John Brown Hero Essay

Words: 537
Pages: 3

Is John Brown the hero we all idolize him to be? “Old John Brown has been executed. We cannot object even though he agreed with us in thinking slavery is wrong. This cannot excuse violence, bloodshed, and treason” (Lincoln). John Brown had a goal to abolish slavery, and while that might seem like a normal thing, he took a rather “violent” approach. Brown used this as an “excuse” to beat and kill pro-slavery supporters brutally. He had a good idea at heart, but the violence overtook him. This led to him kidnapping, murdering, and lying to make these amends happen. Brown was a villain because he had staged brutal massacres, tried to start rebellions, and even lost his sons, but still kept fighting.

It is believed that John Brown’s massacres were ruthless. An example from the text is, “Brown and his men killed 5 men, hacking at them with broadswords and cutting their throats before shooting them”. (Doyle) Brown took a very harsh approach to the situation which was not needed. The facts clearly indicate that Brown had good intentions, but soon turned dark. Instead of going a more tactical route, he went the more “violent route.” Brown was a “hero” for believing in saving slaves, but the violence aspect was a stretch.
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This is factual because according to “Document C: Pike”, “Blair agreed to make 100 pikes for Brown for a dollar each, payable in installments.” (Brown ). Later, Brown would have used them to start a slave rebellion, if he hadn't been captured. As you can see by the evidence, Brown wanted to raise funds for his “cause”, meaning he wanted to grab more attention. Going back to the Pottawatomie massacre, Brown uses murder and violence as a solution. This rebellion plan was no different, leading to (most likely) more