John Brown was a man who lived in the mid eighteen-hundreds and who fought against the evil of slavery. He had a very strong belief that slavery was unjust, and this is true, but he thought that in order to abolish slavery, violence would be the best method. That’s where he went wrong. John Brown led two attacks on slave owners and those who supported slavery, the first at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas on May 24th, 1856, and the second at Harper Ferry, Virginia on October 16th, 1859. At Pottawatomie Creek, joined by seven others, Brown brutally hacked to death five men with sabers. These men supported slavery but weren’t even slave owners themselves. On October 16th, 1859, Brown led 21 men on another raid on Harpers Ferry attempting to take possession of the U.S. arsenal and use the weapons in a revolt against slave owners, gathering up an army of slaves as he made his way south. Brown’s attacks were not in self-defense, they were heinous acts of revenge upon slave owners, and therefore his attack had no justification. Violence inflicted upon other people cannot be justified unless it is in defense of one’s own life or the defense of a group of lives, such as a town where war has been waged upon it. In the case of John Brown, his raids were neither in self defense nor for the preservation of life for a people. Though it is a fact that many slaves were treated harshly and abused, there are many that were treated with kindness and respect, even given an education. The slaves, though oppressed, were not all in danger of losing their lives. John Brown’s use of violence is nothing more than bullying and intimidation, in attempt to persuade slave owners and their supporters to change their views. Some view John Brown as sel... ... middle of paper ... ...w one Biblical passage and ignore others in order to justify one’s actions. Works Cited King, Martin Luther Jr.; Teaching American History, Ashbrook Center, Ashland, Ohio, 2006-2012, http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/the-power-of-non-violence/ Foner, Eric, What Caused Abolitionists to Turn from Pacifism to Condoning Violence, Africans in America, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4i2975.html Washington, Margaret, John Brown’s Heroism, American Experience, WGBH Educational Foundation, 1996-2010, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/brown/filmmore/reference/interview/washington06.html Stowe, Harriet Beecher, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 2011, https://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/hbs/ William Lloyd Garrison, Bio True Story, 1996-2013, A+E Television Networks, LCC. http://www.biography.com/people/william-lloyd-garrison-9307251
Brown had his mind made up to travel on the pathway to Harpers Ferry right when he was born and believed he is the only one that has to lead this battle. His parents were passionate Calvinists who taught their children to view life as an endless fight contrary to evil. The battle of John Brown was on a more personal level where he remembered a memory when he was five years old and his mother whipped him for stealing a vast amount of brass pins. In addition, the battle was somewhat on a political point as well because Brown and his family considered that the sincere had to be spectators against the bad people in America. They assumed that the biggest evil during their time has to be none other than the establishment of slavery. Therefore, the father of John Brown replaced their family residence in northeast Ohio into a stop on the Underground Railroad and made his son into a dedicated abolitionist. Brown’s developing participation in the movement in the 1830s and ’40s made him set his commitment as well as the rising nationwide fight over slavery’s position in a country supposedly devoted to equal opportunity. During this era, abolition...
The scope of the investigation is limited to the Second Great Awakening and the American Abolitionist Movement from 1830-1839, with the exception of some foundational knowledge of the movement prior to 1830 to highlight the changes within the movement in the 1830s. The investigation included an exploration of various letters, lectures, and sermons by leading abolitionists from the time period and a variety of secondary sources analyzing the Second Great Awakening and the Abolitionist Movement from 1830-1839.
[5] Brown states, “Southern white men [had a compelling urge] to avenge even a hint of
Abolitionism quickly gained popularity since 1821 when William Lloyd Garrison assisted in writing an anti-slavery newspaper, The Genius of Universal Emancipation, with Benjamin Lundy. In 1831, abolitionism continued to grow in popularity when William Lloyd Garrison started The Liberator. Although there remained not a need for slaves in the North, slavery remained very big in the South for growing “cash crops.” The majority of the abolitionists who inhabited the North organized speeches, meetings, and newspapers to spread their cause. Initially, only small revolts and fights occurred. However, major events along the way led to the Harpers Ferry Raid. For example, with Kansas choosing whether or not to become a free or slave state. That became the biggest event up until John Brown’s Raid. John Brown had always despised slavery, and this enhanced his chance as an organized revolt. The effect of his raid on Harpers Ferry affected what the South thought about abolitionists and the power that they held.
