In the opening paragraph, I stated that Brown thought himself to be an "instrument of God." Well, I was lying a bit, playing the role of devil's advocate. It has been popular belief that such a notion be true. However, Brown was a devout Christian who saw slavery and Christianity to be incompatible. He didn't see himself as being commanded by God, but rather as a Christian who could not stand to see such a sin as slavery be allowed to continue in his country.
John Brown was most likely far from insane. It has been a defense mechanism of Brown critics to label him crazy to justify his martyrdom, as if to say had he been of sound mind, he would not have carried out his plans, nor have been deemed a hero. He was a passionate, sane, white, Christian man who became a hero to the cause of emancipation. And he quite possibly, in one act of "insurrection," caused the Civil War, an event he saw necessary for the settling of the "Negro question."
Source Used: James Loewen, Lies My Teacher Told Me: 1995.
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