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John Brown Dbq

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John Brown, a hero in the eyes of Northern extremists, his actions supposedly justified by God and the lives of five people which he stole. When John Brown and group of supporters attacked Harpers Ferry that killed a total of five men, it caused a controversial conflict of impressions towards him to this today. Brown’s exact intentions for abolishing slavery is vaguely known, but being a white male with all his rights and privilege, why was John Brown was so passionate about ending slavery if it wasn’t affecting him? Regardless, John Brown ended up killing five different men, and caused terror amongst others, the amount of people killed does not differ the effects it has caused to others. While some see John Brown as a fighter, the use of …show more content…

Those who were labeled as slaves were sick of the mistreatment and the absence of their rights in which were diminished. For instance, Frederick Douglass, who was born into slavery lived through harsh, gruesome conditions. When Douglass was nearly whipped to death, he fought back against his owner, Mr. Covey (Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, 568). Defense, Frederick used defense to save himself from the approach of death, he resisted and fought back for a reason, he could not allow his time of death to come without fighting. Further on, once becoming a free man, Douglass proceeded in raising awareness, he used his voice, his knowledge, to awake the people on what was happening, allowing them to understand that slavery must be unlawful. Douglass was able to come out with the North Star newspaper, which was one of his greatest accomplishments as an abolitionist. It gave the attention that Frederick wanted in order to take the steps in order to abolish slavery. If Frederick Douglass was able to use the power of his voice and words as a Black man who was disregarded, then it would have not been necessary for John Brown who has privilege and power to use extreme violence to get what he …show more content…

John Brown understood what he was dealing with and who he was dealing with; he knew that if violence was not used, the South would not feel threatened, thus furthering the ideology of slavery. Brown being tired of waiting, he knew he needed to act quickly before slavery would get worse, or because of his selfish deeds like the North taking control over Congress instead of the South. However, such excuse is not justifiable since many like Frederick Douglass were able to use the power of words in order to spread justice. The fact alone that Brown was a white male gave him a step forward for change, but despite his power, he chose the path to bloodshed. On the other hand, Douglass was an African American in which he was shut down by many just because of his race. Nonetheless, he knew how to use his voice to raise awareness for the conditions that him and others have gone through. Being have lived a harsher life and his rights were neglected, Frederick Douglass’ words played a major role in improving his rights and the rights of others. When someone who lacks rights and is downgraded by society is able to speak up to change an ideology without the necessity of violence, then someone like Brown who has his rights and privileges as a white person, specifically a white male has a greater chance in making a greater change for

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950 Words | 4 Pages

John Brown’s son, John Brown Jr. was the first to decide to head down to Nebraska and become a farmer and a soldier for the war on slavery. John Brown Jr.’s other 4 sons decided to join him, as well as his father’s brother in law. After his son wrote to him one day about how half of the people fighting for freedom were not even armed and there was no military John Brown then decided to join his son in Kansas. This was the beginning to John Brown’s escalation as a radical abolitionist. Almost as soon as John Brown arrived there was blood spilled by a proslavery Virginian who had killed a free state settler after a dispute.

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258 Words | 2 Pages

John Brown was either seen as a Hero or a villain. That is why he is a significant person in this time period. He had great intentions to stop slavery in his time. The fact that they viewed him as a villain was because he was one of the few white men that finally decide to take action and help slaves from their terrible slave lives. Basically, John Brown had a plan to invade the South and free the slaves.

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434 Words | 2 Pages

“From that time until now, I have been engaged in pleading the cause of my brethren-with what success, and with what devotion, I leave those acquainted with my labors to decide. (SB page 72)” This quote shows how Douglass overcame his problems in life which, in this case, was being held against his will to work for his slaveholder. He knew how painful it was to have a master that owns you and can punish whomever with whatever they choose, solely because of the color of their slaves skin. After this, and when he had gained opportunities and resources, Douglass decided to defend all slaves with his whole heart and with anything

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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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2395 Words | 10 Pages

(Thesis) Frederick Douglass is a leader and a legacy in American History because of his use of words to fight for the freedom and rights of African

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1080 Words | 5 Pages

Most of his time was in the movement of the abolition of slavery. He did not want any other black person to face brutality, humiliation, and pain. His arguments became very useful in the anti-slavery movement. It is through his experiences of being a slave that he urged for the abolition of slavery (Douglass, 1845). Douglass’ style of narration makes the reader to be involved in the story emotionally.

