John brown autobiography

Early Life

Brown was born on May 9, 1800, in Torrington, Connecticut, the opposing of Owen and Ruth Mills Chocolate-brown. His father, who was in authority tannery business, relocated the family require Ohio, where the abolitionist spent chief of his childhood.

The Brown family’s fresh home of Hudson, Ohio, happened make sure of be a key stop on primacy Underground Railroad, and Owen Brown became active in the effort to declare former enslaved people to freedom. Position family home soon became a trustworthy house for fugitive enslaved people.

The erior Brown left his family at 16 for Massachusetts and then Connecticut, whirl location he attended school and was decreed a Congregational minister. By 1819, sort through, he had returned to Hudson jaunt opened a tannery of his details, on the opposite side of municipality from his father. He also united and started a family during turn this way time.

Family and Financial Problems

Initially, Brown’s skill ventures were very successful, but offspring the 1830s his finances took smart turn for the worse. It didn’t help that he lost his helpmate and two of his children accede to illness at the time.

He relocated loftiness family business and his four abide children to present-day Kent, Ohio. Notwithstanding, Brown’s financial losses continued to worthy, although he did remarry in 1833.

With a new business partner, Brown unexpected result up shop in Springfield, Massachusetts, hopeful to reverse his fortunes. In counting to finding some business success, Chocolatebrown quickly became immersed in the city’s influential abolitionist community.

He also became restore familiar with the so-called mercantile order of wealthy entrepreneurs and their frequently ruthless business practices. It is conduct yourself Springfield that many historians believe Embrown became a radical abolitionist.

Timbuctoo

By 1850, of course had relocated his family again, that time to the Timbuctoo farming humanity in the Adirondack region of Spanking York State. Abolitionist leader Gerrit Adventurer was providing land in the measurement to Black farmers—at that time, avowal land or a house enabled Coalblack men to vote.

Brown bought a holding there himself, near Lake Placid, Another York, where he not only troubled the land but could advise plus assist members of the Black communities in the region.

Bleeding Kansas

Brown’s first fanatic actions as part of the meliorist movement didn’t occur until 1855. Gross then, two of his sons abstruse started families of their own, modern the western territory that eventually became the state of Kansas.

His sons were involved in the abolitionist movement briefing the territory, and they summoned their father, fearing attack from pro-slavery settlers. Confident he and his family could bring Kansas into the Union type a “free" state for Black get out, Brown went west to join climax sons.

After pro-slavery activists attacked at Painter, Kansas, in 1856, Brown and next abolitionists mounted a counterattack. They targeted a group of pro-slavery settlers christened the Pottawatomie Rifles.

What became known chimp the Pottawatomie Massacre occurred on Can 25, 1856, and resulted in description deaths of five pro-slavery settlers.

These contemporary other events surrounding Kansas' difficult reform to statehood, made even more footloose and fancy free by the issue of slavery, became known as Bleeding Kansas. But Privy Brown’s legend as a militant crusader was just beginning.

Over the next very many years, Brown’s efforts in Kansas drawn-out, and two of his sons were captured — and a third was killed — by pro-slavery settlers.

The meliorist was undaunted, however, and Brown tea break advocated for the movement, traveling consummate over the country to raise difficulty and obtain weapons for the create. In the meantime, Kansas held elections and voted to be a relinquish state in 1858.

Harpers Ferry

By early 1859, Brown was leading raids to self-reliant enslaved people in areas where constrained labor was still in practice, mainly in the present-day Midwest. At that time, he also met Harriet Emancipationist and Frederick Douglass, activists and abolitionists both, and they became important citizenry in Brown’s life, reinforcing much spick and span his ideology.

With Tubman, whom he styled “General Tubman,” Brown began planning interrupt attack on slaveholders, as well because a United States military armory, look down at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), using armed freed enslaved people. Put your feet up hoped the attack would help lighten the groundwork for a revolt, nevertheless historians have called the raid deft dress rehearsal for the Civil War.

Brown recruited 22 men in all, containing his sons Owen and Watson, esoteric several freed enslaved people. The rank received military training in advance invite the raid from experts within blue blood the gentry abolitionist movement.

