1. To what extent did John Brown encourage the coming of the Civil War? Explain your answer.
2. Was John Brown really crazy? Explain.
For more information visit this website http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1550.html and then answer the questions that follow regarding John Brown. Be sure to respond to one of your classmate's posts.
1. To what extent did John Brown encourage the coming of the Civil War? Explain your answer. 2. Was John Brown really crazy? Explain.
30 Comments
Ryan H.
1/5/2010 01:22:48 am
John Brown encouraged the coming of the Civil War by inspiring other antislavery people. He devoted his entire life to abolishing slavery which encouraged other believers to work for the same thing. At the end, John Brown showed his true devotion by giving his life to the cause. Brown didn't trigger the war... He just gave others the incentive to fight for it.
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Sunshine
1/5/2010 03:17:33 am
I think that John Brown did encourage the Civil War. He fought in Kansas and wanted to start a war in Virginia. He was so adament about putting an end to slavery...he probably knew that war was the only way it would end! As for crazy, John Brown may have killed 5 proslaveryites but he and his men had been attacked as well. I wouldn't say he was crazy, just angry.
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Sunshine
1/5/2010 03:18:38 am
I agree with Ryan, that John Brown wasn't crazy. He just hated slavery.
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Ashley
1/5/2010 10:41:35 pm
I think John Brown encouraged the war to an oblivious extent. He did not know what was to become of the war and that many people on his side would be murdered. I do not think that is what he wanted. I belive he wanted a peaceful transition (as much as you could have given the circumstances) and would not have encouraged the war, but obliviously by his past actions he definately had a hand in the rise of fury and injustice instilled in people in America. Soon leading to the Civil War. I do not think John Brown is or was crazy. I think he may have had some crazy ideas, but all in all he just wanted the hatred to end. He wanted justice and was constantly infuriated by the lack of caring and sympathy his own country could have toward other human beings.
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Molly G
1/6/2010 08:24:55 am
John Brown greatly influenced the coming of the Civil War. He showed that following your beliefs was something that you should not be afraid to do and many people then followed this concept. As said on the website, “Although initially shocked by Brown's exploits, many Northerners began to speak favorably of the militant abolitionist.” John Brown sparked the idea of using force to abolishing slavery, which was the main issue of the Civil War. This idea got in people’s heads and therefore he greatly influenced the coming of the Civil War and the ideas behind it.
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Molly G
1/6/2010 08:31:08 am
I agree with Ryan on the fact that John Brown was not crazy. He devoted his entire life to this cause. He truly believed in his cause and did anything to stop slavery. He was not crazy, but very determined. His determination caused actions that, to us, may not seem totally normal.
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Zain B
1/6/2010 11:15:08 am
John Browns actions did have a role in the coming civil war. His actions played a large role in support for abolitionist, Brown and the abolitionist goals of ending of slavery was better understood and accepted by more people after his death. This helped encourage support for the war and gave rise to rising tensions between north and south.
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Zain B
1/6/2010 11:25:10 am
I agree with Molly
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Bobby C.
1/7/2010 02:33:01 am
John Brown did encourage the coming of the Civil War, but I do not believe it encouraged it that much. I think he created more fear among the plantation and slave-owners than he made the Civil War come.
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Bobby C.
1/7/2010 02:37:34 am
I agree with Sunshine. Her rays of light revealed that he was angry instead of crazy and wanted to put slavery to an end and how he thought war was the only way to extinguish slavery.
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brian w 91
1/7/2010 09:45:57 am
I think John Brown was crazy because he promoted the civil war by choosing an act of violence to protest the treatment of slaves. Even though he was humiliated in his act of violence he was still an idiot because he forced the south to eventually secede from the north and become the confederate states of America. He was more than crazy!!!
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brian w 91
1/7/2010 09:51:25 am
I disagree with Ryan due to the fact that John Brown was mentally insane "crazy".
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Craig
1/7/2010 11:03:27 am
The Civil War was inevitable, so i dont think John Brown caused it. But, I do decree that he brought it to a sooner begining with his slave rebellion and bold views. Johnny-boy wasn't crazy. His father hated slavery...and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I think he was just subconsciously wanted to make his dad proud, which turned into an obsession that led to his death. RIP John Brown.
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Taylor D
1/8/2010 01:23:24 am
I do think that John Brown did have an impact on the starting of the Civil War. He was so persistant and determined to end slavery that he really ticked off the proslavery people. I think we had the Civil War coming to us because all the government did was to sweep the issue of slavery under the rug and never face it head on. They were too scared to do something due to fear of what the people would do. Our country was so divided on the issue that one side would have been mad either way a final decision went.
