Preview

John Brown Acts Of Terrorism Essay

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
339 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
John Brown Acts Of Terrorism Essay
Acts of terrorism are present in modern day life and have been going on for centuries. John Brown’s warlike tactics at Pottawatomie Creek and again in Harper’s Ferry were acts of terrorism. He had an evil mind and chose to bring harm to the innocent instead of addressing his beliefs in a civil way. Brown purposely brought violence upon many people of the state with his goal to abolish slavery. John Brown believed that he was chosen by God to destroy slavery and start a holy war. Brown’s violent acts to destroy farms and capture hostages prove that he was not a soldier of God. He robbed people of their weapons and food. This behavior shows just how evil he was. In 1859 the extremist along with twenty-one followers attacked an engine room in Harpers Ferry and over took an arsenal room. Mr. Brown’s evil plan was to give stolen weapons to the slaves to start a rebellion, and try and take over the Southerner’s way of life. …show more content…
The slave owners beat their property, often abusing them just as Brown whipped and beat his own children. John was willing to risk his own children’s lives to fulfill his goal to abolish slavery. This got his son killed at Harpers Ferry. This individual’s lack of love for his family members is equivalent to that of a suicide bomber. Brown’s passion the end slavery was only approached with violence. He did not care about his own life or of those around him. These characteristics show that he was a true terrorist. While slavery needed to end John Brown approached it with evil. Many lives were affected by his actions. He was wrong to do what he did. It is difficult to image how many more lives could have been lost had John Brown not been brought to justice and hanged. Friend or foe John Brown took what he believed in to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Initially John Brown was viewed as an irrational for his actions in Pottawatomie, Kansas. It was in Pottawatomie where Brown and a few colleagues took violent measures of vengeance against five pro-slavery southerners in Response to the Bleeding Kansas crisis. The northern view of Brown changed however after his 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia. The northern people did not immediately view him as a hero however. Many northerners viewed his raid as “utterly mistaken and, in its direct consequences, pernicious”. (Doc A) Southern people viewed Brown’s raid as a commotion and an appeal to rebellion. The previous Bleeding Kansas crisis also pushed the south more towards succession. “It was by delegates chosen by the several states… that the Constitution of the United States was framed in 1787 and submitted to the several states for ratification… that of a compact between independent states.” (Doc H) President Lincoln responded “Having never been States, either in substance, or in name, outside of the Union, whence this magical omnipotence of ‘States Rights’, asserting a claim of power to lawfully destroy the Union itself?” (Doc I). Both of these statements were made in 1861, and clearly represent the division that sent our nation to…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Did John Brown's Raid

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Between the years 1859 and 1863 John Brown’s rain on the Federal Armory at Harpers Ferry made him a hero in the North and a villain in the South. Brown’s raid was over in about 2 days. He wanted to start an armed slave revolt by seizing the Federal Armory. John Brown was hung for treason because of his actions. Brown’s plan was not to conduct a sudden raid and then escape to the mountains. Rather, his plan was to use those rifles and pikes he captured at the arsenal, in addition to those he brought along, to arm rebellious slaves with the aim of striking terror to the slaveholders in Virginia.…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the History Court’s trial of John Brown, the jury found him to be guilty. John Brown was deemed guilty of being morally unjustified for an insurrection. This insurrection was the killing of several slave owners and their families, and the starting of a slave uprising. The Prosecution made several key points. Their first witness, William Wilberforce, was able to nonviolently stop the slave trade in Britain. Through his use of nonviolence, many people followed him. William stated that it was worth it, although it may have taken longer than if he had used violence. He said that if the process had been faster, people would’ve had to die. The Prosecution’s second witness, Levi Coffin, was an abolitionist and the president of the Underground…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Brown held meetings with Frederick Douglass and other prominent black figures suggesting a plan to wage war to free slaves. Brown and Douglass held a meeting again and, in one meeting Douglass said “Though a white gentleman, [Brown] is in sympathy a black man, and as deeply interested in our cause, as though his soul had been pierced with the iron of slavery. (nps.gov)In one meeting on August 19, 1859, the two men met at an abandoned quarry near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and they discussed if violence could end slavery. Harper's Ferry - "The Ferry" In another meeting, Frederick told Brown “The bees will begin to swarm, and I need you to help hive them”. Harper’s Ferry.…

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Brown is considered a martyr, a traitor, a murderer and a man with a devout religious sense, bent on destroying slavery. He had insanity in his genetics, but even if they lurked in his blood, he was brave and fought for what he believed. An abolitionist in the truest, most powerful, blue blood patriot, in all senses of the phrase.…

    • 335 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Brown's Raid DBQ

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Many different views and ideas about John Brown flew around the North before the Civil War. Debates and arguments sprung up about whether Brown’s actions and means could or should be justified. Some agreed only partially with Brown. Document A proves that with Horace Greeley’s statement “And, while we heartily wish every slave in the world would run away from his master tomorrow and never be retaken, we should not feel justified in entering a slave state to incite them to do so, even if we were sure to succeed in the enterprise.” Greeley is merely saying that he approves of Browns means but not his violent way of going about accomplishing those means.…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    John Brown was dedicated to the cause of abolishing slavery the fastest way possible. His method would eventually stir up the nation enough to cause a…

