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Senator Charles Sumner spent the next three years barely able to leave his bed, in severe pain from brain trauma. During this time the Governor of Massachusetts not only refused to replace his vacant seat, but the people of Massachusetts re-elected him. The empty seat was a powerful symbol to the nation, of the violence and brutality of the slaveholder.
not to take away from you're core message, but instead to just pedantically correct a misconception; US senators were not elected by popular vote at the time, so Sumner was not really re-elected by the people of Massachusetts. It is noteworthy though, that he was confirmed unanimously by the State Senate and by a vote of 333-11 in the State House.
@@andalilbitqueer Point taken, and I appreciate the correction, no one likes to perpetuate false information, that being said, the pedantry is on point with this one. 🤣
After the caning, Senator Brooks was then publically humiliated when Senator Burlingame, a friend of Sumner, goaded Brooks into challenging him to a duel. Since he was being challenged, Burlingame got the choice of weapons, and he chose rifles. Brooks then said, "Oh damn!" when he realized that Burlingame was a crack shot with a rifle. He had no choice but to concede with the weak excuse that he didn't want to endanger himself, traveling through Northern states to get to the duel.
@@Animeaddiction he also died the next year to a bad and sudden attack of croup. The official description of his death was: “He died a horrid death, and suffered intensely. He endeavored to tear his own throat open to get breath”
"Those who watch a mother's child sold to a stranger but blame violence on anyone who tries to save her child will make it easier to sell the next child."
In many cases in human history violence is what causes change, it is one of the few things we will actually respond to. It is just important to remember that targeted violence is far more effective than senseless violence. No matter if your message is right or not.
The logical conclusion of this sentiment is dangerous though. Because no monarch was then toppled justly. The American Revolution was unesseary. Heck even WW2 should have been avoided by more appeasement. The thing is from a moral stance of view chattel slavery is abhorrent enough to justify all manners of violence to stand against it. Also it implies that there was a peaceful solution on offer. For someone who wanted slavery gone (and not just compromised on and contained) there was no in sight. The argument that slavery was on it's way out is false as the reaction to the stop of trade has shown. Breeding programs expanded the numbers of the enslaved well beyond those of the times with the trade in place. If any soilder or politician anywhere in history was justified to go to war for freedom and democracy then you can't dismiss those who did for those enslaved in the south as unjustified.
I once read a book titled, "How to Beat Tyranny With The Power Of Love." It was two sentences long. The first sentence said, 'You can't beat Tyranny with the Power Of Love.' The second sentence recommended the author's follow-up book, 'How To Beat Tyranny With The Power Of Incredible Violence.'
Ah so other terrorist acts like the Oklahoma city bombing and Boston bombing are all justified right? I mean all of the perpetrators FULLY agree with you. They all thought they were experiencing tyranny and acted using extreme violence. So im sure you support them right?
5:40 The more i learn about the background to these events, and the behaviour of the slavers and their supporters, the _less_ queasy I feel about responding with extreme violence.
Him and the North. But what was the cost of the civil war? Of course there were all those people trying to change the system without killing people. You know like using peaceful means.
@@pflume1the slave holders would have never given up their slaves. Every time the abolitionists even tried to phase it out they were met with violence and succession threats.
Even when it was obvious the war was lost...the south still fought on. Really highlights how STRONG the attachment to slavery was for most in the south.
@@dclark142002 Slavery is like hard drugs. The power trip of owning and abusing people is intoxicating. The only difference is that drug addictions can be broken.
I think the only reason his name was sort of labeled ultra-close to being a terrorist is because the South bitched and whined about it so much after the Civil War the Union was just like "ok you know what? F*** you guys and cease your whining".
5:38 “This kind of violence always triggers reprisals and escalation.” Me: *Remembers less than five minutes ago when the dismemberment and public display of a Free Stater was noted as a single example in a long list of Slave Stater atrocities, alongside a Congressman being beaten at his desk.*
Anecdote about the aftermath of the Caning of Charles Sumner which might fit well in Lies: After the assualt, a Massachussets legislator and friend of Sumner, Anson Burlingame, gave a speech attacking Brooks and goaded Brooks into challenging him to a duel. When Brooks did so, Burlingame was allowed to pick the location and weapons. Burlingame was a notorious sharpshooter, picked deadly hunting rifles as the weapon, and Niagra Falls Canada as the location. This would protect him from American anti-dueling laws if/when he killed Brooks in the duel. Brooks backed out stating he didn't want to travel through the north to attend. He died a "horrid death" from a lung infection the next year though so there is a shred of justice here.
I wonder if that was where "Mr. Welch" got the idea. "363. When challenged to a showdown, I'm meant to face him at 10 paces with pistols, not 10 blocks with a Sharps Big .50 [buffalo rifle]." (Sharps rifles were a notable component of the weapons used by abolitionists in Kansas around this time -- they were specifically the ones nicknamed "Beecher's Bibles.")
Well, yes, but still- murder is a murder, nothing should justify taking another mans life. It's a sad truth that for humans violence will always be the best answer...
“If you’re feeling a bit queasy, that makes sense. [As we know,] violence, leads to reprisals, leads to escalation” While this is true, it’s extremely important to note that John Brown’s actions were not the original violence. They werent even the original reprisals, or the original escalation. Ol’ Brown’s actions were a response to the violence performed on his fellow abolitionists, and nonviolent passivity only lead to centuries of slavery and years of political violence against abolitionists. This was a terrible event. But it was deeply necessary.
"This kind of violence always triggers reprisals and escalation" a few moments earlier: "Now to this point, the violence and threats in Kansas had been incredibly one-sided."
Yeah clearly the inevitability of reprisals and escalations isn't so inevitable as all that. (It's a choice. That's the secret, it's always been a choice, but pretending it's inevitable lets oppressors dissociate themselves from the moral weight of their violent response.)
So tired of this "escalation" speak when defending yourself is called "escalatory" but indiscriminate bombings of civilians areas by the aggressor are not
Ok so I when into a wiki rabbit hole on the caning. Apparently Anson Burlingame called Preston Brooks “the vilest sort of coward” Brooks challenged him to a duel, but when Burlingame unexpectedly accepted too readily and eagerly Brooks got cold feet
Hah. Yeah, he was a young, loudmouth wannabe European aristocrat. No surprise he wasn't willing to 'defend his honor' when there was a real prospect that it might involve a fair fight, lol.
weird thing about slavers-- they were all for dehumanizing when the odds were in their favor, and they've cultivated a weird (dbl-think) mythos around the "war of northern aggression" ever since ( in the hopes of returning to that nostalgic "golden age")
Burlingame was famously a crack shot with a rifle and since he had goaded Brooks into challenging him, he was the one who got to choose the weapon. Brooks then tried to duck the duel by claiming he didn’t want to put himself in danger by entering the northern states to get to Canada (which did not have laws against dueling). Burlingame offered both train and boat tickets for him and guards, but Brooks was too much of a coward to follow through
Another disgusting note about the Sumner caning: the fellow who caned him would receive countless new canes in the mail from proslavery southerners who agreed with his actions, hoping he’d do it again
Yep. This is what happened. By the way, a century later, the "Civil Rights" movement and the Federal Government would get help in solving the "Mississippi Burning" murders from the American Mafia.
"Treason in Defense of Slavery" is the most accurate and probably least used name for The US Civil War. Oh, this is cool: "The name "Slaveholders' Rebellion" was used by Frederick Douglass and appears in newspaper articles."
The South fired the first shot, seized federal arsenals in preparation, and lived on an unacceptable model that they felt wasn't allowed enough leeway.
Usually I agree that violence can often make things worse, but I think this is easily an example of when violence was absolutely necessary to prevent the spread of slavery. I think it's fair to debate the morality of some individual acts of violence, but there is no question that the only way to keep Kansas from being a slave state was to fight.
If one agrees that there ever was a soilder who was justified due to fighting for freedom, democracy or similar values. Then so we're those who took up arms to free those in chains.
The note about reprisals is... weird. John Brown's massacre against slavery-defenders was not the inciting incident. He was incited to violence by the violence enacted against his fellow abolitionists, who only used their words to speak out against slavery. If he'd skipped straight to the part where you kill slaveowners, without anyone speaking out against it before then, he'd still not have incited the violence, because violence is inherent in the institution he fought against.
Violence or threat of violence is inherent in all non voluntary institutions. You could argue any violence used against any institution that maintains control without your consent is justified. One of the only forms of violence regularly accepted by most individuals is that of self-defense, and even that has had it's definition narrowed and clarified. If a man that has killed many retreats unarmed, there are many in the Western world that would find his killing immoral and barbaric while others would find no issue.
