John Brown DBQ

DBQ
John Brown is the man who stirred up America for standing up for the most controversial flaw of American history: slavery. The opinions of the North and South regarding John Brown and his intense actions tremendously changed after 1859. Prior to the invasion of the federal armory at the Harper’s Ferry in Virginia, Brown had little reputation among the North and the South. John Brown’s actions were regarded as extreme in the years before the American Civil War and they served as a reflection of the changing relationship between the North and South. The political, social, and religious aspects of the period further divided the North and the South and escalated tensions that resulted in the Civil War.
Although the North was indifferent about slavery at first, John Brown’s affiliation with the abolitionist and actions at Harper’s Ferry resulted in northerners viewing him as a troublemaker, but this changed in the few years before the Civil War. They began to later view him as a hero and his actions became a symbol for what he stood for which helped cement the divide between the North and South. John Brown took a stance by attempting to arm slaves so they can escape the South. In order to arm the slaves, he invaded Harper’s Ferry in 1859 to retrieve the supply arms, causing two distinct uprisings in both the North and the South. The North now began to look at John Brown as the leader of all abolitionists, rather than a troublemaker. He was now praised and honored throughout the North for his courageous qualities and confidence (Doc.F). Due to the pedestal that the northerners put John Brown on, the tension between both rivalries began to amplify. However, the South resulted in categorizing Brown as an extreme abolitionist for invading Virginia to emphasize on his anti-slavery movement. The South also started believing that John Brown was connected to the Republicans causing Democrats to believe that their loss at state elections was a loss due to Harper Ferry’s break-in (Doc. E). In behalf of John Brown’s involvement with being an abolitionist, the North began to greatly praise him and the South’s hatred for John Brown increased, demonstrating the great barrier between the North and the South for their diverse opinions.
Moreover, the religious view of John Brown according to the North and the South molded the two different points of views from the North and South. On the one hand, in the South, John Brown was pertained to be a devil-like terrorist. Many Southerners began to amuse the idea of John Brown becoming a holy sinner for being an extremist (Doc. H). The South also believed John Brown was a sinner and didn’t follow human law, demonstrating the different perceived figures of John Brown in both the North and the South. In the North, Brown began to attain the stature of an angel, which is opposite to what he was said to be in the South. After the Harper’s Ferry incident, John Brown began to claim that he was sent from God to help flee the slaves from slavery in the South. John Brown began to gain popularity within the more dedicated abolitionists, including being mentioned in a Civil War song. The song repeatedly refers to John Brown as a soldier in the army of the Lord (Doc.G). Brown’s reputation positively increased in the North, whereas in the South he was seen even more as a radical and terrorist, reflecting the distinction of both the North and the South concerning their attitude for slavery.
John Brown’s role in the social lives of the North and the South depicted the differences among both countries. Brown gained support from the abolitionists that were just as extreme as himself from the North. However, many of the Northerners changed their opinion to believing that John Brown should not have crossed the South’s border (Virginia) to justify slaves (Doc. A). Since some northerners began to view Brown as a fanatic, the attitude of the North began to also change into believing that the North and South’s laws should be dealt by their own citizens, rather than imposers. On the other hand, the South continued to believe that since Brown was a northerner than South was not only infuriated with Brown but also the North for containing some supporters of Brown. The distinctions between the North and the South were illustrated through their point of view regarding John Brown. The North’s opinion developed into becoming less supportive of John Brown’s intense anti-slavery movements and the South began to prepare for a long war in order to make a statement to keep imposers out.
Ultimately, the North and the South did not agree on the issue of slavery. This statement is true through the opinions followed by John Brown and his actions. John Brown imposed on the slave state, Virginia by invading the federal armory at Harper’s Ferry. The invasion caused an uprising in the South and the North into questioning the motives of extreme abolitionists. The view about John Brown greatly illustrated the changing relations between the North and the South from 1859-1863. The tension between both the North and South increased due to the political, social, and religious aspects John Brown was associated with. The unresolved strain of Harper’s Ferry and John Brown lead to the Civil War molding the great barrier between two countries.