Vicky Wu

HST 2201

Professor Ciment

7 December 2022

John Brown

John Brown was born May 9, 1800 in Torrington, Connecticut. In a family of four consisting

of his mother, father, and sister Florella Brown Adair. In the early years of Browns life he grew

up in a religious household, Brown's family was heavily religious and because of that Brown

grew up in a religious household and many set views such as the views Browns father had.

Brown’s father was very opposed to the idea of slavery and because of that brown grew up with a

mindset of opposing slavery and it formed how he took actions in life as a early adult. At the age

of 5 Browns family later on moved to Ohio, they moved to Ohio as it was an antislavery state

and as it was a very known district for having their antislavery views. As Brown grew up in the

early ages of adulthood he went around mainly going from job to job, such as a farmer, wool

merchant, tanner, and land speculator, doing and learning anything to earn money, however even

with coupious amounts of experiences and knowledge in Browns whole life, he was unable to

succeed in gaining a lot of money, never to ever be financially successful, even to the point that

in his fourties’ Brown was forced to file for bankruptcy because of the fact he couldn’t support

his family as he didn’t have enough money to help them all, especially since he fathered around

20 kids in his life. Although, the lack of being finically well never put a hold on Browns help and

many acts for slaves and even participated in multiple key major events that support and helped

slaves. At one point in Brown's life he and his wife took on the responsibility to allow in a black
youth to raise as their own. Brown helped slaves in many ways and such ways were like the

funding of the publication of David Walker's Appeal and Henry Highland's "Call to Rebellion"

speech and the participation in the Underground Railroad that slaves would use to run away from

their captors, even helping to establish the League of Gileadites in 1851, which was a community

that supported slaves to hide away and never get caught again by slave owners. Along in his

many adventures in helping slaves, with the hopes of freeing them all one day, Brown met

multiple different people and one being Fredrick Douglass. In 1847 Brown met Douglass and

Doug could only describe Brown as a white gentleman who can feel and understand and

sympathize with the sufferings of a black man from the amount of interest Brown always

portrayed. Brown met Douglass to explain and let him in on his plan to lead a war that would

help further his plan in freeing the slaves. Brown moved once again in 1849, he moved to a

black community in North Elba, New York. Thanks to a man named Gerrit Smith whom donated

50 acres of land to black families, black families were able to make a community and allowed

black families to be able to clear and farm on the land, but were having a rough time in knowing

how to so, Brown knowing these families were struggling to do so, started his own farm to show

an example to the others and allow them to view his act as a kind father representative.

Although Brown was always contributing things for slaves and black communities, his actions

were not yet recognized and respected because it was unknown to most as it was not too drastic

and more of a downlow help, until 1855 where Brown had went and followed five of his sons

that were traveling to the Kansas territory, and in Kansas Brown became a leader of antislavery

guerillas, to which they then fought against proslavery people. Brown fighting proslavery settlers

he had gone into one of their towns and killed 5 of them. His sons would stay in Missouri and

continue to fight the rest of the year, whereas Brown headed back to the east and began more
serious plans for fighting in a war in Virginia against slavery. Brown would go on to find funds

for his war he was setting out for and in 1859 he and 21 other men raided the federal arsenal in

Harpers Ferry. Brown was soon wounded and caught, being transported to Charleston, Virginia

to be tried and convicted for his crimes, and before the punishment was confirmed Brown was

allowed to speak, which people say Brown spoke about if fighting against the cruel and wicked

for the people whose rights were stripped and disregarded then he would rather die fighting for a

crime like that.

After Brown's death, many Northerners were shocked at first to what Brown had done, but

afterwards had taken a liking to Brown's deeds and began speaking well of him, admiring him

for his persistence and effectiveness.

Many still viewing Brown as a respectable man who went and fought for the rights of the

unfortunate, but also some just questioning if Brown's motives were really as clean as they

thought, or was Brown just a mad man that wanted to always fight in a war and cause bloodshed.