John Brown . . .
1) Was he a murderer or a martyr? and
2) Was he crazy or sane?
Your Answer:
1) Should be supported with one compelling, found-on-the-internet, unique-to-your-answer (no one else may use it to support his/her answer), specific fact from John Brown's life
2) Should have the web source cited for your fact (the correct URL is all that is necessary)
3) Should have your first name, last initial, and class period4) Should be completed by 11:59pm on 12/12/11 (Monday)
35 comments:
John Brown was a man who had means, motive, and opportunity when it came to the antislavery movement. He was a man who believed strongly in the abolishment of slavery and the idea of equal men, and was one to show it. During the Kansas campaign, he and his supporters killed five pro-slavery southerners in what became known as the Pottawatomie Massacre in May 1856 in response to the raid of the "free soil" city of Lawrence. Three years later, he led another raid that resulted in seven more pro-slavery southerners killed and ten more injured. I believe that John Brown’s actions were a foreshadowing of what was to come, and what was the easiest way, allbeit the wrong way, for many disagreements to be settled between the northerners and the southerners. At the time, John Brown became the sign of abololitionist power. During the Civil War, the Union army came up with a marching song, affectionately named “John Brown’s Body.” Although idolized by the northerners at the time and driven by a just cause, Brown was a narrowminded murderer of civil obedience, and an insane, monomaniacal zealot that eventually caused our country’s bloodiest war.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)
John Brown can be seen as both a murderer and a martyr, but definately in my opinion was a murderer. Although he helped the aboliionist movement against slavery and greatly helped gain support for the cause. Brown attacked many people, and in Kanas he killed five people. He also tried to start a movement elsewhere in America, and intended to arm and free slaves to go on a massive riot. Luckily he was stopped, because many more innocent lives could have been taken away had this rampage gone un-opposed. John Brown had many of his family members declared mentally insane, thus supporting claims against him as a murderer. Abraham Lincoln said "Old John Brown…agreed with us thinking slavery wrong. That cannot excuse violence, bloodshed, and treason. It could avail him nothing that he might think himself right," about John Brown, showing that his actions were too violent and raical. He died a martyr for his beliefs, but did harm aginst many innocent people.
SOURCE:http://www.nellaware.com/blog/john-brown-quotes.html
I believe John Brown was clearly a murderer, but I don't think that he was insane. He truly believed that the only way to stop slavery was through violence and was willing to kill, and die, for the cause. Though the way John Brown acted on his beliefs was terrible, his views were shared by thousands of other Northerners. Brown merely had the will to act upon his beliefs and it is the way he acted that should be condemned. John Brown killed five proslavery settlers in Kansas while leading a force of antislavery fighters there and later, during the raid on Harper's Ferry, was willing to kill a black civilian named Hayward Shepard that confronted him at the onset of the attack. These kinds of actions were the work of a murderer and a fanatic, but not those of a lunatic.
http://www.wvculture.org/history/jnobrown.html
John Brown was raised in a family in which his father was strongly opposed to slavery. His father's vehemence rubbed off on him, making him feel the same sentiment. John Brown may have been a murderer, but he was not a lunatic. If you really look at it, he fought for change. White southerners were willing to kill blacks and abolitionist whites in order to keep change from coming. As a whole, the whites definitely killed more blacks than blacks did whites. I believe that John Brown was a huge focus because he was a white man fighting, and even killing for blacks. Think of all the white men who killed multiple blacks back then just to keep change from happening. If you make the argument that John Brown was a lunatic for killing for his cause, then you must also say that every white man who killed multiple black people because of prejudice was also a lunatic. Many white northerners applauded his efforts, he was not crazy, just extremely motivated and with the right tools.
