Terrorist John Brown

while John tried to help other people. During John Brown’s life he did things that weren’t

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

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.

Brown had a great faith in God. Success had eluded him up to this point. He had sired 20 children and had gone through two wives, but he still felt unfulfilled. In 1846, Brown was working as a wool merchant but nothing ever came of it. Before 1855, Brown had gone through a series of lawsuits and bankruptcies that halted his success. Gerrit Smith, a philanthropist friend of Brown's, was persuaded into giving a portion of the 120,000 acres of land he owned in upstate New York to Brown. This land would be open to refugee negroes. Brown lived on this land as a farmer for some time before realizing that people were just taking advantage of him.

As John Brown matures he decides he is going to make the choice to try and change slavery in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. John Brown killed many people hoping to start a slave rebellion. The South perceived this as the North wanting to kill the slave owners of the South to abolish slavery. This occurrence frightened a lot of moderate Southerners into thinking that abolitionists would keep encouraging slave uprisings in the South. John Brown represented the South's biggest fear of their slaves turning against them which stirred more conflict. This wavered many people into supporting the succession as a solution to the Abolitionists continuing and increasing anti-slavery

The Trail of Tears and the Indian Removal Act was just a couple of examples of racist intentions brought about during not only Jacksons presidency but the actions of others that would follow. Slaves began to fight for their freedom and abolonistinists began to make a name for themselves. Frederick Douglass and John Brown two prominent abolonistists from ether end of the colored spectrum - Douglass, a black man and Brown a white man - lead the fight and are most infamous amongst many. Frederick Douglass escaped enslavement at a young and fleed to the North. There he learned to read and write and became a writer detailing his experiences and voicing his stance publicly against slavery. He eventually became an advisor of sorts to Lincoln and helped the President change his mind on the future of slavery. John Brown however apporached things in a different manner. He and his African American supporters took arms to rebel against slavery because he knew that such atrocity would never die on its own. He later found himself at the gallows being hung by the State of Virigna with the go-ahead from the Federal Government. Freedom for slaves was one of many, many social activist issues at the

John Brown is not a terrorist. The acts he committed at Harper’s Ferry and Pottawatommie Creek were not acts of terrorism because they lack the inspiration of fear into his enemies. He may have committed acts that were tragic, but just because someone kills someone else does not mean they are a terrorist.

John Brown had an ordinary life before he became embroiled in the antislavery movement. Brown was born in 1800 and he grew up in Ohio. Due to him working with his father in a tannery, he later wanted to start one of his own when he was seventeen. “The young man soon master the rural arts of farming, tanning, surveying, home building, and animal husbandry, but his most conspicuous talent seemed to be one for profuse and painful failure.” (Chowder, 333) When he was twenty, he got married, but later became a widower due to his wife passing away eleven years after their marriage.

Was John Brown a terrorist or was John Brown a hero? This question has probably not been asked many times but since the question has been aroused, let it be answered.

John Brown, recalled by some as a martyr for his anti-slavery stance, is also recalled by others as a madman. His legendary raid on Harper’s Ferry will live forever in history books, but what fueled the madness? In 1812, was his mind so deeply traumatized when he witnessed the brutal crime of a young black boy beaten with a shovel that he could never move past it? Did that single event shape his life and play, over and over, in his mind like a never-ending film? No matter what you believe, the undisputed fact is that he was one of America’s first domestic terrorists.

Some could call Brown a pioneer in being a civil rights activist for social and economic justice in this time period. Other people saw Brown as a mad man out for his own cause to be a hero and a martyr for equal rights and freeing the slaves. According to David King that Brown was crazy with the statement –“on the subject of slavery he was crazy” (Davidson p. 129). King was quoted saying this after he meet Brown after the Kansas fight. King described Brown as “an instrument in the hands of God to free slaves” and that Brown thought of his self as the person pick to free people from slavery (Davidson p. 129). Historians researching for answers for the clues if Brown was really insane might use this to back up their claim that Brown was crazy.

However John Brown is someone who fought for what is right in his own mind without directions from other men. He was fully capable of knowing the surroundings around his world and was aware of how he was executing his action to fight for freedom for the slaves. However as he claimed that God came down and spoke to him to be the leader to free the slaves, John Brown took actions by his own choice and not by a superiority figure. He fought for colored choice by his own choice and not the choices of others. And in today's world the fight at Harper’s Ferry should not be counted as an act of terrorism but rather of act of free will to believe what is right for the country. John Brown is someone who fought for what is right in his mind. His mental state was not ill neither religious superiority controlled him to commit his actions. John Brown fighting for the freedom of colored men was his own choice and not the choices of other. He should be considered today as a true noble abolitionist who paved the way for equality for all and a hero to

John Brown was an abolitionist who was very passionate about ending slavery for once and for all. He felt that they should use everything and anything to put an end to slavery, including violence. After protesting slavery, he came with a plan that abolish slavery.

Samuel Johnson was an African American man born into slavery, but refused to let his situation determine the rest of his life. For numerous years, he went through all the proper channels such as, coming to an agreement with his owner, and then issuing a deed of manumission to gain freedom. He eventually earned enough money to buy himself from his owner to be considered a free man. Over his entire life, he petitioned eleven times to the state legislature regarding his freedom. Samuel Johnson worked vigorously to attain his freedom, but the fight to fully be free of the chains of slavery was just beginning.

“Terrorist”, is defined as “a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.” Terrorists who conduct these heinous crimes usually justify their actions due to morals, religious convictions, or political views. John brown was an American abolitionist who believed and advocated that armed insurrection was the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States, which was a political aim. He considered the United States incapable of reform and he believed violence was the only solution to end slavery. Therefore John Brown was an Irrational Terrorist.