Essay On John Brown's Raid

In October of 1859, a group of about 22 men had a plan to raid an arsenal. The goal was to bring shock and confusion across the nation, as well as a new Civil War beginning. John Brown was an abolitionist who strongly believed in the freedom of slaves. His raid was a pivotal event that brought the nation to the same mindset that a war needed to occur. Blood needed to be shed. No peaceful compromise for slavery was going to take place. The raid at Harpers Ferry was a movement by Brown that can be seen as a failure and success; many people believe it was a failure since the Civil War was not started as Brown intended; however, it did succeed in bringing fear and conflict once again to the Union.
John Brown, a militant abolitionist, raided Harpers Ferry on October 16th, 1859. On the night of the raid, Brown and twenty two men, including five black men, collected fifty slaves and disarmed the watchmen. They successfully took possession of the arsenal, rifle factory, armory and other government property (“John Brown’s Raid, 1859”). They were stopped when his ten hostages and remaining men became stuck in a stable, while a mob of angered citizens waited outside. The U.S. Marines charged in and killed several of the raiders. Brown was also

beat to the ground, and yet miraculously survived (Horwitz).
When Brown was captured he was accused of murder and unnecessary violence. This led to his sentenced death. Before his execution he said the following quote to one of the guards, “I, John Brown, am quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be plunged away, but with blood.” In other words, Brown wanted the Union to realize that a peaceful compromise was not going to be made with the current conflict of slavery. The necessity of a war was bright in Brown’s eyes and therefore needed to occur. Brown’s goal was not only to end slavery at Harpers Ferry, but also to shock the nation. He believed in sacrifice. He wanted to liberate the slaves of Virginia as well as the whole of the south (Horwitz).
Brown’s raid affected the entire nation, which in turn caused agitation from the North and fear from the South. Many northerners did not agree with John’s method, they believed the attack was that of a madman, although it was righteously motivated. The South became fearful of not only a slave rebellion, but also a northern invasion. In response, the South began to organize an army which became the beginning of the Confederate army (Burroughs). Just as the South had feared, after the raid many slave invasions sprung up all around the region. In response, people started to get locked up and famous books about freedom of slaves were burned. The whole region was in the state of alarm. The raid hardened the lines between the North and the South; it “deepened the growing physiological rift between the Union (Whitman).”
The raid also effected the election of 1860. On February 27, 1860, Lincoln gave a Cooper Union Address in New York, in which he talked about the raid and Brown’s moderate stance against slavery (Burroughs). Before Lincoln gave the address, he only had forty percent of the popular vote. In other words, he may not have won the election without the raid. Other Republican candidates such as William Seward were “tarnished by their association with abolitionists.” Lincoln’s election started the onset of the war and the ending of slavery (Bordewich). According to Burroughs, these topics would not have been introduced if the raid had not have occurred.
There are many reasons why Brown’s raid can be seen as a failure. It all begins before the raid when Brown made two major mistakes that caused his plan to erupt. On the morning of the sixteenth of October, a train came through Harpers Ferry and was stopped by Brown’s men. With further speculation, Brown preceded the train to go through; due to his concerns on the passenger’s family awaiting them. When the train traveling form Harpers Ferry reached Baltimore, the authorities were naturally informed about the situation at Harpers Ferry, which later resulted in the Marines being sent from Washington, D.C. A second issue arose when the wagon full of guns were not delivered in time to Harpers Ferry. By the time Charles Tidd and Disborn Anderson returned with the weaponry, there was no way to save the expedition, the men were already surrounded in the stable (Whitman).
Conclusions can be drawn from the raid regarding whether it was a failure or not. Brown did intend to start a Civil War which sadly did not happen. Many people view the end result of the raid as attempt of a fanatic or madman, although others may say otherwise. Many opinions appear to state that the attempt could only end in failure, it was temporary a success only because it added panic and confusion towards the Union; if only he had magnified his numbers. Although all of these statements are true, Brown’s main focus was to liberate the slaves of Virginia, along with those of neighboring states. He does admit that he was disappointed by the very little aid given to him by the blacks and/or whites.
Furthermore, there are many reasons that provide evidence on why the raid was a success. The impact of John Brown’s trial and execution was so unwavering, that even slavery went on trial, rather than the slavery’s captive. Even so, Brown’s plan to encourage slaves from the Virginia Mountains to join the guerilla force was very agitating towards the South (Whitman). With this, many historians believe the raid was well- planned out, and agree with the fact that it was a feasible one. The efficiency of the guerilla war is proven and Brown’s supporters had a good chance of escaping the growing conflict in Harpers Ferry. The raid hardened the lines between the North and South; it became a trial that inflamed the dispute between abolitionists and pro-slavery factions (“John Brown’s Raid”).
When Brown raided Harpers Ferry, he showed the nation where to strike and when.

He opened the eyes of all the Americans and showed them the country’s desperate need for war. According to Douglass, the raid rose unexpected awareness and it was not easy for the situation to be conceived as more abundant in all elements of horror and destruction. The amount of fear and distress that the raid caused helped many historians acknowledge that it was truly a, “pivotal event that pushed the nation closer to a civil war (Douglass).” Karen Whitman agrees with this statement and believes that there is ample proof that Brown was not a madman, but actually was very courageous comparing to other anti-slavery men and women of his generation

(Whitman).
The true significance of the raid can be analyzed through two topics; the current position of the nation and its overall effect. “At the time of Brown’s raid, the nation is divided, but people still think maybe we can compromise and prevaricate and somehow put off this reckoning over the division in our country and the division over slavery (Horwitz).” John Brown wanted the nation to realize its current position on the issue and with the raid he caused the slave system to ‘tremble in fear’ of slave uprisings. Many people were shocked by Brown’s stand due to their current mindset that a peaceful compromise could be settled between the North and the South (Whitman).
The overall effect of the raid was very strong and made the Union realize how important the conflict of slavery was. After the raid, many people felt forced to choose which side of the debate they felt safe on. Many people were given choices, a very prominent one being to side with Brown if they did not feel involved (Whitman). The amount of internal devastation that many civilians felt is a true affect that reasons why the raid can be regarded as a success. Frye says, “Brown gave them the unifying momentum they needed, a common cause based on preserving the chains of slavery.” When war broke out militias were already sprung up against the South, which provided the Confederacy with thousands of well-trained soldiers (Bordewich). The uprising of Brown’s is said to be the “stone in our shoe of history,” due to its many persistent questions that have yet to be answered (Horwitz).
The raid at Harpers Ferry was a movement by Brown that can be seen as a failure and a success; many people believe it was a failure since it did not start a Civil War; however, it did succeed in bringing fear and conflict once again to the nation. After the raid, many people were given choices; conflict arose with what the nation should do. With every other man, Brown died with a cause, “the hour of his physical weakness was the hour of his miss moral strength- the hour of his defeat was the hour of his triumph (Whitman).” In all conclusions, the raid began with an educational approach to remind/bring the people to realization that blood needed to be shed. In the end, however, it was recognized as the violence needed, even after the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.