Although his intentions were good, John Brown used out-of-the-box tactics to display his anti-slavery sentiments. While we can all agree that he led some of the bloodiest anti-slavery raids our country has seen, he should not be labeled as "crazy". Many well-respected people of the time thought very highly of Brown and his actions, including Fredrick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Martin Delaney. All of these people are considered to be some of the greatest abolitionists of all time, and all found Brown to be a man of respectable intelligence. John Brown was so smart in fact, that he knew his raid on the Virgina armory would fail. He knew that the odds were against him, but he believed that his actions at Harper's Ferry would propel the nation into conflict over slavery, a prophecy that came true. He realized that his actions, capture and execution would spur outrage from the Northern states, giving them common motivation to fight war against the slave holding South. Knowing this, Brown willing became a martyr to help destroy the institution he hated so much: slavery.
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/american_civil_war_retired/6320/2
I believe that John Brown was a murderer but I don’t think he was insane. During his ill-fated raid on Harpers Ferry a train was going past. Hayward Shepherd, the train’s baggage master tried to warn the passengers about what was happening. Brown and his men shouted at him to stop before opening fire, killing Shepherd. After his trial Brown said “…had I so interfered in behalf of the rich, the powerful, the intelligent, the so-called great, or in behalf of any of their friends, either father, mother, brother, sister, wife, or children, or any of that class, and suffered and sacrificed what I have in this interference, it would have been all right; and every man in this court would have deemed it an act worthy of reward rather than punishment”. This shows that he was at least sane enough to know how people thought and that there would’ve been a difference in how he was viewed if he had been fighting for the white and wealthy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)#Raid
John Brown has been seen by many as a maniac murderer, but sometimes what is right is not rational. John Brown is a martyr because he gave his life to a cause that has proven itself to be just and moral. John Brown's motive to kill those people was not to solely to take their lives. He was not sadistic, and in fact he told inquisitors "I want you to understand that I respect the rights of the poorest and weakest of colored people, oppressed by the slave system, just as much as I do those of the most wealthy and powerful. That is the idea that has moved me, and that alone." Also, it doesn't make sense to label Brown as a murderer when a few years after his killings soldiers were doing the exact same thing over the same issue. Brown was merely a catalyst. I believe of all the people living during the 1800s Brown was one of the few sane. Many people thought he was insane because of his much too progressive ideas at the time. He believed that blacks not only should be released from slavery but also are the equals of whites. Many people believed the same as Brown and in fact the Boston Post wrote "John Brown may be a lunatic, but if so then one-fourth of the people of Massachusetts are madmen." To be insane is to do the same thing and expect different results. Brown certainly didn't do the "same thing."
http://www.wvculture.org/history/journal_wvh/wvh18-1.html
In my opinion, John Brown, who was a very dedicated individual, was nothing less than a murderer. However, just because he used extreme methods does not make him insane. He was a strong advocate for a great cause, but he used very harsh measures to get his point across. Major General John W. Reid led a force of Missourians in Osawatomie, Kansas in August in order to burn the Free State settlements located there. John Brown led a small group to ambush Reid’s force, and they ended up killing 20 of his men and wounded 40 others. Although it was for a good cause, the killings of these men, like any killings, were not justifiable. Brown was not a lunatic, though, and Thoreau’s essay entitled A Plea for Captain John Brown refutes the reports in the media of Brown being crazy. There is no denying that John Brown committed many murders, but the word “insane” should never be used to describe this influential abolitionist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)#Palmyra_and_Osawatomie
John Brown was a die-hard abolitonist that used tactics not seen yet to establish a strong antislavery. John Brown could be labled as crazy murder. I think otherwise. His actions were courageous and brought about a larger abolitionist movement in the North. His raid on Harpers Ferry was his most infamous fight againsts his war on slavery. John Brown raided a military arsenal on July 3, 1859. On the raid the first causility was a free black man showing that nothing would stop him from aboloshing slavery. However John Brown was captured at the raid and one of his sons was killed. He was tried and convicted. John Brown was going to be hung. Many people came to the hanging, some even tried to jail-break him. This showed that John Browns had a major affect on the fights against slavery. John Brown's tactics were outlandish but as a feverent fighter of the cause I could justify his actions for the greater good of the free black man.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)
