Justice: To Each Its Own

             The idea of what constitutes justness played a major role in the events leading up to the Civil War. All people living in the United States saw what was fair and just differently depending on if the state was considered free or a slave state. With two majorly conflicting viewpoints it was inevitable for a major clash to occur, but it is interesting to see how “justness” is used to defend both a Northerner and Southerners’ viewpoint. In John Brown’s final speech he states “Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments, I say let it be done.” I believe that in this time period this was a very bold statement. Essentially, in Brown’s last words he does not apologize for the many lives he and his followers took at Harper’s Ferry, but see it as an opportunity to further continue the abolitionist cause and bring freedom and justice to all enslaved peoples. His statement is also strange, because his attack on Harper’s Ferry is considered to be one of the most heinous crimes and greatest battles of bloodshed leading up to the war and yet he has absolutely no remorse. He defends his actions by stating that he did not kill out of malice or evil temptations but it was from the justness and fairness that he believes God intends all Americans to have.

            In contrast, Jefferson Davis, defends the succession of the confederate states from the Northern states as fair and just because they were encroaching on the rights of southerners and the government was no longer looking out for their best interest. “The declared purposes of the compact of Union from which we have withdrawn were to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, to provide for the common defense, to promote the general welfare and to secure the blessing of liberty for ourselves and our prosperity; and when in the judgment of the sovereign States now compromising this Confederacy it had perverted from the purposes for which it was ordained […] it should cease to exist.” In this speech I believe that a Southerner would greatly agree with Davis. The government is set two enforce the laws and customs of the states; however they felt as though the government was hurting them because they were trying to eliminate the southern livelihood, which was based upon the slaves working the plantations. Second, Davis defends the succession because by staying “united” would not establish justice for the plantation owners or promote the general welfare, as they would be out of the job. Overall, it is interesting how justice is a term that can be so socially formed. Additionally, it is interesting that one of the main contributing factors to the Civil War were fighting for justice and the interest of different states.