Abolitionist john brown biography

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    A Look Back at John Brown

    Spring , 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 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 , 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 number of pla

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    Early Years

    John Brown was born on May 9, , in Torrington, Connecticut, the son of an antislavery tanner. He grew up in Ohio and at age sixteen moved to Massachusetts. After failing to complete training for the ministry, he returned to Ohio and married in With his first wife, Dianthe Lusk, who died in , and his second wife, Mary Day, Brown became the father of twenty children. He moved often, hoping to find financial success in Pennsylvania and Ohio before settling in New Elba, New York. As often as Brown tried a new business venture he failed, and he spent much of his time fighting off creditors.

    Eventually, a quest for Christian moral purity came to consume Brown. As a ung man in Ohio, he had an on-again, off-again relationship with various Congregational churches. From on he was unaffiliated with any church, although his views always remained rooted in the black-and-white theology of Calvinism. In Brown&#;s view, sin abounded and, in the spirit of the Second Great Awakening,

  • abolitionist john brown biography

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    John Brown

    John Brown was born in Torrington, Connecticut on May 9, to a religious antislavery couple named Owen and Ruth Brown.  He had an early interest in abolition likely started by his father's own passion for the cause.  At the age of 5 John moved with his family to the Western Reserve which is now a part of Ohio.  He was an awkward and solitary child but was especially close to his mother.  She died when John was 8 years old after giving birth to a daughter that only survived a few hours.  This left him devastated.

              Owen Brown - John Brown's father

    In , he enrolled in school in Plainfield, Massachusetts to prepare for college.  He soon transferred to Morris Academy in Litchfield, Connecticut.  Long hours of reading by candlelight hurt his vision and he developed a severe inflammation of the eyes.  This combined with the poor quality of his