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1657 Words | 7 Pages

He also struggled for stopping the racial violation and helped the fleeing slaves to escape. One of the main point of Douglass’s speech was slavery should be stopped. And he also argued that what’s the point of celebrating Fourth July if the term liberty doesn’t apply equally for all? He also exhibited that a slave is also a human being like others. If white people have the right to utilize all the rights and facilities as a citizen, on the whole as a human, why will the black people lead a life as sub human?

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606 Words | 3 Pages

Frederick Douglass, a historic civil rights activist, was born into slavery and fortunately lived long enough to see it end. He may have outlived the enslavement however, equality and direct freedom was not a result of Americanized slavery’s extinction. Douglass lived his post slavery life during the time of Jim Crow laws, enforced segregation laws. He wrote a letter to an unknown recipient, briefing describing the negative impact these laws had on blacks. Although slavery was abolished, it was believed that the act on dominance still played a big part on how whites treated blacks and still does today.

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1522 Words | 7 Pages

John Garraty describes Brown as so deranged “that rather than hang him for “dreadful act” …. It would have been far wiser and more just to have committed him to an asylum” (Davidson & Lytle, p. 154). Another historian, Allen Nevins, takes the middle ground on Brown and states, “all questions except for slavery, Brown would act coherently and rationally” (Davidson & Lytle, p. 154). A more contemporary biographer, Stephen Oates, in 1970, said Brown was ““not normal” that he had an excitable temperament and was obsessed with slavery” (Davidson & Lytle, p. 154). Brown had a history of actions against slavery, five months earlier before the raid on Harper’s Ferry, “Brown led a band of seven men (including four of his sons) in a midnight raid on some proslavery settlers at Pottawatomie Creek” (Davidson & Lytle, p. 156).

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1110 Words | 5 Pages

Douglass points to the vast unwillingness from the group of whites that refuses to fully perceive and accept African-Americans as deserving and equal citizens of the nation. Based on his personal experiences as a slave, Douglass is abundantly aware that the battle to abolish slavery is not an easy task. For the first twenty years of his life, he witnessed firsthand the abject cruelty of that institution in our country. Tactfully, Douglass seizes this opportunity to publicly highlight the unmerited and coarse differences in the treatment between the whites as opposed to the blacks living in the United States during this time period. He makes a “powerful testaments to the hypocrisy, bigotry and inhumanity of slavery” (Bunch 1).

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455 Words | 2 Pages

Is John Brown crazy? Should John Brown’s violence be justified for what most say a noble cause? Is John Brown an “American hero” or a “Cold terrorist?” John Brown isn’t crazy but may seem that way when you look at what he has sacrificed. John Brown Recently John Brown’s noble cause has been questioned and people have made accusations whether he should considered a patriot or a terrorist.

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529 Words | 3 Pages

John Brown was an individual that arose many strong opinions toward himself. There was many citizens, mostly Southerners that despised John Brown because of the inhuman and barbaric murders. The Northerners on the other hand, view Brown as a hero that risked his life to take away the lives of cruel slave owners. To them this was the kick start they needed to begin fighting in the anti- slavery movement. The North was disgusted with the South because they took Africans away from their homes in other countries, brought them to a different country and claimed them as their own.

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392 Words | 2 Pages

The legendary abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass was one of the most important social reformers of the nineteenth century. Being born into slavery on a Maryland Eastern Shore plantation to his mother, Harriet Bailey, and a white man, most likely Douglass’s first master was the starting point of his rise against the enslavement of African-Americans. Nearly 200 years after Douglass’s birth and 122 years after his death, The social activist’s name and accomplishments continue to inspire the progression of African-American youth in modern society. Through his ability to overcome obstacles, his strive for a better life through education, and his success despite humble beginnings, Frederick Douglass’s aspirations stretched his influence through

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973 Words | 4 Pages

Because of this, he successfully creates a contrast between what the slave owners think of and treat the slaves and how they are. Douglass says that slave’s minds were “starved by their cruel masters”(Douglass, 48) and that “they had been shut up in mental darkness” (Douglass, 48) and through education, something that they were deprived of, Frederick Douglass is able to open their minds and allow them to flourish into the complex people that they are. By showing a willingness to learn to read and write, the slaves prove that they were much more than what was forced upon them by their masters.

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1727 Words | 7 Pages

He became known as an inspirational person. Not many people are willing to go against what others believe, but Douglass was. His slave owner thought that it was “unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read” (Douglass 29), but that did not stop him from pursuing further knowledge. Education has a powerful effect that makes others fear that one has superiority over them one way or another. Slaves had their basic human rights taken away from them because slave owners wanted them to lack the ability to form an opinion on what was happening to them.

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