Captain John Brown A Hero example essay topic

It's a plane, it's a bird, it's Superman. He's not exactly a real flying "superman", but John Brown helps everyone remember oppression. He is a real hero. Brown lived a life not many would have been able to live.

Captain John Brown performed several heroic acts while living his married life and raising his twenty children. Encyclopedia Britannica defines a hero as, "A mythical or legend figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability [; ] A man admired for his achievements and noble qualities". If Brown could be in the dictionary, hero would be the most prominent definition for him. Timeline of John Brown's Life by PBS online by WGBH Forum Network notes, "Elijah Love Joy, publisher of an antislavery newspaper, is shot to death by a proslavery mob.

During his memorial service, John Brown stood and made a vow to end slavery". Brown followed his Christian beliefs, which inspired him on many different levels, including his goal to free African-Americans. Not all of his acts were heroic, but neither were those of superman or batman. Sadly, during some of the struggles against slavery, several people died. John Brown isn't the perfect hero, although he only wants justice for all races including gender and unfortunately had to use innocent violence to get his word across. To many people a hero is someone who saves a life or impacts them on a grand scale, such as Brown has done in life.

One is heroic if they perform an act anywhere on a wide scale of performance levels. If he or she is driven to perform a kind act such as carrying groceries for an elderly woman or saving from a burning building, they are heroes of equal importance. This is my opinion, and others may disagree but others may disagree about John Brown's life. Brown would be placed with the group of people who performed grand acts of selflessness. During the beginning of his quest to help free the slaves, he allowed runaway slaves to stay in his home. Subsequently, he helped to free many African-American slaves; by saving even one slave Brown and his crew were heroes to that individual.

Due to the risk Brown subjected his own life to during these endeavors, he is considered a hero by many. One day a person is driving down the street going the speed limit, a young child jumps out from behind a bush and is instantly killed by the impact of the car, is the driver of the car at fault? This incident is considered an accident and the driver of the vehicle is not a killer or murder if they were not able to respond to the incident in sufficient time. A murder is one who acts with the intent to harm. An exception is killing for self-defense. Everyone has different first impressions on killing.

When people really analyze different situations then they realize that it's not always bad for that certain individual to kill. For example, if someone intentionally kills fifty innocent people he or she will get the death penalty, which is a reasonable punishment for the crimes which were committed. During a battle an innocent, recently freed slave was running away from the gunshots due to the fear of being recaptured. While running towards a train, he was fatally shot.

This man was not intentionally killed, but by accident. Brown was unaware of the free man when he accidentally shot him down. Brown wanted freedom for the slaves and was willing to do anything for the ultimate cause. As a result of his extreme measures he personally suffered the consequences. John Brown heroically died prematurely during the struggle to rescue African-Americans from slavery. Many historians and students are studying why he was hung on the second of December in 1859 and what led up to this event.

Brown fought with the "Free State" men who wanted to end slavery. Captain John Brown gave up his business to devote his time to heroism, but also his children and wives. In 1855, Brown and five of his sons went to Kansas and settled in Osawatomie. His five sons plus another fourteen of his followers hung in until the end.

After Brown's militia defeated rivals in Osawatomie during an attack by pro-slavery men in 1856, Brown was given a nickname in remembrance of the feat. Due to his actions as a courageous leader he was nicknamed "Old Osawatomie Brown". He was a man with the single goal of ending slavery. According to the World Book Encyclopedia, Brown was "a radical abolitionist whose attempt to free the slaves cost a number of lives and helped indirectly to bring on the Civil War". Brown's cause was just, however, he could have changed some of his ways. Not all of the lives that were ended deserved their fatal demise, although a few might have.

If a person kidnapped all of one's children, physically worked them, and beat them to near death then should be punished. Brown knew this is what happened to many African-American people and wanted them not to be harmed anymore. He knew that nobody would want to be treated this way and tried his best to stop the violence. The golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is a moral proverb John Brown followed, when he expressed that all men should be equal. He felt so strongly about everyone being equal he fought till the end. However, he did not simply stop with his words, they were backed by his actions until death.

Brown was a selfless man and inspired many by his ongoing commitment to end slavery. While in Massachusetts Henry David Thoreau (35) proclaimed, "Some 1800 years ago, Christ was crucified. This morning, Captain Brown was hung. He is not Old Brown any longer, he is an angel of light". Many others viewed Brown as a heroic man, although some described him as a villain. A villain is described as a wicked man, or someone at odds with a hero.

This definition is in contrast to the opinion of most people who worked with Brown. He was by all means not a villain; he was one of many trying to accomplish the goal of freedom and encountered some bumps along his path. He was forced to kill a few men to achieve his goal of African-American freedom; however, the benefits of his actions far out weigh the consequences. Roy Rosenzweig, author of The Brown Archive: The Last Museum from the Center of History and New Media, writes, "While many Americans viewed Brown as a dangerous fanatic fanning flames of sectional conflict, others were impressed by his willingness to use extreme measures to end slavery". The extreme measures taken were the only option available to help Brown get his point across, since Brown had already tried everything else in his power. Is Captain John Brown a hero or a villain?

Timeline of John Brown's Life states "Martyr, madman, murder, hero: John Brown remains one of history's most controversial and misunderstood figures. In the 1850's, he and his ragtag guerrilla group embarked on a righteous crusade against slavery that was based on religious faith-yet carried out with shocking violence. His execution set off a chain of events that led to the Civil War". The Civil War started only two years after the death of Captain John Brown and in 1865 the Thirteenth Amendment into to the constitution terminated slavery. Without individuals stepping from the shadows into the limelight, the push for a civil war in the name of freedom might not have occurred. John Brown is a hero regardless of the negative feedback.

Brown suffered many days and went to extreme measures to fulfill his vow to free African-American slaves. Even though Brown did not solely free slaves he contributed to the rise of the Civil War. If Brown had not stepped forward it would have been difficult to find someone to fill his shoes. Brown is no superman, but he is a hero.

Word Count: 1356 Work Cited Baker, Dab. Brown and the Pottawatomie Killings. American Studies at the University of Virginia. 10 Sep. 2003.

"Brown, John" Encyclopedia Britannica. 2003. Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service. 16 Sep. 2003. Cover, D.J. John Brown-Hero or Not? 201.

My family. com Inc. 12 Sep. 2003. John Brown and the Valley of the Shadow. University of Virginia: Charlottesville, 200. Institute for Advanced Technology in Humanities.

10 Sep 2003... Rosenzweig, Roy. The John Brown Archive: The Lost Museum. April. Center for History and New Media. George Manson University.

14 Sep. 2003. web. Timeline of John Brown's Life. 2003. PBS online by WGBH Forum Network.

7 Sep. 2003... Thoreau, Henry David. Civil Disobedience and Other Essays. New York: Dover, 1993..