John Brown (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859)

John Brown

Biographical Details

• (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) born in Connecticut and In 1805, the family moved to Hudson, Ohio
• At the age of 16, John Brown left his family and went to Plainfield, Massachusetts, where he enrolled in a preparatory program
• In 1831, one of his sons died. Brown fell ill, and his businesses began to suffer, leaving him in terrible debt. In the summer of 1832, shortly after the death of a new-born son
• In 1846, Brown and his business partner Simon Perkins moved to the ideologically progressive city of Springfield, Massachusetts. In Springfield, Brown found a community whose white leadership – from the community’s most prominent churches, to its most wealthy businessmen, to its most popular politicians, to its local jurists, and even to the publisher of one of the nation’s most influential newspapers – were deeply involved and emotionally invested in the anti-slavery movement.
• While in Springfield, as Brown learned more about abolitionism and the Underground Railroad, he also learned more about the region's mercantile elite, knowledge which while initially a 'curse', proved ultimately to be a 'blessing' to Brown's later activities in Kansas and at Harper's Ferry.
• He was brought up by very religious parents who were severely opposed to slavery and that is the origins of his drive to kill slavery.

Views on Slavery

• Believed armed insurrection was the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery in the united states
• represented the wishes of the republican arty to end slavery
• He believed that peaceful resistance of slavery had proved to be ineffective and therefore more drastic measures had to be taken to end the system. He stated, ""These men are all talk. What we need is action—action!"
• Fiery and stringent abolitionist who had means to end slavery with violence if other tactics were not to work
• This could prove costly as John Brown may not have essential motives such as the preservation of the union and whether his violent actions would have consequences such as this.

Tactics

• Pottawatomie massacre in May 1856 in response to the raid of the "Free soil" city of Lawrence where Brown and his supporters killed 5 pro-slavery southerners.
• this further fuelled the fire which was to be bleeding Kansas
• 1859, Brown led raid on the federal armoury at Harper's Ferry. Although the initial attack was successful, within 36 hours, his men had fled or been captured and Brown was sentenced to death by hanging.
• In 1850, he opposed the new fugitive slave act passed through the 1850 compromise through his organisation the league of Gileadities who he instructed to act "quickly and quietly" to protect slaves that escaped to Springfield
• He also had some involvement with the underground Railroad
• However, he did not receive too much support from other known abolitionists such as Garrison and Douglass as they did not believe his violent approach to the topic was correct and therefore did not wish to support him in his quests such as the battle of Black Jack and the battle of Osawatomie.  
• Historians agree John Brown played a major role in the start of the Civil War.

Achievements

• As John Brown in 1855 found from family in the territory that free slavers were in no position to defend themselves against the strong military force of the south, he headed west and was able to find financial and artillery support from his home town of Ohio which would aid him I battle against southern ruffians.
• Historians agree John Brown played a major role in the start of the Civil War.