I agree, but the point Extra History is trying to make there, is that the violence will only get worse. I would say violent resistance to such oppression for such evil ends is just, but the fact that fighting the slavers will lead to them being more violent is a truth that needs to be acknowledged. It's a big part of why a lot of abolitionists favored non violence. TLDR; bringing up reprisals isn't about assigning blame, but explaining escalation, ie, that the reprisals are the natural result of the slavers doubling down, and are a consequence of Brown's actions, just like being attacked by a slaver for being anti slavery.
@@timothycarney9652 To be fair, they would have escalated anyway. And the only thing that would have stopped escalation is agreeing to become their property (which, in and of itself, is violence; and which, in and of itself, would guarantee several consecutive generations of victims of violence). Aggression against those who would perpetuate something so vile as slavery can only, at most, TEMPORARILY increase the volume of violence and, in the long run, reduce it to nothing.
@@The_NickTL yup, the entire point of reprisal killings is to make people stop resisting by gaslighting them into believing that "your resistance FORCED us to violence". Like we are being told that using air defense systems is "escalatory" and we should just stop defending or it will get worse.... Well, how about no. Stop victim blaming!
5:50 I'm sorry? EXCUSE ME WHAT?! His actions *were* reactions to violence (that then begat more violence.) he was not the start. he was merely reacting. if you wanna go "yeah but violence only brings more violence" maybe point that finger towards someone else.
yeah I have half a heart to beat up the EC writer who said this and say, if you do anything back to me it'll be known as the starting point of our feud... like come the f on
As a southerner. Its really funny how teachers and historians here cope with the loss ignoring that they constantly started the violence and even the basic infantry man was also racist and pro slavery
@@pancytryna9378 Yeah, when I was in school they were told us the north started the war, and called it "the war of northern aggression" and that not only slavery was not important, but were better off in america than in africa, justifying the slave trade.
Veteran here. I didn't do it for college, nor did I want to fight a war. I did it to get out of poverty. You just insulted a number of people of all races and even nationalities who use the military as a stepping stone in life. I hope you step on a lego.
Two congressmen drew guns while a third nearly beat a man to death on the floor of Congress for delivering a speech critical of the South... Best response has gotta be another congressman later commenting something like "It is now clear how the slaveholder intends and is accustomed to treat *all* those that he views as his political and social inferiors."
To be clear, that speech did basically call out the southern congressman as subhuman... ...but the response to the slander is and was completely disproportionate.
@@dclark142002 True. "Critical of the South" is a bit of a understatement, nonetheless I'd argue that calling slaveholders subhuman is still pretty fair, lol.
@@TheManKnownAsAi, indeed. Especially considering what was going on in Kansas and with the implementation of the Fugitive Slave Acts. The real tragedy is that people aren't taught how violent the attempts to expand slavery were becoming. At a certain point, you can't just sit passively by and watch your neighbors murdered and assaulted.
@@dclark142002 Worse than that, it's not even as though the South was repressed. The story of US politics from the founding of the country up until that point was the South refusing any mutual cooperation with the North unless they were granted disproportionate control. I mean, that was literally the point of the 3/5ths Compromise. The South just got to artificially inflate their population to gain even more influence in the House.
'this violence triggers reprisals and escelations' but clearly this must be applied to the other side too. blowing up buildings and trying to bludgeon somebody to death, this actually seems like it is miniscule in comparison. it seems like they were already 'going at it' before, and this is just one side defending themselves that causes it to be seen negatively.
Tells you something that the modern left is well aware that violance is a bad course in itself and will trigger a bad path to come, whereas the modern right is not only willing to provoke such reality but can't wait until the playfield is open.
Nonono. This is america. You're supposed to let vile assholes walk all over you, lest you "become like them." Remember, the "moral high ground" means you win. Somehow.
Exactly. Defending oneself is very different from taking aggressive action and the slave owners were the first to strike at the abolitionists. The only correct response is to protect yourself in the face of such violence. Fighting back ofcourse does escalate but not fighting back is capitulation. Peace is good in theory but an unprincipled peace of submission and capitulation is no peace at all, but simply accepting one sided violence towards oneself.
Charles Sumner is a national hero and deserves more attention for the efforts he lead in fighting corruption and ending slavery. It's a shame that his attackers got away largely intact. They should have been locked in jail for that for life, or even shot for assaulting a United States Senator.
@@falconJB Not only dies, but dies in agonizing pain. To quote the official death announcement, "He died a horrid death, and suffered intensely. He endeavored to tear his own throat open to get breath."
According to some historians (most of them) he was the reason the American Civil War happened. It may have happened later but he was the catalyst at Harpers Ferry.
I don't feel queasy. I feel like more people should have stepped up then and there. Violence was the only option left, and the slavers deserved to die as their precious institution of oppression and cruelty was torn down before their eyes.
Like when the question is "how do you stop a violent militia bent on national domination, when the government that supposedly protects its citizenry seems to be an accomplice to their wrongdoing, & completely ignores the peaceful cries & protests of the oppressed & downtrodden?..." The answer becomes clear, simple, & BLATANTLY OBVIOUS...😂
Oh John Brown's body lies a-moldering in the grave John Brown's body lies a-moldering in the grave John Brown's body lies a-moldering in the grave But his soul goes marching on
5:50 homie, the institution of slavery is an inherently violent one, Brown's actions are the (incredibly long overdue) reprisals. Very great series, but the fence sitting on that part is an unquestionable L.
@@jameskarg3240 as a teacher in many states it is unfortunately the law. As an independent producer of educational videos there is no such restriction.
@@jacksonmagas9698 The team have noted they make these to be usable within a classroom so it's a reasonable consideration for them to make. Still it is a bit odd to say John Brown's actions were what set off later violence given his actions were motivated by earlier violence. That line is pretty arbitrary.
@@jameskarg3240 maybe our public schools had different standards but my history teachers never had to stop and say ‘violence against the slave owners was kind of bad, actually’, and I live in the south where there’s approximately 10.2 lost causers per square mile
It did trigger reprisals and escalation... feeding massively into the feelings that led to secession and the South to attack the North... and ultimately, that's what led to slavery ending in 1865, rather than 1897 or something.
Exactly Escalation is a feature not a problem When you attack the enemy they will usually retaliate disproportionately targeting neutral parties sympathetic to you thus increasing support for you
So the South seceded because they feared that the North would end slavery... leading to a civil war that ended in, amongst other things, the end of legalized slavery. Ironic. B)
Those who want to solve everything with peace and bureaucracy doesn't understand that they're essentially putting another person's life on what is their convenient time table
@@SlaaneshiKitty While I agree that the civil war was needed to end slavery, the Southern Aristocracy was too invested in it to ever give it up, remember that the Civil war itself killed over 700,000 people, war has a cost as well, and you must decide if the cost of peace is greater than the cost of war. In this case, it almost certainly was, the extra 30 years, if not more, would see a generation more die in slavery, but in other cases that isn't true.
Odd choice to put the "this kind of violence always triggers reprisals and escalation" behind the violance done by group B and not behind any of groupe A's violance in the previous half of the episode...
Lots of sources will often depict the caning of Charles Sumner as almost comedic, after all, beating a political opponent with a weapon is so ridiculous and childish. But this actually highlights just how violent and terrifying the event actually was.
I'm going to level with you, 56 deaths in this conflict is a lot lower than just the number of slaves who would be beaten to death each year in a slave state Kansas. I would argue that when you include violence perpetuated on enslaved people, the results of Brown's actions do not qualify as an escalation of violence. It was merely an expansion of violence to a strata of society which had previously managed to shield themselves from the violence they profited off of, and then the usual day-to-day violence they'd always inflicted on anyone who resisted.
"The oppressor makes their violence a part of the 'normal' functioning of society, so that only the violence of the oppressed stands out as disruptive"
To throw it out there while Brooks was never adequately punished for his attack on Sumner, he did have a very unpleasant death the very next year from an attack of croup. Apparently the official report said he: “died a horrid death, and suffered intensely. He endeavored to tear his own throat open to get breath”
5:51 yes, violence always leads to reprisals but brown’s people were attacked first, so I think self-defense can be argued here, not to mention those who allow tyrants to go unchecked, condone their actions by proxy
🎶 John Brown’s body lies a mouldering in the grave John Brown’s body lies a mouldering in the grave John Brown’s body lies a mouldering in the grave But his soul is marching on! 🎶
“While I’m personally pro freedom I’m political pro slavery because we shouldn’t tell other people what to do it’s none of your business. It’s their property it’s their choice.” “Bonk”
I just can't fathom why someone would risk their life to defend slavery. Like these people seriously thought "If I can't own slaves I'd rather be dead", I just can't make sense of that.
