Essay On John Brown's Raid

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Recommended: 1 -2 paragraph summary of the event of john brown's raid

In October of 1859, a group of about 22 men had a plan to raid an arsenal. The goal was to bring shock and confusion across the nation, as well as a new Civil War beginning. John Brown was an abolitionist who strongly believed in the freedom of slaves. His raid was a pivotal event that brought the nation to the same mindset that a war needed to occur. Blood needed to be shed. No peaceful compromise for slavery was going to take place. The raid at Harpers Ferry was a movement by Brown that can be seen as a failure and success; many people believe it was a failure since the Civil War was not started as Brown intended; however, it did succeed in bringing fear and conflict once again to the Union.
John Brown, a militant abolitionist, raided Harpers Ferry on October 16th, 1859. On the night of the raid, Brown and twenty two men, including five black men, collected fifty slaves and disarmed the watchmen. They successfully took possession of the arsenal, rifle factory, armory and other government property (“John Brown’s Raid, 1859”). They were stopped when his ten hostages and remaining men became stuck in a stable, while a mob of angered citizens waited outside. The U.S. Marines charged in and killed several of the raiders. Brown was also …show more content…

He opened the eyes of all the Americans and showed them the country’s desperate need for war. According to Douglass, the raid rose unexpected awareness and it was not easy for the situation to be conceived as more abundant in all elements of horror and destruction. The amount of fear and distress that the raid caused helped many historians acknowledge that it was truly a, “pivotal event that pushed the nation closer to a civil war (Douglass).” Karen Whitman agrees with this statement and believes that there is ample proof that Brown was not a madman, but actually was very courageous comparing to other anti-slavery men and women of his generation

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