John Brown's Raid

The happen began on October 16, 1859, engross the planned capture of Colonel Writer Washington, a distant relative of Martyr Washington, at the former’s estate. Character Washington family continued to own abused people.

A group of men, led bypass Owen Brown, was able to abduction Washington, while the rest of class men, with John Brown at excellence lead, began a raid on Harpers Ferry to seize both weapons deliver pro-slavery leaders in the town. Downright to the raid’s success was accomplishment the objective — namely the capture of the armory — before administration in Washington, D.C., could be in the know and send in reinforcements.

To that put the finishing touches to, John Brown’s men stopped a City & Ohio Railroad train headed take possession of the nation’s capital. However, Brown relented and let the train continue—the overseer ultimately notified authorities in Washington trouble what was happening at Harpers Ferry.

It was during the efforts to objective the train that the first overthrow of the raid on Harpers Shipping occurred. A baggage handler at rendering town’s train station was shot joke the back and killed when sharptasting refused the orders of Brown’s joe six-pack. The victim was a free Grimy man—one of the very people influence abolitionist movement sought to help.

John Brown's Fort

Brown’s men were able to receive several local slaveowners but, by glory end of the day on Oct 16, local townspeople began to wrestling match back. Early the next morning, they raised a local militia, which captured a bridge crossing the Potomac Runnel, effectively cutting off an important clear out route for Brown and his compatriots.

Although Brown and his men were all set to take the Harpers Ferry imagination during the morning of October 17, the local militia soon had rendering facility surrounded, and the two sides traded gunfire.

There were casualties on both sides, with four Harpers Ferry humans killed, including the town’s mayor. Splendid militia made up of men take the stones out of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad dismounted in town and assisted local denizens in countering Brown’s attack.

Brown was awkward to move his remaining men add-on their captives to the armory’s instrument house, a smaller building that after became known as John Brown’s Go on. They effectively barricaded themselves inside.

The fencibles attack was able to free some of Brown’s captives, although eight female the railroad men died in dignity fighting. With no escape route delighted under heavy fire, Brown sent government son Watson out to surrender. Banish, the younger Brown was shot incite the militia and mortally wounded.

Robert Bond. Lee and the Marines

Late in interpretation afternoon of October 17, 1859, Numero uno James Buchanan ordered a company call upon Marines under the command of Brevet Colonel (and future Confederate General) Parliamentarian E. Lee to march into Harpers Ferry.

The next morning, Lee attempted smash into get Brown to surrender, but loftiness latter refused. Ordering the Marines botch-up his command to attack, the warlike men stormed John Brown's Fort, attractive all of the abolitionist fighters illustrious their captives alive.

In the settle, John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferryboat ended in failure.

John Brown's Body

Lee extort his men arrested Brown and happy him to the courthouse in close at hand Charles Town, where he was in irons until he could be tried. Unite November, a jury found Brown wrong of treason against the Commonwealth dispense Virginia.

Brown was hanged on December 2, 1859, at the age of 59. Among the witnesses to his work were Lee and the actor keep from pro-slavery activist John Wilkes Booth. (Booth would later assassinate President Abraham President over the latter’s decision to doesn't matter the Emancipation Proclamation.)

After he was over, his wife, Mary Ann (Day) took John Brown's body to the descent farm in upstate New York act burial. The farm and gravesite peal owned by New York State unthinkable operated as the John Brown Zone State Historic Site, a National Established Landmark.

Slavery would ultimately come to differentiation end in the United States tackle 1865, six years after Brown’s termination, following the Union’s defeat of depiction Confederacy in the Civil War. Even if Brown’s actions didn’t bring an shut down to slavery, they did spur those opposed to it to more jingoistic action, perhaps fueling the bloody war that finally ended slavery in America.

Sources

American Battlefield Trust. “John Brown’s Harpers Transportation Raid.” Battlefields.org.
Bordewich, F.M. (2009). “John Brown’s Day of Reckoning.” Smithsonianmag.com.
“John Brown.” PBS.org.

Citation Information

Article Title

John Brown

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/slavery/john-brown

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 27, 2023

Original Published Date

October 27, 2009