John brown biography civil war soldiers

  • How did john brown die
  • How many slaves did john brown free
  • What did john brown do to end slavery

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    John Brown

    Born in Torrington, Connecticut, John Brown belonged to a devout family with extreme anti-slavery views.  He married twice and fathered twenty children. The expanding family moved with Brown throughout his travels, residing in Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York.

    Brown failed at several business ventures before declaring bankruptcy in 1842.  Still, he was able to support the abolitionist cause by becoming a ledare on the Underground Railroad and bygd establishing the League of Gileadites, an organization established to help runaway slaves escape to Canada.  In 1849, Brown moved to the free black farming community of North Elba, New York. 

    At the age of 55, Brown moved with his sons to Kansas Territory.  In response to the sacking of Lawrence, Kansas, John Brown led a small grupp of dock to Pottawatomie Creek on May 24, 1856.   The men dragged five unarmed men and boys, believed to be slavery proponents, from their homes and

  • john brown biography civil war soldiers

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    A Look Back at John Brown

    Spring 2011, Vol. 43, No. 1

    By Paul Finkelman

    As we celebrate the beginning of the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War, it is worthwhile to remember, and contemplate, the most important figure in the struggle against slavery immediately before the war: John Brown.

    When Brown was hanged in 1859 for his raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, many saw him as the harbinger of the future. For Southerners, he was the embodiment of all their fears—a white man willing to die to end slavery—and the most potent symbol yet of aggressive Northern antislavery sentiment. For many Northerners, he was a prophet of righteousness, bringing down a terrible swift sword against the immorality of slavery and the haughtiness of the Southern master class.

    In 2000, the United States marked the bicentennial of Brown's birth. At that time, domestic terrorism was a growing problem. Bombings, ambushes, and assassinations had been directed at women's clinics and physicians in a

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    John Brown was born May 9, 1800 in Torrington, Connecticut. Soon after Brown’s birth, the family moved to Hudson, Ohio. As a youth he saw an enslaved boy, with whom he had become friends, badly beaten and harshly treated. This and his religious belief that slavery was a sin against God influenced his thoughts and actions throughout his life. 

    In 1816 he traveled east to study for the ministry but an inflammation of the eyes and a lack of funds forced him to give up this calling. He returned to Ohio and took up his father’s trade of tanning leather. In 1820 he married Dianthe Lusk. She gave birth to seven children, five of whom lived to maturity. In 1826 he moved his family to Richmond, Pennsylvania, built a tannery (with a secret room to hide escaping slaves), organized a church, and served as postmaster to the community. Dianthe died in 1832 and the following year he married Mary Ann Day. She bore thirteen children but only six lived to maturity. 

    In the ensuing years between 183