after publishing an article against the lynching of blacks, Senator Charles Sumner, who delivered an antislavery speech on the floor of the United States

John Brown was an African American slave abolitionist who caused much conflict with his radical views to overthrow slavery. One of his many defeats where he tried to defeat slavery with violence was the armed slave rebellion on Harper’s Ferry. “In a speech to the court before his sentencing, Brown stated his actions to be just and God-sanctioned.” Brown lived a life full of dispute; yet it was not until after Harper Ferry where his madness was confirmed. “Brown soon became a hero in the eyes of Northern extremists and was quick to capitalize on his growing reputation.” Brown’s radical abolitionist movements and wicked violent actions on slavery promoted his reputation in the north and were the cherry on the sundae to validate his insanity.

In today’s society, many look up to former President Abraham Lincoln with reverence, and some even compare him to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in terms of contribution to African American rights. Much of his supposed heroism has gone unchecked, and with some looking into the past, we can draw the conclusion that Lincoln’s racist beliefs can draw a more realistic picture of our past president. Abraham Lincoln was a racist man who used African Americans to gain political leverage, rather than for the greater good of the people.