“Terrorism: the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, particularly for political purposes.” John Brown was a slavery abolitionist who used violence as a method to eradicate slavery. He grew up very religious and his father taught him to hate slavery because they believed it violated God's commandments. His opinions ingrained in him at such a young age have strengthened and fueled his passion for the cause. However, precisely because his motivations were correct, his methods of achieving these goals were wrong. His raids and rebellions killed and injured many people. Although coming from a good cause, Brown's logic was illegal and broke many laws establishing him as a traitor and murderer. John Brown, the slavery abolitionist, was a terrorist because of his illegal methods of pursuing political goals, exemplified by the events of Bleeding Kansas and his raid on Harpers Ferry. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay John Brown defended his actions by saying they were for a noble and sacred purpose. In his eyes, by using violence, he was doing God's work in punishing wicked men for their sins. Using this methodology, Brown planned to spark a Southern slave revolt by arming slaves and allowing them to rebel against their owners. Although the abolitionist movement was an extremely valuable campaign that needed to be fought and enforced, Brown's practice violated laws making his actions illegal, regardless of the cause. Brown took the law into his own hands in a violent and destructive manner instead of following the proper legal channels to achieve his goal. It was not John Brown's place/position to (take the law into his own hands) to pursue his political beliefs, and this concept paved the way for others in the future to wrongly use Brown and his actions as a model and justification. for their use of violence. An example of this was seen recently during the election of Trump. In response to Trump's election, a popular Hollywood writer and director, Paul Schrader, expressed his dissatisfaction with the outcome of the election and said that people should resort to violence to refute this situation . Schrader specifically said: “We should fund those who support violent resistance. We should be ready to take up arms. Like old John Brown, I'm ready to fight with my children. Schrader's direct reference to John Brown establishes the profound impact he left behind and how his deceptive methodology influences people and steers them away from ethical and legal actions. The decision to use violence to achieve political goals was founded by John Brown and causes people to follow his lead in justifying their immoral and illegal actions. This idea is articulated through a modified version of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. The song states: "John Brown's body lies rotting in the grave, but his soul marches on." His example still inspires modern radicals, who justify violence against innocents if the cause is “just.” Bleeding Kansas Bleeding Kansas refers to events resulting from the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In order to reach a compromise regarding the slave states, it was established that when two states enter the Union, one must declare itself a free state and the other must be a slave state, in order to maintain equal representation of the states slaves and free. The two statesThe next states, Kansas and Nebraska, allowed their citizens to vote whether they wanted to become a free or slave state. Nebraska declared itself a slave state, meaning that in order for both to join the Union, Kansas had to declare itself a free state. The use of the Kansas vote created many conflicts among the population. People on both sides of the slavery issue attempted to influence the outcome of the vote in Kansas. Supporters of slavery from neighboring Missouri came to Kansas in large numbers. These “border thugs,” as they were called, voted illegally and used violence to intimidate their opponents. In the chaos, a pro-slavery group attacked, shot at, and burned homes, leading Brown to "revenge the attack on Lawrence." Brown's vow further highlights how he bestowed upon himself responsibilities that were not within his purview, and should have instead allowed the legal system to punish lawbreakers, instead of becoming an lawbreaker himself. Brown's revenge was to capture five men who supported slavery and brutally kill them in front of their wives and children. Subsequently, each side followed up with more violent acts of retaliation. During the summer of 1856, more than two hundred people died in what became known as "Bleeding Kansas." Brown became the center of much fear and hatred among southerners. Brown's unnecessary violence was depicted through his revenge against five men who he believed had wronged him and against the slave movement. Overall, during the slavery riots, violence was used by many people for political purposes, and John Brown acted against those who used violence for causes that conflicted with the his own, thus contributing to the misuse of violence.Harpers FerryJohn Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry Plan to seize town and federal arsenal, Brown planned to seize the town as well as the federal arsenal, the gunsmithing and rifle manufacturing. As news of his actions spread, he expected thousands of slaves and white sympathizers to join him. Once armed, he would strike south, through Virginia, into Tennessee and Alabama, attracting more rebel slaves and sending teams to spread the insurrection. The overwhelmed planters would be forced to free their slaves, but if opposition proved too strong, Brown planned to establish communities of runaway slaves in the mountains and hold out indefinitely. In the confusion that followed, he killed the station's baggage master, a free black. Contrary to Brown's beliefs that he was acting for a sacred purpose and fulfilling God's duties, his use of violence against those who disagreed with him led him, in a sense, to become this counter which he was fighting. Because of the radicalness of Brown's actions, many enemies of slavery viewed Brown as an embarrassment to their movement. One of Brown's peers, Colonel Hugh Forbes, felt particularly worried about his plans. Forbes was a great confidant of John Brown and his projects. As Brown began to develop and outline his ideas and goals, Forbes began to doubt Brown's plan. He still agreed with his beliefs as an abolitionist, but did not believe Brown's plan would succeed in ending slavery. In response to these new doubts, Forbes began leaking information to anti-slavery parties. The idea that one of Brown's closest associates saw the flaws in Brown's plans and morals strongly promotes that John Brown's actions were..