Thursday, December 23, 2010

Was the Notorious John Brown of the Mid-1800’s a Terrorist? A Note to MSNBC’s “Hardball with Chris Matthews.”

December 23rd, 2010


Subsequent to viewing a few moments of MSNBC’s show “Hardball with Chris Matthews” a few days ago, wherein the host Chris Matthews and an African American guest did their best to ridicule another guest for his support of, and celebration of the anniversary of South Carolina’s secession from the Union and the attack on Fort Sumter of 1861, I thought I would take a moment to blog about the further ridiculing of the guest from South Carolina for his classification of the abolitionist John Brown as a terrorist.

Before I continue, let me list my potential credentials for speaking about this subject. To begin with, as a child and long before the days of modern political correctness, I spent a significant amount of time in the Harpers Ferry and Charles Town area of what is now West Virginia. John Brown, of course, had his infamous raid in which he commandeered a U.S. Federal arsenal/armory in Harpers Ferry and then, after capture, was subsequently and quickly tried in a court of law (while on his death bed) and shortly thereafter, executed in the Charles Town area of what was then northwestern Virginia. Not only did I frequent Harpers Ferry, I often relaxed and enjoyed the scenery on the very same grounds (of what is now a national park) where the troops likely mustered in wait to take the arsenal back from Brown during his raid. Furthermore, my grandparents whom I often visited in that area, in turn had grandparents who settled and lived in the Kansas and Missouri Territories (mostly Kansas by that late a year, however) during the time of John Brown’s absurd killing sprees and shenanigans and during all the misery associated with the "Bleeding Kansas" saga. And I recall my grandparents speaking to me of the raids of Brown during the times of my great-great grandparents. As such, I became somewhat versed in the violent endeavors of John Brown. So, I believe myself reasonably qualified to speak on whether or not John Brown was a terrorist.

YES, JOHN BROWN WAS CLEARLY A TERRORIST! Mr. Matthews, if you think such a statement is laughable, as you apparently did on your show, you clearly are ignorant or are trying to rewrite history in the vein of political correctness. Most of the folks John Brown killed in the plains states were likely to be nothing more than simpleton farmers. The majority of the simpleton farmers during the slavery era were not typically slave owners – they could not afford such a luxury as slaves even if they wanted slaves, which most apparently did not want, btw. These folks were merely farmers looking to make a living and support their families, regardless of politics in Washington, DC. The folks reportedly hacked to death in Kansas by Brown's men were killed merely for their potential political viewpoints. So, in fact, the only real point to the killings by John Brown of innocents in the Kansas/Missouri areas of the “Bleeding Kansas” days of our nation’s history was for no other purpose than to intimidate and terrorize the residents of those areas into supporting Kansas’ induction into the Union as a “free state.” Such acts of intimidation are regardless of whether or not Brown viewed his actions as retaliations against pro-slavers and regardless of whether or not his idealic inspiration was just. As a point of interest, according to wikipedia.org’s webpage on John Brown, Abraham Lincoln himself had classified John Brown as a “misguided fanatic,” which would equate to calling someone a terrorist in those days, no doubt. (This is supposedly a quote written by Frederick J. Blue in American Historical Review, April 2006, v. 111 p 481-2; but I don't want to pay to verify it. But such a quote would make sense as the Republican Lincoln would seem to want to downplay fellow Republican abolitionists' support of Brown.) Either way, quite frankly, anyone that sets out with the intention of inflicting bodily harm on others is essentially a terrorist - withstanding authorized combat or self defense, neither of which necessarily applies to Brown.


