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John Brown Dbq

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“I never intended murder or treason, or the destruction of property[...] or to make insurrection,” were the words of John Brown in 1859 before being sentenced to death. John Brown was a well-known abolitionist hoping to end slavery in the 1800s, using techniques many would deem brutal. However, he also had many allies willing to help him in any way to achieve his goal. There have been many debates on whether the strong-willed man should be considered a hero for trying to end slavery, or a criminal for using violent methods. John Brown was a villain because he was untrustworthy, his supporters disapproved of his actions, and his measures to end slavery were incredibly violent. John Brown’s actions to end slavery were repeatedly violent and sometimes …show more content…

In a letter written to Brown by Mahala Doyle, she states “[...] you then and there entered my house at midnight and arrested my husband and two boys and took them out of the yard and cold blood shot them dead in my hearing, you can’t say you did it to free our slaves, we had none and never expected to own one.” (Mahala Doyle Document E) Many would agree that harming innocent people is inexcusable and would classify you as a villain. In addition, Doyle expresses her opinion further by saying, “[...] I do feel gratified to hear that you were stopped in your fiendish career at Harper’s Ferry, with the loss of your two sons, you can now appreciate my distress[...]” (Mahala Doyle Document E) Near the end of his life, John Brown proved more untrustworthy than previously shown. After being captured in his raid of the arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Brown was found guilty and was to be hanged for treason. During his speech at his trial, Brown claimed “I certainly intended to have done a clean thing of that matter, as I did last winter when I went into Missouri, and there took slaves without the snapping of a gun on either side, moving them through the country, and finally leaving them in

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525 Words | 3 Pages

John Brown killed many innocent people who did not own slaves. According to document E, on November 20th, 1859, Mahala Doyle expressed her anger towards John Brown. John Brown deliberately shot two of her sons and her husband because they were pro-slavery, even though they did not own slaves and weren’t ever going to own them. This shows that John Brown is a villain because he killed almost a whole family that did not own slaves, all because they were pro-slavery.

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584 Words | 3 Pages

John Brown was a villain because he killed innocent men, abused power and money given to him, and kidnapped two men. “He was not only a murderer of innocent persons, but he attempted one of the greatest crimes against society -- the stirring up of a servile and civil war.” (Document H, Our Harper’s Ferry and Charleston News) John Brown was an abolitionist who thought that slavery should end at any cost. He was hanged for treason in 1859 when he took his acts too far. To this day there is still controversy on whether or not he was a hero or villain based on the difference between his acts and intentions.

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170 Words | 1 Pages

John Brown was a villain because he did all kinds of awful things just to lie through them, he committed treason to show slaves how to carry out the job, he unalived innocent people because they were pro - slavery, and almost started a civil war. John Brown has been a terrorist for two events in his life and killed people along the way. He is a villain because he killed people that were pro-slavery and didn’t have slaves. Everyone accomplishes an awful job by committing a crime to show slaves what to do and is not okay.

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659 Words | 3 Pages

“John Brown was known as a madman who used excessive force in order to achieve his goals” says Joseph R. Gilmore, but who was John Brown? John Brown was an abolitionist trying to free slaves, except he did that with so much violence and killing innocent people. It was also later revealed that those weren’t even his true intentions. This information is very important since most people think that he was an amazing person who just wanted to free slaves, but that was not the whole truth. John Brown was a villain because he killed innocent people and took them captive, he lied about everything in court, and he tried to start a civil war.

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495 Words | 2 Pages

John Brown Did you know that John Brown planned to use slaves in a revolt at Harper Ferry? John Brown was an abolitionist who wanted to put an end to slavery. But he came across many obstacles in the process of removing slavery. During this time slavery was a very serious topic and would create fights against people and states. John Brown was a villain in my opinion because he killed three men, lied in court, then told the truth once he knew he was sentenced to death, and freed slaves and gave them weapons just so he could start a revolt at Harpers Ferry.

