John Brown

“The greatest white man I ever knew”

Harriet Tubman

refered to tubman as

general tubman

“Began the war to end slavery”

Fredrick Douglas

Brown encouraged Douglas to

sign on as president of “provisional Government”

born in ____ but moved to ___-

Conneticut, frotnier (Kansas)

how old was he at the time

59; super skinny

More comfrotable with these people rather than white people

african Americans and native americnas

he was a failed

businessman

• NY state african American sanctuary

his catylist

Elijah Lovejoy

1850s and brown

• Die for the cause

• Fug Slav Law

• Bleeding Kansas fighting

• defeat Ssatan and legions

• Charles Sumner (MA) beaten unconscious out of senate by a SC

May 1856; Lawrence, Kansas

• Pro slavery raiders sack a town in an orgy of burning and looting

• Catylist for John Brown

• tired of hearing the work “caution'“

pottawatomie Creek massacre

• Retaliation to Lawrence

• hacked 5 pro-slavery to death with cutlasses

• no regrets: God is the judge

• in response to Sumner

• terrorist attack

• take fight to “Africa” (this is south; whatttttt)

Effects: repreisals, border ruffians burned Hamlets, abandoned Farms, son Fredtrick shot.

Pre-Ferry, he was involved in

• Pottawatomic Creek Massacre

  • wanted for 5 counts of murder; on the run for 4 years

• Bleeding Kansas

Funded by

The secret 6: Nothern Abolitionists; as well as supported by many transcendentalists (Ralph Waldo Emerson and Victor Hugo)

Had meetings in

Canada (to plan his ways) and Clandestine (Tubman sick)

Other meetings called Union Meetings

• Boston

• NY

• Philidelphia

two groups of common people against slavery

• workingmen

  • take jobs

• businessmen

Harpers Ferry (October 16th 1859)

• biggest US arsonal containing 20,000 ammunition

• most heavily industrialized towns south of Mason-Dixie Line

• a group of 21 abolitionsist including Brown, Kansas gurrila warfare vetrans, his sons (watson and Oliver), fugative slaves (charleston SC, Virgina), AA from (Oberlin college), quaker brothers from Iowa, men from (CT, PA, IN)

• GOAL: There was so much money invested in slaves, a panic would devalue slaves and collapse the slave economy; free all in the state

• in protest of the federal governments support of slavery

What state was HF

Virginia; came acrosse covered railway from Maryland'

• 61mi NW of D.C.

• junction of Potomac and Shenadoah rivers

• cosmopolitan town with Irish and Geman immigrants + Yankees

• 3000

  • 300AA

  • 18000 slaves

The HF plan

• So hyped about Subtereannean passway this is next step

• Break into the armonry; Arm a bunch of AA and then put them on the Appalacian trail

  • no one comes and they’re trapped

  • no escape route, no rations

• send faction out to take prominent slave owners

  • Col. lewis Washington: great grandnephew of Washingoton

the opps pour in

• local white militias

  • like national guard

• Jefferson guards (Chalestown)

  • blue

• Fredrick Maryland; Martinsburg Sheperdtown Virginia

Surrounded men who held out in the engine house

first casulalty

Hayward Shepherd: free black man who challenged Brown

attempts at peace

• William Thompson (NY)

  • white flag

  • cease-fire

  • captured

  • after mayor Fontaine Beckham died, dragged out by mob as he begged for his life he was shot and tossed into Potomac

• Aaron Stevens

  • white flag

  • shot 4x

  • arrested

At the end of 36 hours

• It was all over

• Dead: 10 total Kagi, Leary, Leeman(potshots) Oliver

  • 4 townspeople

  • more than dozen militiamen

  • all browns kids

• Prisioners: 5

• Escaped: 5 North/Canada ; Osborne Anderson and Alner Hazlett escaped out the back to MA (Baltimore); Hazlett and other people left to defend supplies captured in PA and sent back to VA

Victor Hugo opinion

“America was a shining star of liberty, why execute ☹ “

• America is a great country

  • responsible for trial, verdict, and punsihment

great agent of civilization like France, England, and Germany

Queen of whole world

Glorious halo of freedom

Wrote: Hunchback of Notre Dame & Les miserables

northern newspapers

many denounced the raid; others a religious myrter

southern accusations

Republicans were framed as conspirisits.

