IndexIntroductionChildhood and EducationFrederick Douglass and John BrownThe Raid on Harpers FerryConclusionIntroductionJohn Brown was a passionate abolitionist in the 1800s, making the abolition of slavery his primary goal in life. Throughout the John Brown years, it can be seen that he had always had a different point of view than most others and his point of view remained valid until his execution. John Brown was executed as a result of his raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, where he and 21 men took over the armory and killed 5 people, holding many others prisoner. This essay describes his motivations for the raid on Harpers Ferry, including his childhood where a reader can see his sympathetic mindset, his adulthood and planning of the raid, and how he was described during the raid. This essay sheds a different light on John Brown's actions and motivations. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Childhood and Education John Brown often wrote letters to correspondents. In a letter to Harry Stearns, Brown writes about his life as a child and how it affected him. From this source, the reader can see how John Brown's early life led him to his abolitionist ideas and how his personality traits as a child led to his actions as an adult. Brown originally lived in Connecticut, but when he was four years old, his father decided to move to Ohio. When John Brown first arrived in Ohio, he was afraid of the Native Americans who lived there, but later befriended them. Brown was curious as a child and chose to observe Native Americans, where he was able to acquire some of their language. His father learned deerskin dressing from Native Americans and taught Brown the same skill. A reader can see that John Brown was not discriminatory towards different people. Brown embraced differences, such as language and race, because with differences came learning for him, how to dress skins. When John Brown was six years old, he went to school where he learned basic manners and discipline. Brown was not a scholar, he enjoyed being outdoors where he was free to do as he pleased. Later in life, Brown chose to read older history books and the Bible because they lacked the modern prejudices of the time. In John Brown's early years, he placed a high sentimental value on small things. Brown was given a marble by a Native American boy and was devastated when he lost it. Other periods of mourning came after her bobtail squirrel escaped and after her sheep died. Brown, as a child, is observed to have a high emotional attachment to objects, and those strong feelings can be carried into adulthood. He is very emotional in his actions and is not easily persuaded by them. Brown describes himself as a rougher type of game and lie. These personality traits could be shown in his adulthood. Brown's raid was aggressive for the most part, but for Brown the massacre was necessary to end things. Although he thought the raid was necessary, Brown despised the battle. John's mother has died and his father has to leave for war. It was then that Brown was able to grow as a person, saw the effects it had had and vowed never to participate, instead accepting fines for avoiding the draft. This is also the period in which he became prominent in his abolitionist views. John Brown stayed with a family that had a male slave his age while his father was away. Brown was treated well while the other boy was poorly dressed,he slept in poor conditions and was beaten before Brown's eyes. “This led John to reflect on the miserable and hopeless condition of fatherless and motherless slave children: for such children have neither fathers nor mothers to protect and provide for them.” Brown realized at an early age that slaves, mostly child slaves, had no voice to stop the madness. They had no one to take care of them, so John wanted to take on the fighting himself. After all, slave children were comparable to Brown; no father or mother to protect. Frederick Douglass and John Brown John Brown had many correspondents over the years to gain followers in the anti-slavery movement, one of those men was Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass was a fugitive slave who played an important role in the abolitionist movement because of his devotion to truth and justice during the time of slavery. John Brown and Douglass met in 1847, but continued to correspond until Brown was executed. They were true friends in constant contact when they were in the same cities, and Brown often stayed with Douglass by paying a fee to live with him. Much was made of John Brown's plan of action to free slaves in the border states. One line from this memory of Douglass stands out. “They were to be well armed, but were to avoid battle or violence unless compelled by pursuit or in self-defense.” This observation is interesting because it shows that John Brown is not a man who seeks violence, but only justice for slaves. Many times Brown is called a murderer, heartless and cruel. How could a man considered evil come up with a plan to avoid bloodshed? Throughout this selection, Frederick Douglass speaks highly of Brown, without ever describing malicious intent. Brown goes on to tell how the plan was failing due to lack of supplies, people, and funds. In this way, however, Brown was able to acquire men to fight alongside him. At one point, Brown stayed at Douglass' house and wrote letters to the men and drafted a new constitution that he wanted his men to sign. Douglass recounts that Brown had devised a plan to attack Harpers Ferry in another conversation. Douglass thought Brown's plan was a suicide mission, but he couldn't change his mind about it. Brown wanted the battle against slavery to end at any cost, including his own life and that of his men. Douglass decided that he would not go with Brown on the raid, knowing that it would end in death in battle or execution. This was the last conversation between John Brown and Frederick Douglass. The Raid on Harpers Ferry The Raid on Harpers Ferry occurred on October 18, 1859. Brown's plan was to gain control of the armory that was there and later arm the town's slaves to help them take over. During the raid, John Brown had captured several men. One of those men, John E. P. Daingerfield, wrote what happened to him on the night of the raid and wrote interesting views of John Brown during the raid. Daingerfield began by describing how he was captured. When armed men approached him, he insisted that he would leave for home, but inevitably he was taken prisoner. The prisoners were held together in the engine room and allowed to converse with "Captain John Smith," as the men called Brown. John Brown and his men had captured the armory, leaving the citizens defenseless. As the citizens attempted to attack, Brown's men returned fire, but no prisoners were injured. Daingerfield spoke to Brown at night, when the firing ceased, and said, "I found him as brave as a man could be and sensitive.