John Brown's Raid: Analysis Essay Sample

On October 16, 1859, John Brown and a few followers, and his sons raided Harper's ferry. This was a turning point in the abolitionist movement, and many say that it sparked the civil war. Although John Brown’s raid started what ended slavery, he was a Mad Man. He attacked a military base, with no escape, under the influence that God was telling him to do it. He is also a Mad Man because he forced people to help him, and ended up killing many innocent americans. Some would concider him a hero because of what his insurrection started, the abolition of slavery, but they way he did it was insane, and not right. The first reason John Brown is a Madman is the fact that he attacked a Military base, with basically no escape, and didn't care.

In 1859, John Brown was an avid abolitionist, and although his ideas on slavery were correct, his way of getting his point across was insane. He raided the state of Virginia in the raid on Harpers Ferry, and took over a military base. Practically, there was no way out, and he knew that. He knew he would be captured and most likely killed, and the way he went about his thoughts were insane. In the testimony of Daniel Whalen, He talks about the raid, and how Brown and his men acted. “I did not know the minute or the hour I should drop; They told me to be very quiet and still or they would put me to eternity…” The fact that John Brown thought that by doing this would make him righteous, and he would save the black people in virginia is mad. Although violence is sometimes the answer, this way of taking one man captive, and threatening him for doing nothing wrong is insane, and will not help his cause at all. He is crazy to think this would grow him any support for the abolitionist movement. As Frederick Douglass says, “I at once opposed the measure. It would be an attack on the federal government and array the whole country against us.” Frederick was a huge part of the movement, and never did anything like this, because he knew it was wrong. He knew that his plan would turn the country against them for being so extreme. John Brown was convinced that it would give him traction, and lead to the abolition of slavery, when really, it just slowed down the movement, and kind of changed the whole idea of the party. John Brown writes in his last speech about his intentions, and this is even more crazy. He says he never intended insurrection, or rebellion, even though that is literally what he did. He never intended treason, yet he attacked the U.S. Army base? That is false, because that is treason no matter your intentions. He is crazy, and delusional at this point: “Now if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments. — I submit; so let it be done!…” It is one thing to submit your life to a cause, but your children? A father should do everything he can to protect their kids, and he is just willing to give their lives for a cause HE believes is just. It is mad, and because of everything these people have said about him, he should be deemed a Mad Man. He again proves himself mad when he kills innocent Americans, and soldiers, the same ones he said he was fighting for. 

John Brown had help on his raid, and some of them were volunteers, or his kids who wanted to help I guess, but some were captured and pretty much forced to fight. He didn't even care what the consequences of the raid could be, even if they were horrible: “Suppose Brown and his associates had succeeded in inciting the insurrection of several thousand slaves. The insurgents would have driven north through the valley. They would have entered our houses, plundered us of our property, and perhaps murdered our wives and our children.” The idea of this is terrifying, and really, the fact that John Brown knew this was possible, and still did what he did is reason enough to call him a traitor, and a little insane. John Brown had the right morals on slavery, but the opposite of morals when it came to they way he wanted to end it. Abraham Lincoln put it perfectly in saying, “Old John Brown...agreed with us in thinking slavery wrong. That cannot excuse violence, bloodshed and treason. It could avail him nothing that he might think himself right” Lincoln is saying that the only positive thing that could have come out of this is John Brown thinking that he himself is right. That helps nothing in the abolition movement and proves furthermore how his ideas on this raid were crazy, and he went about it totally wrong. He put innocent people at risk to basically do nothing good.

Although he should be considered a mad man, there is a valid argument that could call him a hero. His raid did spark the fire that caused the civil war and the end of slavery. It helped get some not so radical people get involved, and led to Lincoln being elected, and the end of the southern ways. Frederick Douglass, though earlier disagreed with Brown, says that in reality, he started the end. “John Brown began the war that ended American slavery and made this a free Republic”. Frederick knows what he's saying. He was part of the fight since the beginning, so he knows the true effect Brown had on the abolitionist movement. He “Started the war that ended American Slavery”. Those are powerful words, especially coming from Frederick Douglass, and if Douglass thinks he is a hero, there is some validity in that argument. Although you could say he's a hero, the impression still lasts that he murders, and threatens people in a very dark, and disgusting way. The way he went about starting the war was disgusting and crazy.