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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, took a leading role in propelling the nation toward secession and conflicts. His efforts to end slavery did not go to waste instead it set the pace to end slavery in the northern part. John Brown was a martyr, his last effort to end slavery when he raided Harper’s Ferry helped to shape the nation and change the history of slavery in America.
Long before the raid on Harper’s Ferry raid, John Brown was an antislavery activist. Having been born in a religious family, his father had instilled to him the idea that slavery was a sin. It was against God’s will. To Brown’s father slavery was a wicked practiced condemned by God. As Brown was growing up he had an experience with how the slaves were brutally roughed up. One day he visited a nearby farm where he witnessed the violent beatings of the slaves by their master (Earle 15). This evil incident had a lasting impression on young Brown’s life which he carried it all his life. He vowed to be an antagonist of slavery long before the Harper’s Ferry.
John Brown possessed ideologies that motivated him to fight slavery. The fact that he was a Calvinist his religious believes could not allow him to support slavery. The evils promoted by slavery enticed him to begin the crusade against slavery. When his crusade did not yield any positive result he decided to be a militant Abolitionist. He kept his religious faith and this saw the change of his ideology. He believed that he was sent by God to help end slavery. This meant that he would fight if violence was the only way to save the slave and end the practice. He turned violent and started the guerilla war killing the men who were supporting slavery. To Brown slavery was war, a war of humanity where only bloodshed would end it. He had made up his mind and he was enticed to fight.
As a fighter of slavery, he was at the forefront of the fight against slavery. His first attempt was to recruit other civilians to join in the war on slavery. This was to ensure that he had supporters who would back him up. From Pennsylvania to Ohio he organized safe haven where black men would be taught education. He believed that by instilling knowledge the blacks they would know their rights and fight back. Through the help of other abolitionists, he raised enough money and bought land to help the escaped slaves find a place to live and farm. His crusades saw the north being a state free from slavery. The fight was now based in the south where the states were pure proslavery.
According to the author of John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry Jonathan Earle, John Brown was an antagonist to slavery (23). John Brown’s attempt to end slavery intensified when he advocated bloodshed as a way to end slavery and slave dominance. This was where he turned military and started making plans of how to fight the southern part which was now dominated by the proslavery residents. He recruited enough men with the help of other Abolitionists and organized attacks starting with the bloodshed in Kansas. The violence in Kansas marked the onset of other battles he organized to fight slavery. As they intensified, he came up with the idea of collecting arms and offering them to the slave. This was a way to enable them to escape and fight for their freedom. This later move saw him raid the Harper’s Ferry arsenal with the attempt to raid firearms and other weapons to offer to the slaves.
Generally, Brown’s relationship with many of the other abolitionists was not good. Brown’s approach to slavery differed from the others. He was fearless and full of zeal, unlike the other Abolitionists. He was opposed by the other abolitionists when he began rising up as a militia. They could not understand why he took the matter so seriously and started the attacks. The Abolitionist condemned the brutality that he had become. The way that he fought the war was gruesome and the sight of how he chopped the proslavery men’s heads was very fearful. Some abolitionists did not support him and denied him any help with their military men. These actions were misinterpreted by the other Abolitionists who in turn tagged him as an insane man (McPherson 204).
Another aspect that made the other abolitionists differ from Brown was the fact that they did not agree with Brown’s idea of raiding the Harper’s Ferry. They felt that the slaves were not ready for the move. Brown thought otherwise he was set to go on a raid. One of the Abolitionist Fredrick Douglass differed with him in the idea of raiding the weapon store in Harper’s Ferry they preferred the guerrilla wars. They saw it as a big mistake as the raid could attract the government and hence a massive hunt for the Abolitionists (McPherson 205). This saw the Abolitionists withdraw their military men in Brown’s plan.
While in prison waiting to be executed, Brown wrote letters to his wife, children and friends. The motive behind the letter was to encourage the people to continue what he had started. He had a strong belief that the war against slavery was to be won for the nation to be free from what he called sin. Through the letters, he was able to incite the Northerners to continue the war on slavery. He encouraged them to fight more. This is seen in his letter where he urges them to keep on fighting as the war on slavery was not easy. He stated that it was only through bloodshed that the war was to be won. The letters had a big influence on the Northerners who saw the need to carry on the war of which Brown had started. The letters were also very spiritual. They were to give hope to the slaves with the faith that the war would soon end.
The aftermath of the Harper’s Ferry raid had a lot to do with the onset of the civil war (Earle 123). The raid acted as a wake-up call to the Southerners who were strong supporters of slavery. They saw the danger that loomed in front of them. The execution on the other hand united the Northerners they came together and strengthened their Abolitionist movement. Hence, the hatred between the Southerners and the Northerners intensified. The civil war was a conflict of states against states. The onset of the traces its root to what Brown had started. The people in the south heard those other Abolitionists were involved in the raid. They became afraid and in fear of being raided on and losing their properties and slaves. They felt that if Brown could stage the raid the other Abolitionists would emulate him and attack them. They did not understand the magnitude of the force on the abolitionist side. They, therefore, recollected themselves to form their own militias who would be trained vigorously to fight any force from the outside.
In conclusion, John Brown was a hero. His believes, practices, and actions changed the history of the nation. He set up the pace to freedom from slavery the slave and slavery. It was through his campaigns that the northerners were enlightened to end slavery. He acted as a catalyst that propelled the nation to the Civil war where the aftermath of his execution saw the rivalry between the south and the north. This war would later lead the nation to freedom from oppression and slavery. Brown is attributed to have been the force behind the fight against slavery in America.
Works Cited
Earle, Jonathan. John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry: A Brief History with Documents. 1st Ed. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2008. Print.
McPherson, M. James. The battle cry of freedom: the Civil War era. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print.
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