John Brown
Others still see Brown as a fanatic and a terrorist. In an article published in 1883, David N. Utter focused on Brown’s efforts in Kansas. Brown and a small number of supporters kidnapped five men from their homes and killed them in reprisal for a pro-slavery settlers’ raid on an abolitionist stronghold. That deed launched the impassioned preacher on a violent mission, a prelude to his Harpers Ferry raid. With the help of friendly journalists, Brown became a legend as a freedom warrior. He returned to the East in search of abolitionists. “What Brown predicted never happened; there was no revolution, and no enslaved people were emancipated. “Only bad things happened to Kansas,” Utter wrote intext. Brown’s bold activities heightened fears in both the North and the South. The first shots of the deadliest struggle in American history were fired shortly after Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860. Brown has since been credited and accused of inflaming tensions and precipitating the war that eventually freed the enslaved people (Feuerherd, 2016). Nevertheless, the selfless acts of John Brown are beyond doubt that he had a vision beyond his ego or individualistic reasons.
Why Select John Brown in Particular?
John Brown had an unrelenting conviction and believed that he had a course from God. I chose John Brown because none was courageous to die for his beliefs and convictions as John Brown, unlike many Kansas History makers. Such ambition depicts John Brown as selfless, bold, and highly visionary (KSN TV, 2012). However, the controversy surrounding John Brown also serves as motivation to study John Brown as one of the history makers of Kansas. His story is proof that a person on the right side of history could still end up wrong. One would wonder about the inexcusable murders happening because of his convictions, the failed raids, and the subsequent war that followed his activities. The American civil war claimed at least 700000 lives intext. Closing sentence bro
How Did John Brown Contribute to Kansas history?
John Brown led antislavery guerillas in Kansas, following his convictions as the leader of the cruel practice. His selfless acts in bringing the slavery activities in the land to an end earned him the status of harbinger of the future. Unlike many people from Kansas, he represented an embodiment of fear to the people of the South. It was beyond a potent symbol for a white man to be willing to end even with his death. He aggressively acted against the Northern antislavery sentiment.
He fearlessly led violent insurrections against slavery. He appropriated violence for social change and equality. Many African American men and women followed the charismatic John Brown as a freedom fighter, even though it meant possible death for the individuals and their families. The extent of John Brown’s impact is yet to receive due attention. No one has ever wondered how freeborn blacks of Pennsylvania open up their homes to the strange John Brown. Or how they used their church and home pocketbooks to fund John Brown’s moves.
The rise of police brutality in the US has provoked many to think in a way related to John Brown. Some anti-police brutality youths in Kansas have related to the convictions of John Brown. It might be advisable that authorities stay woke, especially when John Brown-related sentiments traverse the youth’s social media. John Brown did not take antislavery with a violent inclination in his lifetime career until the death of Elijah Lovejoy in the free state of Illinois (Brands, 2020). John Brown had started his antislavery career through organizing and campaigning, having joined forces with the abolitionists in New England. The death of the stated abolitionist editor pushed John Brown into a declaration as consecrated to a lifetime of slavery destruction. Every time anti-social events unattended by the government happened in the country, a reflection on John Brown’s steps would get provoked.
How can John Brown’s impact still be seen in Kansas today?
Today, people in Kansas still listen to classical music and songs influenced by John Brown. He has also influenced statues, public murals, and other graphic series. He has remained an admirable symbol of freedom fighter, especially to the black community in Kansas. He is among the most prominent Kansas history makers associated with the America Civil War. After Abraham Lincoln, John Brown is the most studied and pondered individual in American historical course works. Although he is the least commemorated, his legacy is quite undeniable. No state in the United States commemorates John Brown save for the small museums and a Vermont Designation of John Brown Day. Nevertheless, John Brown’s memory is undeniably cherished with admirable veneration. A statue is erected in the former campus of Western University Quindaro ghost town in Kansas City. Another statue in Brown’s honor stands at John Brown Museum in Osawatomie, Kansas City.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it does not matter the sentimental reasons different historical researchers hold for or against John Brown. His mark on Kansas and the country as a whole is undeniable. Although many have argued that his course was right, his ways were wrong, at least his courage delivered something. Therefore, it is only rational to acknowledge his sacrifice and selfless disposition provoked by his deep convictions that gives Kansas a place in the history of antislavery.
References
Brands, H. (2020). The Problem With Looking for Lessons in the John Brown Story. Time. Retrieved 19 April 2022, from https://time.com/5896684/john-brown-lessons/.
Feuerherd, P. (2016). John Brown: Feared Fanatic or Freedom Fighter? – JSTOR Daily. JSTOR Daily. Retrieved 19 April 2022, from https://daily.jstor.org/john-brown-feared-fanatic-or-freedom-fighter/.
KSN TV. (2012). Kansas People, Kansas History [Video]. Retrieved 19 April 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiG0BMY5AXo.
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