John Brown DBQ The federal government tried to silence the people! Some people saw Mr. John Brown as a, “misguided fanatic,” however I disagree. Brown was a hero for this nation and a wake up call towards the god resented sin of slavery. One reason he was not a misguided fanatic was thoroughly explained in, “John Brown’s Speech.” Brown specifically objected that the people who joined him in the raid were not close friends or even acquaintances. Mr. Brown did not know the team members well and had no knowledge of their intentions, he condemned their actions. A second reason why John Brown is not misguided nor a fanatic is the positive message he sent to slaves. His master plan for the raid was to have the slaves follow in his footsteps, as stated
Looking at what he has fought for, it’s no doubt that he fought for a noble cause which is the freedom of slavery. John Brown shouldn’t be known as hero or terrorists because of want he has done applies to both sides. John Brown shouldn’t be known as a terrorist or a national hero because of his violent attack and raids. After, September 11, 2001 John Brown has been called a terrorist which has caused controversy about Brown’s legacy and reputation. Furthermore, in the article, The 9/11 of 1859 says, “He led 21 men all but two in their 20s, and many of them radicalized by guerilla fighting in Bleeding Kansas, the abolitionists’ Afghanistan”(Horowitz).
His father, Owen Brown, who was “a committed pacifist”, was passionately opposed to slavery, which heavily influenced John Brown to become an abolitionist (Horwitz, 2011, p.19). John Brown is described as “a warrior at heart”, who was focused on the task to “undermine slavery (Horwitz, 2011, p.19, 31). This obsession to terminate slavery was his inspiration throughout all the skirmishes he fought in and slaves he helped free. The most infamous battle was his raid on Harper’s Ferry, where he was captured, trialed, and later hung. This battle is believed to be a major
John Brown was an abolitionist who was a part of the anti-slavery movement. He led the Harpers Ferry Raid in hopes to ignite a spark in slave uprisings. Brown was not insane for his plans of raiding and supplying slaves with guns from the arsenal. The plan for the raid was not a spontaneous attack.
John Brown’s Raid was the effort by John Brown to initiate a slave revolt, and his first objective was to arm slaves by trying to take over the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry. John Brown and twenty other men who joined him, including three of his sons and about fourteen African-Americans, went into the town of Harpers Ferry. Brown split up the group into the two, this proved to be the biggest mistake of the whole operation, with one group going to capture Colonel Lewis Washington along with other hostages. The main group, led by John Brown, intercepted a train in hope that slaves in the next town would hear about the rebellion and join it, but no slaves heard about it. After intercepting the train, the group went on to seize the armory in Harpers Ferry.
Whenever Brown when into town, he never went in large groups seeing as it would raise suspicion (A Volcano beneath the Snow). John Brown believed that the usage of violence will end slavery. The plan that
The raid was a failure because Brown didn't get the help of the slaves the he wanted and he had no rations or escape route, so the whole plan was basically doomed. Local militia and citizens attacked brown and his men until troops under Robert E. Lee came from washington and arrested Brown. Brown was sentenced to death on December 2nd, Ralph Waldo Emerson said “Brown will make the gallows as glorious as the cross. As Brown was going to be hanged he handed the guard a note that said “I John Brown , am certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood.” Even though the raid was a failure, it made even more tension between the north and the south, which fueled the beginning of the civil
Brown grew up in a house that didn’t like people having slaves and was very religious. So every decision’s he made he didn’t regret because he was doing it for god or for the slaves. Everything he did he believed it was a mission from god.
Then in 1855 he travels to Kansas disguised as a Free-Soiler with his sons and in May 24th, 1856 he ordered his men to brutally kill five proslavery believers. This event riled up the abolitionists and sent a message to the Southern states. According to document B “Last Meeting Between Frederick Douglass and John Brown” John Brown is a hero because he was willing to give his life in order to hijack the armory in Virginia and help the slaves revolt against slavery by using those weapons. For example it states, “He thought that the capture of Harper’s Ferry would serve as notice to the slaves that their friends had come, and as a trumpet to rally them.” “…Convinced me that he was going into a perfect steel-trap, and that once in he would never get out alive.”
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”? I think John Brown was a misguided fanatic, or according to dictionary.com a, mistaken person with an extreme, uncritical enthusiasm, because he was so set in his rebellion that his mind couldn’t be changed even when told his plan wouldn’t go well, and although he was told his actions would be fatal he went on to do so . In The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, Douglass states that there was no changing Brown
He was willing to die to make something happen, he went with a few men to conquer an armory, although he was not aware of the fact the probability of death was way higher than he thought because of his insanity, but he still knew that there was chance of death. The South thought John Brown was a terrorist. They state that he was evil for murdering a lot of citizens because some of them may have not treated their slaves that bad, and it is just plain evil to kill for no reason. This is not true.
By the time he got to his 50's, he saw that slavery was not going to end peacefully. This led to an obsession with the idea of serving justice to black people and slaves. John Brown figured that the only way for it to end was for him to go and use force on white slave owners, which consisted of him killing them or hurting them and forcing them to give up their slaves. During this obsession with anti slavery, Brown planned a slave uprising at Harper's Ferry. John Brown started plotting to raid the town of Harper's Ferry and seize guns from the federal armory.
Brown knew he was not going to get a peaceful answer, and knew that people were going to die. “No matter how bad the crime of slavery is killing innocent people if they get in the way, or simply killing in general is no way to solve a problem.” ( John Brown guilty or innocent slavery 2 ). John Brown says his mission is to free the slaves, but he kills one African American during the raid. “John Brown kills a black man who was either just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or he was the gate guard for the storehouse.
John Brown understood what he was dealing with and who he was dealing with; he knew that if violence was not used, the South would not feel threatened, thus furthering the ideology of slavery. Brown being tired of waiting, he knew he needed to act quickly before slavery would get worse, or because of his selfish deeds like the North taking control over Congress instead of the South. However, such excuse is not justifiable since many like Frederick Douglass were able to use the power of words in order to spread justice. The fact alone that Brown was a white male gave him a step forward for change, but despite his power, he chose the path to bloodshed. On the other hand, Douglass was an African American in which he was shut down by many just because of his race.
Nick Baxter What caused the Civil War? DBQ The Civil War was caused by three main reasons are economic differences, interpretation of Constitution, and moral beliefs. The North and the South were very different economically.
John Brown was a key figure in the Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and safe houses used by slaves in the 19th century to escape to freedom in the North. Brown believed that slavery was a moral abomination and was willing to use violence to end it. He led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 in an attempt to spark a slave rebellion. The raid failed, and Brown was captured and later executed. However, his actions helped to galvanize the abolitionist movement and ultimately contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War.