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John Brown Villain or Hero

John Brown Villain or Hero Brown’s attack on Harper’s Ferry affected American culture more than can ever be understood. Tension between the North and South was building in the 1850’s. Slavery among many other things was dividing the country into two sections. Brown was executed on December 2, 1859 for his murderous out-lash on society. Was his mind so twisted and demented that he would commit cold-blooded murder? The answer is no. John Brown was a man with a goal and a purpose. When he said that abolition could not be achieved without blood he was right. It is one of histories great ironies; John Brown’s struggle preceded the Civil War by only 17 months. Thousands of people were killed in the Civil War, yet John Brown is still looked on as a criminal. He was not a criminal but a hero, fighting for what was right. He was a man ahead of his time. John Brown was born on May 9, 1800 in the town of Torrington Connecticut. When he was five his family moved to Ohio and in 1834 they moved to Pennsylvania. John Brown was no stranger to slavery. His father ran a station in the Underground Railroad. He was taught to respect the slaves they harbored as equals and as good people. Brown learned to respect people different than him. In Pennsylvania, Brown worked with other slave sympathizers to educate the African-American community. He was even able to accept and learn from the Native American’s that lived in the area of his home. Slavery was considered inhumane and cruel to Brown and his family. As John Brown grew and became a man he became more and more active in the fight for abolitionism. Like his father he devoted his life to gathering money for slaves and housing those that escaped. Brown began to read the bible day and night, each day becoming more and more secure with his beliefs. “He had found quotation after quotation to support his conviction that God had destined his righteous servant for great things.” (Stutler 6) With every day his views and ideas about slavery became more and more radical. Brown wanted to do anything he had to in order to abolish slavery. Brown had a great faith in God. Success had eluded him up to this point. He had sired 20 children and had gone through two wives, but he still felt unfulfilled. In 1846, Brown was working as a wool merchant but nothing ever came of it. Before 1855, Brown had gone through a series of lawsuits and bankruptcies that halted his success. Gerrit Smith, a philanthropist friend of Brown’s, was persuaded into giving a portion of the 120,000 acres of land he owned in upstate New York to Brown. This land would be open to refugee negroes. Brown lived on this land as a farmer for some time before realizing that people were just taking advantage of him. In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law was passed. This law plainly stated that citizens were required to help slave catchers if inquired upon to do so. This law would make it immensely difficult for slaves to successfully escape slavery. Slaves would have to be even more careful not to run into the wrong person. John Brown along with other northerners were outraged. Many abolitionists protested and claimed this law was outrageous. The question of whether it was right for the government to force abolitionist to help slave catchers was asked, Brown knew the answer was NO. John Brown would not help enforce slavery no matter the circumstances. It became more and more apparent to him that something must be done. Brown knew that he needed to do something fast to stop these injustices. John Brown formed the League of Gileadites in response to this law. Their goal was to resist it by any means. Brown and his followers believed that even killing was acceptable and necessary to put an end to this law. Brown believed that if he had to kill a man to end slavery or even kill a thousand men to end slavery it would not be a crime. Brown foresaw that God, and many others, would understand his actions to be necessary and proper. The man who owns a slave is ten times more guilty than the man who kills the slave owner. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 infuriated abolitionists and Brown. This act repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed slavery north of 36 30’. It allowed the inhabitants of the states to determine whether the state would become free or slave. Many abolitionists came to Kansas to vote, and in response many pro-slavery candidates flocked to Kansas from Missouri. In 1854, many Missourians illegally voted in Kansas and were able to make it a slave state. Abolitionists were unhappy about this. In May of 1856, pro-slavery Kansans attacked an antislavery stronghold at Lawrence, Kansas. It seemed as if Kansas was going through a civil war. Disputes between abolitionist and pro-slavery citizens caused millions of dollars in property in damage that led to a paralyzed agriculture, and many dead in Kansas. Neither side was happy about the way Kansas had turned out. John Brown came to Kansas in 1855 to protest the Kansas-Nebraska Act. After Kansas became a slave state he knew there would be trouble between the two side. Soon after he heard about the attack at Lawrence he began to get ready to return the favor. On May 25, 1856 Brown along with several other men ambushed five people. This was a deliberate assassination of slave sympathizers. The five people were killed in retribution for the free-state men that had earlier been killed. The victims were taken out of their homes and brutally murdered. The bodies were hacked into small pieces with sabers and left to rot on the banks of the Pottawatomie Creek. Brown’s new nickname became, “Captain Brown”. When others heard of this murderous action some were repulsed while others were happy. Many claimed him insane and others called him a hero. This event became known as the Pottawatomie Massacre. No one would forget how brutal and bold John Brown was. Brown did not stop there. In December of 1858, he liberated 12 slaves in Missouri. $250 was put on his head. This and his success in withstanding a large party of attacking Missourians at Osawatomie in August made him famous. He was not the most popular man in the south. John Brown was a smart man. He knew that larger efforts were needed in the long run if slavery was ever to be abolished. Brown met with many other abolitionists, but his radical views scared away most of them. Brown was even able to meet with Frederick Douglass, a former slave and abolitionist himself. Brown and Douglass did not agree on many important issues. Douglass did not condone the violence that Brown insisted was necessary. Brown responded to Douglass’ words by saying, “No political action will ever abolish the system of slavery. It will have to go out in blood. Those men who hold slaves have even forfeited their right to live.” (Douglass 352) When asked if he would help Brown in his quest, Douglass refused. He viewed Brown’s plan as suicidal and barbaric. Even Abraham Lincoln commented on the absurdness of Brown’s actions. Although Brown’s life was full of minor setbacks he never seemed to lose track of what was important. He had devoted his life to anti-slavery, and saved many African-Americans from servitude. Brown was not pleased with his accomplishments. Slavery was still a huge part of the South’s culture and it seemed that the government would never succeed in or even try to abolish it. It seemed as if larger steps needed to be taken in a shorter period of time. Brown was sick of tolerating the vices of his southern neighbors. Brown began to gather money once again. Many abolitionists gave him large amounts of money. Before long he had $3,000. Brown used this money to buy weapons and ammunition. His goal was to invade the south secretly, call upon the slaves to rise, arm them, and establish a black sanctuary in the west. He set his eyes on the small town of Harper’s Ferry in western Virginia. Harper’s Ferry was located on the Potomac River and would be a good site for attack. The country did not expect what was about to happen. Brown knew that his attack would have to be swift and well designed. He would have to first commandeer Harper’s Ferry and then seize arms and ammunition from the army. This would be followed by a swift retreat into the Alleghenies, where Brown and his freed slaves could live without shackles. His hope was that the slaves in Harper's Ferry and slaves from around the country would rise and revolt against their owners. Between the hours of 10:00 and 11:00 PM on October 16, 1859, Brown first entered the town of Harper’s Ferry. He was accompanied by 2 of his sons and 18 other men, some of which were former slaves. (White 1) Their first move was to cut the telegraph wires so that word of their attack could not be sent out. Next they surprised the watchman at the armory. Several shots were fired and the town awoke. By the next morning Brown and his men were forced to leave the armory and fortify themselves in a fire-engine house. Even though Brown was greatly outnumbered he decided to stay instead of retreating. They took up defensive positions and fought anything that came their way. The local militia kept Brown pinned down for over a day. On October 17, Robert E. Lee arrived to put an end to this revolt. Lee tried to talk to Brown, but he would not hear him. On the 18th Lee was left with no other choice than to forcibly put an end to it. Brown held ten hostages, but they did not impact Lee’s decision. Lee sent Lieutenant Israel Green to crash through the engine room door with bayonets. Green caught Brown as he was reloading his weapon. Green beat Brown to the ground with his sword and struck him in the head several times. Things did not work out the way that Brown had hoped. He had counted on a slave uprising but none of the slaves in the area did revolt. Many slaves did not hear of the revolt until it was over and the ones that did hear of it believed it suicidal to join him. Ten of Brown’s own men were dead, including two of his sons. Seven others were dead and ten others were wounded. Brown himself was wounded in the head and chest. John Brown was arrested and charged with treason, murder, and conspiracy with slaves. He was promised a fair trial by Governor Wise of Virginia, but Wise would not award clemency to Brown. Brown responded by saying, “I have had no counsel; I have not been able to advise with any one. I know nothing about the feelings of my fellow prisoners, and am utterly unable to attend in any way to my own defense.” A fair trial was something he would never see in his eyes. Brown insisted he had done no wrong. Brown remarked, “I never did intend murder, or treason, or the destruction of property, or to excite or incite the slaves to rebellion, or to make insurrection.” When asked how he justified his acts, he replied, “I think, my friend, you are guilty of a great wrong against God and humanity—I say it without wishing to be offensive—and it would be perfectly right for any one to interfere with you so far as to free those you willfully and wickedly hold in bondage. I do not say this insultingly.” When asked what principle does he justify his acts he replied, “Upon the golden rule. I pity the poor in bondage that have none to help them; that is why I am here; not to gratify any personal animosity, revenge or vindictive spirit. It is my sympathy with the oppressed and the wronged, that are as good as you and as precious in the eyes of God.” John Brown was an instrument in the hands of Providence. (Brown 148) On October 26, 1859, Brown was summoned to hear his indictment. Up to this point Brown had hoped for some miracle to save him from his fate but that was out of his mind now. He knew his fate. He knew the noose waited. The one thought that comforted him was that in death he would be able to help abolition better than if he were alive. His death would bring attention to the subject. He attended the trial, held in the old pillared courthouse in Charlestown. He was also there when he was sentenced to death by hanging. Six of Brown’s men who had been with him at Harper’s Ferry were also sentenced to die. A field adjoining Charlestown had been chosen as the site of Brown’s execution. By 9:00 AM, December 2, 1859, the field was crowded with observers from all over the country. Reporters from many metropolitan newspapers had come to witness the execution. Soldiers, horses, infantry, and sentinels guarded the platform. Brown sent for a lawyer to write his will and requested to see his wife. It was his last chance to say goodbye. At 11:00 AM John Brown was led out to the field. He did not show any emotion, and did not seem to be impacted by the crowd. He was escorted by a column of soldiers all the way up to the platform. He was then seated on his coffin with his arms tied behind his back. A hood was placed over his head and he was led up the 13 steps of the hanging platform. When secured into place Brown declined to drop a handker-chief as a symbol to cut the drop. The Sheriff cut the rope and Brown fell through the platform. “A few convulsive struggles & a soul had gone to judgement.”(Citation) His last words were, “I, John Brown, am quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away without blood.” Opinions about John Brown were mixed after his execution. Some believed he deserved to die while others thought a great man had just been killed. Many abolitionists mourned his death and used it as incentive in later battles against slavery. Wendell Phillips, a well known orator, spoke kindly of John Brown, “John Brown has twice as much right to hang Governor Wise than he has to hang him.” Emerson and Thoreau both compared Brown’s hanging to the crucifixion of Jesus. Horace Greely said, “If slavery is wrong, then John Brown was wholly right. John Brown’s execution brought together many important people of his day. Robert E. Lee, the colonel of marines, that responded to Brown at Harper’s Ferry, would later lead the Confederate armies against the Union in the Civil War. One of the militiamen was John Wilkes Booth, who would be responsible for killing the later President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. And then there is, of course, John Brown who succeeded in changing America forever. After his hanging, a song was written about Brown. It was entitled, “John Brown’s Body”. Union soldiers would chant and sing this song as they marched. After the worst defeats they would use it to cheer themselves up. John Brown did not live to experience an America where slavery does not exist. Like so many Americans who fought their whole lives to make this country a better place he is looked back upon as a criminal. As citizens of the United States, it is our duty to stand up for what is right. John Brown knew that force was necessary to put an end to slavery. It is a sad fact, but it is true. Throughout history people have fought and killed over almost everything. It is a part of our nature and in some cases conflict is unavoidable. The average person remembers the wars of the world as glorious and admirable. Why can we not look upon John Brown in the same way? We can and should. Bibliography:

Word Count: 2714