In: Psychology
John Brown and his raid on Harper's Ferry consider this question, is John Brown a hero or a terrorist? Does his cause determine the answer to this question? Think about earlier in the semester when you discussed whether or not the Sons of Liberty were terrorists and the criteria that you used to make that decision. When applying that same criteria to John Brown, does your label for him change?In 250 words
John Brown is considered a freedom fighter rather than a terrorist. His raid on Harper's Ferry was a struggle against slavery. His main cause to display violence was to abolish slavery against black people and make America a slavery-free country. Though his acts were considered as terrorism by many after the raid, his speech during his execution proved otherwise. Moreover, his acts can be categorized as terrosm or non-terrorism only based on the perspectives. Even though a lot of civilians got killed in the raid, it did bring a social change that liberated a lot of slaves. A group known as Sons of Liberty composed of colonists resorted to violent methods to attain independence of America from Britain. Sons of Liberty were considered as freedom fighters by Americans but terrorists by Britain. Nonetheless, the criteria applied to Sons of Liberty is that they brought about a struggle for a cause and are more of freedom fighters. Hence, based on the conclusion, John Brown is also a freedom fighter or an abolitionist rather than a terrorist.