I believe John Brown was a martyr and completely sane. If he were doing the violent acts he did in today's modern times, sure, he'd be seen as a terrorist and a cruel individual. But considering the fact that nearly everyone used violence as their main force of persuasion during the time period, Brown was no different than any other southener who killed blacks or abolitionists to taunt the anti-slavery members of the north. I believe Brown was a martyr because he dedicated his life to his cause, and only used violence because he knew it was the only way the southeners would ever weaken their stance: a stance that he morally disagreed with. This was directly proven correct just several years later with the northern victory in the civil war. One thing that supports this position of mine on Brown's good intentions is that he managed a station for the underground railroad in Richmond, Pennsylvania. This shows his ultimate goal was to help the black slaves, not to kill the white southeners for no apparent reason. He was sane because his theory on violence being the only way to solve the compromise was indeed proven correct with the rise of the Civil War. Source: http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/BrownJ-US
John Brown, a man who stood very strongly against pro-slavery movements, is definitely a martyr. He may have done some murdering as well and gone a little too far but, in the end, he died for his cause and should go down in history as a martyr for the ant-slavery cause. During his life, he acquired quite following. In Albany, New York, he even received financial support from people of the area. The man continued all around the country gathering people to be on his side like Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Certainly, someone who created such a strong following and who spread his message so far and eventually died for it is a martyr. If he were to have died by natural causes and escaped his inevitable death, he would not be a martyr; he would be just a murderer. But, because of his hanging, he lives on as a crazy, abolitionist martyr.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)
John Brown could be classified by many words, but the most accurate description of him would be an insane martyr.
First, he could be considered insane because of his hypocritical view of religion and abolitionism. He was a Christain, and therefore did not encourage violence. This hypocracy was especially evident when he wrote:
"I, John Brown, am now quite certain
that the crimes of this guilty land
will never be purged away
but with blood ..."
This proves his insanity because he attempted to kill others during his raid on Harper's Ferry- and if he succeeded he would have killed slave-owners.
In contrast, John Brown would also be considered a martyr for his pro-abolitionist work. While he did (hypocritically) resort to violence to solve violence over slavery, it was for a good cause. There was absolutely no way the South would free their slaves without outside intervention. In John Brown's case, he relied on divine intervention. Even though his plan was doomed from the start, it was in a valient effort that he tried to defend what he believed in.
http://robt-shepherd.tripod.com/john-brown.html
In my opinion, John Brown was an insane martyr, to sum it up. One could not dispute Brown’s dedication to the abolitionist cause; raising his family to be supportive and accepting of the African-American people while donating much to the cause when he, himself, had very little. John Brown’s dedication to African-American rights stemmed even further as he moved his own farm in 1849 to an all black community in North Elba, New York. There, Brown hoped to assist the blacks by serving as a “kind father to them” and to help them, for many of the blacks were experiencing difficulties at the time. Consequently, when John Brown began his trek to Kansas and to Harper’s Ferry, there was no doubt that he did it with the best intentions in mind, willing to sacrifice his life for those who were never given an opportunity to have their own. Though John Brown did fight violently for his cause, again I believe that he did this thinking that it was the “right thing” to do at the time. Nevertheless, I do believe that John Brown was mentally unstable in his quest for equality. For one, plainly, who raids the federal arsenal when they will be clearly outgunned and out maneuvered by forces much abler than them? Most importantly, however, it comes to be seen through many of his actions an obsession with the abolitionist cause (meetings with leaders, donation of funds, etc.) to which he became mentally consumed with the concept. For that reason, it is easy for one to infer that John Brown thought of little else and in an essence, put the blinders on, failing to understand the situation and the repercussions that may come of his actions. His violence can be seen as him having the vision at the end of the tunnel of equality while everything else around him became secondary and an obstacle that must be removed.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1550.html
John Brown can be described in many positive and negative ways. Although some people see him as an insane person, I see him as a motivated, not insane, murderer, as weird as that sounds. Brown was willing to do anything that was possible in order to accomplish his goal of abolishing slavery. Yes, John Brown is clearly a murderer, but he did so because he felt it was right in order to get revenge for the black race. His focus was to create equality for them in all ways, whether it was through peaceful speeches or extreme violence. "I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land can never be purged away but with blood. I had as I now think, vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed, it might be done." After all of the things he has seen, he realized that the only way to fix this slavery problem was through violence, which explains his actions. He also saw the slight chance that non-violent aggression could help solve it, but obviously that did not work because the Civil War broke out. Some may see him as an insane murderer, when clearly he was only trying to make life better for many people, mainly blacks, in the United States.
