John Brown Martyr

Some could call Brown a pioneer in being a civil rights activist for social and economic justice in this time period. Other people saw Brown as a mad man out for his own cause to be a hero and a martyr for equal rights and freeing the slaves. According to David King that Brown was crazy with the statement –“on the subject of slavery he was crazy” (Davidson p. 129). King was quoted saying this after he meet Brown after the Kansas fight. King described Brown as “an instrument in the hands of God to free slaves” and that Brown thought of his self as the person pick to free people from slavery (Davidson p. 129). Historians researching for answers for the clues if Brown was really insane might use this to back up their claim that Brown was crazy.

John Brown single-handedly created the sparks that led to the southern secession. John Brown was a religious man who believed in “an eye for an eye”. He was willing to use as much violence as necessary for his cause even if it was extreme. In 1864, John Brown lead a group of men to kill five pro-slavery men because of a rumor he heard about the murder of anti-slavery men. This tradesy is known as the Pottawatomie Massacre. Document B shows that Brown had “torn, hacked and disfigured” men at Pottawatomie. This brutal massacre proves that Brown’s actions were unheroic and ended up upsetting many men. When other pro-slavery men heard about his incident they were enraged. The murders of the men led to a series of violent events between the proslavery

After the bill was passed, pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters rushed in to settle in Kansas to affect the outcome of the first election. Pro-slavery settlers won the election, but were charged with fraud by anti-slavery settlers. The anti-slavery settlers held another election, but the pro-slavery settlers refused to vote. This resulted in two opposing legislatures within the Kansas territory. The opposition created violence between the two groups, causing many bloody battles that greatly increased the death rate, giving Kansas the nickname “Bleeding Kansas”. President Pierce, supporting pro-slavery, sent in Federal troops to stop the violence and disperse the anti-slavery legislature. Another election was held and pro-slavery supporters won. They were again charged with election fraud. As a result, Congress did not recognize the constitution the pro-slavery settlers adopted, and Kansas wasn’t allowed to become a state. Eventually,

John Brown was very similar to Nat Turner they both believed that they were chosen by god to lead slaves into freedom and if that required a fight then that was what they had to do. John Brown had a goal and that was to abolish slavery throughout the united states. The trouble in Kansas began when the Nebraska Act was signed by President Pierce, this act engaged that people make a determination on whether Kansas territory should be free or slave. In hopes that Kansas would become free of slaves, the opposing side which was named Border Ruffians invaded their territory and forced the pro-slavery election. After John heard about the fear of Kansas becoming a slave state and after also hearing that the Border Ruffians ransacked the town of Lawrence

John Brown thought that the way to overthrow slavery was through violence. John Brown also killed Pro slavery residents or to be more specific civilians that were pro slavery. He also justified his actions by saying it was the will of God, that he committed those murders according to Biography.com.

John Brown’s beliefs about slavery and activities to destroy it hardly represented the mainstream of northern society in the years leading up to the Civil War. This rather unique man, however, has become central to an understanding and in some cases misunderstandings about the origins of the Civil War. The importance of Brown’s mission against slavery was colossal to accelerating the civil war between the North and the South. His raid on Harpers Ferry in1859 divided the United States like nothing else before, and could have been the main event leading to the Civil War.

Bleeding Kansas was a series of conflicts between anti slavery people and pro slavery people. Bleeding Kansas started when they needed to decide if Kansas would be with the North or South and they did this by voting. Since there wasn’t many good records of who was a citizen in this time many people from

Bleeding Kansas was a period in time filled with violence during the settling of the Kansas territory. It was a small war fought between proslavery and antislavery for control of the Kansas territory. “In 1854 the Kansas-Nebraska Act overturned the Missouri Compromise’s use of latitude as the boundary between slave and free territory and instead, using the principle of popular sovereignty, decreed that the residents would determine whether the area became a free state or a slave state.” (Bleeding Kansas, A&E Television Networks, 2009) People all around came together to try to influence the decision on whether the state should be proslavery or a free state. Unfortunately, it took the turn for the worst with brutal violence. Blood was being shed all across Kansas. It contributed to the political storm that occurred throughout the United States before the Civil War came in to play.

Bleeding Kansas was a period of violence for about seven years (1854-1961). The violence broke out when a decision needed to be made about whether Kansas was going to become a free state or a slave state. Both parties fled to Kansas to influence the decision. John

Douglas, led to the event called the Bloody Kansas. This event showed that people would kill over the issue of slavery. The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed Kansas and Nebraska to decide whether they wanted to have slavery or not through popular sovereignty. This act also pretty much repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which further enraged northerners.The Senate thought that Nebraska would be a free state and Kansas would be a slave state. Nebraska had a peaceful vote, but many pro-slavery, and anti-slavery supporter flooded Kansas, and set up 2 separate legislatures, trying to make Kansas a free/slave state. Violence arose when anti-slavery supporters, led by John Brown, attacked the pro-slavery supporters. President Franklin Pierce had to send federal troops to stop the attacks, and disbanded the anti-slavery legislature. After the the legislature was disbanded, another election was held and the pro-slavery won, but Congress didn’t recognize the new constitution made by the settlers, and kansas didn’t enter the country. Kansas finally entered the country as a free state in 1861, and was admitted into the country right before the civil war. A notable event in the Bloody Kansas ordeal, was the Pottawatomie

Some believed that John Brown was a maniac more than a martyr, but history proves that he was more of a martyr. John Brown believed that all men should be considered equal and have the right to freedom. Beginning in his early childhood and all the way though his life, he had a passion to abolish slavery. Learning from a young age, that all men should have the right to freedom and equality, started a fire inside of John Brown. This was a burning passion to help free slaves and make the world a better place.

Then in 1859, they got even more threatened by the raid on Harper’s Ferry. John Brown led 18 men on a raid, they men were a mixed of white and African American. John Brown was targeting an arsenal, which is a storage unit for weapons and ammunition. Brown also wanted to start a rebellion, by giving weapons the slaves, so they would kill their owners with the weapons from the arsenal. Local citizens and federal troops quickly stopped them, Brown himself was convicted of treason and murder and was sentenced to be hung. An uproar in the North started, some northerners disliked what Brown had done. While many of the others thought he was a hero for his act of bravery. He was later called a martyr, a person who dies for what he believes in, by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

John Brown was an American abolitionist who believed armed insurrection was the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery in the US. Due to to the violence he used to erase slavery he was considered a murderer/terrorist, however some believed he was a hero, since he fought against slavery. To me John Brown was a hero and villain/terrorist. He was a man who did some things that were looked upon by some as terrorist type acts, but others looked at those same acts as fighting against slavery. it is quite easy to see Brown as a villain.

John Brown a man who despise black people; also was a slavery owner. He was born in Torrington, but he spent almost his whole childhood in Ohio. John had sons which when he beat slaves his sons helped him to abuse them. Also early 1850s he made and army which went on a mission to foment rebellion among the slaves. John his three sons moved away just because they had and escape plan for several slaves. To be honest; John was a very hateful person to African Americans.

John Brown was an american abolitionist known for many things. Some saw him as crazy, others as noble, and there were even those who viewed him as a terrorist. Most notably, he was known for being a patriot, by being able to stand for what he believed in, caring for others, and for wanting a better america.