John Brown: Heroic freedom-fighter or villain and murderous terrorist?

For any cause, political, religious, or domestic, there are always those that believe in the cause strongly and those that don’t. However, people that are willing to die for their beliefs demonstrate their extreme commitment and dedication. As the Civil War grew closer, the abolitionist movement, originally condemned by Northerners, began to gain support from many anti-slavery Americans. The peak of the movement featured radicals such as John Brown, excessively passionate for their cause, resorting to violence in order to make a statement against slavery. Despite murdering many innocent people, John Brown’s actions took a defying stand against slavery, laid the foundation for the Civil War, and shook the American nation. Though a terrorist and villain to the South, John Brown should ultimately be remembered as a heroic freedom fighter against slavery for the North and the future of America.

At the time of John Brown’s raid of Harper’s Ferry, there were still four million African-Americans in slavery. Four million blacks that were the property of many Southern whites, a concept both unjust and unlawful. John Brown was fabricated as a villain simply because he was one of the first men to take a violent stance for an end to slavery. Yet in the North, he was praised as both a hero and a savior. The Northern support of John Brown is evident in the fact that many Northern politicians were actually funding John Brown’s raid in Virginia. By 1859, slavery was nonexistent in the North and they were searching for methods to gradually extract slavery from the South as well. John Brown is a hero because he made it clear that there would be no more compromising on the existence of slavery and its expansion. Brown also provided the nation a favor by supplying a solution to the sectional tensions that had been raging for decades. At Harper’s Ferry, John Brown expressed the same ideas as Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln’s house divided speech. John made it clear that the nation must choose between slavery and emancipation and asserted that emancipation was the right choice. Conversely, Brown expressed these ideals with violent engagement. Nevertheless, through his heroic deeds, John Brown fueled the Civil War and ultimately put an end to slavery.

On the other hand, if a Southern point of view is taken on John Brown’s murderous actions, then it is valid to state that John Brown was a murderer and a villain. Through his actions, John Brown threatened the Southern way of life. Whether moral or immoral, slavery was the sole powering engine of Southern life, culture, and economy. Furthermore, to challenge Southern slaves was to challenge the South’s existence. Much in the same way that a terrorist attacks what he feels is wrong in a nation, John Brown attacked what he believed to be the unethical ideals of slavery present in the South. Moreover, John Brown killed innocent slaveholders only because they owned slaves, and the South saw this as an excuse for other John Browns in the North to use the same reasoning. However, when evaluating an activist or radical to determine whether they are a villain or a hero, the cause they are advocating against is a step above that of any point of view, North or South.

In spite of John Brown’s destructive and bloodthirsty actions in the South, a step must be taken back to view the causes and why Brown did what he did. The purpose was not to be a psychopathic killer; it was to make a statement about the unjust institution of slavery. Brown’s cause was of equal importance as many other causes of historic freedom fighters. These freedom fighters such as George Washington during the American Revolution and Maximilien Robespierre during the French Revolution both resorted to violence to advocate for their cause of freedom. Furthermore, both are considered freedom fighters that were strongly passionate about personal rights and entitlements for all people. Is John Brown not also one of these freedom fighters that campaigns for his cause? Because John Brown in essence led his own war for freedom, he too is a freedom fighter, strongly passionate for equal rights and liberty.

The North viewed John Brown as a hero who supported Northern politics, culture, and the abolition of slavery. In contrast, the South saw Brown as a terrorist who murdered innocent Southerners and threatened the slave states’ way of life. But to understand which one John Brown really is, one must look past the North and South and towards the why. There is no greater cause to fight for than freedom and equality. John Brown fought for the liberty and free will of slaves and in doing so cemented himself as a heroic figure. By giving hope to slaves in America, John Brown will always be remembered as a freedom fighter and a hero.