It's a mixture of class loyalty, race loyalty, supremacist ideas, fear of economic instability, and fear of a servile uprising and retribution. The Spartans had similar attitudes with the Helots. "If we set them free, they will kill us all. And everyone trying to set them free is trying to impoverish my home and endanger my family."
@@Fafnd I assume more people in the US find money so important than here on our side of the pond. But I assume a lot of the goons who fought for slavery didn't even get a piece of those juicy slavery profits.
In some cases it could be because it would be the end of their way of life, and in others it could be because of how ideological foundations they likely put their entire weight behind were being so thoroughly violated that living in a reality where said beliefs are something that warrants punishment would be too psychologically devastating for them to live with. That's one way of looking at it.
Many thought that if slaves got their freedom they and their families would be killed in retribution. I doubt they had higher opinion of slaves when that didint happen however.
"This kind of violence often triggers reprisals" I don't know, it kinda sounds like the reprisals were already happening? Like, people were getting beaten in congress, shot in the street, & tortured to death in the fields. Self defense can't make them kill you any more than they already are, but it can make them think twice before they try.
Brooks was later publicly humiliated by house representative Anson Burlingame from Massachusetts. Burlingame condemned the attack on his colleague and publicly branded Brooks a coward for attacking Sumner. Brooks enraged defended his hour by challenging Burlingame to a duel saying that he would face him and any other “Mudsill Yankee.” Burlingame, an expert marksman, accepted the challenge. To the shock and dismay of Brooks Burlingame told him he would wait for him on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls with a pair of rifles. At which point Brooks flaked and proved Burlingame’s accusations that he was a coward correct.
Imo Brown's justification was valid. Pacifism crumbles in the face of unempathetic hierarchical ideology, it is justified because the only thing they know is force and domination. The means justify the ends here because this enemy's ends are pure evil. This isn't the case of two competing ideologies both with similar goals, but different ways of getting their (eg two competing economic systems both with the end goal of universal/equitable post-scarcity). They intend cruelty and hierarchy to be their goal
@@pflume1 It's about making a utilitarian calculation. If your goal is less slavery in totality, attempting to end it asap makes sense It's not like the slaver's ideology was worth merit anyway. If left vocal and outspoken, they'd continue to influence the Overton window, doing yet more damage down the line Using extremism to push towards progress is basically just how things are done. We use force simply because if no force is used, then the hierarchy dominates with it's force. As I said, it only knows force. That's what it means to be in an enforced hierarchy Worth pointing out active force isn't always needed, just the threat and knowledge it can be used to make racists (or whatever other bigots) stay quiet. It's that fear and staying quiet part that's necessary because it lessens their ability to push public opinion The coddling of the racist during reconstruction caused a lot of pain even to this day, far more than the pain the racists would've felt if treated harshly at the time
@@pflume1 Not really. Any and all attempts to limit slavery's expansion and have it leave on its own had failed. The South wanted to expand slavery as much as possible and their whole reason for rebelling was Lincoln winning and not believing he would protect slavery. Even if you argue the Southern economy was outdated a slave system and an industrial system are not incompatible, and we got a sign of that with the cotton gin. Slavery was never going to end without violence on some level.
Most are fine with slavers being lynched and shot. The issue is the amount of rapes, child murder, and torture going on. Normal people don't usually enact these sorts of reprisals. Its typically just "kill the slaver, maybe quickly murder their wives and kids so there aren't reprisals" no cruelty needed. The cruelty was a continuation of slavocrat morals and corruption of abolitionist ideology. Cruelty has no place on a righteous crusade and too often humans excuse it because the righteous violence can cover up for the unjust violence
I think it really comes down to 90% of "peaceful" abolitionists never had to deal with it themselves. Liberty is a value worth both dying and killing for, whether it be your own or another's.
I actually dont feel queasy about it, and while you are correct that it set everything off, I'd call that "lancing a boil". Better to get it over with than let things fester.
The way schools describe the story of Charles Sumner does no justice to the story. The way it was conveyed here provides such an in-depth perspective on the story
Its even worse if you read the full details, the desks and chairs are bolted to the floor and Brooks ensured to attack him before he could stand so that he would be pinned in-place, Sumner eventually tears the desk from the floor to get away but suffered permeant brain and spinal damage, it takes 3 years of recovery for him to be well enough to return to working, and he suffers from debilitating pain and PTSD for the rest of his life.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing and haven't been able to find anything else about them. I really hope they go more in depth in the lies episode because a broad sword with liquid metal channels in it to increase the power of a full force swing is one of the most badass weapon ideas I've ever heard of
Here’s the thing. I can’t support condemning Brown’s decision to fight back, because the truth is, saying “this sort of violence always invites reprisals” ignores the fact that that sort of violence had been going on for a long time, and essentially *exclusively* on the side of slavery. The killing of the Doyles was justified. If someone had shot Preston Brooks on the floor of the Senate, it would have been justified. If someone had gunned down his two accomplices, it would have been justified. Assassinating border ruffians in the night-justified. At this point, it was clear, far too clear, that the only way this was going to be solved would be through blood, lead, and steel.
"If you’re feeling a bit queasy, that makes sense" Me *eating fried cheese curds while watching*: oh yeah, super queasy that people who moved to Kansas specifically to support slavery with violence, ended up on the receiving end of violence...mmm I have buster bars in the freezer.
"Politics is war without bloodshed and war is politics with bloodshed." Can't remember where this comes from but it's apt. All the reprisals and escalations were the result of a failure to destroy slavery with policy.
Politics is not war unless you make it war. Your political rivals are not your enemies, unless they are. If your political rivals can be called your enemies, it’s a sign you live in an unhealthy political system. Take this excerpt from a conversation between President Biden and Pierre Polievre, Leader of the Opposition up here in Canada, during the former’s state visit. Polievre: “Pierre Polievre, ”Leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition.” Biden: “Loyal Oppositon?” Polievre: “Yea, we believe opposition is an act of loyalty in our system.” Biden: “We do to, unfortunately.”
You're in luck! There are a number of statues to him. A mere 5 years ago the current batch of traitorous fuckwits we're dealing with even defaced one of them with swastikas and the n-word etc.
Violence should never be used at the first sign of opposition But as we see throughout this series, the slaveholder class would not compromise under any circumstances, and any obstacle to the expansion of their “peculiar institution” they would meet with violence. So while I don’t think violence should ever be “good” sometimes it’s the only way to prevent more violence.
Violence is a tool, neither good or evil. Evil must be met with violence. It must be utterly destroyed. Evil left to fester will grow and cause only more pain and suffering. Blow it away.
@@100nodog honestly after seeing how grisly the Civil war was Men being blown to pieces, horribly mutilated by canister rounds, literal rivers of blood, I don’t think I can agree, despite the goal of “ending slavery/preserving the Union” that that can be considered “good” under any circumstances, necessary to prevent more violence yes, but even against the bad side the confederates still involved blowing people who today we wouldn’t even consider men yets legs off and dying in agony. Modern wars kinda kill the notion of “honorable conflict” if I’m being honest.
@@Monke1312_ sorry I wrote it at like 2 am the other night lol But no it was definetly necessary, sometimes violence is necessary to prevent further violence, but I disagree it’s something that can ever be “good” when it’s so brutal
5:50 Now admittedly I don't know *that* much about this time period, but I feel like it's a bit weird to call John Brown's actions the triggering event, rather than the sacking of Lawrence or the Caning of Sumner, or just more generally the violence on the part of the pro slavery groups
0:34 to 1:04 Senate Member: Come on! There's got to be a rule against this! Majority Leader: To be honest, I don't know. I have to check the rule book. *Pulls out rule book and reads through it a bit* Well, I can't find anything about caning a senator, but according to this, I'm not allowed to wear women's underwear. *Realizes he's wearing woman undies * O.O Uh-oh!!!!!
The fact that he took care of his mentally ill son and included him in a time where people with mental health issues were severely looked down on, warms my heart.
5:49 - wait I’m confused because haven’t you just shown these actions were reprisals (directed against those committing & supporting violence under cover of law) and not the inciting incidents?
@@falconJB Despicable recent laws, but yes, you can't say that American groups (like slavers, KKK, etc.) were bad enough violence against them could ever be justified. Because we know where the sympathies of the people writing those laws lie...
