John Brown: Murdering Abolitionist

"The Crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood" ("John Brown" 80). John Brown was born into a deeply religious family in Torrington, Conneticut, in 1800 led by a father who was vehemently opposed to slavery. Throughout his life he failed at over twenty businesses but always held sermons to oppose slavery. Failing at his first marriage to which he fathered thirteen children, Brown married again to father seven more (Behling 1). Because he committed acts of violence and contributed to the separation

of the United States, John Borwn is a terrorist.

To begin, a terrorist is a person who committs acts of violence to intimidate or coerce society or the government. In 1855, Brown joined five of his sons and a few others in Kansas to participate in what would be called "Bleeding Kansas". Continuing, in 1958 Kansas was holding a vote to either abolish or keep slavery. One night in June, two months before the vote was to be held, Brown and his "gang" crept into Kansas and killed five slaveowners (Tackah 34). Murder is considered a crime, or an act ov violence, which places the definition of a terrorist on Brown. Also, two years after the "bleeding kansas" incident, John Brown and his "gang" snuck 11 slaves out of Missouri and killed one slaveowner. Later, he launched a holy war after being denied funds for a protest against slavery. He continued to commit crimes by raiding Harper's Ferry which caused ten deaths and after being caught, the eventually

hanging of John Brown Himself ("John Brown" 80-1). So counting it all. that makes four acts of violence that were cause by Brown's need to coerce society into being against slavery, and to intmidate the government to abolish slavery.

Furthermore, John Brown's actions contributed in the separation

of the United States. After his hanging, the north and south began to retalliate and have completely different views of Brown. In the north, people were proud of Brown, saying he was a martyr and singing "John Brown's Body" as they marched into battle. One man even said that "[his hanging would] make the gallows as glorious as