Source: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)
John Brown was absolutely a murderer and but also sane. Because history says so... Way back when, John Brown was trying to gain support for the anti-slavery forces in Kansas while the pro-slavery forces were destroying the anti-slavery forces. When Lawrence was killed, there was soon a murder of five pro-slavery settlers. John Brown denied that he was involved in the murders, but he approved of those actions. I think that one's approval of such barbaric actions is reason for a future murderer to be born from that man. It's hard to tell whether he actually committed the crimes, organized the crimes, or was completely not involved, but it later way gave way to his raid on Harpers Ferry.
I also think that Brown was sane. He showed caring for his sons when they were threatend by the militant feature of the pro-slavery forces. Also, he appeared to be sane enough to not want to kill his own son when he was wounded at the Raid of Harpers Ferry. To me, any sane man would not think about killing their own son, even if it was to end their suffering. Well, I don't know, but last time I checked I'm sane and that is something I never want to do.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)#Pottawatomie
Although John Brown was clearly a murderer, he truly deserves to be seen as a sane martyr. He certainly killed people in his quest for equality, which could have been avoided, but the Civil War was coming, with or without his actions, and the bloodshed could not be avoided indefinitely. He was also clearly sane as, despite his murders, he was a perfectly functional and rather normal person, other than his apparent love for blacks, which was shocking for the time. He was certainly a martyr, as he was willing to die in his quest for equality. In his final speech, he said,
“Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice...I submit; so let it be done!”
This shows his conviction and drive to accomplish what he felt was right and necessary in order to achieve freedom for all men.
http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/johnbrown.html
To my eyes, John Brown is an insane martyr. The insanity I think is shown by his actions when he involved himself in Bleeding Kansas. When leading a retaliatory attack, he reportedly “hacked” people to death. Now, I can understand the urge to kill them for revenge, but hacking someone to pieces seems to breech the gap to the extreme. However, his insanity came from an obsessive desire to do what was right in his eyes – making him a martyr. He threw himself wholeheartedly into the achievement of his beliefs, and died for it, and therefore he filled the role of a martyr. I see his situation like that of Joan of Arc, who is widely thought to have been schizophrenic. Both of them used their insanity to devote themselves to creating what they saw would be a better world.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2952.html
Although he had a just cause and had great perseverance, I consider John Brown to be both insane and a murderer. I believe what he fought for was great, but there is no denying that he was a murderer after he and his men went house to house and brutally killed five pro-slavery men. He also proceeded to kill people, some of them civilians, during the Harper's Ferry raid. He was seen as a martyr after his hanging by the country, but the truth is he may have deserved to die considering what he had done. In addition to being a murderer, I believe Brown was clerly insane. Before his infamous raid in October 1859, Brown met with Frederick Douglass in August of the same year in Pennsylvania to show him his plan. Douglass was asked to aid him in the raid but he believed that it was a suicide mission and tried to discourage Brown from continuing. Douglass even went to the extent of trying to put a damper on the blacks that wanted to enlist under Brown. He thoroughly believed that Brown was insane, regardless of their similar cause.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)
John brown was clearly a martyr, of the sane variety. His reasoning and tactics were both violent and relatively unjustified, but the end outweighs the means. During the 1850s, it was clear that war was brewing. Violence was extremely relevant and, to many, it was the action of choice to resolve conflict. With the Civil War on the horizon, John Brown was one of the many who saw exchange of blood as a means to end slavery. Just before he heard his sentence to be hanged, he said:
". . . I believe to have interfered as I have done, . . . in behalf of His despised poor, was not wrong, but right. Now, if it be deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children, and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments, I submit: so let it be done."
