Was John Brown a martyr or a terrorist?

Question

Please Provide 3 reasons to support your opinion as to was John Brown was a martyr or a terrorist.

Answer 1

He was a terrorist, because all he had was killing and destruction as a goal. Evening eliminating slavery is no excuse for senseless killing, especially when there was no chance of succeeding.

Answer 2

John Brown Terrorist

Answer 3

depends on whether you side with the south or the north but I see him as a crusader for civil rights, which the laws during his time were completely lopsided. He saw injustice and he sought to change that. Yes he chose violent uprising over peaceful protest which puts him in the terrorist category but he laid his life down to make that point. He broke the law over and over equipping slaves with guns, and basically supporting the upheaval of the government it's a classic debate of whether the ends justify the means, in his case I believe it did. He didn't terrorize for personal gain, I believe he saw that talking and adult debate led to being blackballed and in most cases pointless other outspoken opponents ended up murder. In US history we have come to this debate many times, and it boils down to whether the government should fear it's people or should the people fear it's government. He catalyzed what was to come, a catalyst for the civil war but he gave all that he had, his life to protect what he found most important- human civil rights, we have history on our side to make this decision now, an answer in his day like an argument over Iraq would be much more difficult, he felt the government was there for the people, and that which we created our government should fear our wrath if it were to stray from our belief that we all have the inalienable right to freedom and liberty, not just a select race, because of this I'd call him a martyr.

Answer 4

It's the age-old debate: is someone a martyr / freedom fighter, or a terrorist? I guess it would depend on what your values are, and whether they are absolute or dependent on the situation.

If you are of the view that one's loyalty should be to their government, then John Brown would be a terrorist. This would also mean that Nazi soldiers and Taliban suicide bombers were martyrs and freedom fighters.

If you are of the view that one should stand up to their government when they feel that it is doing wrong, then John Brown would be a freedom fighter. This would mean that SWAT teams and riot police, who try to enforce the rules, are terrorists.

One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. It all depends on what your view of right and wrong is.

Answer 5

He is a hero to me cause only people that had read john Brown's story understands that he's a hero.

Answer 6

I would have to say that he was both. His extreme actions led many to think that he was a terrorist, while others sang his praises. It is not impossible to use terrorist tactics to reach your means and be considered a martyr after your death

When Brown was hanged after his attempt to start a slave rebellion in 1859, church bells rang, minute guns were fired, large memorial meetings took place throughout the North, and famous writers such as Emerson and Thoreau joined many Northerners in praising Brown.[2] Whereas Garrison was a pacifist, Brown resorted to violence. Historians agree he played a major role in starting the war.[3] While some biographers, such as Bruce Olds, see him as a madman, others, such as Stephen B. Oates, regard him as "one of the most perceptive human beings of his generation." David S. Reynolds hails the man who "killed slavery, sparked the civil war, and seeded civil rights" and Richard Owen Boyer emphasizes that Brown was "an American who gave his life that millions of other Americans might be free." For Ken Chowder he is "at certain times, a great man", but also "the father of American terrorism." [4]

Brown's nicknames were Osawatomie Brown, Old Man Brown, Captain Brown and Old Brown of Kansas. His aliases were Nelson Hawkins, Shubel Morgan, and Isaac Smith. Later the song John Brown's Body became a Union marching song during the Civil War.

Biographer Richard Owen Boyer has called him "an American who gave his life that millions of other Americans might be free"[22];
Biographer Stephen B. Oates has described him as "maligned as a demented dreamer... (but) in fact one of the most perceptive human beings of his generation"; [23]
Biographer David S. Reynolds gives Brown credit for starting the civil war and "killing slavery", and cautions others against identifying Brown with terrorism. [24] Reynolds sees him as the inspiration for the Civil Rights Movement a century later, arguing "it is misleading to identify Brown with modern terrorists."[25]
Historian and Brown researcher Paul Finkelman calls him "simply part of a very violent world" and states that Brown "is a bad tactician, a bad strategist, he's a bad planner, he's not a very good general-but he's not crazy"[22]
Biographer Louis A. DeCaro Jr., who has debunked many historical allegations about Brown's early life and public career, concludes that although he "was hardly the only abolitionist to equate slavery with sin, his struggle against slavery was far more personal and religious than it was for many abolitionists, just as his respect and affection for black people was far more personal and religious than it was for most enemies of slavery." [26]
Historian and Brown documentary scholar Louis Ruchames wrote: "Brown's action was one of great idealism and placed him in the company of the great liberators of mankind." [27];
But then observe:

Biographer Otto Scott introduces his work on Brown by writing: "In the late 1850s a new type of political assassin appeared in the United States. He did not murder the mighty--but the obscure. . . . his purposes were the same as those of his classic predecessors: to force the nation into a new political pattern by creating terror."[28]
Criminologist James N. Gilbert writes: "Brown's deeds conform to contemporary definitions of terrorism, and his psychological predispositions are consistent with the terrorist model."[29]
Novelist Bruce Olds calls him "fanatical, ... monomaniacal, ... a zealot, and ... psychologically unbalanced"; and finally
Journalist Ken Chowder states he is "stubborn ... egoistical, self-righteous, and sometimes deceitful; yet ... at certain times, a great man" and argues that he was not mad but describes him as "the father of American terrorism"[22]


I played John Brown in "The Trial of John Brown".

Answer 7

He was an abolitionist! I leard it last year in my 5th grade V.A. History class, proof, he was crazy, and he killed off whites that were among the ones who thought segregation was right! Also he blocked the railroad in harpers fairy and held people captave... We verginians were the heart of the civil war! lol

Answer 8

He was a fanatical, religious, zealot, terrorist.

Answer 9

depends on which angle you're coming from. The slave masters? the slaves?

Answer 10

yes, it might be right