Abolitionists: John Brown and Nat Turner

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Slavery has always hit the headlines whenever we talk of the colonial period. This was a very difficult time for Africans since at the time they were primitive and powerless since they did not possess the weapons the whites had. They were captured and taken to the United States as slaves (Ranganathan & Bratman, 2021). Different people, leaders included, attempted to free the Africans from slavery but bore no fruits. Therefore, the heroes of the time resorted to violence as the best way of being free people and slaves to no one. However, even after the abolition of slavery in most parts of the American states, black Americans were considered inferior to white people (Ranganathan & Bratman, 2021). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the heroism of Nat Turner and John Brown. It will also discuss the similarities and differences between the two and the events that surrounded the decision they made toward fighting slavery.

My interpretation of Turner is that he is a hero. He had been a slave since he was born and he did not have hope that freedom was coming soon. However, his belief and religion pushed him to believe that he was the chosen one to free the black people from slavery. There was no possibility that if he could sit down with the whites, they could agree on freeing the slaves. Therefore, his decision to use violence to fight for the freedom of his people was the best at the moment under the circumstances (Greenberg, 2021). Whether this violence bore fruit or not, Nat Turner could still be a hero.

John brown was a white man of Puritan heritage. He is famously known for fighting against injustices toward the black slaves yet he is a white man. This was considered a crime because he turned against his people to fight along with a different race. His belief in God is superior to human beings made him fight for the rights of the slaves because he believed all human beings were equal (Greenberg, 2021).

Brown grew up among abolitionists and had a strong belief in the golden rule and human rights. Nat Turner had been a slave since he was born but he strongly believed he was the chosen one to save his people from slavery. The two were driven by the desire to seek justice for the black people and despite being religious they resorted to violence (Greenberg, 2021). Their rebellions were a success because in the end slavery was abolished and the black people got their freedom despite the attitude of the whites that they were inferior.

John Brown was a middle-class white man who went against his people to fight for the rights of the black people while Nat Turner was a black man fighting for the freedom of his people. John Brown was born a free man into a free state while Nat Turner was born a slave (Cash, 2019). They were both religious and had strong beliefs on human rights and aimed at freeing the blacks from slavery. They both believed that they had been chosen to deliver the blacks from slavery.

Nat Turner and John Brown should both be remembered as heroes who brought freedom upon the black people who had been oppressed for a long time as slaves. There should be historical books written about their struggle and beliefs that led to the abolition of slavery and portraits of the two so that people can see them and always remember where their freedom comes from. The two are like links between the blacks and the whites, they, therefore, deserve to be remembered by everyone in all generations.

Nat Turner and John Brown seem to be God-sent or the chosen ones just as they believed they were. There is no other way we can have two very different people fighting for the same course as if they were born for it (Cash, 2019). They should both be considered great heroes who fought for human rights and freed blacks from slavery.

References

Cash, J. W. (2019). Nat Turner: Misguided,” fragmented, disjointed” Images. Mississippi Quarterly, 72(1), 117-145. http://doi.org/10.1353/mss.2019.0004Greenberg, K. S. (2021). In the Matter of Nat Turner: A Speculative History by Christopher Tomlins. Journal of the Early Republic, 41(3), 507-510. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/803795Ranganathan, M., & Bratman, E. (2021). From urban resilience to abolitionist climate justice in Washington, DC. Antipode, 53(1), 115-137. https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12555