• Lincoln speaks up and tells them to stop the cap yk its false

  • malicious

  • John Browns actions are peculiar suicide missions, its an absurd attempt at distinction

Entire north is John Brown sympathizers

what is important about date of harpers ferry

it is a year before the election

what did Tubman and Douglas think of HF

absoulutly outrageous: both called out sick

• Douglas: will fail

• Tubman:recruit young men for revolutionary army; infiltrate the countryside and go to his side when the time came like bees

  • if you fail, the underground railroad is destroyed and methods/people/tactics exposed

the effects of HF

• North:

  • “be 1000x more anti-slavery than before”

  • Brown becomes a religious myrter

• South:

  • unionized public opinion on slavery

  • Old Virginia scared shitless

  • South start preparing for the civil war early; militas and training 18 months before Fort Sumter we are alr declaring war

Buchanan’s opposition pulls up

90 Marines led by Robert E. Lee

• disdained abolistionists

• slave owner

• slavery sanctioned by god

Marine plan

• JEB Stuart: (eventually valvery commander) Lees flamboyant leutanant approached with a white flag in regular clothes. Knocked on door

• John Brown opens: asks to be allowed to retreat to MAryland

• Says no they’re going to be put on trial but protected from mob

• “Well than I guess we don’t agree”

• step aside “could have shot him as easily as a musquito”

• door didn't break a tfirst

• sword striked Brown in belt buckle and split

European Opinion

appalled by the public trial and execution; still thought America was great tho!

John Brown’s mantle was claimed by

• Malcolm X

• Timothy McVeigh

• Eugene Debs

• abortion protesters for violence

• HES STILL ALIVE IN AMERICAN SOUL

influence

• transformed the nation

• expetided the Civil war

• splintered democratic party

• scrambled Republican party leadership

• gave lincoln the support to win the election

originally the government beleived that the divide

would settle itself and we would told to compromise

Why was Brown called to this

• Calvinism: predestined to end slavery

  • sin against god

  • Him and Father Owen brown conductors

• profound lifelong empathy

• righteous punishment was instrument of divine

married life

married twice, 20 kids

Brown’s new home

• Gerrit Smith

  • live on land bestowed ot Black settlers in Northern NY

• Adirondack mountains

• “Subterranean pass way”

  • libarate more slaves than ever befire

  • Allegheny and Appalacians

  • underground railroad

confidence in subterreanean pass

Brought from Kansas to Detroit and across Detriot River to Canada.

1,500 mi in 82 days

charges

• 1st degree murder, treason, conspiring with to produce insureciton

  • all death penalty

• trial in Charlestown VA

• October 26th: guilty

• 12/2/59 killed

• “ I John rown am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land: will be purged away; but with blood”

• hanged

who watched JB die

• Thomas J. Jackson “Stonewall Jackson”

  • presbyrterian professor from VMI

  • bull run

• John Wilksoboth

  • southern nationalism

JB death compared to

crucification of Christ: angel of light

while JB’s body lies molding in grave

sould goes marching on

south’s pearl harbor

Harpers Ferry

souths biggest fear

slave insurection

Article

“John Brown’s day of reconning”

• Fergus M Bordewich

• Smithsoniam

• 2009

• 150 yrs after

callow

inexperienced

lionized

celebertized

espousing

supporting

mantle

leadership

chasm

break

draconian

harsh

orgy

excessive

reprisals

retaliation

diminutive

small

victor Hugo and John brown are both

contemproaries

the song about John brown becomes

Became Battle Hymn of the Republic and his truth marches on

Lincoln in the election 1860

• considered a moderate in the fleeting Republican party

• 40% of popular vote

  • 1 mill less than 3 opponent

• beat Republican candidate William Seward

  • reputation tarnished by abolitionist view

who agreed that John Brown should hang

Lincoln