Much like the majority of people around him at the time, his actions were done with his own God in mind. He was recognized as "in sympathy, a black man," and he saw that slaves were not truly living a life of a normal human being. His upbringing brought him to this conclusion, and so he fought for what he saw was right. Despite his overtly violent attacks and retaliation to supporters of slavery, he was well-prepared to face his own death. So, even if he may have not thought of the consequences of his actions, he did know that if you must spill a man's blood, you should be ready to spill your own.
Say what you want about John Brown trying to promote his cause, but in the end he is an insane murder. What he did, he did to fight for his cause, but in no way did this make it right. One thing that many people might not know about John Brown is that he was a Congregationalist. Being a Congregationalist you are part of the Christian religion. By being a Christian John Brown believed in the Ten Commandments, and therefore knew that one of Ten Commandments was, “You shall not murder.” By killing people just because they believed something different cause he directly disobeyed god. Not only did he murder he went against god, and to me that is insane.
http://www.nndb.com/people/724/000082478/
John Brown was both a murderer and insane. It is impossible to deny the claim that he was a murderer, for he killed unarmed pro-slavery civilians in Pottawatomie Creek. Although the actions he took were provoked, it can not be denied that he killed these men when they were defenseless and I consider that murder. My claim to his insanity, however, is a bit more difficult to prove. My belief in his insanity stems from the fact that he believed he was commissioned by God to punish people supporting slavery, and the utter zeal with which he punished pro-slavery southerners. Looking back at his life, it's not difficult to see why he became insane. His many business failures and financial stresses became too much for him and he simply couldn't find a way to deal with the stress and snapped under pressure.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/johnbrownbio.htm
Although John Brown had done some "out-there" things in his day, he truly is a martyr for his cause and sane. Brown spent much of his youth in Ohio where he was taught to hate slavery. As a child he cared for animals and mourned when they left him by wandering or death. He once tamed a squirrel and after it died, he was not the same John Brown he once was. From early childhood, Brown was extremely passionate. He loved things whole heartily. His passionate way of living transferred into his hate for slavery and longing for equality. By far the most influential thing to happen to Brown was during the War of 1812, when he lodged with a pro-slavery man. Brown was treated exceptionally well, but his slave, was treated brutally. The image haunted him for the rest of his life. With these things considered, Brown grew up being taught of the evils of inequality and to believe in pro-slavery. He was passionate in all that he did, and loving to all things, including animals. His horrifying experiences viewing slavery was a factor that set him off. Through his passionate personality and extreme views he is often viewed as insane and a murderer because of the times. Rather, I believe him to be a fiery individual, that had a match lit under him, that stood up for what is right, even though it was outrageous at the time.
http://www.wvculture.org/history/jbexhibit/sanborn12.html
John Brown is remembered throughout history as a murderer to some and as a martyr to others. Personally, I hold the belief that he was a murderer. As for the question of his sanity, I don't think that he was insane because he deeply believed in his cause and even though his method of achieving his goals was less than moral, his intentions came from a caring heart for people being bound in slavery. I came to this conclusion that he was not insane from the fact that when John Brown was twelve years old he saw an African American boy being mistreated and this memory stuck with him making him strongly opposed to slavery for the rest of his life. He was dedicated to his cause and spent the summer of 1856 in New England in an effort to collect money to support his fight against slavery. Important public figures were unaware of his murderous intentions and helped him to gather recruits, guns and money that ultimately helped him to seize the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, killing seven innocent people in the process. One of the seven that were killed at Harper's Ferry was a free African-American so in a way John Brown was hurting his own cause by killing someone he was supposedly fighting for equal rights for. The sheer fact that he took the lives of seven people makes him completely undeserving of any sort of recognition as a martyr.
