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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 ...
- Owen Brown (father)
Feb 19, 2024 · 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
- 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
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.
- 2 min
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 tactics divided the nation and influenced the Civil War.
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 raid, his significance and his legacy.
Dec 17, 2017 · John Brown was a controversial abolitionist who tried to eradicate slavery through violent means. He led a raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry in 1859, but was captured and executed by the U.S. Army. Learn about his life, his role in the Civil War, and his legacy.
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Jan 12, 2024 · John Brown was an ardent abolitionist whose raid on the federal arsenal in October 1859 intensified the sectional dispute over slavery in the United States and hastened the nation toward civil war. At roughly 11 a.m. on December 2, 1859, authorities hanged John Brown for leading a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
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