Additionally, Mr. Matthews, your guest and the entire MSNBC network, NO, THE END DOES NOT ALWAYS JUSTIFY THE MEANS. Regardless of whether one’s rationale for action is just, the means of action can still be terroristic in nature. In other words, just because John Brown sought to end the evil of slavery, he had no right to kill innocent civilians in Kansas or Missouri or anywhere else, nor did it give him the right to violently take the U.S. arsenal/armory at Harpers Ferry, [West] Virginia. (As a clear example of my logic, every account tells of the ire and zeal of the local folks in the Harpers Ferry area concerning the locals’ assistance towards the capture of John Brown. Yet with the outbreak of the civil war, these folks broke with the rest of the State of Virginia and stayed loyal to the Union thereby displaying no significant inclination to support the continuation of slavery. Nevertheless, the Harpers Ferryians obviously hated John Brown for his actions as they reportedly shot and killed one of Brown’s sons as he emerged from the engine house under a white flag to converse with the amassed crowd intent on retaking the armory [/engine house] from Brown.) If you believe that the end justified the means, will you some day be telling us that Timothy McVeigh and his fellow terrorist buddies were justified in killing innocents during the Oklahoma City bombing in which he was apparently seeking vengeance and highlighting the unlawful and extreme excesses of the Clinton administration’s absurd handling and tactics related to the Waco, Texas fiasco of the early-mid 1990’s (whereby the Clinton administration likely murdered the Branch Davidians and Dave Koresh on these people’s private property)? I think not. Because, regardless of whether or not the Clinton administration did - in fact - murder the religious zealots in Waco, such injustice gave no right to McVeigh to murder children [or anyone else] in Oklahoma City as a form of protest.


You, Mr. Matthews, and your guest, and your MSNBC network, seem to prefer to laugh at the actions of the infamous John Brown and prefer to classify such actions as not being terroristic in nature because his motivation was to end slavery and therefore all his killings and actions were apparently justified – according to your apparent outlook. Such logic and actions by Brown is surely similar to and in keeping with the logic of the creepy terrorists of our modern times, regardless of their motivations. Are the modern terrorists also not terrorists in your MSNBC world of absolute political correctness because they also believe themselves justified to kill innocent civilians? Are you to pardon the murderous actions of terrorists merely because you agree with the motivation of the terrorists?

Please be aware, Mr. Matthews and the MSNBC Network, that this was not really an easy note to write. No one wants to be ridiculed on your network. No one wants to be ridiculed for pointing out the occasional absurdities, faulty claims, and odd opinions of your network either. Nevertheless, please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments about this note. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.


Adam Trotter / AVT


PS. I posted this note to MSNBC’s website.


See also (though remember what I’ve said about Wikipedia):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Kansas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Sumter


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_%28abolitionist%29

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h84.html
(page on “Bleeding Kansas”)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco_Siege

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branch_Davidian

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_McVeigh

2 comments:

  1. Follow on note:


    Upon relaying what the elder generations of their youth had told them, I remember my grandparents telling me something to the extent that when John Brown was known to be in the vicinity of a town or if he was even believed to be in the same state (Kansas or Missouri both), that most all would try to stay indoors as much as possible. This was a reflection of the general consensus that if one were to cross paths with Brown, it would be likely that such an unfortunate individual would then be on their way to meet their maker shortly thereafter. Of course, as history would have it, all such a violent death would subsequent to Brown and his men attacking the soon-to-be deceased local individual with swords and machete knives – or such was the sentiment that was relayed to me.

    Let me make it clear, these people from which this chronicle of fear flowed were not slave owners; just farmers. When Brown made his fatal mistake and attempted to commandeer the arsenal forty miles up-river from Washington, D.C., the good people of the Harper’s Ferry region then determined that they were going to put a stop to the reign of fear, murder, and intimidation that went by the name of John Brown. As it was, however, the Federal troops – under command of Robert E. Lee – showed up and took care of the matter and removed what was left of Brown and his men from the engine house – as such was apparently necessary.

    And to also be clear, I am aware of the apparent intent of Brown, should he have survived a successful raid on the arsenal at Harpers Ferry. As I noted in the blog entry above, even a worthwhile result does not typically justify any terroristic means to bring about that result, at least not in my opinion. The United States has always been held to be a nation of Law. The interpretation and enforcement of U.S. Law is not left to the sole discretion of any one individual.

    AVT

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  2. John Greenleaf Whittier composed a poem, "The Kansas Emigrants" (c. 1855), which hailed those from the North who went to settle in Kansas. Its last stanza read:

    We'll tread the prairie as of old
    Our fathers sailed the sea
    And make the West, as they the East,
    The homestead of the free!

    from: http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h84.html


    AVT


    //

    The full poem can also be read here:

    A poem by John Greenleaf Whittier
    The Kansas Emigrants
    http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/8100/


    and here:

    Anti-slavery poems : songs of labor and reform
    John Greenleaf Whittier
    http://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/amverse/BAE0044.0001.001/1:4.51?rgn=div2;view=fulltext



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