Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me: John Brown

Mini-Essay

In Loewen’s Lies My Teacher Told Me: Chapter 6, he talks about John Brown. He says most textbooks don’t include John Brown’s full story. In high school, I was taught that John Brown was a radical abolitionist who gathered a small army and attempted to lead a slave revolt. He captured a federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry to get tools for the slave rebellion he attempted to lead. The slaves didn’t get the memo and he was captured there. They later hung him but he died being known as a martyr. Loewen reinforced all of these ideas. He also said a few things I didn’t know. One thing he said that I didn’t know was why Brown was the person he was. He said because Brown made friends with a black boy early in life, that made him realize that all black people

He also stated that Brown’s father was also an abolitionist. So the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree. Loewen stated that Brown paved the way for white people and black freemen to begin voicing their opinions and standing up for blacks publicly. All of these things were taught in this course and gave me a better understanding. I’ve learned about these things since about seventh grade and learned some things in this course on this topic that I’ve never heard before.

Loewen also discussed Abraham Lincoln in this chapter. I’ve learned things I never knew about Lincoln in this chapter and from lectures in class. In high school, I was taught that Lincoln was the president who freed the slaves and never told a lie. My history teacher referred to him as “Honest Abe”. We learned that when he won the presidency several states seceded the union. In 1863 he issued his Emancipation Proclamation and that freed all slaves in the confederate states. He was also known for his Gettysburg Address. A key part of what we learned about Abraham Lincoln was his assassination. He died being known as a martyr. I learned so much more about the Lincoln from the book and lectures.