December 2, 2009

President Obama last night

said he wants to send
30,000 more troops to
Afghanistan. They will be
there for over a year. Do
you approve of this? What
would you do differently, if
anything?
 Homework:
Some of the most
adamant
opponents of
slavery and racism
have been white.
What place do they
have in African
American History?
How do they fit?
John Brown
On November 2,
1859, John Brown
was hanged
He led a group of 19
in a raid on the
Federal Arsenal at
Harpers Ferry, West
Virginia
4 were killed by the
raiders
 John Brown
Believed slavery must
be violently opposed
Believed he was on a
mission from God
Was a failure in most
things he tried except
for this
Was in favor of killing
to oppose slavery
“Bleeding Kansas”
Brown was active in
Kansas before the
Civil War
In 1856 Brown’s
forces hacked to
death 5 pro slavery
men in
Pottawatomie,
Kansas
 “Bleeding Kansas”
To be fair, Brown’s
actions were in
retaliation for similar
acts by pro slavery
forces
Does that make a
difference? Does the
end justify the
means?
John Brown
Was trying to start a
slave rebellion
The Harpers Ferry
armory had about
100,000 rifles
Brown was planning
on using them to
arm the slaves that
he was sure were
coming
 Frederick Douglass
Knew of the raid
Knew Brown very well
Tried to talk Brown
out of the raid
Discouraged African
Americans from
enlisting with Brown
Knew the raid
wouldn’t work
John Brown Was tried for:
treason against
Virginia
5 counts of murder
Inciting slaves to
rebel
He was found guilty
Brown wanted to be
a martyr for the anti
slavery cause
 John Brown
On the day of his death
he wrote "I, John Brown,
am now quite certain that
the crimes of this guilty
land will never be purged
away but with blood. I
had, as I now think, vainly
flattered myself that
without very much
bloodshed it might be
done."
Exit Ticket
#1: Was John
Questions Brown a hero, or
was John Brown a
terrorist?
#2 : What effect did
the Brown raid
have on the
South?
#3 : Does “the end
justify the means?”