How did John Brown's raid change the public perception of himself and the abolitionist cause?
1 Answer
John Brown
Explanation:
John Brown was a fierce abolitionists, believing God told him slavery is wrong and he should help stop it. At the time of the Harper Ferry Raid, John Brown was getting pretty old, and he thought he hadn't done enough to help stop slavery. So he organized the Ferry raid with a group of supporters. The idea being, that they raid the armory and get weapons to give to slaves so the slaves can stage a revolt.
All in all, the raid was a disaster. The raid was stopped by nearby militia forces. Those who weren't killed by the militia fled. Brown was caught though. Brown was hanged on Dec. 2nd 1859.
Brown was perceived in 2 different lights. Some saw him as a extreme domestic terrorist, and others saw him as a civil right icon. People in the north tended to be more kind to Brown than those in the South.
The reason the South was so afraid of getting rid of slavery was because slave-based agriculture was the foundation of the Southern economy and if you were to take that away, the economy would be hurt badly. Also the South thought this would encourage more action's like Browns. People would stage these attacks more.
People in the North after Brown's death seemed to be more encouraged. More people took part in the Underground Railroad (Which is NOT a railroad that is underground) and made people want to help escaping slaves more.
