Brown’s attack on Harper’s Ferry affected American culture more than can ever be understood. Tension between the North and South was building in the 1850’s. Slavery among many other things was dividing the country into two sections. Brown was executed on December 2, 1859 for his murderous out-lash on society. Was his mind so twisted and demented that he would commit cold-blooded murder? The answer is no. John Brown was a man with a goal and a purpose. When he said that abolition could not be achieved without blood he was right. It is one of histories great ironies; John Brown’s struggle preceded the Civil War by only 17 months. Thousands of people were killed in the Civil War, yet John Brown is still looked on as a criminal. He was not a criminal but a hero, fighting for what was right. He was a man ahead of his time. John Brown was born on May 9, 1800 in the town of Torrington Connecticut. When he was five his family moved to Ohio and in 1834 they moved to Pennsylvania. John Brown was no stranger to slavery. His father ran a station in the Underground Railroad. He was taught to respect the slaves they harbored as equals and as good people. Brown learned to respect people different than him. In Pennsylvania, Brown worked with other slave sympathizers to educate the African-American community. He was even able to accept and learn from the Native American’s that lived in the area of his home. Slavery was considered inhumane and cruel to Brown and his family. As John Brown grew and became a man he became more and more active in the fight for abolitionism. Like his father he devoted his life to gathering money for slaves and housing those that escaped. Brown began to read the bible day and night, each day becoming more and more secure with his beliefs. “He had found quotation after quotation to support his conviction that God had destined his righteous servant for great things.&...