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626 Words | 3 Pages

“I deny everything but what I have all along admitted, [...]” John Brown stated at his trial in 1859. John Brown was an abolitionist who attempted to end slavery, but his methods differed from most. Brown used violence to free slaves, and he was both loved and hated by people. He was a man of many titles: violence, lying, murder. It is a well-known question: Is John Brown a villain or a hero?

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476 Words | 2 Pages

He was willing to die to make something happen, he went with a few men to conquer an armory, although he was not aware of the fact the probability of death was way higher than he thought because of his insanity, but he still knew that there was chance of death. The South thought John Brown was a terrorist. They state that he was evil for murdering a lot of citizens because some of them may have not treated their slaves that bad, and it is just plain evil to kill for no reason. This is not true.

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521 Words | 3 Pages

This topic is important because we need to decide if we should celebrate this man and if his actions were worth it. John Brown was a villain because he killed many innocents, chose to commit treason from rebellion, and lied to court to lower or get rid of his sentence. He has killed 3 known innocent people in the massacre of Pottawatomie. In one of the letters addressed to John Brown written by Mahala Doyle, she stated that John Brown broke into their house, took both her husband and 2 sons into

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784 Words | 4 Pages

Many people believed he was a hero, but many others believed he was a villain. John Brown murdered many innocent people, committed treason, and used violence. On May 24th, 1856, John Brown led an attack on a pro-slavery settlement at Pottawomie. He killed and tortured five

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161 Words | 1 Pages

Was John Brown a misguided fanatic? or is he the hero that the North sees him as? John Brown was a misguided fanatic because he felt that the only way to end slavery is by force. To explain this, Brown attacked the federal arsenal in Harper's Ferry in Virginia. But, Brown's plans had failed, two of his sons have died, and was sentenced to death.

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549 Words | 3 Pages

Even up until the end, he was still a very strong believer that slavery was wrong. Even when he knew that he was going to die, that just shows how much his actions and this cause meant to him. we would never know that if his actions never happened, then slavery might still be in effect to this day. By doing everything in his power, he changed slavery for the generations to come. Some might say that John Brown was a villain because he killed tons of people and committed treason, but would slavery have ended if he didn’t?

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804 Words | 4 Pages

“We rejoice that old BROWN has been hung. He was not only a murderer of innocent persons, but he attempted one of the greatest crimes against society” (Charlestown News Document H). John Brown, an abolitionist who made many choices in his life, both good and bad. There are many people who think that John Brown is a hero, while there are also many people who think John Brown was a villain. This topic is important because both heroes and villains have an impact on people’s lives, whether positive or negative, it’s an impact.

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869 Words | 4 Pages

He took part in some very violent conflicts against pro-slavery supporters and did some wild things in the name of banishing slavery. The real question is whether he is a hero or a villain, and I believe that John Brown was a hero because he returned stolen property when he realized it was already owned, tons of people believed in and supported him, and he died to end slavery. Firstly, he is a proven good man because he returned stolen property

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1684 Words | 7 Pages

Lee, came and ended the failed raid. The soldiers captured Brown and he was later hung for treason on December 2, 1859. As a terrorist to the south and a martyr in the north Brown’s actions, although brutal, brought attention to the slave conflict in the states sparking controversy. John Brown’s plan was unsuccessful, but for the fight against slavery, his actions called for a change. Ultimately John Brown was a martyr for the cause of abolition because through shocking the nation, being fuel for abolition, and showing how divided America was, he drew attention to the violence of slavery which enabled others to make a choice whether to push for a change in the African American community or continue mistreating the lives of innocent people.

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420 Words | 2 Pages

Someone's villain can be another one’s hero” (Aidan Parnell). John Brown was a villain to many, yet he died to show others he was a hero. He was convicted of Murder and treason for capturing an arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, holding hostages, and more. The Martin ⅞ trial found him not guilty. John Brown is not guilty of treason or murder at Harper's Ferry, VA.

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