Debate ensued over how Brown should be viewed, deepening the divide between North and South and having profound implications for the direction of the country. Rented farmhouse near Harpers Ferry, W.Va. (formerly in Virginia), that served as the headquarters for John Brown and his armed band before they raided a federal armoury in 1859. They became known as the abolitionists. On April 14, 1865, actor John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln while he was watching the play 'Our American Cousin' at Ford Theater in Washington, D.C. Singer Bobby Brown, known for hits including "Don't Be Cruel" and "Humpin' Around," is also famous for his troubled marriage to Whitney Houston. John Brown was born May 9, 1800, in Torrington, Connecticut. John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry (formerly spelled Harper's Ferry) was an effort by abolitionist John Brown, from October 16 to 18, 1859, to initiate a slave revolt in Southern states by taking over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.It has been called the dress rehearsal for, or Tragic Prelude to, the Civil War. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. In 1805, the family moved to Hudson, Ohio, where Owen Brown opened a tannery. John Brown: Hero or Villain? If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Brown-American-abolitionist, Spartacus Educational - Biography of John Brown, National Park Service - Biography of John Brown, United States History - Biography of John Brown, Public Broadcating Service - The West - Biography of John Brown, Civil War Trust - Biography of John Brown, Encyclopedia Virginia - Biography of John Brown, John Brown - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), John Brown - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Militant American abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now in West Virginia), in 1859 that he hoped would spark a slave rebellion. Formerly enslaved Douglass was inspired by the white abolitionist’s passion, but they often butted heads, including over the raid at Harpers Ferry. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Although Brown failed to spark a general slave revolt, the high moral tone of his defense helped to immortalize him and to hasten the war that would bring emancipation. Long before the Harpers Ferry Raid, John Brown earned a measure of fame as the leader of antislavery guerrillas in Bleeding Kansas, the small civil war fought between proslavery and antislavery advocates for control of the new territory of Kansas. John Brown, Jr. was born July 25, 1821, in Hudson, Ohio. John Brown meets with Frederick Douglass and reveals his radical plan to raise an army, attack plantations and free the slaves. Moving about restlessly through Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York, Brown was barely able to support his large family in any of several vocations at which he tried his hand: tanner, sheep drover, wool merchant, farmer, and land speculator. Long a foe of slavery, Brown became obsessed with the idea of taking overt action to help win justice for enslaved Black people. Some of them had provided financial support for Brown’s efforts in Kansas, and they would back his next and most famous undertaking, too. It is a sad fact that most white Americans believed in the superiority of Ethan Hawke stars as abolitionist John Brown in this series based on the novel. John learned tannery from his father and became a foreman in the family’s tannery. Throughout the next day and night he and his men held out against the local militia, but on the following morning he surrendered to a contingency of troops under the command of Col. Robert E. Lee, including a small force of U.S. Marines that had broken into the armoury and overpowered Brown and his comrades. The Party. James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," was a prolific singer, songwriter and bandleader, as well as one of the most iconic figures in funk and soul music. Owen, John Brown's father, moved the family to Ohio and helped shelter escaped enslaved people in the Underground Railroad. Then, in 1849, Brown moved and settled in the Black community of North Elba, New York, which was created on land provided by philanthropist Gerrit Smith. From the earliest days of our nation’s history, there were those who were opposed to the practice of slavery and wanted to “abolish” it. … When the abolitionist John Brown seized the largest Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in October of 1859, he forced the citizens of the United States to reconsider the immorality of the institution of slavery and the injustices enforced by the government. After a six-day trial, a Virginia court convicted Brown of three capital offensesmurder, treason and conspiracy to incite a slave uprising. American abolitionist John Brown , who led the ill-fated raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, in which two of his sons were killed and he was... african-american heroes - john brown abolitionist stock illustrations. His father, Owen, a strict Calvinist, hated slavery and believed that holding humans in bondage was a … https://www.geni.com/people/John-Brown-Abolitionist/6000000003368592723 She was also a survivor of the sinking of the 'Titanic.'. In 1849 he settled his family in a Black community in North Elba, New York, on land donated by abolitionist Gerrit Smith. https://www.biography.com/activist/john-brown. John Brown relocated his large family frequently, moving restlessly through Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York and working as a tanner, sheep drover, wool merchant, farmer, and land speculator. John Brown and others inside the engine house of the Harpers Ferry armory just before the U.S. Marines stormed the building, 1859. He attempted to keep accurate records of his father's disorganized business proceedings in the 1840s and became a teacher later in life. Born in 1800 in Torrington, Connecticut, John Brown was living a relatively undistinguished life as a farmer, sheep drover and wool merchant until the 1837 murder of abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy. John Brown's marines storming an engine house during a raid at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He married Wealthy Hotchkiss in 1847. Brown worked in a number of vocations and moved around quite a bit from the 1820s to the 1850s, experiencing great financial difficulties. We strive for accuracy and fairness. First wife: 21 Jun 1820, Dianthe LUSK, widow of Amos Lusk. John Wilkes Booth, later Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, was present at the execution as a militiaman. Brown, who said that speeches, sermons, and petitions were accomplishing nothing, that "moral suasion is hopeless", saw violence as necessary if slavery in the United States were to be eliminated. John Brown, (born May 9, 1800, Torrington, Connecticut, U.S.—died December 2, 1859, Charles Town, Virginia [now in West Virginia]), 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 sectional animosities that led to the American Civil War (1861–65). John Brown was born in a Calvinist household and would go on to have a large family of his own. John Brown was born on May 9, 1800, in Torrington, Connecticut, to Ruth Mills and Owen Brown. Three days later he led a nighttime retaliatory raid on a proslavery settlement at Pottawatomie Creek, in which five men were dragged out of their cabins and hacked to death. John F. Kennedy, the 35th U.S. president, negotiated the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and initiated the Alliance for Progress. He attempted to keep accurate records of his father's disorganized business proceedings in the 1840s and became a teacher later in life. https://www.biography.com/news/john-brown-frederick-douglass-friendship John Brown was a 19th-century militant abolitionist known for his raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. Who Was John Brown? Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Several of his colleagues also petitioned that the courts should look at Brown's questionable mental state when it came to his actions. 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