I just realized that Extra Credits has never done a full deep dive on the civil war. Considering it’s one of the most important moments in American history, it would be cool to see a follow up series on it starting where this story leaves off.
To be fair, it's too deep and vast a Topic to be covered with a single Series. What they could do is cover certain Events in and parts from it, like Sherman's March to the Sea, the Overland Campaign or the Vicksburg Campaign.
I don't think that John Browning was in the wrong, when the other side gives no option but violence. Not responding in kind is the cowardly thing to do.
I agree with John Browns actions in this episode. In this case, the slavers are willing to do anything to "preserve their way of life" (more like keep their power). The only way to combat that kind of mentality is to meet them on their level, or else you risk devastating defeat, and nothing will change.
A great continuation of the Sumner story; Preston (the man who beat Sumner) was seen as a hero in the South and a villain in the North. He became a celebrity, but his career as a serious politician was essentially over at this point. He talked a very big game and made clear he'd visit similar violence on others who disrespected him/the South. A Northern representative by the name of Anson Burlingame took him up on his word and challenged him to a duel. Back then, duels were mostly formalities to preserve honour - each duelist would fire their pistols, 90% of the time miss (due to how unreliable pistols were at the time), and go home with their dignity intact. Preston accepted the challenge. ... That is, until he found out that Anson was a notorious crack-shot. As Anson proposed the duel, he also got to pick the location, and he picked North of the Canadian border. This was because anti-duelling laws didn't apply there, and Anson couldn't be held liable for whatever happened. Essentially, Anson was planning on straight-up murdering Preston without facing legal repurcussions. After learning more about his opponent and the conditions of the duel, Preston just started ghosting Anson and never spoke to him again. Sumner, meanwhile, went on to have a long and storied political career, in which Abraham Lincoln called him his most trusted moral compass. This is one of my favourite quotes of his; "Say sir, in your madness, that you own the moon. The sun. The stars... But you cannot say that you own a man, in possession of a soul that will immortally after the light of the moon, the stars, and the sun have gone out."
The grooves in those swords are called fullers and are used to lighten and stiffen blades, thus making them easier to wield while increasing cutting power, since you want the cutting edge to be firmer/more rigid. You’ll often see them in bayonets for a similar reason.
Violence will always escalate, even if it's one sided. Those who use violence to speak will never understand unless you speak it back in a way they understand. The fact that leaders in government felt comfortable with attacking another government officer without repercussions speaks volumes to the arrogance and comfortability of doing so without repercussion. They had no problem abusing the rights not only of African Americans, but also their northern neighbors by forcing them to comply with their evils institutionally. Someone quoted it before, but if you cut off all means of peaceful discussion/change, what is left? Violence is regrettable but sadly, for an entire culture built on the subjugation of other human beings who use violence to enforce their way, theres only one language they have chosen to understand, and it is violence.
12 seconds in, and I didn't remember Senators Brooks and Sumners names, but the fact that he was specifically drawn with a cane told me exactly what event this was.
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Bruh
Bruh
Bruh
🥶
Bruh😊
Senator Charles Sumner spent the next three years barely able to leave his bed, in severe pain from brain trauma. During this time the Governor of Massachusetts not only refused to replace his vacant seat, but the people of Massachusetts re-elected him. The empty seat was a powerful symbol to the nation, of the violence and brutality of the slaveholder.
not to take away from you're core message, but instead to just pedantically correct a misconception; US senators were not elected by popular vote at the time, so Sumner was not really re-elected by the people of Massachusetts. It is noteworthy though, that he was confirmed unanimously by the State Senate and by a vote of 333-11 in the State House.
@@andalilbitqueer Point taken, and I appreciate the correction, no one likes to perpetuate false information, that being said, the pedantry is on point with this one. 🤣
@@andalilbitqueer Thanks for the correction. I'll leave the original post as is so that folks will know why you posted it 😁
After the caning, Senator Brooks was then publically humiliated when Senator Burlingame, a friend of Sumner, goaded Brooks into challenging him to a duel. Since he was being challenged, Burlingame got the choice of weapons, and he chose rifles. Brooks then said, "Oh damn!" when he realized that Burlingame was a crack shot with a rifle. He had no choice but to concede with the weak excuse that he didn't want to endanger himself, traveling through Northern states to get to the duel.
@@Animeaddiction he also died the next year to a bad and sudden attack of croup. The official description of his death was: “He died a horrid death, and suffered intensely. He endeavored to tear his own throat open to get breath”
The bully always cries loudest when someone finally stands up to them.
Very well put
Theyre still crying.
And yet the bully didn’t get what they wanted when they came to Kansas
And has the nerve to call someone else crazy.
Here here.
John Brown's story always reminds me of the saying: "those who make peaceful change impossible make violent revolution inevitable."
"Those who watch a mother's child sold to a stranger but blame violence on anyone who tries to save her child will make it easier to sell the next child."
@@HunterHogan what?
@@luisfilipe2023 I think he mean to say. Retaliation on injustice, being mask down as just nameless violence. Led injustice persist.
In many cases in human history violence is what causes change, it is one of the few things we will actually respond to. It is just important to remember that targeted violence is far more effective than senseless violence. No matter if your message is right or not.
The logical conclusion of this sentiment is dangerous though. Because no monarch was then toppled justly. The American Revolution was unesseary. Heck even WW2 should have been avoided by more appeasement.
The thing is from a moral stance of view chattel slavery is abhorrent enough to justify all manners of violence to stand against it.
Also it implies that there was a peaceful solution on offer. For someone who wanted slavery gone (and not just compromised on and contained) there was no in sight. The argument that slavery was on it's way out is false as the reaction to the stop of trade has shown. Breeding programs expanded the numbers of the enslaved well beyond those of the times with the trade in place.
If any soilder or politician anywhere in history was justified to go to war for freedom and democracy then you can't dismiss those who did for those enslaved in the south as unjustified.
Fighting against slaveowners- terorrism
Beating a defenceless person with a cane- gantlemans way of dealing with enemies
Nah, it's just politics :D
Yeah, the South was HORRENDOUSLY hypocritical.
Edit: it still is, but you get the idea.
@@discountplaguedoctor88 Was?
Another good reason for the 2nd amendment Sumner would been in his right to defend himself .
@@ItsmeInternetStranger And still is, so thanks for the reminder.
I once read a book titled, "How to Beat Tyranny With The Power Of Love."
It was two sentences long. The first sentence said, 'You can't beat Tyranny with the Power Of Love.' The second sentence recommended the author's follow-up book, 'How To Beat Tyranny With The Power Of Incredible Violence.'
Good series.
Very well researched Indeed
@@RustBot42 It isn't being cynical. It talks about how history actually has worked.
Ah so other terrorist acts like the Oklahoma city bombing and Boston bombing are all justified right? I mean all of the perpetrators FULLY agree with you. They all thought they were experiencing tyranny and acted using extreme violence. So im sure you support them right?
'You can't beat Tyranny with the Power Of Love.'
Sounds like a skill issue
5:40 The more i learn about the background to these events, and the behaviour of the slavers and their supporters, the _less_ queasy I feel about responding with extreme violence.
Sherman didnt burn enough
56 political killings over 4 years... What was the rate prior to the Massacre?
Kinda wish schools taught the background
@@MarionetteDuAuguste So they can go kill racists?
@@feartheamish9183 Trueeeeee
Speaking as a Kansan there's nothing I enjoy more than hearing about how my family made slavers feel what real fear was before the end.
@Tarrin Pun Presumably, murdered slavers.
@Tarrin Pun they were Jayhawkers go ask Missourians what they did lol.
@Tarrin Pun Jayhawks basically went out and murdered them. That's why UK's mascot is the Jayhawk
@@rc59191 Thank you for your family's service.
@@quintusantell2912 you're welcome we been serving the country since the 1800's.
Anyone who's uncomfortable with Brown's violence should remember what he was fighting for: millions of innocents.
Him and the North. But what was the cost of the civil war? Of course there were all those people trying to change the system without killing people. You know like using peaceful means.
@@pflume1the slave holders would have never given up their slaves. Every time the abolitionists even tried to phase it out they were met with violence and succession threats.
Even when it was obvious the war was lost...the south still fought on.
Really highlights how STRONG the attachment to slavery was for most in the south.
@@dclark142002 Slavery is like hard drugs. The power trip of owning and abusing people is intoxicating. The only difference is that drug addictions can be broken.
I'll take the next step. Anyone uncomfortable or against Browns violence would not have been an abolitionist back then
God he's so unbelievably based
Fr, I dont expect to have kids, but if I do, at least one of them will be named after him.
