Tragic Prophet
For a long time, I've wondered why John Brown has never been fairly judged in U.S. history. Some argue it's because he was violent, killing innocent people with different opinions.
No, John Brown is definitely not as violent as some claim. At least, he wasn't nearly as violent as William T. Sherman or Andrew Jackson. Yet, Andrew Jackson and William T. Sherman are celebrated as American heros, while historians view John Brown as a crazy morbid sanguinary person for a long while.
You can be a hero after killing thousands people, but you must be a terrorist after killing a few.
I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with Blood.
John Mason Brown
The Life and Letters of John Brown, Liberator of Kansas and Martyr of Virginia (ed. 1910)