John Brown: Patriot, Traitor, Terrorist?

[MendotoManteo]

Of all the figures in American history that intrigue me the most, it's John Brown. Whatever one may think of him, I believe him to be the most exceptional American that has ever lived. He's largely fallen into the dustbin of history, although the Showtime "The Good Lord Bird" miniseries during Covid seems to have revived his legacy a bit. (It's very good, by the way, and I recommend a watch. Ethan Hawke great.)

In his biography of the man, Evan Carton writes the following in his preface:

"For drama, controversy, and historical impact, the life of John Brown exceeds that of any other private citizen of the United States. If American patriotism is defined as unqualified commitment to the nation's founding religious and political ideals - a commitment both to live by them and to die for them - then Brown may count as one of America's first patriots, though he was not born until 1800 and was hanged for treason in 1859."

I remember, growing up, to the extent we were taught anything at all about Brown, it was as if a footnote. Or even some insane caricature.

Perhaps it's my socialist sympathies, but I think the way we look at the Revolution and the Civil War is wrong. The Revolution was not a revolution. In fact, it was a class war between the colonial and British elites. The Civil War was a revolution, provided you consider it began at Harper's Ferry in 1859 and not at Fort Sumter in 1861.

Whatever the case, what do you consider the historical impact of John Brown? And what do you consider him to be: patriot, traitor, terrorist, etc?

 

[donbosco]

A reading of John Brown's address to the court that found him guilty of Treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, Conspiracy to incite a slave insurrection, and Murder and ordered his execution.

 

[MendotoManteo]

A reading of John Brown's address to the court that found him guilty of Treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, Conspiracy to incite a slave insurrection, and Murder and ordered his execution.

Thank you for sharing! I had not seen that video before.

 

[donbosco]

Interested in what folks think of Brown. He comes up often in US History Classes...adds some historical nuance to discussions of slavery and the Civil War to be sure.

 

[MendotoManteo]

Interested in what folks think of Brown. He comes up often in US History Classes...adds some historical nuance to discussions of slavery and the Civil War to be sure.

Poor John Brown. No one comments much because very few remember. As we've been taught to forget him.

I don't know what US History courses you took, but mine never involved John Brown. He was an afterthought.

And rightfully so. Because it was never the intention of this country to live up to its stated goals. As I posited with the fact the Revolution not a revolution and just a class war.

But John Brown actually believed in all that bullshit the Founders stated. And he believed in the New Testament.

If "all men are created equal," then John Brown tried to fulfill that as best as anyone who has ever lived.

Unfortunately, most Americans don't even know who he is anymore. And that's intentional.

 

[donbosco]

I never had a history course that mentioned John Brown until I got to Carolina to be sure but I read a lot on my own as a kid and knew about him.

These days I teach courses myself and I've already brought that very speech to an assembly of around 100 for one course and will do so again in a few weeks to another.

Ultimately it makes a thoughtful juxtaposition with both Lincoln's 1838 Lyceum Speech , Frederick Douglass' "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July," and MLK Jr.'s "Letter From Birmingham Jail." You can throw in Thoreau's Civil Disobedience for good measure but I usually don't since he didn't really risk much in my opinion while Brown, Douglass, and King did without a doubt. Lincoln is also different because he urges obesience even to bad laws. though I think later on he shifted his way of thinking at least somewhat. Obviously, Brown was a murderer and committed insurrection but he clearly believed that he was doing right...and biblically to boot. He also accepted his execution as the price for obeying his conscience. Brown's speech tends to bring forward the question, "If you lived in tumultuous times where you saw wrong-doing around you, what would you do? What should you do?" Sometimes I throw Ida B. Wells and Sojourner Truth into the mix as well as Harry Haywood, Lucy Parsons, Rosa Luxembourg...the list goes on and on and sometimes students come up with their own resistors to add in. A student last year suggested Colin Kaepernick be added.

 

[MendotoManteo]

I never had a history course that mentioned John Brown until I got to Carolina to be sure but I read a lot on my own as a kid and knew about him.

These days I teach courses myself and I've already brought that very speech to an assembly of around 100 for one course and will do so again in a few weeks to another.

Ultimately it makes a thoughtful juxtaposition with both Lincoln's 1838 Lyceum Speech , Frederick Douglass' "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July," and MLK Jr.'s "Letter From Birmingham Jail." You can throw in Thoreau's Civil Disobedience for good measure but I usually don't since he didn't really risk much in my opinion while Brown, Douglass, and King did without a doubt. Lincoln is also different because he urges obesience even to bad laws. though I think later on he shifted his way of thinking at least somewhat. Obviously, Brown was a murderer and committed insurrection but he clearly believed that he was doing right...and biblically to boot. He also accepted his execution as the price for obeying his conscience. Brown's speech tends to bring forward the question, "If you lived in tumultuous times where you saw wrong-doing around you, what would you do? What should you do?" Sometimes I throw Ida B. Wells and Sojourner Truth into the mix as well as Harry Haywood, Lucy Parsons, Rosa Luxembourg...the list goes on and on and sometimes students come up with their own resistors to add in. A student last year suggested Colin Kaepernick be added.

That's very well put.

What do you teach? I have an English PhD from the University of Tennessee. Taught many classes but never brought up John Brown, because he was lost to even me at the time. This is mid-00s to 2014 or so.

The people you mention. It reminds me how propagandized we are. Despite thinking that's something that goes on in other countries. And not here.

No, it very much goes on here. There's a reason why practically no one knows John Brown anymore.

And, I'll say this. We watch our football games every Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, in particular, commercials come on where there's a "middle-class" family doing its thing in a home that practically no one can afford anymore. But they make it seem like it's the way every American family should live. It's so seamless. Just like walking down the street and seeing all the ads.