I think the only reason his name was sort of labeled ultra-close to being a terrorist is because the South bitched and whined about it so much after the Civil War the Union was just like "ok you know what? F*** you guys and cease your whining".
@@Casperski1312 to bad john is quite common name but i love that sentiment
Based but probably has some anger issues
5:38
“This kind of violence always triggers reprisals and escalation.”
Me: *Remembers less than five minutes ago when the dismemberment and public display of a Free Stater was noted as a single example in a long list of Slave Stater atrocities, alongside a Congressman being beaten at his desk.*
Violence from the left is typically seen as an escalation to the norm of violence from the right.
Anecdote about the aftermath of the Caning of Charles Sumner which might fit well in Lies:
After the assualt, a Massachussets legislator and friend of Sumner, Anson Burlingame, gave a speech attacking Brooks and goaded Brooks into challenging him to a duel. When Brooks did so, Burlingame was allowed to pick the location and weapons. Burlingame was a notorious sharpshooter, picked deadly hunting rifles as the weapon, and Niagra Falls Canada as the location. This would protect him from American anti-dueling laws if/when he killed Brooks in the duel. Brooks backed out stating he didn't want to travel through the north to attend. He died a "horrid death" from a lung infection the next year though so there is a shred of justice here.
I hope it was agonizing.
Congrats, that was included.
I love a happy ending!
I wonder if that was where "Mr. Welch" got the idea.
"363. When challenged to a showdown, I'm meant to face him at 10 paces with pistols, not 10 blocks with a Sharps Big .50 [buffalo rifle]."
(Sharps rifles were a notable component of the weapons used by abolitionists in Kansas around this time -- they were specifically the ones nicknamed "Beecher's Bibles.")
Karma collects its debt... ALWAYS!!!...
Considering how Brown's allies were attacked first his actions come across as pretty justified, especially when the Federal Government did nothing.
not just nothing, but actively moving to legitimizing the pro-slavery violence
Well, yes, but still- murder is a murder, nothing should justify taking another mans life. It's a sad truth that for humans violence will always be the best answer...
@@stanisawankowski8243 Those who commit crimes against humanity forfeit their own.
@@stanisawankowski8243, one man's murderer is another man's freedom fighter.
@Stanisław Łankowski while I agree that nothing should, that doesn't mean that nothing justifies it for most people anyway.
“If you’re feeling a bit queasy, that makes sense. [As we know,] violence, leads to reprisals, leads to escalation”
While this is true, it’s extremely important to note that John Brown’s actions were not the original violence. They werent even the original reprisals, or the original escalation. Ol’ Brown’s actions were a response to the violence performed on his fellow abolitionists, and nonviolent passivity only lead to centuries of slavery and years of political violence against abolitionists.
This was a terrible event. But it was deeply necessary.
And very much called for.
Yeah, didn't feel queasy at all, I felt righteous vindication.
Not one bit of queasiness here
@@cgonthebeat3741brown killed the slavers but left their families be. The same can't be said about the border ruffians
"This kind of violence always triggers reprisals and escalation" a few moments earlier: "Now to this point, the violence and threats in Kansas had been incredibly one-sided."
Yeah clearly the inevitability of reprisals and escalations isn't so inevitable as all that. (It's a choice. That's the secret, it's always been a choice, but pretending it's inevitable lets oppressors dissociate themselves from the moral weight of their violent response.)
So tired of this "escalation" speak when defending yourself is called "escalatory" but indiscriminate bombings of civilians areas by the aggressor are not
Ok so I when into a wiki rabbit hole on the caning. Apparently Anson Burlingame called Preston Brooks “the vilest sort of coward” Brooks challenged him to a duel, but when Burlingame unexpectedly accepted too readily and eagerly Brooks got cold feet
Funny how they vanish when the fight is on even ground. Fuckin cowards.
Hah. Yeah, he was a young, loudmouth wannabe European aristocrat. No surprise he wasn't willing to 'defend his honor' when there was a real prospect that it might involve a fair fight, lol.
Shame, I'd put money on Burlingame.
weird thing about slavers-- they were all for dehumanizing when the odds were in their favor, and they've cultivated a weird (dbl-think) mythos around the "war of northern aggression" ever since ( in the hopes of returning to that nostalgic "golden age")
Burlingame was famously a crack shot with a rifle and since he had goaded Brooks into challenging him, he was the one who got to choose the weapon. Brooks then tried to duck the duel by claiming he didn’t want to put himself in danger by entering the northern states to get to Canada (which did not have laws against dueling). Burlingame offered both train and boat tickets for him and guards, but Brooks was too much of a coward to follow through
Another disgusting note about the Sumner caning: the fellow who caned him would receive countless new canes in the mail from proslavery southerners who agreed with his actions, hoping he’d do it again
WTF...
Yep. This is what happened.
By the way, a century later, the "Civil Rights" movement and the Federal Government would get help in solving the "Mississippi Burning" murders from the American Mafia.
"Jayne's right. -Reavers- Slavers ain't men."
@@bernardoheusi6146 Watch Burn's The Civil War. I believe it is in the first chapter or maybe in the intro: The Crossroads of Our Being.
Will check when I can
The Civil War should be hence, also be called "War of Southern Aggression".
"Treason in Defense of Slavery" is the most accurate and probably least used name for The US Civil War.
Oh, this is cool: "The name "Slaveholders' Rebellion" was used by Frederick Douglass and appears in newspaper articles."
I’ve been calling it _The War of the Southern Treason_ for years now.
The South fired the first shot, seized federal arsenals in preparation, and lived on an unacceptable model that they felt wasn't allowed enough leeway.
the crusade against the slavers of the south
The Kansas continuation war
Usually I agree that violence can often make things worse, but I think this is easily an example of when violence was absolutely necessary to prevent the spread of slavery. I think it's fair to debate the morality of some individual acts of violence, but there is no question that the only way to keep Kansas from being a slave state was to fight.
Indeed, violence is the final argument of governments, whether for good or evil
@@scottanno8861 _"The last argument of kings"_
@@voland6846 Meh, kings, bureaucrats, oligarchs, you name it. I just broadened the phrase.
@@scottanno8861 oh I totally agree, I was just giving the original phrase for context
If one agrees that there ever was a soilder who was justified due to fighting for freedom, democracy or similar values. Then so we're those who took up arms to free those in chains.
I am not queasy about John Brown's deliverance of justice to people who do equally and worse.
The note about reprisals is... weird. John Brown's massacre against slavery-defenders was not the inciting incident. He was incited to violence by the violence enacted against his fellow abolitionists, who only used their words to speak out against slavery. If he'd skipped straight to the part where you kill slaveowners, without anyone speaking out against it before then, he'd still not have incited the violence, because violence is inherent in the institution he fought against.
Violence or threat of violence is inherent in all non voluntary institutions. You could argue any violence used against any institution that maintains control without your consent is justified. One of the only forms of violence regularly accepted by most individuals is that of self-defense, and even that has had it's definition narrowed and clarified. If a man that has killed many retreats unarmed, there are many in the Western world that would find his killing immoral and barbaric while others would find no issue.
I agree, but the point Extra History is trying to make there, is that the violence will only get worse. I would say violent resistance to such oppression for such evil ends is just, but the fact that fighting the slavers will lead to them being more violent is a truth that needs to be acknowledged. It's a big part of why a lot of abolitionists favored non violence.
TLDR; bringing up reprisals isn't about assigning blame, but explaining escalation, ie, that the reprisals are the natural result of the slavers doubling down, and are a consequence of Brown's actions, just like being attacked by a slaver for being anti slavery.
@@timothycarney9652 To be fair, they would have escalated anyway. And the only thing that would have stopped escalation is agreeing to become their property (which, in and of itself, is violence; and which, in and of itself, would guarantee several consecutive generations of victims of violence).
Aggression against those who would perpetuate something so vile as slavery can only, at most, TEMPORARILY increase the volume of violence and, in the long run, reduce it to nothing.
I find it ironic and hypocritical that slavers claim to be the victims of oppression and violence when THEY started it all first.
@@The_NickTL yup, the entire point of reprisal killings is to make people stop resisting by gaslighting them into believing that "your resistance FORCED us to violence". Like we are being told that using air defense systems is "escalatory" and we should just stop defending or it will get worse.... Well, how about no. Stop victim blaming!
5:50 I'm sorry? EXCUSE ME WHAT?!
His actions *were* reactions to violence (that then begat more violence.)
he was not the start.
he was merely reacting.
if you wanna go "yeah but violence only brings more violence" maybe point that finger towards someone else.