I believe that there are many reasons why John Brown believed that violence was the only way he could prevail in the fight to end slavery in the United States. First of all; at this time in history, issues were moving fairly quickly. As soon as Kansas was to become a territory, supporters from both the North and South rushed to settle on the land and tried to gain control of the vote in the area. Secondly, it probably seemed that any attempts at compromise at that time had not, and would not, get very far in the issue. Lastly, the most prominent reason I believe that John Brown felt violence was the only answer, was because of his belief in God. As he stated in his speech to the courts during his trial, he felt that what he did was not wrong. Sacrificing his life was worth it; even if it was just one step towards ending slavery, something that was so cruel and wicked anyway, his violence was no worse than the slavery.
The antebellum American antislavery movement began in the 1820s and was sustained over 4 decades by organizations, publications, and small acts of resistance that challenged the legally protected and powerful institution of slavery and the more insidious enemy of black equality, racism. Abolitionists were always a radical minority even in the free states of the North, and the movement was never comprised of a single group of people with unified motivations, goals, and methods. Rather, the movement was fraught with ambiguity over who its leaders would be, how they would go about fighting the institution of slavery, and what the future would be like for black Americans.
Freedom is defined as “the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action.” Freedom is something that millions take for granted everyday and billions have died throughout history fighting for it. One group whose freedom was unjustly stripped from them were African Americans who were kidnapped from their homes in Africa and shipped to throughout the world to serve as Slaves. Two men who understood what it is like to have their freedom stripped away from them were Nat Turner and Fredrick Douglass. These two men grew up as slaves on southern plantations in the 1800’s, and spent their adulthood fighting for freedom through very different methods. This paper will examine the tactics, effectiveness, and impact of Turner and Douglass
“I act from a principle,” and “I say, break the law” are not only the names of two out of the five parts in this book, but the words by which John Brown lived so passionately everyday. At earlier times in his life he lived by his sword as well. The Sword and the Word illustrates John Brown’s own ideas and intentions and how he lived by them. A main issue of this book is that truly a man of his word who believed that morals should outweigh the law of the land, John Brown lived and died for the abolition of slavery and did as much if not more for that cause than many other slaves or free men.
First, Lemann documents horrible accounts of violence against freed blacks. The casual observer views the underlying reasons for these attacks as simple racial hatred. However, Lemann connects the acts of violence to show an orchestrated movement intended to undermine both keys to the freed blacks’ quality of life, organizing abilities and voting rights. Violence against blacks existed for years, but in the form of a master supposedly disciplining his slave. The acts of violence outlined by Lemann show a shift from fear and ignorance to organized intimidation. After all, whites of the time viewed themselves “as protectors of [the] natural order” meaning racial superiority (65). What first started as a fear of being the minority turned quickly to a fear of losing political power and economic wealth. In the end, the use of violence all...
The black abolitionists saw Brown “as one of the few whites who had successfully reached across the racial divide.” Charles Langston pointed out that Brown was the only white man that he felt, cared for the blacks as much as the black abolitionists did. Brown became a martyr for the cause and offered the ultimate sacrifice, his life. Brown gave his life because he believed that all men, white or black, deserved to be free, and should not be owned by another
In 1859, on October 16, John Brown, a white abolitionist, organized an armed band of men and captured a federal armory at Harpers Ferry, now in West Virginia. Brown took 60 men in the area as hostages, and hoped his actions would cause escaped slaves to join him in a rebellion to free other slaves. Brown kept control of the armory, and fought off militias until a brigade of U.S. Marines forced him to surrender. Brown was convicted of murder, slave insurrection, and treason, and was hung as punishment.
Brown was involved in various attacks together with his army.For instance Brown and his sons led attacks on pro-slavery residents.brown also just like other terrorist led to death of seven people and left ten injured when he attacked
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.
“I am ready anytime. Don’t keep me waiting.” This is just one quote from John Brown he had many more quotes but this is the one I picked to tell you about. This quotes states that John Brown was ready to go to war anytime, and he would go into war anytime with his army John Brown was born on May 9, 1800, in Torrington, Connecticut. His father was a tanner, shoemaker, and farmer who had 16 children by three wives. John Brown created social change by wanting to help win justice for enslaved black people, Bown insisted that he had a divine quest to take vengeance, John had Raid on Harpers Ferry.
Thoreau, Henry D. "Slavery in Massachusetts." Reform Papers. Ed. Wendell Glick. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1973. 91-109.