Did John Brown simply become a retrospective hero after the Emancipation Proclamation, when ending slavery became a key part of the Union war effort, and yesterday's loony abolitionists thus became the current day's heroes?
Do we know when they started singing "John Brown's Body"?
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He was never considered loony although he was certainly considered dangerous. He was very old testament religious but nothing like the stuff portrayed in this movie. And he was a hero well before Harper's Ferry, to pretty much everyone who opposed slavery in the new United States territories.
shareI could admire him if it weren't for the Ossawatomie massacre.
shareWhy is that? He was defending the town. It was Major General John W. Reid and the pro-slavery Missourians that attacked with 300 men, drove John Brown and his remaining men into the woods then Reid sacked and burned the town. Reid wanted to destroy the free settlements in Kansas. Brown tried to stop it. What's not to admire? John brown is only a villain in history to those who were pro-slavery. Granted his armed insurrections may not have been the best of ways, but he stood up for what he believed in, the end to slavery. I for one admire him and don't consider America's first home grown terrorist. (like many do)
There's a statue of him in the town today so it seems they also think he was a hero.
Just my humble opinion.
History went his way. In that respect he was a true prophet.
God is subtle, but He is not malicious. (Albert Einstein)
Insane villain and murderer. Simple as that!
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