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Taylor D.
1/8/2010 01:27:35 am
I agree with Ashley. John Brown wasn't crazy. He just wanted to see slavery end. He was one who actually tried to see it from the blacks point of view. He realized that they couldn't end their enslavement by themselves and that they needed help from others. He was one of the rational ones of his time.
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Ashley C
1/10/2010 03:12:34 am
I agree with Molly. How can we really tell if someone was crazy back in the day. He did have radical and monumental ideas that liked to shake things up. This does not mean he was crazy just a leader in new and inspiring perspectives.
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Paige L.
1/10/2010 10:52:19 am
John Brown encouraged the coming of the Civil War to a very high extent. He was very antislavery and worked hard to show he was. As stated in the website,
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Paige L.
1/10/2010 11:52:27 am
I agree with Craig in him saying, "I think he was just subconsciously wanted to make his dad proud, which turned into an obsession that led to his death." Proving to a loved one that you can follow in their legacy is something that I also believe Brown accomplished.
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Ryan H
1/10/2010 12:18:36 pm
I disagree with Brian... Violence does not mean ur crazy.
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Amberleigh V.
1/10/2010 12:23:17 pm
John Brown did help encourage the Civil War because he really put it out there that slavery was wrong, and that people need to fight for what they believe in. I do not believe he was crazy though because even though he killed people, if you look at it from the other way too, white slave owners were killing the Africans way more than Africans killing slave owners, it’s not a good, but it’s not a crazy action he made. He was defending his beliefs, and trying to make a statement that slavery was wrong. He only did what felt natural to him. Any of us would have felt the same way if almost our entire race had been put into slavery. It’s not right, and he wanted his voice to be heard, he wanted to influence people towards abolishing slavery.
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Amberleigh V.
1/10/2010 12:26:38 pm
I agree with Bobby that John was not crazy but rather a radical abolitionist. He showed his views in society in extreme ways because he wanted his message to be heard by everyone’s ears.
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Natalie
1/10/2010 12:51:18 pm
i think john brown greatly influenced the civil war because of his actions and his beliefs on the abolition of slavery. even though he had the right idea of getting rid of slavery i think he was very misguided in his way of thinking. he wanted to end all slavery and in doing so he murdered people and went about doing things in not the best way he could have. when a moral purpose to end evil becomes so obsessive that it leads to evil acts, the nobility of purpose is canceled out. and in is bloody and gory rants on how everyone should oppose slavery he gave many people the wrong impression and the wrong idea about how to go about things. hence when the south split from the union. i think he influences this immensely because b showing people that you can do whatever and still get your point across showed people they could do the same. he was so anti-salvery that it really put a slit between alot of people and places hence again for the civil war.
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natalie
1/10/2010 12:52:29 pm
after i just posted mine i read ambers i agree with her about how we were killing blacks way quicker
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Muma
1/11/2010 03:23:30 am
John Brown was crazy. Anybody who has that radical of view and is willing to go to that far of an extreme, is in fact, insane. Talking is always the best way to work out a problem. Violence should be avoided at all costs.
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Muma
1/11/2010 11:39:42 am
I agree with Natalie, partly. John Brown completely went about his plans to end slavery the wrong way. Talking is always the best option to solve conflict.
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Gaston
1/12/2010 07:17:32 am
He had a great deal of encouragement in the coming of the Civil War. He talked aloud about his beliefs about Slavery being wrong, and pushed his beliefs out there for others to realize and know about. I think he was a little crazy....I DO NOT LIKE SLAVERY! I also do not blame him for being crazy....who wasn't around this time and with this situation.
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Austin
1/14/2010 11:33:22 pm
John Brown contributed to the war by being a crazy axe murderer. He used violence like it was necessary and not like it was a last resort. Him and Ghandi would not be friends.
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Austin
1/14/2010 11:34:42 pm
I agree with Ashley because of her clearly stated opinion that somewhat expresses what I mean. Like her, I believe that he did not mean to cause all the trouble he did, even though he did mean to cause trouble.
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Sharkey
1/26/2010 01:42:28 pm
John Brown Was insane and went about solving his problems in a terrible manner. Instead of discussing these issues as a civilized man, he became a savage wild man and destroyed lives.
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Sharkey
1/26/2010 01:43:02 pm
I agree with Natalie that he should have just talked to the people he had issues with.
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