Jeremy Keeshin

UNITED STATES HISTORY- DOCUMENT BASED QUESTION- JOHN BROWN

The persona of John Brown is a mystery. His biography reveals a man who was
dedicated throughout his life to the cause of equality for African Americans, and he went
to the extent of giving his life for it. He was marked as a singular example of a white man
who died for the cause of black freedom. His actions, however insecurely they may have
been grounded in reason, undeniably made an impact. His consistency in perpetuating the
abolition movement by any means was a major reason for pushing the nation into war.
The relations between the North and South changed drastically as a direct consequence of
his actions between the years 1859 and 1863 because the emotion that John Brown stirred
among the citizens of the country ultimately led to the Civil War.
John Brown and his raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia in October of 1859 was the
culmination of his life’s work as an abolitionist. It is highly likely that Brown knew that
his actions would not succeed because the numbers that he had versus the numbers he
was facing did not present advantageous odds. Others before him had tried to start a
rebellion, but Henry David Thoreau asks the vital question that separates the
accomplishments of John Brown apart. “Whence, then, this wonderful difference?”
(Document B). The object that sets Brown above the others who had tried to rescue
slaves previously was that he was beyond his cause. He saw himself as being sent
religiously by a duty that he was mandated to satisfy. This made John Brown quest a
nobler cause, and even after it had happened it was attractive to those in the North.
Brown had come to a crucial realization about the mindset of the nation regarding
the termination of slavery. He realized beforehand that the only way to end slavery was
by a civil war, and he was the essential part in getting that war started. His eagerness to
utilize violence as a solution to this problem of slavery set him apart from other
abolitionists. In his editorial Horace Greeley details the sentiment of the country
regarding Brown: “And, while we heartily wish every slave in the world would run away
from his master tomorrow and never be retaken, we should not feel justified in entering a
slave state to incite them to do so, even if we were sure to succeed in the enterprise”
(Document A). The majority of the feeling in the North according to Greeley was that
they were for the end of slavery, but they did not agree that going out and seeking
violence was the direct answer to it.
The documents, as well as outside information, demonstrate how Brown’s
undertakings helped the North and South move towards war. Lincoln’s campaign speech
tells that the Democrats are resorting to fighting, and blaming it on the Republicans and
John Brown (Document E). The natural order of association of groups for the South was
to associate Brown with the abolitionists, the abolitionists with the Republicans and the
Republicans with the North, all of which meant the growing of the divide between the
two regions. Despite the divide between the North and South, the hanging of Brown
started to spur abolitionism in the North. Although many were uneasy about it at first, the
opinion was that it was a positive step. Frederick Douglass says in his letter to a group of
abolitionists that just being in the acquaintance of Brown was an honor (Document F).
This meant that he as well as many others were of the opinion that this man was so
important in making progress towards the abolition of slavery that even to know him was
an honor.
 Jeremy Keeshin

A significant item to note is that the documents are only covering the years 1859,
1860, and 1863 and they are only from a Northern perspective. This means they are not
covering the years 1861 and 1862 and that they do not truly cover the Southern
viewpoint. These two facts correlate to the point that during the years where the South is
doing well during the Civil War, there are no documents. This proves the statement about
how the winners write history and how John Brown’s effect was so far reaching as to
propel a war. The documents do not fully cover John Brown’s importance in the changing
North and South relations as the gap of years inherently provides, but John Brown’s
legacy completely does as it covers the issue of how dedicated each side was to their
cause.
Emerson once said about Brown that he “would make the gallows as glorious as
the cross” because his plight was so dignified and respectable, also restated by the
Douglass letter. It was even furthered by the final picture where he was meeting the slave
mother on the way to the scaffold (Document H). He was so calm at this point in time as
he truly transcended the hanging for his much larger cause of ending black enslavement.
Brown was more of a symbol than anything as he helped the North to decide how much it
was worth it for them to be fighting and his martyrdom reassured the nation that the fight
for emancipation would continue.