Born in Torrington, Connecticut, John Brown (1800-1859) emerged from a deeply religious family staunchly opposed to slavery. His upbringing instilled in him a fervent abolitionist spirit that would define his life and actions. Brown’s life journey took him through various states including Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York, often relocating with his large family which eventually included twenty children from two marriages.
Despite his strong moral convictions, Brown faced numerous setbacks in his early career, experiencing failures in multiple business ventures that culminated in bankruptcy in 1842. However, his commitment to the anti-slavery cause remained unwavering. He actively supported the Underground Railroad, assisting runaway slaves in their escape to freedom, and founded the League of Gileadites, an organization dedicated to aiding self-emancipated people seeking refuge in Canada. In 1849, Brown further solidified his commitment by moving to North Elba, New York, a community established for free Black farmers.
At 55, John Brown’s activism took a more radical turn when he moved to the volatile Kansas Territory with his sons. Fueled by outrage over the pro-slavery sacking of Lawrence, Kansas, Brown led a small group to Pottawatomie Creek on May 24, 1856. In a brutal act, they forcibly removed and murdered five unarmed men and boys perceived to be advocates for slavery. This event was followed by a raid into Missouri where Brown and his group freed eleven enslaved people and killed their owner.
Following the violent episodes in Kansas, Brown dedicated the next two and a half years to fundraising across New England, seeking support to escalate his anti-slavery efforts in the South. By 1859, under the alias Isaac Smith, he rented a farmhouse near Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia). This Kennedy Farmhouse became the base where Brown trained his army of 21 men and meticulously planned the seizure of the Federal Arsenal at Harpers Ferry. His strategy involved arming local enslaved people with pikes and rifles, believing they would join his ranks, ignite a larger rebellion, and spread the fight for freedom southward through the Appalachian Mountains, creating widespread fear among slaveholders.
On October 16, 1859, John Brown launched his raid on the Harpers Ferry Arsenal. However, his plan quickly unraveled. Enslaved people in the area did not rally to his cause, and local militia, along with United States Marines led by Colonel Robert E. Lee, swiftly suppressed the raid. Most of Brown’s men were killed or captured, including two of his sons. Tragically, the first casualty of the raid was Hayward Shepherd, a free Black man working for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
Despite sustaining serious injuries, John Brown was swiftly brought to trial and convicted of murder, inciting slave insurrection, and treason against Virginia.
Upon hearing his sentence, Brown declared to the court:
“…if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments–I submit; so let it be done!”
Brown asserted that his intention was to achieve his goals “without the snapping of a gun on either side.” However, his actions, marked by violence in both Kansas and Harpers Ferry, resulted in the deaths of innocent individuals. The nation was deeply divided in its response. Abolitionists largely hailed him as a hero, while slaveholders condemned him as a criminal. Many across the spectrum, regardless of their stance on slavery, criticized Brown’s resort to violence.
John Brown was hanged on December 2, 1859. In a final, prescient message handed to his jailer, he wrote:
“Charlestown, Va, 2nd, December, 1859
I John Brown am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty, land: will never be purged away; but with Blood. I had as I now think: vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed; it might be done.”
Within a year of his execution, the first Southern state seceded from the Union, setting the stage for the American Civil War. John Brown’s legacy remains complex and debated, a symbol of radical abolitionism and a figure whose actions intensified the divisions leading to the nation’s bloodiest conflict.
