Answer:
John Brown would best be classified as an agitator.
Explanation:
John Brown was an American abolitionist who believed and advocated armed insurrection as the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States. He was a focus of attention when he led small groups of volunteers during the Bleeding Kansas crisis of 1856. He was dissatisfied with the pacifism of the organized abolitionist movement. In May 1856, Brown and his supporters killed five supporters of slavery in the massacre of Pottawatomie, which was the response to the plundering of Lawrence by pro-slavery forces. Brown commanded the anti-slavery forces at the Battle of Black Jack (June 2) and the Battle of Osawatomie (August 30).
In 1859 Brown led an incursion into the federal armory of Harpers Ferry to initiate a liberation movement among the slaves there. He intended to arm the slaves with weapons from the arsenal, but the attack failed; he seized the arsenal, but seven people died and ten or more were injured. In 36 hours, Brown's men had fled or been assassinated or captured by local peasants, militias and US military led by Robert E. Lee. He was tried by treason against the state of Virginia, the murder of five men, and incitement to an insurrection of slaves; He was considered guilty of all charges, and he was hanged at Charles Town that same year.
