John Brown\'s Raid at Harper\'s

John Brown's Raid At Harper's Ferry

History is most of the times a controversial issue, despite the fact that it relies on comprehensive information and verifiable data. In most situations important events in the culture of a nation are subject to various interpretations which give history its subjective character. Nonetheless, the controversies that arise in discussing a subject are often the ones that offer more insight into a certain issue and can therefore be considered to have the most important contribution to the historical analysis.

has experienced numerous events throughout its history that have been the subject of controversial discussions taking into account the tormented background of the country. One such issue is the personality of John Brown, a 19th century individual whose status in history is debatable to this day. On the one hand, he is considered by some to be a hero of the American struggle against slavery, and on the other hand, he is seen as the "father of American terrorism" (Chowder, 2006). In the light of these divergent opinions, it can be stated that John Brown, through his attitudes and actions, is indeed a controversial character in the early history of the United States. The opinions regarding the image of John Brown in history therefore remain two fold.

He was often labeled as "an old hero" and a martyr. He was seen as a saint following his hanging, as "the soul of John Brown stood at the right hand of the Eternal. He had fought the good fight, and now wore the crown of victory" (Redpath, 1860, 400-4). Although this image has remained in the folklore of the country, there are various arguments invoked in the support of this assessment.

Firstly, the historical background of his era was indeed favorable for the creation of such a hero. Following the creation of the nation, in 1776, the issue of slavery was widely regarded as the separating rift between the North and the South (Jenkins, 1997). There had been numerous attempts to address the problem, through the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1850. However, despite political efforts, the arrangements did not suited interest holders both in the North and in the South and therefore the issue of slavery became more and more a stringent affair for the unity of the States. In this context, John Brown's actions against slavery were subscribed to a pressing issue affecting the American society.

Secondly, the figure of John Brown was representative for what would later be called the American Dream. He was a man of modest descent, with no prospects for a bright future. The early part of his life, he was considered to have been "a genuinely nobody" (Chowder, 2006) as records show, "during his first fifty years, Brown moved about the country, settling in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York (...) Working at various times as a farmer, wool merchant, tanner, and land speculator, he never was financially successful -- he even filed for bankruptcy when in his forties" (PBS, 2007). Indeed, his origins had offered him a strong antislavery sentiment, an element that contributed largely to the creation of his image as freedom figher for the black slaves, oppressed by the white masters of the cotton and tobacco plantations. Probably one of the most important aspects to be taken into account was the color of his skin. The fact that he was white and that he manifested such a vivid interest in the condition of the African-Americans in the country represented a strong element which favored the blacks' perception of him as the voice of the oppressed (Chowder, 2006) in the conditions in which most white people were against any type of proper or human treatment of slaves.

Thirdly, he was perceived as a man of action. At the time of the events he helped unfold, there were constant debates over the issue of slavery and the means deemed necessary for finding a proper resolution. While most politicians were restricted to political debates that were often reduced to the traditional confrontation between the Democrats and the Republicans, the people concerned with the matter became eager to take the matters into their own hands. In this sense, Brown did consider the actions taken at the political level such as those of Stephan Douglas, a white politician who "like most white Americans of his generation, he thought Negroes repugnant and inferior, yet he claimed that slavery was a curse on black and white alike" (Oates, 1979, 53) However, unlike the white politician, who "indifference as to whether slavery expanded or perished on these shores," Brown was seen as a man that had the power of his own convictions and therefore was willing to act under the impulse of his beliefs.

The Pottawatomie Creek massacre was seen by some, as being the proof of his determination to fight against slavery. In any circumstance however, most agree that it was the determining point of his life (Quaife, 1920, 1). From that moment on, people and history would perceive him as either a national hero or a cold blooded murderer. The action in itself consisted of the killing of five proslavery men under the watchful eye of John Brown. Indeed, the historical circumstances at the time would have somehow justified the killings, as "these murders were committed during the slavery controversy in Kansas Territory in an atmosphere of fear, hatred, confusion, and violence" (Quaife, 1920). However the fact that the cruelty of those acts was attributed to a white man's command had transformed Brown into an ordinary killer and later on into a terrorist.

There are several arguments to support the idea of John Brown being an unremorseful killer with early manifestations of terrorist activities. On the one hand, the Pottawatomie Creek killings demonstrated his abilities to control his emotions and at the same time to go through with an action in which "the raiders dragged five defenseless victims, including the father and two oldest sons of the Doyle family, out of their homes and brutally murdered them. The slaughter -- several of the victims were hacked almost to pieces by sabers -- caused such a general revulsion of feeling that Brown and his sons had to flee like common criminals" (Fleming, 1967) This attitude transformed him from a rather innocent threat for the status quo in the region, into a source of violent resistance. However, this view must be seen from the perspective of the white population; as for the black people, they came to idolize him even more because, as opposed to the politicians, he decided to take the issue of slavery into his own hands and his views on the "peculiar institution" had now a practical result.

On the other hand however, his image grew wider as the range of his actions expanded. The most important moment in his life, and the one that eventually brought his death was the Harpers Ferry Raid. The action in itself included the seizure of the U.S. Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry (West Virginia Archives and History, 2007). Following this intervention of 1859, Brown was labeled as being a terrorist and was subsequently trialed and hanged.

The issue of terrorism had not been widely mentioned up to that point, largely due to the fact that a proper understanding of the term was inexistent. However, most analysts took into account the fact that Brown had officially attacked the U.S. government through his action. The motivation of his act resided in his view that he had been empowered by God to stir the revolution against slavery which would ultimately spread around the country and would determine the abolition of slavery (Davis, 2005) Therefore, his reasons were politically motivated. Moreover, the fact that he attacked in the middle of the night a United States government building was considered to be an attack on the government itself (Chowder, 2007).