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John Brown (abolitionist) / 44.252240; -73.971799. Involvement in Bleeding Kansas; Raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia. John Brown (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) was a prominent leader in the American abolitionist movement in the decades preceding the Civil War.
- Owen Brown (father)
- 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
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
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.
Learn about John Brown, a leading figure in the abolitionist movement who advocated for violent action against slaveholders and the government. Explore his life, his involvement in Bleeding Kansas and Harpers Ferry raid, and his legacy.
- 2 min
2 days ago · John Brown, militant American abolitionist and veteran of Bleeding Kansas whose raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859 and subsequent execution made him an antislavery martyr and was instrumental in heightening sectional animosities that led to the American Civil War.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Learn about the life and actions of John Brown, a radical abolitionist who led a raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. Find out how his violent anti-slavery campaign influenced the Civil War and the nation.
Apr 2, 2014 · John Brown was a 19th-century militant abolitionist who led an unsuccessful raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. He believed in using violent means to end slavery and was executed for his actions. Learn about his life, his early activism, his raid on Harpers Ferry and his legacy.
Apr 21, 2024 · Learn about John Brown, an ardent abolitionist who led a raid on a federal arsenal in 1859 and was hanged for his actions. Explore his early life, business failures, family, and involvement in the Underground Railroad and the Bleeding Kansas conflict.
John Brown was a 19th-century abolitionist who led a raid on a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in 1859, sparking the Civil War. Learn about his life, his motives, his legacy and the impact of his violent act on American history and culture.
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