John Brown was a well know abolitionist who approved of the use of armed insurrection in order to abolish slavery in the United States. During the Bleeding Kansas conflicts, Brown and his sons led attacks on pro-slavery residents. It was his first known antislavery fight. Together with his sons, he organized attacks on pro-slavery leaders and resisted Southeners. In fact, they killed 5 men, but one of his sons was killed too. However, it was his raid on Harpers-Ferry that brought him fame. In 1857, Brown returned to the East in order to raise money for a mass uprising of slaves. He wanted to take the town's federal armory and start the mission of the slavery abolishment. He supported and sponsored six prominent abolitionists, known as the “Secret Six,” and assembled an invasion force. Brown created an “army” of 22 men, including five black men and three of his sons. Together, they rented a Maryland farm near Harpers Ferry to prepare for the assault.
On the night of October 16, 1859, Brown and his team overused their supplies of armes. They uncircled a few hostages, including several slaves. By the morning the “army” was surrounded by a company of U.S. marines, led by Colonel Robert E. Lee and Lieutenant J. E. B. Stuart. Ten of his men were killed, including two of his sons, Brown was wounded and captured.
News of the raid astonished he North and outraged the white South. Brown was convicted of treason.The 59-year-old abolitionist was found guilty and executed on December 2, 1859. In his last speech John Brown affirmed that his only aim was to free the slaves. He said “ In the first place, I deny everything but what I have all along admitted, the design on my part to free the slaves. I never did intend murder, or treason, or the destruction of property, or to excite or incite slaves to rebellion, or to make insurrection.” Even though Brown’s raid failed, it became an important impetus of the Civil War.
https://www.biography.com/activist/john-brown
https://www.history.com/topics/abolotionist-movement/john-brown
https://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/johnbrown.html
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-browns-raid-on-harpers-ferry https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/bleeding-kansas https://www.npr.org/2011/10/22/141564113/the-harpers-ferry-rising-that-hastened-civil-war
Super thorough and well-written article! I think it's interesting that he thought he could defeat the US army with a couple dozen men. According to ushistory.org, the raid lasted at most 36 hours which is really short considering how much of an impact the raid had on American history. It's crazy how an action this small would fuel such a large wave of fear in the South. I think this goes to show how the media also probably played a really big role in twisting the truth of what happened or over-exaggerating facts.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this post because I learned more about John Brown’s rise to fame and his raid on Harper's Ferry. Another interesting thing to note is how it changed the South’s view of the North. Some whites in the South began to think that all Northerners were like John Brown. Many in southern states thought that all Northerners were abolitionists like Brown. In the North, many people thought of Brown as a martyr because he was killed for advancing the abolitionist movement. Like you mentioned, the South was very fearful of Brown’s actions, and this increasing conflict only increased sectionalism in the United States.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.history.com/topics/abolotionist-movement/john-brown