Читать книгу American Civil War For Dummies - Keith D. Dickson - Страница 58

If this foolish act of a misguided fanatic had transpired ten years earlier, it would have certainly raised little attention outside of Virginia. In 1859, however, after all that had already occurred in the troubled decade, John Brown’s raid (as the incident became known) lost all proportion and became a national calamity. The truth is that many Northerners shared the Southern outrage at Brown’s insane act. The voices of reason were largely drowned out, however, as everyone heard only what he or she wanted to hear. Today, a common expression states that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. So it was in 1859 with sectional reaction to the incident at Harpers Ferry. Southerners viewed Brown as a tool of abolitionist Republicans and a murderer; Northerners hailed him as a martyr who was willing to sacrifice himself for the holy cause of freedom. These extreme opinions only hardened hearts further, and raised emotions to a fever pitch. By now, both sides were ready to jump at the least provocation, if only to release those long pent-up emotions in some grand violent act of retribution against the perceived enemy.