There are some instances that, sadly, words aren't always enough.
A tidbit to not get demonetized for promoting violence despite just teaching history.
yeah I have half a heart to beat up the EC writer who said this and say, if you do anything back to me it'll be known as the starting point of our feud... like come the f on
@@davidkelly4210 Incite violence.
What can I say. In the end it has to be this way.
As a southerner. Its really funny how teachers and historians here cope with the loss ignoring that they constantly started the violence and even the basic infantry man was also racist and pro slavery
You are telling me that it's still not acknowledged that slavery was bad? Damn
@@pancytryna9378 Yeah, when I was in school they were told us the north started the war, and called it "the war of northern aggression" and that not only slavery was not important, but were better off in america than in africa, justifying the slave trade.
@@josgretf2800
Bruh
@@pancytryna9378 and that is why we will never go to live in America
@@thesymbiotenation.4552
Who is we
Imagine not owning any slaves, but still dying for slavery
Ideology kills. Just ask the gop.
Yep the civil war will do that.
Rich man's war, poor man's fight
That's what every American soldier dreams of doing, except the ones who literally just wanted to go to college ofc
Veteran here. I didn't do it for college, nor did I want to fight a war. I did it to get out of poverty. You just insulted a number of people of all races and even nationalities who use the military as a stepping stone in life.
I hope you step on a lego.
Two congressmen drew guns while a third nearly beat a man to death on the floor of Congress for delivering a speech critical of the South...
Best response has gotta be another congressman later commenting something like "It is now clear how the slaveholder intends and is accustomed to treat *all* those that he views as his political and social inferiors."
To be clear, that speech did basically call out the southern congressman as subhuman...
...but the response to the slander is and was completely disproportionate.
@@dclark142002 True. "Critical of the South" is a bit of a understatement, nonetheless I'd argue that calling slaveholders subhuman is still pretty fair, lol.
@@TheManKnownAsAi, indeed.
Especially considering what was going on in Kansas and with the implementation of the Fugitive Slave Acts.
The real tragedy is that people aren't taught how violent the attempts to expand slavery were becoming. At a certain point, you can't just sit passively by and watch your neighbors murdered and assaulted.
@@dclark142002 Worse than that, it's not even as though the South was repressed. The story of US politics from the founding of the country up until that point was the South refusing any mutual cooperation with the North unless they were granted disproportionate control. I mean, that was literally the point of the 3/5ths Compromise. The South just got to artificially inflate their population to gain even more influence in the House.
@@TheManKnownAsAi, yes.
'this violence triggers reprisals and escelations'
but clearly this must be applied to the other side too. blowing up buildings and trying to bludgeon somebody to death, this actually seems like it is miniscule in comparison. it seems like they were already 'going at it' before, and this is just one side defending themselves that causes it to be seen negatively.
Tells you something that the modern left is well aware that violance is a bad course in itself and will trigger a bad path to come, whereas the modern right is not only willing to provoke such reality but can't wait until the playfield is open.
Nonono. This is america. You're supposed to let vile assholes walk all over you, lest you "become like them." Remember, the "moral high ground" means you win. Somehow.
The violence of the right is always the norm where as violence from the left is seen as an escalation.
Exactly. Defending oneself is very different from taking aggressive action and the slave owners were the first to strike at the abolitionists. The only correct response is to protect yourself in the face of such violence. Fighting back ofcourse does escalate but not fighting back is capitulation. Peace is good in theory but an unprincipled peace of submission and capitulation is no peace at all, but simply accepting one sided violence towards oneself.
@@SomeGuy1117 Hell. The first violence was by enslavers against kidnapped Africans. The rest was defense versus escalating oppressors.
Charles Sumner is a national hero and deserves more attention for the efforts he lead in fighting corruption and ending slavery. It's a shame that his attackers got away largely intact. They should have been locked in jail for that for life, or even shot for assaulting a United States Senator.
I agree, but at least the coward Brooks dies less than a year later.
@@falconJB Not only dies, but dies in agonizing pain. To quote the official death announcement, "He died a horrid death, and suffered intensely. He endeavored to tear his own throat open to get breath."
@@the_mad_fool G O O D.
This is one of their best historical figure videos. I never knew someone like him exisisted and we truly needed more like him
According to some historians (most of them) he was the reason the American Civil War happened. It may have happened later but he was the catalyst at Harpers Ferry.
Can we mention how bad ass it is that Brown's militia took on a force nearly 5 times their number, and took almost half of them prisoner
I don't feel queasy. I feel like more people should have stepped up then and there. Violence was the only option left, and the slavers deserved to die as their precious institution of oppression and cruelty was torn down before their eyes.
“Violence is never the answer!”
Actually, sometimes it is!
Like when the question is "how do you stop a violent militia bent on national domination, when the government that supposedly protects its citizenry seems to be an accomplice to their wrongdoing, & completely ignores the peaceful cries & protests of the oppressed & downtrodden?..."
The answer becomes clear, simple, & BLATANTLY OBVIOUS...😂
Oh John Brown's body lies a-moldering in the grave
John Brown's body lies a-moldering in the grave
John Brown's body lies a-moldering in the grave
But his soul goes marching on
Glory glory hallelujah
This was the song that inspired Julia Ward Howe's *Battle Hymn of the Republic*
I loved the F’d around and Find Out reference pure genius.
5:29 I think it would be better if you said this was nothing compared to what happens EVERY DAY to African Americans because of slavery
They had to cover their ass because of UA-cam's demonetization policy. The whole video basically states that they think he was 100% justified
5:50 homie, the institution of slavery is an inherently violent one, Brown's actions are the (incredibly long overdue) reprisals. Very great series, but the fence sitting on that part is an unquestionable L.
Fence-sitting as an educator isnt a choice you get to make. Its the law
@@jameskarg3240 as a teacher in many states it is unfortunately the law. As an independent producer of educational videos there is no such restriction.
@@jacksonmagas9698 sadly that doesnt matter to Google. If its law to School teachers, its law to Content creators of the same vein as well.
@@jacksonmagas9698 The team have noted they make these to be usable within a classroom so it's a reasonable consideration for them to make. Still it is a bit odd to say John Brown's actions were what set off later violence given his actions were motivated by earlier violence. That line is pretty arbitrary.
@@jameskarg3240 maybe our public schools had different standards but my history teachers never had to stop and say ‘violence against the slave owners was kind of bad, actually’, and I live in the south where there’s approximately 10.2 lost causers per square mile
It did trigger reprisals and escalation... feeding massively into the feelings that led to secession and the South to attack the North... and ultimately, that's what led to slavery ending in 1865, rather than 1897 or something.
Exactly
Escalation is a feature not a problem
When you attack the enemy they will usually
retaliate disproportionately targeting neutral parties sympathetic to you
thus increasing support for you
So the South seceded because they feared that the North would end slavery... leading to a civil war that ended in, amongst other things, the end of legalized slavery.
Ironic. B)
Those who want to solve everything with peace and bureaucracy doesn't understand that they're essentially putting another person's life on what is their convenient time table
Like look at Brazil, a country run by an anti slavery king who still had to fight for decades for its abolition
@@SlaaneshiKitty While I agree that the civil war was needed to end slavery, the Southern Aristocracy was too invested in it to ever give it up, remember that the Civil war itself killed over 700,000 people, war has a cost as well, and you must decide if the cost of peace is greater than the cost of war.
In this case, it almost certainly was, the extra 30 years, if not more, would see a generation more die in slavery, but in other cases that isn't true.
Odd choice to put the "this kind of violence always triggers reprisals and escalation" behind the violance done by group B and not behind any of groupe A's violance in the previous half of the episode...
Likely to avoid being demonetized
So many echos in the far Right strategies now
Yeah, at that point, Kansas was clearly already bleeding.
@@chrisx1138 Yes of course because obviously only one type of political group would ever commit or engage violence. Which side is Antifa on again?
Avoiding the video being flagged. EC kinda HAS to play the "violent solutions are wrong, no matter how unavoidable" card here
"Human beings should be treated humanely" seems to always have pissed off people throughout history.
May John Brown's truth keep marching on.
This is the series we all have been waiting for.
Keep up the good work guys
Lots of sources will often depict the caning of Charles Sumner as almost comedic, after all, beating a political opponent with a weapon is so ridiculous and childish. But this actually highlights just how violent and terrifying the event actually was.
