Joe Hoffmann
Web Assignment 4
John Brown – Abolitionist
Background
John
Brown was an abolitionist
born on May 9, 1800 in Torrington
Connecticut. He was the second son of Owen Brown and Ruth Mills and grandson of Capt
John Brown. John Brown’s
father, Owen Brown, was a tanner and strict Calvinist who
hated slavery and taught his trade to his son. In turn, his son was raised to have a
negative outlook on slavery. When
he was sixteen John left his family and went to Plainfield Massachusetts
where he enrolled in high school. He
later transferred to an academy in Connecticut
but later when things started to go bad he returned home to Hudson, Ohio
where his family had previously moved.
He and his adopted brother started a successful tannery outside of
town. He later married Dianthe Lusk and had eight children. After one of his boys and his wife died
his business began to crumble and he fell ill. He was left in terrible debt. Brown married 16-year-old Mary Ann Day
and had thirteen children with her, not including the seven from his previous
marriage. He suffered great
financial losses in the economic Panic
of 1837 and was declared bankrupt in 1842.
John Brown
Life of an Abolitionist
Beginning
in his childhood Brown was a strong supporter of Anti-slavery. An passionate
abolitionist and a believer in the equality of the races, Brown settled with
five of his sons in Kansas
to help win the states freedom instead of becoming a slave state. On May 24, 1856 Brown and his followers took five Proslavery
settlers from their cabins on Pottawatomie Creek and hacked them to death with
broadswords. Brown denied being
part of the Pottawatomie Massacre but in the later years
of his life he admitted to it.
It is likely that John Brown is most well known for his raid on Harpers
Ferry. On October 16, 1859
Brown led eighteen men to the armory at Harpers Ferry
to capture 100,000 muskets and rifles stocked there. At first all went well, with only one
guard at the armory then went inside and took it over easily. They had cut the telegraph lines from to
and from the town so no telegraphs could be sent, but a train passing through
was able to spread the word to the next town that John Brown was planning on
arming slaves that would wreak havoc upon slavery in the surrounding area. Local farmers, shopkeepers, and militia
were able to keep Brown and his men trapped inside the armory until the Marines
were able to get to Harpers Ferry. The standoff ended such that Brown and
his men were defeated, and Brown lost two of his sons in the battle. When the marines offered Brown the
option to surrender, Brown replied he would rather die than surrender. Though Brown was not killed in the
standoff, he was eventually tried and sentenced to be hung in public.
John Brown, Person of Faith
We see through
John Browns actions how he was a person of Faith. Brown fought for the rights of slaves,
putting his own neck on the line multiple times. He lost two of his son’s while
fighting for his cause and he still did not give up. In the end Brown was hung for his
actions, many people today and then believed he was a Martyr.
Sources:
Wikipedia
PBS
NPR
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