John
Brown was born on May 9th, 1800 in Torrington, Connecticut.
At age 5 he moved to Ohio and acquired a hatred
for the institution of slavery from his father.
When he was 12, he stayed with a Michigan family
who continuously beat their slaves. The image would
haunt Brown for the rest of his life. Brown soon
became a staunch abolitionist (an advocate for the
banning of slavery) and even started a school to
help educate young black people in 1834.
In
1855, John Brown followed five of his sons to "Bleeding
Kansas", where a number of abolitionists had
recently been murdered. Brown and his sons subsequently
murdered five slavery advocates at Pottawatomie,
Kansas on May 24, 1856. Brown and his sons immediately
became fugitives and withstood a mob of attacking
Missourians at Osawatomie. Brown's actions, together
with his stand at Osawatomie, made him a legendary
figure and a nationally recognized opponent of slavery.
When
Brown returned east, he formulated a plan to free
slaves by force. He had financial support from many
wealthy abolitionists in the northeast. Brown's
plan included a refuge for runaway slaves in the
mountains of Virginia. On October 16, 1859, John
Brown, his sons, and a small number of loyal supporters,
launched an attack against the federal arsenal at
Harper's Ferry, Virginia. The group easily took
the town and the arsenal. Brown however, failed
to launch any further offensives and took a defensive
position within the arsenal. Brown's group was quickly
surrounded by the local militia, and then, a day
later, by U.S. marines led by Robert E. Lee. The
ensuing battles resulted in the death of two of
his sons, his own injuries, and an unconditional
surrender.
As
a result of his actions, Brown was charged with
murder and treason. He was hanged at Charleston,
Virginia on December 2, 1859. Nevertheless, his
rebellion was one of the primary causes of the Civil
War. Many southern sympathizers believed Brown's
rebellion was a conspiracy against slavery advocates
of the south staged by the U.S. government. Others
feared Brown's rebellion would stage a slave insurrection.
For many years after his death, Brown was considered
a martyr and hero to the abolitionist cause.
