John Brown: Past and Present

John Brown:

Past and Present

Rodney Titus

History 33 155 America: A Historical Survey

Dr. Richard Frucht

April 2, 2005

Host: "Looking into the crystal ball, I wonder who our guest will be. As the fog lifts from the orb, a picture of a man that has had an enormous impact on our socially accepted views begins to appear. Who is this man? Well, he is known as both a martyr and a psychopathic killer. He has been called a blatant liar as well as a man of strong convictions, all in the same breath. But his most notable contribution to our country is undoubtedly his involvement in the antislavery movement. The man I am referring to is John Brown. While we talk with him today, we will compare the consequences of past actions with the consequences of today's actions. So, let's give a warm round of applause as we welcome John Brown to the hot seat.

To begin with, why don't you give the audience a little bit of back ground about yourself. Tell us where you were born and something about your childhood."

John Brown: "I was born on May ninth in the year of our Lord 1800. To understand my story, I must first tell you about my father, Owen. As a child during the Revolution, his father, John Brown, was away fighting in the Revolution and Owen found himself handling a lot of the responsibilities around the home. During the day he worked in the fields alongside a slave, from Guinea, named Sam. Sam used to carry my father on his back and my father grew to love him. When Sam died, it was to be the first funeral my dad had ever attended. Because Owen's dad was gone during the Revolution and Sam stood in as a caring father figure, Sam ended up being the seed of my father's views about slavery. My dad saw Sam as a mentor and not as a slave or a man of color. After Sam's death, my father turned to religion for comfort. This was during the same time as the Great Awakening and my father started attending the revivals. During one such revival, my father heard a sermon by the late Reverend Jonathan Edwards where he stated that slavery was a cardinal sin against God. After hearing this sermon, his attitude towards slavery was cemented. The final incident that caused my father to become active in the antislavery movement then occurred. A preacher by the name of Mr. Thompson had taken refuge in Connecticut with his slaves during the Revolution. After the Revolution, Mr. Thompson decided to take the wife and kids of one of his slaves back to his southern estate. My father was angered by this hypocrite. How could a preacher teach God's word and then ignore his teachings? I don't know what happened to him, but my dad said Mr. Thompson didn't get to take his property back to his southern estate. This last incident is what turned