John Brown was a vicious abolitionist who strongly believed in abolishing slavery. During the events of Bleeding Kansas, Brown and his sons led multiple attacks on the civilians supportive of slavery. Because of this, John Brown was considered a hero to the Northerners. In 1859, Brown made an “army” of 21 people and attacked the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. 10 of his 21 followers were killed and Brown himself was wounded and captured. The goal of this attack was to capture and steal weapons and use them to execute a slave rebellion. In 1855, Brown assisted in freeing slaves and to prevent getting caught, he moved his family to Kansas joining the free-soil party. As this news spread, the Southerners became very aggravated and they convicted him of treason. John Brown was tried and found guilty of treason. The typical punishment for treason is death or being imprisoned for 5+ years. Brown was hung on December 2, 1859. John Brown’s execution was quickly known around the U.S. spread the fear of slave insurrection grew. John Brown lived a full life and he knew that it was his duty to end slavery. Did he? No, but he definitely helped.