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“On a trip when he was 12, Brown befriended a slave boy his age. He became enraged to see how the boy’s owner treated him, and later said it was the spark that caused him to declare “Eternal war” on slavery.” In the novel //John Brown: Abolitionist//, David S. Reynolds, wrote this quotation explaining John Brown’s motive for his cause. It is ironic how when he was young, a spark caused a war within but as he prospered in years he became a spark to start a larger then himself war that would help burn out slavery. (“African Genealogy”) John Brown’s abolitionist movements were a catalyst to begin the civil war and that’s that.

John Brown’s abolitionist movements, that imprinted history, started on the night of May 24th 1856 when Brown led the Pottawatomie Massacre, one of the many bloody wars in Kansas between abolitionists and pro-slavery assemblies. When Brown heard of the Sacking of Lawrence he was enraged, led a “secret expedition” and killed five men who were a part of the pro-slavery Law and Order Party even though these men never owned slaves. Bloody Kansas may have been where he first made his name but Brown’s statement for all was proclaimed to the nation on October 16th 1859 when the United States Armory and Arsenal, in Harpers Ferry, was broken into. Brown wanted to start up his own colony for run-away slaves and needed weapons so he trained twenty-two men to break into a Government facility. Not as he had planned, no African Americans stood up and rioted with him and no escape route was open for escape. John Brown was captured and sentenced to death on December 2nd 1859 where he was quoted saying, “ I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood.” (“West Virginia Culture & History”)

Many people believed in the benefits of slavery before John Brown’s famous time period. But as Brown made bold statements like Harpers Ferry people became scared, and wavered in their opinions. When Harpers Ferry was spread through newspapers many southern farmers became jolted and distressed. With all the events Brown played lead role in more and more southerners believed that they were only few of many plots, by northerners, to cause a slave rebellion that would kill millions. Even after John Brown was hung, abolitionists used his sentence of death to shove in peoples face the placement of the Governments support of slavery. Brown became a symbol for all and the name Brown became relatable to the Pro-Union. All that was going on caused a lot of controversy as people made their own opinions heard and with this much argument someone needs to settle it with the only thing humans can’t manipulate with their words. A hands on, full out, civil war.

The Civil War was proclaimed in the Harper’s Weekly on April 27th 1861 when President Abraham Lincoln elaborated on the war against the south. (“Son of the South”) With the subject of the Civil War always comes the controversy of the reasoning behind it. Some say States’ rights, others argue the point of slavery and still others make up their mind with a simple truth of both, but one point to press would be the growth and out break of the abolitionist movement. (Kelly) Of course, slavery is a large factor in this point when Drew Gilpin Faust, the president of Harvard University, is quoted on a PBS broadcast saying, “Well, Historians are pretty united on the cause of the Civil War being slavery.” (“Civil War’s Causes: Historians Largely United on Slavery, But Public Divided”) It just goes to show that everyone was involved in the cause of the war whether they supported it or not. When Brown led his last movement against slavery he sparked that fuel within Americans nation wide to voice their opinions just like himself. This was exactly what the country needed, at least to actually end this feud with a war. So that trip was the trip that started it all. Just like the butterfly effect taking flight or a lighter igniting a forest fire, John Brown was the final spark in the flame we call the Civil War. What’s history without the simple irony within John Brown’s abolitionist movements being a catalyst to begin the Civil War?

Works Cited


 * “John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid.” // West Virginia //// Culture & History. // West Virginia Culture and History, 2011. Web. 10 Apr 2011. .
 * “President Abraham Lincoln’s Declaration of War.” //Son of the South//. Son of the South, 2008. Web. 10 Apr 2011. []
 * Kelly, Martin. “Top Five Causes of the Civil War.” //About.com//. About.com, 2011. Web. 11 Apr 2011. [].
 * “Civil War’s Causes: Historians Largely United on Slavery, But Public Divided.” //PBS NewsHour//. Web. 12 Apr 2011. [].
 * “The History of John Brown.” //African Genealogy//. Smith/Mclever.com, 2004. Web. 10 Apr 2011. [].