John Brown DBQ Response John Brown and other famous abolitionist took part in what is now known as the raid on Harper’s Ferry. Which started as way to inspire slaves to revolt, but ended up with the death of John Brown and a few others. Some people think of John Brown as a crazy murderer. Although others, such as myself, think of him as a “misguided fanatic.” In other words, according to dictionary.com, misguided means misled or mistaken and fanatic means a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm. John Brown was a “misguided fanatic” because he stood up for what he thought was right even if nobody else did.
In 1859 an abolitionist led a raid of 20 men to a federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in order to supply slaves with weapons and provoke a slave rebellion (B). This man was named John Brown. Born to an evangelical Christian family, Brown deeply hated slavery and favored military tactics to abolish it (C). Viewed as a martyr in the North and a murderer in the South, he had a great impact on the abolition movement. People even today continue to debate on how to define him.
However, radicalism of any variety is still dangerous. Though he was well-meaning, John Brown’s actions were not only inexcusable, but has the potential to reflect negatively on the abolitionist cause. John Brown was, in simplest terms, a murderer. In is testament (Doc 1), he uses the abolitionist movement to justify the murders of people in slave states. However, he is quick to admit that he “feel(s) no consciousness of guilt” (Doc 1).
Did you know that some people,including President Abraham Lincoln, believed that John Brown was a “misguided fanatic?” I believe that John Brown was a “misguided fanatic” because of how he committed treason as well as murder while he was trying to put a stop to slavery. For instance,according to, “The Last Meeting Between Frederick Douglass and John Brown”, Douglass believed that John Brown’s plan of invading the Federal arsenal at Harper 's Ferry, Virginia would “ have been fatal to the work of the helping slaves escape.” Another example, as specified by “John Brown’s Speech”, John Brown never prearranged to murder and commit treason, it just went horribly wrong. Since John Brown did commit treason, I believe that John Brown would have done
George Fitzhugh claimed that "The Negro slaves of the South are the happiest the freest people in the world." (Document H). John Brown a major person in the fight to end slavery "led a band of 18 men into Virginia to seize the federal arsenal there, distribute the captured arms to slaves in the area, and create a general slave uprising." (Document I).John Brown was executed and the aftermath of his death made tensions rise betwwen the North and South. "
His family believed that there should be no slavery. When John Brown was older he took a vowel to be an abolitionist which means someone who is against slavery. John Brown thought that if he wasn't getting "lucky" pleasing God therefore he wasn't trying to be a perfect young adult. Brown thought if he pleased God he would live for eternity in heaven. So John wanted
He saw the wrong in owning slaves. He believed what he was doing and what he believed in was right not wrong. He was hung with the pleasure of knowing he made an impact on the world. John Brown tried very hard to do anything to please god and free slaves.
He kills many people who just are in his way. On the night of May 24, 1856, the radical abolitionist John Brown, five of his sons, and three other associates murders five proslavery men brutally with knives and swords. Just four years later, he seizes the arsenal at the Harpers Ferry, take weapons from there, and destruct many properties of the town. By destructing properties and murdering many innocent people, he starts a guerrilla war. He kills many people and scares many others.
John Brown was crazy and his plan was a failure. He killed many people therefore “He has been called a cold blooded murderer” (Source 1). The first person he killed was unfortunately a free black man. Source 12 states that, “The first man killed during the raid was Hayward Shepherd, a free black man working with the Baltimore and Ohio railroad.” This is crazy because the goal of Brown’s raid was to help blacks, yet here he killed a black man. This is proof that he may not be right in the head. In other words, he was crazy and so was his plan. Not only is there evidence that Brown is crazy from his actions (such as the action of killing the black man), but there were also people who told him that he was crazy for trying to carry out a complex
Web. 4 September 2015. John Brown, “John Brown’s Last Speech.” Voices of a People’s History. Eds
He killed people who killed slaves he kidnapped people who kidnaped slaves he abused people who abused slaves. John Brown believed that every man is created equal and felt that slavery was wrong. Sure people say he killed many people. And thought that he was just a murderer. Yes he killed people.
John Brown was a man with a strong hatred for slavery who tried to lead a rebellion against it. After this he was called a “misguided fanatic” by Abraham Lincoln. Which leaves the question, was John Brown a “misguided fanatic”?
Introduction Slavery was the harsh reality for many native-Americans and Africans in the 16-1800’s throughout the world. A slave is ‘: someone who is legally owned by another person and is forced to work for that person without pay’ (Ref. 3), and they were the main support of America and much of Europe's wealth, industrial and economic growth. Slaves were kidnapped, traded and sold as part of an intercontinental business that contradicted every basic value towards life, equality and others (Ref.5). But only few saw this and they fought heart and soul to change the minds of the public, and one man who did this was William Lloyd Garrison, well known for his newspaper ‘The Liberator’ and his overall contribution towards the abolition of the Slave
Brown did not regret any decision he made. He did everything he could to help free slaves. Brown was hung knowing he did all he could to help free slaves. However, there are also some
Fredrick Douglas was a leading American Abolitionist and anti-slavery activist; born a slave, Douglas freed himself when he was twenty years old. Being an activist from the early 1840’s until about 1890 when the Jim Crow Laws were coming to affect (Jim Crow being laws that forced racial segregation). He made waves and changed the lives of millions. In this paper I will discuss what era he lived in, just a few of the thousands of speeches he gave, journal entries he’s written, how he impacted the slave free world we know today and following with some criticism he got when doing such a brave act of giving many people hope. To start, Fredrick was born in February of 1818, dying around February of 1895.