John Browns Reign of Terrorism John Brown was an American Abolitionist who promoted and supported armed conflict in order to end all slavery.
John Brown’s Reign of Terrorism
John Brown was an American Abolitionist who promoted and supported armed conflict in order to end all slavery. John brown witnessed the brutal beating of an African American slave at a young age; therefore he quickly grasped the idea that slavery in America was unjustified and prejudice. He understood the struggles that slaves were faced with, and the vicious tactics owners used to discipline them. He would do anything in order to reach closer to his goal of a completely free nation as a whole. Some people may argue that Brown was both a martyr and a terrorist, however his actions specified him as only one. Although John Brown dedicated his life to end slavery, his motives and aggressive methods placed him as a terrorist in the eyes of many Americans.
Born in Connecticut and raised in Ohio, John Brown was brought up in a family where racial superiority did not exist. His Calvinist parents taught him and his 7 siblings that people were all created equal. From the beginning, him and his family loathed slavery. When John Brown was just twelve-years-old he witnessed the brutal beating of a young slave boy, just his age, which scarred him forever. This event led to his lifelong battle to end slavery. At age sixteen Brown left his family and began his lifelong endeavors as a terrorist fighting for a good cause, yet in an immoral way.
On the evening of May 24, 1856, John Brown conducted the event known as the “The Pottawatomie Creek Massacre,” viciously slaying five pro-slavery white men, assuming they owned slaves. The white men were led out into the darkness, where they were stabbed and shot. It was not an equal fight; John Brown physically took them out of their homes and led them helplessly to their death. He showed both bias and judgmental views, everything he worked against, by leading this slaughter. While Brown was in jail awaiting his execution in 1859, he received many different types of letters. One in particular was from the women, Mahala Doyle, whose husband and two sons he murdered during The Pottawatomie Massacre, leaving her with one son. She states, “My son John Doyle whose life I begged of you is now grown up and is very desirous to be at Charlestown on the day of your execution.”(Doyle) He intentionally killed men; therefore he deserved to die himself. There were no justifications to the crime John Brown committed, it is not defendable saying, it was done to free slaves considering the Doyle’s did not own any. Brown committed crimes against the innocent, characterizing him as a terrorist. (John Brown’s Holy War)
