Braxton Underwood is the editor of The Maycomb Tribune. He doesn't like black people, but he is a proponent for fair trials against lying petitioners like Bob Ewell. In chapter 15, Braxton Underwood, Link Deas and Sheriff Tate go to talk to Atticus about the night before Tom Robinson's trial. Scout is shocked to see Mr. Underwood involved with others in the community and visiting Atticus because he usually sits in his office and lets the news come to him. Scout even says, "Something must have been up to haul Mr. Underwood out" (148). This suggests that Mr. Underwood is acting out of character for some unknown reason.
Later, Scout discovers that while the Cunninghams show up to break Tom out of jail to lynch him, Mr. Underwood has a shotgun aimed out his office window to cover Atticus. This is a very courageous thing to do because it was highly possible that Underwood would have been called upon to shoot a human being had the kids not shown up and saved Atticus. Shooting a man isn't like shooting a mad dog as Atticus did in chapter ten. If push came to shove, Mr. Underwood would have been forced to shoot someone in order to save Atticus and Tom from a mob. Standing up against a mob and being prepared to shoot a man if necessary is no easy thing to do. Mr. Underwood could have turned his head, and his gun, away from the situation. Surprisingly, he didn't do that. He stands up for what is right even though he probably doesn't like either Bob or Tom in the situation.
It is also courageous because if Mr. Underwood had killed a Cunningham, he could have been faced with an uprising from the whole clan against his person and not only against his newspaper. He really put himself on the line for justice.
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