Episode 33 - Radical Abolistionist John Brown

Among the many individuals associated with America's Civil War, perhaps among the best known is the radical abolitionist, John Brown.  Whether you agree or disagree with his views and actions, he had a lasting impact on the rich heritage of our great nation.

In this episode I tell the story behind the story of the Civil War icon.

References:

The American Battlefield Trust (https://www.battlefields/org/learn/biographies/john-brown

The Historical Marker Database (https://hmdb.org)

Transcript

Hello Friends,

I’m your host Dave Laton and welcome to Signs of Our Time, Discovering America’s heritage, one sign at a time.

 This podcast is designed to provide the story behind the story found on America’s roadside historical signs and markers.  

The American Civil War was a terrible time of testing for our nation. There are thousands of historical markers commemorating people and events before, during, and after the war.  In this episode I want to look at one individual associated with the time period just prior to the start of the war.

One of the famous, or infamous figures of the American Civil War was John Brown.  He is described as a radical abolitionist known for taking harsh and extreme actions to support the freedom of slaves.

There are many historical markers commemorating the life and activities of John Brown.  The marker featured with this episode is found in Summit County in Akron, Ohio.  It was sent to me by my friend Phil Rizzo of New York.  By the way, Phil is a fellow podcaster.  His show is called, Light ‘Em Up where he explores elements of the criminal justice system and crime scene investigation and leadership.  It is available on all podcast outlets.

Let’s get back to John Brown.

John Brown was born in Torrington, Connecticut in 1800 to a religiously devout family that had anti-slavery views.  This obviously formed the foundation for a life-long hatred of slavery.

John Brown was married twice and fathered a total of 20 children.  Although he was born in Connecticut, he and his family traveled extensively living in Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York.

He also tried his hand at owning several businesses but was unsuccessful.  His primary focus throughout all of this was to support abolition.  He was very active in the underground railroad and formed an organization called the League of Gieadites to help runaway slaves escape to Canada.

In 1855 he moved to the Kansas Territory with two of his sons.  In 1856 the town of Lawrence Kansas was attached and ransacked by a group of pro-slavery settlers.  Lawrence had been established by anti-slavery settlers hoping to make Kansas a free state.  Although the town was ransacked, only one person, a member of the pro-slavery group was killed.  

In retaliation for the Lawrence Kansas event, John Brown led a small band of men to Pottawatomie Creek.  They captured five unarmed men and boys who they thought were pro-slavery and murdered them.  

Following this activity and another in Missouri, Brown spent 2 ½ years traveling throughout New England to raise money so he could expand his anti-slavery activities to the South. 

Then in 1859, John Brown took on the alias Isaac Smith and rented a farmhouse four miles north of Harpers Ferry, Virginia in what is now known as West Virginia.  This location was used to train men and to plan for a capture of the Federal Arsenal at Harpers Ferry.  Part of his plan was to arm slaves and use them to encourage other slaves to rebel against their owners.

Brown and his men attached the Federal Arsenal but were unsuccessful.  Also, slaves in the area did not join him.  Interestingly, Robert E. Lee was in command of a unit of United States Marines that put down the raid.

Most of Brown’s men were killed and Brown himself was severely wounded and captured.  He was found guilty of murder, inciting slave insurrection, and treason against the state of Virginia.  

John Brown was hanged for his crimes on December 2nd, 1859.  A year later, South Carolina became the first state to succeed from the Union.

Certainly, most folks disagree with John Brown’s methods.  He certainly showed unwavering commitment, however misguided to his views of justice.  His actions focus on problems associated with vigilantism. 

The period of the Civil War and its aftermath divided our great nation.  We still see the impact of it today.  We hope that we can learn to overcome our differences in peaceful ways as we strive for the rights of all our citizens.   

Well friends, there you have it.  A story behind the story from America’s historical signs and markers.  I hope you enjoyed this episode.  I invite you to subscribe and continue listening as we bring more episodes about the rich heritage of our great nation.

Please share this podcast with others.  If you have interesting stories about historical signs and markers, email me at: americanhistoricalmarkers@gmail.com.  Maybe your story behind the story will be featured.

I’m your host Dave Laton and thank you for listening, and safe travels!