John Brown (1800-1859) was a man determined to fight slavery. His way of fighting manifested itself throughout his life through armed struggle, financial support and the donation of lands for slaves, despite the economic difficulties he had with his family. One of the most important events in the history associated with John Brown was the raid on Harpers Ferry. This event occurred in 1859 and was an attempt to start an armed slave uprising by seizing a US arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. From my point of view, John Brown was a hero because he was active in the fight against slavery at a time when most people were in favor of it (in 1790 the state of Virginia had about 300,000 slaves1. In 1860, 75% of white families owned more than 1 slave2). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Many people, including myself, believe that he is a martyr/hero because he was willing to risk his life for the cause of ending slavery in the United States. He put his life on the line to help slaves in many occasions such as the attack on Harpers Ferry, where he and 21 other men attempted to free and arm slaves. Brown believed that these armed slaves would then join his army and free even more slaves3. At that time Brown was arrested and tried for treason, eventually being sentenced to death by hanging. The fact that he was willing to die, and actually did, makes him a hero in my view. One reason I believe he is a hero is because he didn't have much choice at the time other than using violence3, although I think his way of expressing his ideas to people may not have been the best. We must keep in mind that it was not until the mid-1850s that Brown committed to abolishing slavery by force. Before that, he had attempted to use reason, donating land, financial support to the cause, among other nonviolent tools. According to Mintz, “the factors associated with this change in attitude may be linked to a convergence of personal and political factors, including a series of personal misfortunes, frustrations and tragedies. Meanwhile, the political crisis surrounding slavery intensified, and after a prolonged period of hesitation, Brown decided to abandon the material world, largely abandoning his farm, his business ventures, and even his wife." Another reason why I think John Brown can be considered a hero is that he participated in the creation of an anti-slavery movement that transcended life and death, becoming a point of reference for all people who believed that slavery should be abolished in the country. In 907 Eugene Debs wrote: “among all abolitionists Brown seemed the “embodied spirit” of the revolution.”4 Many people consider John Brown a terrorist because of his extreme use of violence. His inability to cope with the suffering of others made him prompted the contradictory behavior of inflicting pain to stop the pain Many people believed that much of his killing was unnecessary, and I understand that point of view, but I also believe that it was pretty much the only way to go back at that time to let people know to people what he was doing, to make himself known for his cause and to bring hope to the people still suffering from slavery. Some even labeled him as “America's first terrorist” because of the fear of people being attacked by him and by his "army"5. There is a current that claims that John Brown was mentally ill, as he claimed to have been sent.