WhenMalcolm Xsaidin 1965 that white people " have to be willing to do as old John Brown did " to be a true friend for blacks ' rights , his allusion to the emancipationist might ’ve been startling to some . ab initio , many masses wrote Brown off as a hysteric orterroristfor the foray he led onHarper ’s Ferry , Virginia , in 1859 . But others descend to recognize him as a human who was willing to throw off blood for the cause of abolishment . Did his violent and radical means merit such suitable ends ?
Holly Frey and Tracy V. Wilson let you ponder that question as they revisit John Brown ’s Raid on Harper ’s ferrying in this installment ofStuff You miss in History Class . While there were many turning power point on the road to the Civil War , Harper ’s Ferry was a terribly divisive event that spurred radicalism on both the anti - slavery and pro - slavery sides .
John Brown was a rigid Calvinist , raise in an emancipationist household . While he was n’t a thundering achiever when it came to line of work ( he wasbankrupt by his 40s ) , he believed that he was on Earth for something big . " This devotion to end slavery , and his Calvinist upbringing , would eventually combine into a consummate and utter certainty that he was predestined to bring about slavery ’s end , " pronounce Holly .
And one way he design to do that was to elaborate the Underground Railroad into what he called the " Subterranean Pass - Way " that would stretch for thousands of Swedish mile into the Deep South to ferry slaves to liberation . But it was n’t just about exemption , Holly point out . " As part of this plan , some of these liberated people would become part of an armed combat force of spare black the great unwashed that would forcibly end slavery in the South by raiding woodlet of their big businessman and their men . "
In 1858 , Brown convinced abolitionist leaders to fund his plan to create and gird a fighting force with a raid on Harper ’s ferryboat , which was home to a Union arsenal . He even enlistedHarriet Tubmanto spread the word around the region and help foment a groundswell of reenforcement when the maraud came .
So , in October 1859 , Brown and 19 other men took over a railroad station , musket factory and rifle works in Harper ’s ferrying . They abducted hard worker owners as surety , but they were n’t met with loads of supporters or aid . They had n’t done enough body of work on the ground , it seemed , to support a far-flung insurrection or even sympathy . Robert E. Lee , then a colonel , was put in complaint of terminate the raid , and his team of U.S. Marines successfully work Brown and his humankind into custody . Ten of Brown ’s men were killed , along with six civilians .
John Brown was sentence to end just weeks after the event , and he died by hanging on Dec. 2 , 1859 . The foray was a nonstarter at starting a massive slave rising , and it encouraged fears of a slave uprising and bolster future Confederate militias . But as Tracy and Holly discuss in this installment ofStuff You miss in History Class , it also made John Brown a sufferer — which might ’ve bestow to an upsurge of support for abolishment in Northern states .
