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John Brown (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) was a prominent leader in the American abolitionist movement in the decades preceding the Civil War.First reaching national prominence in the 1850s for his radical abolitionism and fighting in Bleeding Kansas, Brown was captured, tried, and executed by the Commonwealth of Virginia for a raid and incitement of a slave rebellion at Harpers Ferry in 1859.
May 9, 2024 · John Brown (born May 9, 1800, Torrington, Connecticut, U.S.—died December 2, 1859, Charles Town, Virginia [now in West Virginia]) was a militant American abolitionist whose raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now in West Virginia ), in 1859 made him a martyr to the antislavery cause and was instrumental in heightening ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Early Life
- Family and Financial Problems
- Timbuctoo
- Bleeding Kansas
- Harpers Ferry
- John Brown's Raid
- John Brown's Fort
- Robert E. Lee and The Marines
- John Brown's Body
- Sources
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Brown was born on May 9, 1800, in Torrington, Connecticut, the son of Owen and Ruth Mills Brown. His father, who was in the tannery business, relocated the family to Ohio, where the abolitionist spent most of his childhood. The Brown family’s new home of Hudson, Ohio, happened to be a key stop on the Underground Railroad, and Owen Brown became acti...
Initially, Brown’s business ventures were very successful, but by the 1830s his finances took a turn for the worse. It didn’t help that he lost his wife and two of his children to illness at the time. He relocated the family business and his four surviving children to present-day Kent, Ohio. However, Brown’s financial losses continued to mount, alt...
By 1850, he had relocated his family again, this time to the Timbuctoo farming community in the Adirondack region of New York State. Abolitionist leader Gerrit Smith was providing land in the area to Black farmers—at that time, owning land or a house enabled Black men to vote. Brown bought a farm there himself, near Lake Placid, New York, where he ...
Brown’s first militant actions as part of the abolitionist movement didn’t occur until 1855. By then, two of his sons had started families of their own, in the western territory that eventually became the state of Kansas. His sons were involved in the abolitionist movement in the territory, and they summoned their father, fearing attack from pro-sl...
By early 1859, Brown was leading raids to free enslaved people in areas where forced labor was still in practice, primarily in the present-day Midwest. At this time, he also met Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, activists and abolitionists both, and they became important people in Brown’s life, reinforcing much of his ideology. With Tubman, wh...
The operation began on October 16, 1859, with the planned capture of Colonel Lewis Washington, a distant relative of George Washington, at the former’s estate. The Washington family continued to own enslaved people. A group of men, led by Owen Brown, was able to kidnap Washington, while the rest of the men, with John Brown at the lead, began a raid...
Brown’s men were able to capture several local slaveowners but, by the end of the day on October 16, local townspeople began to fight back. Early the next morning, they raised a local militia, which captured a bridge crossing the Potomac River, effectively cutting off an important escape route for Brown and his compatriots. Although Brown and his m...
Late in the afternoon of October 17, 1859, President James Buchanan ordered a company of Marines under the command of Brevet Colonel (and future Confederate General) Robert E. Leeto march into Harpers Ferry. The next morning, Lee attempted to get Brown to surrender, but the latter refused. Ordering the Marines under his command to attack, the milit...
Lee and his men arrested Brown and transported him to the courthouse in nearby Charles Town, where he was imprisoned until he could be tried. In November, a jury found Brown guilty of treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia. Brown was hanged on December 2, 1859, at the age of 59. Among the witnesses to his execution were Lee and the actor and ...
American Battlefield Trust. “John Brown’s Harpers Ferry Raid.” Battlefields.org. Bordewich, F.M. (2009). “John Brown’s Day of Reckoning.” Smithsonianmag.com. “John Brown.” PBS.org.
John Brown was a leading figure in the abolitionist movement in the pre-Civil War United States. He advocated for the destruction of slavery by any means, including violent actions, and led a raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859 that failed and resulted in his execution.
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John Brown was a radical abolitionist who led a raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859 to free slaves and spark a slave insurrection. He was captured, tried and hanged for his actions, which divided the nation and foreshadowed the Civil War.
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Apr 2, 2014 · John Brown was a 19th-century militant abolitionist who led a raid on the Harpers Ferry federal armory in 1859, hoping to inspire a slave insurrection. He was executed for his actions, which sparked a debate over slavery and the future of the country.
Apr 21, 2024 · John Brown was a radical abolitionist who led a raid on a federal arsenal in 1859, sparking the Civil War. Learn about his life, family, business failures, and involvement in the Underground Railroad and the Pottawatomie Massacre.
John Brown was a radical abolitionist who seized the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in 1859, sparking the Civil War. Learn about his life, actions, and legacy in this article by Elisa De Togni.