I'm going to level with you, 56 deaths in this conflict is a lot lower than just the number of slaves who would be beaten to death each year in a slave state Kansas. I would argue that when you include violence perpetuated on enslaved people, the results of Brown's actions do not qualify as an escalation of violence. It was merely an expansion of violence to a strata of society which had previously managed to shield themselves from the violence they profited off of, and then the usual day-to-day violence they'd always inflicted on anyone who resisted.
"The oppressor makes their violence a part of the 'normal' functioning of society, so that only the violence of the oppressed stands out as disruptive"
@@sejwok2628they expected to bomb everyone but not being bombed back. Applies to too many aggressors now.
To throw it out there while Brooks was never adequately punished for his attack on Sumner, he did have a very unpleasant death the very next year from an attack of croup. Apparently the official report said he: “died a horrid death, and suffered intensely. He endeavored to tear his own throat open to get breath”
Fitting and deserved death
5:51
yes, violence always leads to reprisals but brown’s people were attacked first, so I think self-defense can be argued here, not to mention those who allow tyrants to go unchecked, condone their actions by proxy
gotta make youtube not take your videos down
🎶 John Brown’s body lies a mouldering in the grave
John Brown’s body lies a mouldering in the grave
John Brown’s body lies a mouldering in the grave
But his soul is marching on! 🎶
Glory glory hallelujah
@@ZachValkyrie His soul is marching on
“While I’m personally pro freedom I’m political pro slavery because we shouldn’t tell other people what to do it’s none of your business. It’s their property it’s their choice.”
“Bonk”
People have self ownership therefore, people inheriting the bonds of slavery is right and just!
The "Bonk" really hits 😂
YES
My favorite statement that sums this up. "Basically they were fucking around, and they were gonna find out"
I like that in the animations someone becomes 20 years older like with Otto von Bismarck in the animation😂
I just can't fathom why someone would risk their life to defend slavery. Like these people seriously thought "If I can't own slaves I'd rather be dead", I just can't make sense of that.
It's a mixture of class loyalty, race loyalty, supremacist ideas, fear of economic instability, and fear of a servile uprising and retribution.
The Spartans had similar attitudes with the Helots. "If we set them free, they will kill us all. And everyone trying to set them free is trying to impoverish my home and endanger my family."
Because they were making money hand over fist. Greed is often a great motivator for great evils.
@@Fafnd I assume more people in the US find money so important than here on our side of the pond. But I assume a lot of the goons who fought for slavery didn't even get a piece of those juicy slavery profits.
In some cases it could be because it would be the end of their way of life, and in others it could be because of how ideological foundations they likely put their entire weight behind were being so thoroughly violated that living in a reality where said beliefs are something that warrants punishment would be too psychologically devastating for them to live with.
That's one way of looking at it.
Many thought that if slaves got their freedom they and their families would be killed in retribution. I doubt they had higher opinion of slaves when that didint happen however.
"This kind of violence often triggers reprisals"
I don't know, it kinda sounds like the reprisals were already happening? Like, people were getting beaten in congress, shot in the street, & tortured to death in the fields. Self defense can't make them kill you any more than they already are, but it can make them think twice before they try.
Right in the middle of March Madness, of which the University of Kansas is a consistent major player in. Lovin this.
Brooks was later publicly humiliated by house representative Anson Burlingame from Massachusetts.
Burlingame condemned the attack on his colleague and publicly branded Brooks a coward for attacking Sumner.
Brooks enraged defended his hour by challenging Burlingame to a duel saying that he would face him and any other “Mudsill Yankee.”
Burlingame, an expert marksman, accepted the challenge. To the shock and dismay of Brooks Burlingame told him he would wait for him on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls with a pair of rifles.
At which point Brooks flaked and proved Burlingame’s accusations that he was a coward correct.
Truly the only rational and righteous response to the institutional and paramilitary violence of slavery
Imo Brown's justification was valid. Pacifism crumbles in the face of unempathetic hierarchical ideology, it is justified because the only thing they know is force and domination. The means justify the ends here because this enemy's ends are pure evil. This isn't the case of two competing ideologies both with similar goals, but different ways of getting their (eg two competing economic systems both with the end goal of universal/equitable post-scarcity). They intend cruelty and hierarchy to be their goal
I'm not sure seems like evil for evil. Was there a better way then causing the civil war?
@@pflume1 It's about making a utilitarian calculation. If your goal is less slavery in totality, attempting to end it asap makes sense
It's not like the slaver's ideology was worth merit anyway. If left vocal and outspoken, they'd continue to influence the Overton window, doing yet more damage down the line
Using extremism to push towards progress is basically just how things are done. We use force simply because if no force is used, then the hierarchy dominates with it's force. As I said, it only knows force. That's what it means to be in an enforced hierarchy
Worth pointing out active force isn't always needed, just the threat and knowledge it can be used to make racists (or whatever other bigots) stay quiet. It's that fear and staying quiet part that's necessary because it lessens their ability to push public opinion
The coddling of the racist during reconstruction caused a lot of pain even to this day, far more than the pain the racists would've felt if treated harshly at the time
@@pflume1 Not really.
Any and all attempts to limit slavery's expansion and have it leave on its own had failed.
The South wanted to expand slavery as much as possible and their whole reason for rebelling was Lincoln winning and not believing he would protect slavery.
Even if you argue the Southern economy was outdated a slave system and an industrial system are not incompatible, and we got a sign of that with the cotton gin.
Slavery was never going to end without violence on some level.
@@pflume1 Defending the innocent is not evil. Allowing slavery to continue was evil.
Most are fine with slavers being lynched and shot. The issue is the amount of rapes, child murder, and torture going on. Normal people don't usually enact these sorts of reprisals. Its typically just "kill the slaver, maybe quickly murder their wives and kids so there aren't reprisals" no cruelty needed. The cruelty was a continuation of slavocrat morals and corruption of abolitionist ideology. Cruelty has no place on a righteous crusade and too often humans excuse it because the righteous violence can cover up for the unjust violence
I think it really comes down to 90% of "peaceful" abolitionists never had to deal with it themselves. Liberty is a value worth both dying and killing for, whether it be your own or another's.
I actually dont feel queasy about it, and while you are correct that it set everything off, I'd call that "lancing a boil".
Better to get it over with than let things fester.
The way schools describe the story of Charles Sumner does no justice to the story. The way it was conveyed here provides such an in-depth perspective on the story
Its even worse if you read the full details, the desks and chairs are bolted to the floor and Brooks ensured to attack him before he could stand so that he would be pinned in-place, Sumner eventually tears the desk from the floor to get away but suffered permeant brain and spinal damage, it takes 3 years of recovery for him to be well enough to return to working, and he suffers from debilitating pain and PTSD for the rest of his life.
I've never heard of a sword filled with Liquid mercury as mentioned at 4:56. Where did you learn about this, I'd love to read more
Well they damn sure weren't going to be filled with solid mercury.
I have never heard of them before either.
Wasn't that how the sword Terminus Est was supposedly made?
Yeah I was thinking the same thing and haven't been able to find anything else about them. I really hope they go more in depth in the lies episode because a broad sword with liquid metal channels in it to increase the power of a full force swing is one of the most badass weapon ideas I've ever heard of
wouldnt it cause deterioration
That fucking opening
"No, see, it was about state rights okay."
Here’s the thing. I can’t support condemning Brown’s decision to fight back, because the truth is, saying “this sort of violence always invites reprisals” ignores the fact that that sort of violence had been going on for a long time, and essentially *exclusively* on the side of slavery.
The killing of the Doyles was justified. If someone had shot Preston Brooks on the floor of the Senate, it would have been justified. If someone had gunned down his two accomplices, it would have been justified. Assassinating border ruffians in the night-justified.
At this point, it was clear, far too clear, that the only way this was going to be solved would be through blood, lead, and steel.
"If you’re feeling a bit queasy, that makes sense"
Me *eating fried cheese curds while watching*: oh yeah, super queasy that people who moved to Kansas specifically to support slavery with violence, ended up on the receiving end of violence...mmm I have buster bars in the freezer.
"Politics is war without bloodshed and war is politics with bloodshed." Can't remember where this comes from but it's apt. All the reprisals and escalations were the result of a failure to destroy slavery with policy.
That's a quote from Mao Zedong
Politics is not war unless you make it war. Your political rivals are not your enemies, unless they are. If your political rivals can be called your enemies, it’s a sign you live in an unhealthy political system. Take this excerpt from a conversation between President Biden and Pierre Polievre, Leader of the Opposition up here in Canada, during the former’s state visit.
Polievre: “Pierre Polievre, ”Leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition.”
Biden: “Loyal Oppositon?”
Polievre: “Yea, we believe opposition is an act of loyalty in our system.”
