John Brown's Raid in Harper' Research Paper

Many of the historians will suggest that the John Brown's raid over Harper Lee and his quick execution leaded to the inevitable civil war.

Why would the South turn almost permanently to secession after 1859?

Despite of all the support John Brown gains from the Northern abolitionist writers, his actions were violent, terroristic and heinous. Even Abraham Lincoln who was trying to assuage Southern and Northern parts to solve out the issue of abolishing slavery in a peaceful manner mentioned John Brown as a misguide fanatic (Reynolds 2005, John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights).

One can compare the violent and brutal raid by John Brown on Harper Lee with the September Eleven attack on Twin Towers in 2001. A terrorist attack, irrespective of the motives behind it cannot be tolerated, it should not be tolerated. The rift between Southern and Northern block increased after the Harper Lee raid and eighteen months after the execution of John Brown, Americans went to war against each other with soldiers marching into battle singing "John Brown's Body." Around or more 600,000 people were killed during the civil war and then only the sin of slavery was purged out of American History. Any sane mind would like to question, was the brutal murders of those 600,000 people necessary? The pacifist, anti-slavery, non-co-operation movement was the right choice. The Violent streak of John Brown against the South was enough to force them to try to protect themselves and secede.

Why would the Union go into the Civil War Singing "John Brown's Body?

John Brown was a popular figure amongst the wealthy Northern abolitionists, furthermore, the black writers and activists also presented him as the fighter for the cause of freedom of the slaves. Furthermore, his righteous indignation against slavery reached to the masses of the nation and that worked as inspiration for the people in general (PBS Resource Bank).

The Unions used the John Brown's Body song to gather the support from all the sects and groups that had sympathy towards the acts of John Brown. Irrespective of his being a terrorist, the cause of John Brown was appreciated. Furthermore, his idea to gather the black soldiers and supporters and to end the slavery right with the Harper Lee was properly executed during the Civil War.

Conclusion

John Brown is obviously one of the most controversial figures whose contribution for Abolitionists' movement in America cannot be denied. Despite all the support an appreciation for his 'so-called' heroic act of murdering the 5 pro-slavery leaders during the raid of Harper Lee, he gained the status of an inspirational leader to further cause bloody and brutal American Civil War.

One should remember that Murders and Bloodthirsty war cannot be justified by the motives of Liberty. The right path for the truth of Liberty can be achieved in the justified, non-violent ways of non-cooperation movement that the original Northern abolitionists were planning for. The validity of the similar success of non-violent libertarian movement can further be justified with the example of Mahatma Gandhi and the success of his non-violent non-cooperation movement later on in the history to liberate India against the British Raj.

References

Encyclopedia. 2010. Victor Hugo's letter to London News, 1859.

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Victor_Hugo%27s_letter_to_the_London_News_regarding_John_Brown

Horwitz, Tony. 2009. The 9/11 of 1859. New York Times, December 1, p. A4.

Maryland State Archives. 2000. In Readiness to Do Every Duty Assigned. Maryland State Government.

http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/speccol/sc2200/sc2221/000030/html/readiness1.html

PBS Resource Bank. The raid on Harpers Ferry, 1859. PBS.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2940.html

Reynolds, David. 2005 John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights. Kansa History.

http://www.kansashistory.us/johnbrown.html

Rhodes, James Ford. 1892. History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850. Harvard University: Harper & Brothers.

Sinha, Manisha. 2006. His Truth Is Marching On: John Brown and the Fight for Racial Justice. Civil War History 52(2): 12-15.