Source: http://www.notablebiographies.com/Br-Ca/Brown-John.html
John Brown was an interesting character who causes much debate; but in my opinion, he is a crazy martyr. People say he killed many innocent people, well yes, but that is his crazy side. All though these kills were upon innocent people it was for a cause of the greater good which ended up helping the union. He always supported slavery, but one specific incident just sparked the fire. We all of things that just make us go crazy, and that was the murder of Elijah P. Lovejoy. She wrote in a newspaper to express abolitionist views and was killed for it. He was always against slavery and with this act of violence against an innocent abolitionist created so much animosity to the point where he murdered people. These murders were for a good cause, although, which defines how he was a martyr, but was down right crazy do commit these murders. What he did helped start the war to end slavery which means he ended up being a major cause and carrying out what he meant to do. He showed America he would do whatever it took to end slavery even if it meant killing innocent people which makes him a crazy martyr.
http://www.funtrivia.com/en/History/John-Brown-18479.html
John Brown was certainly a martyr who was also very mug in his right mind (sane). The reason he is a martyr stems from the criteria for being a martyr. Although what John Brown did, was extremely violent and wrong; he was committed to his cause, fought to the death, and was commemorated by many abolitionists after his death. Also, he was indeed very sane. Evidence supporting this claim can be found in the fact that John Brown wrote a new constitution for Americans to follow. It is called the "John Brown's Provisional Constitution". He wrote this before his attack on Harper's Ferry, which signifies that he at least had a plan, and had the brain to write a very a respectable constitution. He presented his writings to a convention of Blacks in Chatham, Ontario in 1859 where it many people pledged to follow John Brown's message. By the act of having civility in this instance, John Brown can be seen to be sane and thinking clearly.
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/johnbrown/brownconstitution.html
John Brown was an insane murderer. His reasonings for the killings he committed were seen as somewhat justifiable in his time, however with hindsight what he did was not right and he deserved to be held accountable for his actions. The people who had stood behind him even started to see that he was an insane murderer. For example, Fredrick Douglass made clear his admiration for "Captain John Brown", but when Brown was put on trial and his lawyers used an insanity plea bargain, Douglass steered clear of any mention of being involved with Harper's Ferry. Also, Brown's one-time neighbors were put on the stand during his trial and testified that the man was insane. Although John Brown's efforts were admirable, the extent that he took his actions to was unnecessary and shed light on his personality.
http://www.claremont.org/publications/crb/id.798/article_detail.asp
It's easy to see how one can be a crazy murderer, and even easier to see a sane martyr, but is it really possible to combine the two? Well, one look into the life of John Brown would show you just how possible it was, because as his intentions were good like that of a martyr, he spread his message and lived his life in which that of a half crazed man would. It's easy to see that, as a man of good deeds, John Brown touched the lives of millions through his actions in the civil war era. He convinced many to see through his eyes what the evils of slavery were, and although many marked him as a murderer, he saved more lives through his actions of war than he would have had he kept quiet. It's hard to find someone today who thinks that slavery is a good idea, and a popular way to solve problems in today's views is through war, so then why is this man, who inspired novelists, poets, and public speakers, ridiculed for destroying that which is hated and acting with the principles that are encouraged to the current day? Despite his actions, the man was crazy though, one look at his hair could tell you that. In hard facts, it's hard to prove he wasn't. This man, so caught up in his life, tried and truly thought he would succeed at taking over an entire town with just a few men locked up in a fire house. In addition, the man titled himself an "instrument of God", and claimed that every action he did was guided through him by the almighty one. So sure, he may not have been the most sane person to grace the planet Earth, but he tried for a more noble cause then most sane people ever would or will.
Forgot the source:
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/american_civil_war_retired/6320
John Brown was both a martyr and entirely sane. While it may be argued his being was insane and his actions fit that of a murderer, this is in no way the case. Those that argue the latter say so on the basis of his brutal killings, mainly in the Pottawatomie Creek Massacre. Yet, one must also look at what pushed John Brown to commit such murders. In the case of the Pottawatomie Creek Massacre, pro-slavery southerners attacked anti-slavery city of Lawrence. Although the city decided against resistance, the southerners still destroyed printing presses, burned and looted homes and shops, and smashed the Free State Hotel into oblivion. John Brown was sane in the fact that his "murders" were all justified in the same way as in the case of the Pottawatomie killings: in retaliation to the south. He is further quoted as saying that the only way to advance the abolitionist cause was to "fight fire with fire," and "strike terror in the hearts of the pro-slavery people." His radical actions can be mistaken for insanity and murder, but he was only doing what he had to in order to strengthen his cause quickly and effectively. Ultimately, he was also a martyr in that he dedicated his life to the abolitionist cause and died fighting for it.
