A Plea for Captain John Brown

Consider the way Thoreau reframes accusations that Brown had mental illness. How does he prove Brown’s rationality, and how does he flip the accusation around on Brown’s critics?

Thoreau believed one could only truly live by acting in accordance with one’s own uncompromising, transcendent values. How does this view of transcendentalism justify Brown’s actions?

Analyze the imagery of violence in the speech. For example, Thoreau dismisses the effects of the pacifist tactics of abolitionist leaders such as William Lloyd Garrison as “philanthropy that neither shoots me nor liberates me” (57). Why does Thoreau use the gun metaphor here? How else does he deploy violent descriptions and why?

Thoreau makes multiple references to Cromwell throughout the text. Why does Thoreau include these allusions? Does comparing Brown to Cromwell complicate Thoreau’s critique that his countrymen “dream of foreign countries, of other times” (27)?

To what contemporary issues can Thoreau’s theory on the use of moral violence be applied? Is his argument still valid? Why or why not?

Why is it so important to Thoreau’s argument that Brown acted not to “gratify any personal animosity, revenge, or vindictive spirit” (45)? If Brown had acted out of anger or on emotional impulse, would that affect the morality of his actions in opposition to the institution of slavery?

Thoreau points out that even principled pacifists would support a man defending others from thieves or murderers. How does Thoreau use this position to undermine their acquiescence to slavery?

Examine how Thoreau distinguishes between the Christian Church of his time and the ideals of Christianity he believes Brown embodies.