John Brown Abolitionist

John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry propelled the United States into the Civil War by proving the clear division on the issue of abolishing the practice of slavery throughout the United States. According to David Reynolds, author of John Brown, Abolitionist, claims that John Brown acted as a “good” terrorist to advance his opinions on the issue of slavery. The political definition of a terrorist is “the unlawful use of force or violence against a persons or property in order to coerce or intimidate a government or the civilian population in furtherance of political or social objectives”. By definition John Brown acted as a terrorist, however, the ideas that he was promoting through his violence actions was one of equality and a want to end …show more content…
In the Pottawatomie Massacre, John Brown mercilessly attacked and killed five proslavery supporters, on the grounds of them supporting slavery. Jason and John Jr Brown, son’s of John Brown, argued their father’s actions were not without reason. These victims were chosen out of revenge due to their proslavery opinions. The Pottawatomie Massacre, created the idea of the Northern rebels and thugs were viciously violent in their pursuit to end slavery. Before this the abolitionist were seen as weak and fearful, this event caused a shift to fear of the abolitionist. In the area of the attack, proslavery supporters began to leave out of fear. In reality, the proslavery side was far more violent in their actions. John Brown’s actions in the massacre, “brought southern tactics to the northern side” (163). James Redpath, Kansas correspondent for the New York Times, respected and admired John Brown, claiming his actions were defensible and inevitable. Furthermore, William A Phillips, another Kansas correspondent for the New York Times, held Brown to a high regard following his actions. Franklin B. Sanborn, secretary of the Massachusetts State Kansas Committee, also impressed by John Brown. So much so that he wrote to his abolitionist friends in government, Thomas Higgins and Theodore Parker. William Henry Seward, United States Secretary of State, argued the United States …show more content…
Brown was a strong supporter of not just an end to racial injustice but a movement towards equality. He was a strong supporter of Native American rights and also fought against injustices towards them. James Henry Hammond, New York State Senator, gave a speech to Congress where he outlined the Mudsill Theory. This states that in societies there will always be someone on the bottom, a class forced into lowly work due to inferiority; social hierarchy is a law of nature. The racist undertones of this speech from a northern politician, display the rampant racism throughout the