John Brown:

Militant
Abolitionist
or
Terrorist?
"Though a white gentleman, [Brown]
is in sympathy a black man, and as
deeply interested in our cause, as
though his own soul had been
pierced with the iron of slavery."
Frederick Douglass

Why Brown Matters

With 21 men, Brown led a raid on a federal
armory in Harpers Ferry, VA in 1859.
His intent: to arm Blacks and antislavery
whites. By taking the armory with its
immense supply of ammunition, he
intended to spark a violent uprising that
would end slavery. He anticipated that
when word reached enslaved Blacks,
they would flock to join him. This did not
happen. Yet the attack may have been a
catalyst for the Civil War.

Prior Antislavery Actions

In 1854, Brown moved his family to Kansas not only to farm
and own land, but also to stake an antislavery claim on the
new territory. (Remember that the KansasNebraska Act of
1854 had left it to the settlers to decide the issue of
slavery. )
In 1851, he helped found the League of Gileadites, an
organization dedicated to helping fugitive slaves.
In 1855, he helped defend Lawrence, Kansas from a
proslavery attack. On May 21, 1856, the city was sacked and
burned by proslavery men while Brown was out of town.
He seeked revenge by killing 5 proslavery settlers along the
Pottawatomie River, with a band of free state guerrillas. At
the time, he denied participating in their murders.

Prior Antislavery Actions,

(Contd)
In March 1858, Brown was funded by
the Secret Six to prepare for his
raid to end slavery.
In December 1858, Brown invaded
Missouri, killed one slaveowner, freed
11 slaves, and successfully led the
slaves to freedom in Canada.

Perceptions of John Brown

during the Jacksonian Era
Abolitionists in the North began calling
him Old Ossawatomie or
Ossawatomie Brown.
With his gruff, bearded countenance, he
came to exemplify the radical religious
crusader fighting a holy war to end
slavery.
Few of his supporters realized the
violent extremes he went to in order to
fight slavery.
Frederick Douglass supported him, but
refused to work with him to plan the raid
on Harpers Ferry. "You're walking into a
perfect steel-trap and you will never get
out alive," he told Brown.

Details of the Raid on Harpers Ferry

Although he tried to amass an army, only 20
or so men actually committed themselves to
the raid after much recruitment, including
two of his sons. (One of his sons refused.)
His small band arrived at night and quickly
took over the armory. He could have run off
with the weapons and freed many slaves
nearby.
Instead, he waited for slaves to arrive to join
his uprising. This was a fatal miscalculation.

Details of Raid, Contd

While he waited for slaves to arrive, farmers
and townspeople surrounded the armory.
While waving a white flag, his two sons
were killed.
US marines and soldiers arrived the next
day, under the command of Col. Lee.
By the end of the raid, 10 men of Browns
were killed. Only 5 escaped.
Brown was wounded, tried, and hanged.

Why Brown Fascinates us:

Was he a terrorist?

What he had in common

with
terrorists/martyrs:
A desire to incite
armed conflict,
mayhem, or reaction.
Deep religious
conviction
A willingness to
sacrifice himself and

"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."
John Brown, speaking on
November 2, 1859 during his
sentencing.

Why Brown Does not Fit the Profile

of a Terrorist
Although he did kill
violent proslavery
men in Kansas, he
did not kill their
children or wives.
He did not destroy
property, order
killings, and he
treated hostages
with care during the
raid.

He did not work

anonymously. He let
people see his face
and know his
intentions.
Some argue that he
was not fighting
democratic institutions
in a free society; rather
there was no free
speech for abolitionists
in Kansas or Virginia.

One Way to Reflect on John Browns

Significance
From the epic poem, John Browns Body
by Stephen Vincent BentThe law's our hardstick, and it measures well, Or
well enough when there are yards to measure.
Measure a wave with it, measure a fire, Cut
sorrow up in inches, weigh content. You can
weigh John Brown's body well enough, But
how and in what balance weigh John Brown?
He had no gift for life, no gift to bring Life but his
body and a cutting edge, But he knew how to
die.

Bibliography
Banks, Russell. Cloudsplitter. 1st Ed. New York: HarperCollins
Publishers, 1998. Print.
Finkelman, Paul. "John Brown: America's First Terrorist? "
Prologue Magazine. Spring 2011: n. page. Web. 30 Jul. 2012.
<http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2011/spring/
brown.html>.
Horwitz, Tony. "The 9/11 of 1859 ." New York Times [New York]
1 Dec 2009, New York Edition A35. Web. 30 Jul. 2012.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/02/opinion/02horwitz.htm
l?_r=1&ref=opinion>.
Louwen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your
American History Textbook Got Wrong . New York:
Touchstone, 1995. Chapter 6. Print.