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John Brown | |
|---|---|
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| Born | May 9, 1800 Torrington, Connecticut, United States |
| Died | December 2, 1859 Charles Town, Virginia, United States |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Nationality | Statesian |
| Known for | Revolutionary abolitionist |
John Brown was a Statesian abolitionist. He was executed in 1859 for attempting to start a slave rebellion.[1] He is known for his lifelong commitment to anti-slavery and decolonization of the United States.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Childhood and early life[edit | edit source]
John Brown was born on 9 May 1800 in Torrington, Connecticut. He was raised in a religious Calvinist family with anti-slavery views.[2] At the age of five, his family moved to Hudson, Ohio. During the War of 1812, he saw the cruel abuse of a young enslaved Black boy of his own age while driving cattle to the army. He later recounted that this experienced "led him to declare, or Swear Eternal war with Slavery."[3]
Adulthood[edit | edit source]
He moved away to Meadville, Pennsylvania in the 1820s to start his family, and started forging ties with the Indigenous tribes there. Every winter, natives from western New York would move to Meadville to hunt. On many occasions, the Browns welcomed the tribes, supplying them with food and provisions and hosting them at their home. One winter (though the year is not specified), local white families showed up armed with guns at John Brown's house, asking him to join them in driving off the Indigenous hunters from Meadville. He replied “I will have nothing to do with so mean an act. I would sooner take my gun and help drive you out of the country.”[4]
In 1837, Brown publicly declared his dedication to abolitionism after the murder of Elijah Lovejoy, an anti-slavery newspaper editor. He declared bankruptcy in 1842 after his business ventures failed, but still supported abolitionist causes materially, notably by serving as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. In 1849, he and his family moved to North Elba, New York, to live among a free Black farming community.[2]
In 1855, he followed five of his sons to the Kansas Territory, bringing with him a wagon laden with guns and ammunition to support anti-slavery settlers during "Bleeding Kansas," a violent civil war that would determine whether Kansas was to be a slaver or free state. He settled in Osawatomie and soon became the leader of antislavery guerillas in the area.[5] During that time, his family established friendly relationships with the Sac, Fox and Ottawa tribes.[4]
He also established the League of Gileadites, an organization to help runaway slaves escape to Canada in 1858.[2] That same year, he led a raid in Missouri, killing a slaveowner and freeing 11 enslaved people. He escorted them personally on the 82-day journey to Canada.[3]
Harpers Ferry raid and death[edit | edit source]
In 1859, he met with Frederick Douglass in Detroit to discuss plans for a slave rebellion. In the summer, Brown rented a farmhouse near Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia) where he trained a small group of guerillas.[3]
The plan of the raid was to seize weapons from the federal arsenal to arm enslaved people and spark a slave rebellion in the southern United States. On the night of October 16, Brown and a force of 21 men, including 5 Black men, moved into the town of Harpers Ferry. They successfully captured the arsenal, armory and engine house with little resistance. The guerilla force cut the telegraph wires to the arsenal and succeeded in capturing George Washington's great-grandnephew. However, Brown had made no escape plans and his force was quickly surrounded. Local militia and townspeople surrounded the arsenal, and gunfire was exchanged.[6]
By October 18, U.S. Marines and Robert E. Lee had made their way to the town and suppressed the rebellion. Brown was captured after two days of fighting in which ten of his men, including two of his sons, were killed. John Brown was executed in December of that same year by hanging in Charlestown, Virginia.[7] His final words to the court were:
Now if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice and MINGLE MY BLOOD FURTHER WITH THE BLOOD OF MY CHILDREN, and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments—I submit; so LET IT BE DONE![8]
Reference[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry" (2009-11-13). History.com. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
- ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Civil War | Biography: John Brown". Battlefields.
- ↑ Jump up to: 3.0 3.1 3.2 "John Brown Background Essay and Timeline". Bill of rights institute.
- ↑ Jump up to: 4.0 4.1 Louis Proyect (2020-12-05). "John Brown and the American Indian"
- ↑ "John Brown American abolitionist". Britannica.
- ↑ "32c. John Brown's Raid". U.S. History.
- ↑ "John Brown’s final speech, 1859". The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
- ↑ "Address of John Brown to the Virginia Court, when about to receive the sentence of death, for his heroic attempt at Harper's Ferry..." (December 1859). The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.