    • 1163 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Was John Brown Outlaw

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages

    John Brown is a terrorist, a person who uses violence in the pursuit of political aims. Such include criminal acts against civilians’ committed with the intent to cause death or injury. He fought against a rightful reason in a terrible way, initiating fear in the people around him. Raiding peaceful town, murdering innocent families and Such He was no freedom fighter, more an outlaw. October 16, 1859, Brown revealed his plan to raid Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, a relatively peaceful area.…

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    He was one of if not the most scariest people on earth at the time. He would break into houses and kill people in the middle of the night. John Brown grew up Torrington, Connecticut. He lived his life watching a neighbor beat a slave. He thought he had to put an end to it.…

    • 237 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Brown was an American born abolitionist who actively fought Slavery through the use of violence. His ultimate goal was to overthrow the entire system of Slavery in the south, and he went about doing so through armed attacks, including his infamous raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. John Brown’s armed attack on Harper’s Ferry caused a major dispute between the nation’s separate slavery movements, and had substantial effects in the social and political ideologies of the American people. His antics ultimately played a key role in the swaying of opinions towards slavery leading into the upcoming presidential election of 1860, and as a result, should be considered America’s first true hero. Despite his poorly thought out, and short lasting raid…

    • 206 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Abraham Lincoln called John Brown a misguided fanatic! John Brown was not a misguided fanatic. John Brown tried his best to save the slaves from all the hard work and bring them to freedom, he just wanted slavery to end. Brown took a vow to end slavery when he found out that an abolitionist newspaperman was killed. He didn’t want anyone to harm the slaves, so he had a plan to save the slaves, he had a meeting with Frederick Douglass about the plan to save the slaves, so things wouldn't get out of hand, but Douglass opposed to his plan, Brown’s plan was to take over Harper’s Ferry, because Douglass knew that his plan would have failed and have also led to many black deaths, he thought that Brown would’ve hurt the abolition movement by causing…

    • 215 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    John Brown: Hero? Villain?

    • 1793 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Students of history and those merely interested in casual inquiry will often explore a topic, find a legitimate opinion, accept it at face value, and move on. Too often with young or inexperienced historians this is the case. It does, in a way, make sense. Many topics an individual will study have been researched and written on countless times. It is easy to accept an opinion as is and forget about it. John Brown is one of these subjects. Merrill D. Peterson’s John Brown explores the complicated nature of the legacy of this militant abolitionist. Brown has been, in the time since his departure, construed as a hero, a villain, an antihero, a well-meaning lunatic, and so on. The nature of his actions and the divisive context they are found in gives way to many different opinions. Peterson’s book explores these many definitions of John Brown. The opinions of historians, students, politicians, and the like are weighed against the validity of their status as historical interpreters, their knowledge of the subject, their biases, and Peterson’s own interpretations. John Brown’s legacy is an ambiguous and complicated one and Peterson’s book explores the warring opinions of observers on whether John Brown is hero, villain, or both.…

    • 1793 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Brown wanted to be a success. He learned sheep breeding, opened another tannery, bought and sold cattle. Every venture was a failure. He was borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. He was a…

    • 982 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The jury found Brown guilty for his actions and sentenced to death. Before his execution John Brown stated: “I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged but with blood.” He was then hanged in Charles Town on December 2nd. The rest of his captured men were also trialed and sentenced to death. A huge controversy swept the nation about John Brown. Many said he was a brave hero who became one of their martyrs. A hero who was murdered for his beliefs and never giving up on what he believed in. A man who tried to help abused slaves and tried to abolish slavery. On the other hand there were many people who opposed the idea of John Brown being a hero. Many other people thought John Brown was a murderous man who needed to be stopped. A man who took over a government facility to kill innocent citizens. John Brown’s actions caused a division between the North and the South. It was also the start of the civil war. Later John Brown’s name became a symbol as time passed. It became a symbol for pro-union and anti-slavery beliefs. The effects that John Brown left behind was astonishing. After the civil war a school was made a Harpers Ferry for African Americans. Many African Americans got the chance to study and have an education just like the rest of the kids. The leaders of this school showed the importance of John Brown, his courage and bravery. He was very inspiring for them. Frederick Douglass, one of his former supporters before the attack, gave a speech about Brown at the school. Harper Ferry caught the attention of newspaper editors and saw how significant the place was. It then became the site for a meeting called Second Niagara Movement, that later was called the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which we know today. Anyone who attended those meetings walked to John Brown’s fort to honor him. Brown’s fort was later…

    • 1653 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Brown Terrorist

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages

    My evidence for this is that he stated, in his own words that he felt no regret, nor remorse for the acts he had conducted. He was hung knowing he had at least some effect on slavery. Not only did he not have regret for his actions but he felt no regret for putting his family, friends, and followers in danger. At the Harper’s Ferry raid but not by John Brown. Although he didn’t feel any regret he made his point and the free states tried to end slavery, even if the free states had slave hunters come and take black people even if they were free. The Harper’s Ferry raid, John Brown had lost his sons by the next morning, and a few others. He was hung a while later after he was taken by a slave state where he had committed a murder of a slave owner.…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays