Mr.Smith
US History
October 30, 2015 Arguments in regard of John Brown NO
John Brown was an ardent abolitionist who felt that it was his sacred duty to end slavery. He strongly believed that slavery can only be ended using a violent way of actions. In 1856, he along with his sons, used machetes and broad swords to murder pro-slavery men to death at Pottowattami Creek. They dragged unarmed men and sons to the streets and killed them. On October 1859, Brown and twenty-one followers seized the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Their intent was to take rifles and start massive insurrection of slavery and eventually spread it among the nation. However, when the raid started not a lot of people were willing to join the rebellion so Brown led a small army of 18 men. Brown didn’t even know what is the next step and didn’t have any escape road, he literally led his men including his four sons to a death road. Brown’s main intent was to seize slaves for the rebellion, although he denied it. John Brown was seen as a terrorist and his violent actions led to the American Civil War. Even though his believes proclaimed a righteous intent his actions were not supporting such way of thinking. He killed lots of men and was going to keep doing so until all four million slaves are going to be freed. But that could not have happened because people couldn't set their minds and couldn't believe that white men is equal to black. This believe was counted as insane and John brown was considered as crazy and violent man. Although there were other rebellions against slavery before and after but none of them were so violet and cruel. John Brown chose the worst way to reach his goals and failed because he was unprepared for any actions against him. He was trapped and found guilty in every single court of the US later he was executed or exactly hanged. Therefore, John Brown doesn't deserve any monument or statues for his actions because his status is going to bring the wrong message to the society, it means that his actions were right and can replicated nowadays. YES
Although, John Brown led an unsuccessful rebellion and killed lots of men partial his own men, he is still remembered and studied nowadays. His intent was not exactly wrong he just chose the wrong way to introduce it to the society. He thought that slavery was a parasite of our society which was true, but the only radical way to get rid of it is though massive violence attacks. However, Brown had his supporters not only in common man but also in the upper class. North Businessmen supported him and sponsored his actions. Some of the people even among our society think that Brown was a hero for example, “James Redpath, Franklin Sanborn, and Oswald Garrison Villard—were hero-worshippers who considered Brown a warrior-saint whose assaults on slavery represented the first crucial steps toward emancipation.” John Brown’s intentions can really be counted as a heroic actions because he contributed his whole life to an anti-slavery campaign and even sacrificed his own children. Maybe his youth affected such believe because Brown grew up in northeastern Ohio’s staunchly anti-slavery Western Reserve or maybe during his adulthood he saw how mistreated were African-Americans by their landlords and what kind of punishments they were experiencing. Sooner or later somebody would have rebelled against such cruelty except Brown did it first. And if we only consider the harm he brought to the society of white people why don't were look behind the scene because whites also damaged blacks and mainly ruined their lives or we can also say that black didn’t even have a life since they were slaves and fully depended on a will of their lord. Especially because of such attitude towards slaves Browns intent can be respected and remembered because while other people were just silently watching cruel actions happening, Brown arose and at east tried to the right thing. Nevertheless, we should also remember that John Brown died protecting his actions and some of the cities actually have monuments of Brown which shows that his intentions weren't just terroristic they also were heroic. Work cited: “Mintz, Steven. John Brown: Villain or Hero?" The Gilder Lehman, Institute of American History. Accessed October 30, 2015. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/failure-compromise/essays/john-brown-villain-or-hero "Virginia Historical Society." The Portent: John Brown's Raid in American Memory. Accessed October 30, 2015. http://www.vahistorical.org/collections-and-resources/virginia-history-explorer/portent-john-browns-raid-american-memory "How Should John Brown Be Remembered?" National Museum of American History. September 27, 2011. Accessed October 30, 2015. http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2011/09/how-should-john-brown-be-remembered.html "What Is the Significance of John Brown in American History?" Enotes.com. Accessed October 30, 2015. http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-significance-john-brown-american-history-328893 "John Brown." History.com. Accessed October 30, 2015. http://www.ushistory.org/us/32c.asp