http://www.ushistory.org/us/31d.asp
http://www.ushistory.org/us/31c.asp
I believe John Brown although having a wonderful goal which was to abolish slavery became so passionate about his goal that the way he went about it became ridiculous. He reminds me of Malcom X who was also a man who believed in Black equality but went about achieving it through violence. To me achieving a goal through force and unfair play is wrong and crazy therefore i believe John Brown was a crazy man. Obviously every one else believed this to be true because in his trail John requested his trial to get pushed back one day so then his lawyer could get there on time and the court rejected him and set him up with a lawyer who wanted him hung.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2943.html
John Brown was a sane murderer. He killed many people over his very strong belief that slavery was wrong, but did so in a reasonable manner. For example, he wasn't just going around the counrty killing anybody who had slaves (which would have made him insane), but instead he killed people who specifically stood in the way of him freeing slaves. He killed people in Kansas, but in order to support the "abolition cause. When Brown raided Harpers Ferry, he intention was to eliminate slavery in Virginia but while doing so, he wanted to minimize bloodshed. This shows that although Brown was a murderer, he murdered with a noble cause which makes him a completely sane man. After Brown was imprisoned after the Harpers Ferry raid, several of his followers began to organize a plan to break Brown out of jail, but Brown insisted that he didnt's want to be freed and that he would be willing to die for what he thought was the right thing to do. Evidence that Brown was completely sane was during Brown's last speech when he said, "I deny everything but what I have all along admitted, the design on my part to free the slaves." This shows that Brown "did what was considered wrong, in order to do what he knew was right" (National Treasue, 2004).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)
http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/johnbrown.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368891/quotes
The man known as John Brown was a radical anti slavery figure. He was often called a crazy, insane murder. But when you take a closer look you see the true man he was. Often times to reach his ultimate goal, abolition, he had to use drastic measures. The tactics used to reach his just goal ranged from flyers to the extreme of murder. In this sense he was a murder, but one with a just cause. He used his sanity and wits to accomplish the goals he had, and he did this effectively. In 1847, John Brown meet Fredric Douglas and was noted as a man who acted as if he had been pierced by the hot iron poker of slavery.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1550.html
I believe that John Brown was a murderer, but I also believe he was entirely sane. He did things for his beliefs that no man before him had attempted, and in the end, was more than willing to die for them. He suffered many hardships in his early life and perservered to get through them, to end up being successful. An insane man would have been deeply affected by these early hardships and quite possibly be deterred from their goals. Also, by giving land to fugitive slaves and using what little money he had to finance famous works such as David Walker's Appeal, he was giving all he had to his cause. This passion and fire is that only of a sane man trying desperately to change the world. I believe John Brown is a murderer, however, for his willingness to engage in violent activity during the Bleeding Kansas fights of 1856. He followed his sons to the territory knowing that he would be trying to kill the poeple there who were supporting slavery. After his heroic defense of Lawerence, he went off and killed 5 pro-slavery people in cold blood, brutally. When he died, he most likely believed himself a martyr- but no one should have to take human lives in cold blood to get their point across. This is why I believe that John Brown, although it may sound contradictory, was a sane murderer.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1550.html
I believe that John Brown was a murderer. Although he had good intentions, he also killed 5 innocent people in doing so. Brown had said to Frederick Douglas, right before he went on his raid
"When I strike, the bees will begin to swarm, and I want you to help hive them"
This clearly shows that he knew that his actions were catalystic in nature and that he did them to prove a point, not necessarily the right one. But I do believe that he is sane because he knew that this event would draw so much attention to slavery. By murdering in cold blood he caused an uprising that drew many passions into the Civil War. He also successfully drew the attention of famous people from the age such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. John Brown knew what he was doing when he killed, but that does not hide the fact that it was murder.
http://www.nellaware.com/blog/john-brown-quotes.html
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