John Brown

If you want to learn about John Brown's life and thought, and about the context and impact of his raid on Harper's Ferry, you should read historian David. S. Reynolds's "John Brown: Abolitionist", a passionate, dispassionate biography of the man and his times. W.E.B. Du Bois wrote his biography of Brown in 1909, at a time when Jim Crow ruled even the profession of history and when Brown was almost universally scorned as a madman and a fanatic. Du Bois wrote of him as a Promethean hero, the "necessary man' of American history. In doing so, he was not the revisionist. Rather, he was reviving the perception of Brown that had prevailed during the Civil War, the perception cultivated by the Transcendentalists Emerson and Thoreau and by the poets Whitman and Melville. Du Bois's biography is more an eloquent mythic epitaph than a work of simple scholarship. To read it is to understand Du Bois and the demands of African-Americans for respect and social justice, projected onto the one 'white' man of the antebellum Land of the Slave who sincerely shared his humanity with "black" men and women. Du Bois is an eloquent writer; his final chapter, on the Legacy of John Brown, is addressed to the segregationists and colonialists of his own era, but its appeal for justice - sadly - is as pertinent now as then. Here are Du Bois's concluding sentences: "John Brown taught us that the cheapest price to pay for liberty is its cost today. The building of barriers against the advance of Negro-Americans hinders but in the end cannot altogether stop their progress.... Nor can the efficiency of gree as an economic developer be proven -- it may hasten development but it does so at the expense of solidity of structure, smoothness of motion, and real efficiency. Nor does selfish exploitation help the underdeveloped; rather it hinders and weakens them. "It is now a full century since this white-hired old man lay weltering in the blood which he spilled for broken and despised humanity. Let the nation which he loved and the South to which he spoke, reverently listen again today to those words, as prophetic now as then: "'You had better -- all you people of the South -- prepare yourslves for a settlement of this question. It must come up for settlement sooner than you are prepared for it, and the sooner you commence that preparation, the better for you. You may dispose of me very easily -- I am nearly disposed of now; but this question is still to be settled -- this Negro question, I mean. The end of that is not yet.'"

Please note that the substance of the following review has been used in the review of Stephen Oates's book To Purge This Land in Blood reviewed elsewhere (click see all my reviews). Both books offer a good prospective on the life of John Brown and can be profitably read together. Dubois's book is a decent historical narrative of Brown's life from an earlier time and in a more partisan perspective. Oates book reflects more modern academic methods of analysis and research and tackles the weaknesses in other interpretations. In that sense, Oates book is close to the definitive study of John Brown's life. Most importantly, both books reflect a Northern view of Brown exploits previously long absent from the historical record. My review reflects the need to study an important American fighter for justice and for today's generation to learn some lessons from his life. I would like to make a few comments on the role of Captain John Brown and his struggle at Harper's Ferry in 1859 in the history of the black liberation struggle. This appropriate as I am writing this review during Black History Month of 2006. Unfortunately John Brown continues to remain one of the very few white heroes of the struggle for black liberation. From fairly early in my youth I knew the name John Brown and was swept up by the romance surrounding his exploits at Harpers Ferry. For example, I knew that the great anthem of the Civil War -The Battle Hymn of the Republic had a prior existence as a tribute to John Brown. I, however, was then neither familiar with the import of his exploits for the black liberation struggle nor knew much about the specifics of the politics of the various tendencies in the struggle against slavery. I certainly knew nothing then of Brown's (and his sons) prior military exploits in the Kansas wars against the expansion of slavery. If one understands the ongoing nature of his commitment to struggle one can only conclude that his was indeed a man on a mission. Those exploits also render absurd a very convenient myth about his `madness'. This is a political man and to these eyes a very worthy one. In the context of the turmoil of the times he was only the most courageous and audacious revolutionary in the struggle against the abolition of slavery in America. Whether or not John Brown knew that his strategy would, in the short term, be defeated is a matter of dispute. Reams of paper have been spent proving the military foolhardiness of his scheme at Harper's Ferry. This missing the essential political point that militant action not continuing parliamentary maneuvering advocated by other abolitionists had become necessary. What is not in dispute is that Brown considered himself a true Calvinist avenging angel in the struggle against slavery and more importantly acted on that belief. In short, he was committed to bring justice to the black masses. This is why his exploits and memory stay alive after over 150 years. Brown and h

The story of John Brown depicts the life of the famous abolitionist as a loving father of more than a dozen children, husband, and anti-slavery hero. His plots at Harper's Ferry and Kansas are described in great depth, making you feel as if you were a part of his heroic effort to abolish slavery. From his youth when he first encounters a slave, to his brave efforts to save Kansas, up until his death as a martyr he is portrayed as the very passionate man. While reading, I especially enjoyed the interactions John Brown had with other abolitionists. In particular, the first time he meets Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass and Brown's first encounter is in Brown's house, John's tells Douglass of his plans at Harper's Ferry. Douglass says of Brown, " some men made such display of rigid virtue, I should have rejected it as affected, false, and hypocritical, but in John Brown, I felt it to be real as iron or granite." It was neat to see that such celebrated people had so much respect for one another. The numerous quotes and references make it seem as though you are sitting in the same room as the famed abolitionist. However, with all the dates, people and places it is easy to lose track of everything. Du Bois's biography is perfect for the history buff or anyone who is studying the Civil War in general and I highly recommend it. Read it to find out the truth behind the failed revolt at Harper's Ferry and learn more about a man who shaped our country.

John Brown is often times overlooked as one of America's greatest heroes. His raid on Harper's Ferry was one of the most influential causes for the outbreak of the Civil War. Although the immediate effects of the war were greatly devastating, it hurtled the U.S. over the slavery issue and forward into the future. Du Bois's biography gives a lengthy & descriptive account of the rebel's life and touched on a lot of info that I was unaware of. Definitely a must-buy for all those studying John Brown specifically, or the Civil War in general.

John Brown, one of the most influential and important people of his time and of ours is captured by soul in this book. He is my great great great great great grandfather, which i know sounds a little off-the-wall, but even though he is so far down the line, i am still very proud of it. Keep his story alive, this man deserves appreciation.