Controversial Dedication A Study Of John Brown s Politics

Controversial Dedication: A Study of John Brown’s Politics â€Å"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.† – John Brown (1859) Few abolitionists have shown the die-hard dedication that John Brown presented during the battle to end slavery. Most abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglas, focused on giving speeches to persuade people to see the light and bring slavery to an end. However John Brown appears to be the anomaly in the abolitionist’s movement, he believed in the freedom of slaves so fervently that he was willing to raise arms against his fellow Americans. Although his†¦show more content†¦Brown took up his father’s cross, and enlisted his sons to attack and kill five men in â€Å"Pottawattamie Creek† during May of â€Å"1856† (â€Å"John Brown†). He claimed that the men were supporters of slavery, yet none of them owned slaves. Historian Paul Shakel asserts that he justified his murderous acts; when discussing the victims of Pottawattamie Creek Brown is quoted as saying, â€Å"they deserved to die, because they ‘had committed murder in their hearts already, according to the Big Book’† (29). For an unknown reason he was not tried with murder and easily escaped the Kansas territory to further his campaign. This event was just the beginning of what would become John Brown’s purge of blood to end slavery. Civil War researcher, Alfred J. Von Frank asserts that â€Å"As [abolitionists] transformed themselves and overcame existing social barriers, they reimagined their country as a pluralist society in which the standard of excellence depended on righteousness and benevolence rather than on skin color, sex, or material wealth† (142). While these are noble pursuits, the way in which they were achieved was severe. Although it remains evident through history, tha t very few social reforms have been achieved peacefully. John Brown truly did transform himself and his style of protests to more violent attempts as he gained ground. Although he argued that his war on slavery was one of righteousness, there were too many fatalities by his own hands to