John Brown; hero, criminal, or insane? John Brown was a 19th-century belligerent abolitionist who is well known for his raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859. John Brown was born on May 9, 1800, in Torrington, Connecticut. Growing up with a father who strongly disapproved of slavery, Brown was highly motivated in creating a slave insurrection. He strongly believed in violently taking care of entities. The actions taken upon by John Brown led others to view him in different ways. His work led him to execution on December 2, 1859. The question is; did he die a hero, criminal, or insane?
John Brown’s parents instilled him with a huge belief in the Bible. He grew up with a belief against slavery. In his family, slavery was morally wrong and strongly despised. John Brown’s father taught him the family trade of tanning animal skins. He was a foreman in the families tannery up until he wished to move to Massachusetts in hopes to become a minister. Brown married and moved to Pennsylvania where he conducted his own tannery. The marriage lasted eleven years before her death and she gave him seven children. Shortly after, he married a 16-year old girl who gave him another 13 children. The time period John Brown was born into did not do him justice. He was a terrible businessman and dwindled down into a financial life crisis. All Brown really had left was his beliefs in the Bible, his children to take care of, and his hatred of slavery. A hero is a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. Many people viewed John Brown as a heroic historical figure for the courageous actions he took. For example, “James Redpath, Franklin Sanborn, and Oswald Garrison Villard—were hero-worshippers who considered Brown a warrior-saint whose assaults on slavery represented the first crucial steps toward emancipation” (Mintz). John Brown moved to a black community in New Elba, New York, due to his financial issues. During the time he moved, the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 took place creating conflict determining the condition of the state; slave or free? John Brown, as well as five of his sons, moved to Kansas in 1855. John Brown believed in violently taking care of a situation, so in means to end slavery, he joined in on the conflict. In doing so, John Brown and four of his sons dragged five pro-slavery men and boys across Pottawatomie Creek in Kansas and dismembered their bodies. One of John Brown’s sons was killed, thus showing people he would sacrifice anything to end slavery. In essence, the African Americans viewed him as a hero. Brown took part in the underground railroad, established the League of Gileadites, and helped African Americans get land. …show more content…
It was obvious that Brown had a passion for ending slavery. The influence of his father hating slavery had a huge effect on him, but he also had an experience that scarred him. As a young, 12-year old boy, John Brown witnessed an African American boy being beaten, haunting his mind and influencing his hatred of slavery. Ever since that day, “With every drop of his honest blood he hated slavery, and in his early manhood, he resolved to lay his life on Freedom’s altar in wiping out that insufferable affliction. He never faltered. So God-like was his unconquerable soul that he dared to face the world alone” (Metz). In 1858, Brown led his first group of enslaved African Americans from a Missouri homeland, to freedom in Canada. This heroically viewed event increased his popularity in the black community and gave them hopes of gaining freedom. A year before Brown led his first group of enslaved African Americans, he returned to the East and began raising currency to carry out his hopes of creating his army of slaves for his insurrection. He had what was known as a backbone of a “secret six,” which were six abolitionists secretly assembling an army for the invasion. The army grew to nearly 20 men, consisting of all black men, and three of his sons. They rented a farm out in Maryland to plan their assault on Harper’s Ferry. On October 16, 1859, Brown overran the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry with his army of men, and captured a handful of hostages,
John Brown’s parents instilled him with a huge belief in the Bible. He grew up with a belief against slavery. In his family, slavery was morally wrong and strongly despised. John Brown’s father taught him the family trade of tanning animal skins. He was a foreman in the families tannery up until he wished to move to Massachusetts in hopes to become a minister. Brown married and moved to Pennsylvania where he conducted his own tannery. The marriage lasted eleven years before her death and she gave him seven children. Shortly after, he married a 16-year old girl who gave him another 13 children. The time period John Brown was born into did not do him justice. He was a terrible businessman and dwindled down into a financial life crisis. All Brown really had left was his beliefs in the Bible, his children to take care of, and his hatred of slavery. A hero is a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. Many people viewed John Brown as a heroic historical figure for the courageous actions he took. For example, “James Redpath, Franklin Sanborn, and Oswald Garrison Villard—were hero-worshippers who considered Brown a warrior-saint whose assaults on slavery represented the first crucial steps toward emancipation” (Mintz). John Brown moved to a black community in New Elba, New York, due to his financial issues. During the time he moved, the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 took place creating conflict determining the condition of the state; slave or free? John Brown, as well as five of his sons, moved to Kansas in 1855. John Brown believed in violently taking care of a situation, so in means to end slavery, he joined in on the conflict. In doing so, John Brown and four of his sons dragged five pro-slavery men and boys across Pottawatomie Creek in Kansas and dismembered their bodies. One of John Brown’s sons was killed, thus showing people he would sacrifice anything to end slavery. In essence, the African Americans viewed him as a hero. Brown took part in the underground railroad, established the League of Gileadites, and helped African Americans get land. …show more content…
It was obvious that Brown had a passion for ending slavery. The influence of his father hating slavery had a huge effect on him, but he also had an experience that scarred him. As a young, 12-year old boy, John Brown witnessed an African American boy being beaten, haunting his mind and influencing his hatred of slavery. Ever since that day, “With every drop of his honest blood he hated slavery, and in his early manhood, he resolved to lay his life on Freedom’s altar in wiping out that insufferable affliction. He never faltered. So God-like was his unconquerable soul that he dared to face the world alone” (Metz). In 1858, Brown led his first group of enslaved African Americans from a Missouri homeland, to freedom in Canada. This heroically viewed event increased his popularity in the black community and gave them hopes of gaining freedom. A year before Brown led his first group of enslaved African Americans, he returned to the East and began raising currency to carry out his hopes of creating his army of slaves for his insurrection. He had what was known as a backbone of a “secret six,” which were six abolitionists secretly assembling an army for the invasion. The army grew to nearly 20 men, consisting of all black men, and three of his sons. They rented a farm out in Maryland to plan their assault on Harper’s Ferry. On October 16, 1859, Brown overran the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry with his army of men, and captured a handful of hostages,