John Brown: Father of Terrorism in the American History - Essay Example

John Brown: John Brown has been referred as the "Father of Terrorism" in the American history. This might have been appropriate in that period but in the modern world, he can not be labeled as a terrorist. This essay takes a look at the events that took place in John Brown's life and also the writings of the historians. It tries to bring forth the bias in the writings. As it becomes apparent in the essay, proper analysis makes it clear that the tag of terrorist was a prejudice and biased reaction of the supporters of slavery. If anyone can prove and support that slavery was a correct practice and Brown should not have raised his voice against this practice, neither should he have sown these seeds in enslaved population then only this tag can be justified. This essay takes a neutral view at the life and deeds of Brown and finds that John Brown was not a terrorist. Life of John Brown : History and Facts If we look back in history we find that this title was given to him because of his revolt against slavery. In that period, slavery was an accepted norm of life and any movement against it was "anti-social". Today when slavery has been wiped out, he can be declared a hero for starting a war against an inhuman practice of slave trade. John Brown born on 9th May, 1800, became the first American to raise his voice against the practice of slavery. He has been one of the most controversial personalities of the 19th century. Even President Abraham Lincoln said that Brown was a "misguided fanatic".( Blue, 2006) Many other intellectuals also called him as terrorist. He had started a liberation movement of the black slaves in 1857-58 in Kansas. He collected some young men and gave them military training at Springdale Iowa. In 1958, he took this small army to Chatham in West Canada and on 8th of May, he called a convention where he declared a provisional constitution for the people of United States. If we read the wordings of this constitution, it goes like "slavery is none other than a most barbarous, unprovoked and unjustifiable war of one portion of its citizens upon another portion." Anyone who has not been influenced by the name "Father of Terrorists", can not say that these words are unjustified and anyone believing and promoting these words and thoughts should be executed. Brown formulated the constitution and also formed a committee. On 10th the committee was finalized and declared adjourned sine die. In July 1859, Brown came to Harper's Ferry under disguise and prepared grounds for his further attack. Finally on 16th October, 1859, he invaded Harper's Ferry with his army of 20 militants. Twelve of these were killed one was captured and executed and one was unaccounted for. Rest four of the them including Brown were turned over to the Sheriff. On 2nd December, 1859, Brown was executed. Historical Interpretations Most of the historians have Called John Brown a terrorist. Later some of them have come up with more cordial view. The friendliest biography of Brown is supposed to be the one written by Oswald Garrison Villard in 1910. Villard was himself the grandson of William Lloyd Garrison who was an abolitionist. While explaining John's arrival in Harpers Ferry he says that his intention was to "begin his revolution in a spectacular way, capturing a few slaveholders and release some slaves( Villard, 1910)". He has expressed admiration for Brown in many places but he has also called him a murderer. Some of the African American writers later presented a positive view about him.(DeCaro, 2005). Even in the middle of the 20th century, some Southern writers expressed strongly negative views about him. In the beginning of the 21st century, there has been a remarkable change in the attitude of the writers. Few of them are Toledo 2002, Decaro, 2002, Peterson 2002, Reynolds 2005 and Carton 2006. There have been some writers in this period also like Bruce Olds 1995, who has written a very negative work on Brown. At the same time Russel Banks has portrayed a fictional work on Brown putting him is the positive perspective. Another point to note here is that the shift from negativity to positive came in the black scholars much earlier than it came in the whites. W.E.B. DuBois , Lerone Bennett Jr and Benjamin Quarles were among the earliest ones to depict a positive view on Brown. Richard Owen Boyer said that "Brown was an American who gave his life so that other Americans could be free ( Boyer, 1973)". Stephen B. Oates has called him "one of the most perceptive human beings of his generation(Oates, 1970)" who has been maligned as a demented dreamer. Davis S. Reynolds praises him for beginning the civil war and "killed slavery( Reynolds,2005)". He even gives him the credit to have laid the foundation for the Civil Rights Movement that took place a century later and condemns the negative writings on Brown. Another point to be noted about the negative writings on Brown is that most of them are based on secondary sources or in other words they are the reproduction of the thoughts held by some earlier writers, so a change in view is not expected. These writings are reproduction of views based on the regional and ideological prejudices. Albert Fried's biography of Brown in based on original research and insight. He has also found that the views held by other historians are highly influenced by the thinking of that time. The influence of white thinking can be understood from the fact that the day Brown was executed, there were church services held in North to glorifying his deeds. His sacrifice was recognized as being a martyr. Later his name was included in a battle slogan and that encouraged Northern Troops to invade and capture the South. According to The Confederate Military History, the main participants of this war between North and South became the central characters of the Civil War later. Thus it is clear that Brown had sown the seeds of the Civil War long back and paid for it with his life and the name tag of "Father of Terrorists". Now that we understand the nobility of his cause, we can not return his life but we can always wipe off this stigma of "terrorist" off from his name. As Chowder says "both the left and right ends of American society are at this moment vitally interested in the story of John Brown ( Chowder, 2000)"Brown was the leader of anti-slavery movement and started the process that later ended this inhuman practice. References: Frederick J. Blue in American Historical Review (April 2006) v. 111 p 481-2. Louis A. DeCaro Jr., "Black People's Ally, White People's Bogeyman: A John Brown Story," in Andrew Taylor and Eldrid Herrington, editors, The Afterlife of John Brown (New York: Palgrave/Macmillan, 2005), 11-26. Louis A. DeCaro Jr., John Brown--The Cost of Freedom: Selections from His Life & Letters (New York: International Publishers, 2007), 16. Albert Fried, John Brown's Journey: Notes & Reflections on His America & Mine (Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor/Doubleday, 1978), 272. Ken Chowder,The Father of American Terrorism, American Heritage (2000) 51(1) David S. Reynolds, John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights (2005). The Confederate Military History, Volume 3, Chapter II. Volume written by Jed. Hotchkiss Read More