The abolitionist was hanged 150 years ago today, and The New York Times has two interesting op-eds about him. In “The 9/11 of 1859,” Tony Horwitz calls John Brown a terrorist. In “Freedom’s Martyr,” David S. Reynolds calls him a hero and calls for his pardon.What do you call John Brown?

David Gibson is director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University and an occasional contributor to Commonweal.

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