Biden: “We do to, unfortunately.”
Awesome, you always manage to make history fun, keep it up.
Thank you for saying Osawatomie correctly!! It's awesome to see our local history in your awesome series. Can't wait to see more!
Violence is never the answer. ITS THE QUESTION AND THE ANSWER IS YES!!!
A very unsure yes considering it's a question. Edit: he corrected it
This is the kind of man they should build statutes to.
Someone needs to dynamite some confederate statues and put some up of a real hero.
You're in luck! There are a number of statues to him. A mere 5 years ago the current batch of traitorous fuckwits we're dealing with even defaced one of them with swastikas and the n-word etc.
Anyone who defends slavery is ontologically evil and any violence against them is morally imperative... In Minecraft.
any neo confederate needs to get sent to guantanamo bay in minecraft
Best get over to Kenya and do some violence, mate. More than 100,000 slaves mulling about that country.
Violence should never be used at the first sign of opposition
But as we see throughout this series, the slaveholder class would not compromise under any circumstances, and any obstacle to the expansion of their “peculiar institution” they would meet with violence.
So while I don’t think violence should ever be “good” sometimes it’s the only way to prevent more violence.
Violence is a tool, neither good or evil.
Evil must be met with violence. It must be utterly destroyed. Evil left to fester will grow and cause only more pain and suffering. Blow it away.
@@100nodog honestly after seeing how grisly the Civil war was
Men being blown to pieces, horribly mutilated by canister rounds, literal rivers of blood, I don’t think I can agree, despite the goal of “ending slavery/preserving the Union” that that can be considered “good” under any circumstances, necessary to prevent more violence yes, but even against the bad side the confederates still involved blowing people who today we wouldn’t even consider men yets legs off and dying in agony.
Modern wars kinda kill the notion of “honorable conflict” if I’m being honest.
@John Healer I really don't get your point as your sentence isn't constructed that well. Do you think we shouldn't have had a civil war?
@@Monke1312_ sorry I wrote it at like 2 am the other night lol
But no it was definetly necessary, sometimes violence is necessary to prevent further violence, but I disagree it’s something that can ever be “good” when it’s so brutal
@@seanmcloughlin5983 I would say it was good because it ended slavery in the US. (Except in prisons)
5:50 Now admittedly I don't know *that* much about this time period, but I feel like it's a bit weird to call John Brown's actions the triggering event, rather than the sacking of Lawrence or the Caning of Sumner, or just more generally the violence on the part of the pro slavery groups
Its how it is usually portrait in history, the violence of oppressors is normal, the violence of liberators is an escalation.
@@falconJB the rest of the video says otherwise
0:34 to 1:04
Senate Member: Come on! There's got to be a rule against this!
Majority Leader: To be honest, I don't know. I have to check the rule book. *Pulls out rule book and reads through it a bit* Well, I can't find anything about caning a senator, but according to this, I'm not allowed to wear women's underwear. *Realizes he's wearing woman undies * O.O Uh-oh!!!!!
"If you're feeling a little Queazy about this.."
As a Jayhawker and a Kansan...nahhh I'm good Rock Chalk!
"If you're feeling a little queasy..." No, can't say I am.
This man is so very important to history, my admiration for him could not be higher. ❤👊
Like deployed 👍
The fact that he took care of his mentally ill son and included him in a time where people with mental health issues were severely looked down on, warms my heart.
5:49 - wait I’m confused because haven’t you just shown these actions were reprisals (directed against those committing & supporting violence under cover of law) and not the inciting incidents?
All the 'maybe all violence is bad' waffling is required for this to be shown in some schools.
@@falconJB Despicable recent laws, but yes, you can't say that American groups (like slavers, KKK, etc.) were bad enough violence against them could ever be justified. Because we know where the sympathies of the people writing those laws lie...
"Peace was never an option."
Peace was an option but the Slave Powers rejected that option and forced violence.
More like:
"Paece was an option, but you chose war."
Because the slavers chose war by trying to remain in Power.
Wow the caning of Charles Sumner was far more brutal than i ever thought
Yeah, he suffered permanent brain damage and it took 3 year before he had sufficiently recovered to return to working.
I just realized that Extra Credits has never done a full deep dive on the civil war. Considering it’s one of the most important moments in American history, it would be cool to see a follow up series on it starting where this story leaves off.
To be fair, it's too deep and vast a Topic to be covered with a single Series.
What they could do is cover certain Events in and parts from it, like Sherman's March to the Sea, the Overland Campaign or the Vicksburg Campaign.
🎶John Brown's body lies a-moldering in the grave but his soul goes marching on🎶
HE FREIGHTENED OL' VIRGINNY TIL SHE TREMBLED THRU AND THRU
And you wonder why we have that epic mural of him at the state Capitol building in Topeka...you need only watch this video to get the idea.
Thank god we sided with the Union and clapped these southerners twice in southern Kansas
Glad to make it to an extra history video early! Looking forward to this one
I knew their was massive conflict during this era but i did know about this history specifically. Many thanks for this amazing history lesson.
I don't think that John Browning was in the wrong, when the other side gives no option but violence. Not responding in kind is the cowardly thing to do.
He did not go far enough.
I agree with John Browns actions in this episode. In this case, the slavers are willing to do anything to "preserve their way of life" (more like keep their power). The only way to combat that kind of mentality is to meet them on their level, or else you risk devastating defeat, and nothing will change.
The blanket condemnation of violence greatly benefits those who have already committed violence.
Those who claim that attacking slavers, fascists and the like makes you just as bad as them, are always incredibly suspicious to me.
You forgot that Summner’s desk was bolted to the ground, and he literally ripped it from the floor boards so he could escape
I remember learning that in school, and the absolute SHUDDER I felt at that moment, sitting at a bolted desk myself
A great continuation of the Sumner story;
Preston (the man who beat Sumner) was seen as a hero in the South and a villain in the North. He became a celebrity, but his career as a serious politician was essentially over at this point. He talked a very big game and made clear he'd visit similar violence on others who disrespected him/the South. A Northern representative by the name of Anson Burlingame took him up on his word and challenged him to a duel. Back then, duels were mostly formalities to preserve honour - each duelist would fire their pistols, 90% of the time miss (due to how unreliable pistols were at the time), and go home with their dignity intact. Preston accepted the challenge.
... That is, until he found out that Anson was a notorious crack-shot. As Anson proposed the duel, he also got to pick the location, and he picked North of the Canadian border. This was because anti-duelling laws didn't apply there, and Anson couldn't be held liable for whatever happened. Essentially, Anson was planning on straight-up murdering Preston without facing legal repurcussions. After learning more about his opponent and the conditions of the duel, Preston just started ghosting Anson and never spoke to him again.
Sumner, meanwhile, went on to have a long and storied political career, in which Abraham Lincoln called him his most trusted moral compass. This is one of my favourite quotes of his;
"Say sir, in your madness, that you own the moon. The sun. The stars... But you cannot say that you own a man, in possession of a soul that will immortally after the light of the moon, the stars, and the sun have gone out."
I know how this ends and it feels terrible how he got so much support but won’t win his fight but will win the war
The fact that some people will look at the disproportionate levels of violence that pro-slavery people committed and still blame the north is wild.
The grooves in those swords are called fullers and are used to lighten and stiffen blades, thus making them easier to wield while increasing cutting power, since you want the cutting edge to be firmer/more rigid. You’ll often see them in bayonets for a similar reason.
Keep up the good work mr history man
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the intro to this video.
I'm going to push back on the point about reprisals: That was always going to happen, regardless of John Brown's retaliation.
HA, i don't have to wait to watch the next episode. It already come out
"Man, that speech was kinda bad" *proceeds to beat skull more than about 7 times*
1:06 as far as Kansas... and Appomattox.
Great video! Thank you for covering it.
Violence will always escalate, even if it's one sided. Those who use violence to speak will never understand unless you speak it back in a way they understand. The fact that leaders in government felt comfortable with attacking another government officer without repercussions speaks volumes to the arrogance and comfortability of doing so without repercussion.
They had no problem abusing the rights not only of African Americans, but also their northern neighbors by forcing them to comply with their evils institutionally. Someone quoted it before, but if you cut off all means of peaceful discussion/change, what is left? Violence is regrettable but sadly, for an entire culture built on the subjugation of other human beings who use violence to enforce their way, theres only one language they have chosen to understand, and it is violence.
And there are still people out there who claim that it was all “Northern Aggression”…
12 seconds in, and I didn't remember Senators Brooks and Sumners names, but the fact that he was specifically drawn with a cane told me exactly what event this was.