The contradicting legacy of Brown worsened the division between two forces on the topic of slavery, leaving a permanent mark on U.S. history.
The U.S. Civil War was the climax of the intensifying national division around what seemed to be an ever-lasting issue: slavery. Abolitionists, who supported the eradication of slavery, contributed to sparking the bloody conflict. Some of them believed in pacifism, and others, like John Brown, were extreme and radical Christian Calvinist fanatics who believed that bloodshed was the only solution to slavery. Brown was a prominent figure who devoted his life to the cause of ending slavery. To stimulate more people to join the rebellion against the institution of slavery, he showed his willingness to take lives during the bloody uprising in Harpers Ferry and the Pottawatomie Massacre. Brown committed the murders of marines for the cause of protecting and liberating slaves, which aroused debates among Americans. Northerners who longed to demolish slavery objected to the execution of John Brown, saying that he was “justified in his attempt” to liberate the enslaved people in Virginia. In contrast, enraged Southerners were ”desirous” of his death. In any case, Brown was a significant abolitionist who incorporated murder without hesitation and made great sacrifices to reach his lifelong fight for freedom for the oppressed, a fight that he influenced many Americans and their future generations to take up with him.
The Scourged Back, March 1863
In March 1863, a photograph featuring a severely scourged back of an escaped slave known only as Gordon was published in Harper’s Weekly during the Civil War. Gordon had been mercilessly beaten by his master and ran 80 miles to join the Union army in the struggle for equal human rights for all. He was one of many slaves who strengthened that army. This photo reveals the ugly truth of the slave institution. It gives context as to why slavery was a major moral issue of that time, an issue that caused abolitionists to be so firmly opposed to the institution. This photograph conveys the prejudice and racism that Brown was up against, and why he concluded that an institution this brutal can only be fought with force. By displaying the cruelty of slavery, the photograph encourages the audience to give a deeper value to Brown’s courageous attitude as shown in the massacres. It also helps them better understand Brown’s will to have equal protection for all people. Overall, in the exhibition, The Scourged Back serves as a major context of that period and slavery.
John Brown’s Constitution, 1858
In 1858, the year before John Brown executed his historic plans, he drafted the Provisional Constitution along with 35 other black anti-slavery officials. At Harpers Ferry, Brown intended to distribute thousands of copies of his constitution to all Americans, free the enslaved population, and found his idealistic government in the mountains of Virginia. According to this constitution, Brown intended to make a government where all people, regardless of race or gender, were protected by the government and had equal rights, including the right to vote. As the most initial and official defense Brown ever made concerning the institution of slavery, this document conveys that his primary intentions for all the murders he caused, that the basis of all of his legacy, was to end slavery. The constitution provides more reasoning on why he left a legacy that impacted the Americans and the Civil War. After reading his constitution, the audience of the exhibition will be able to think about what Brown accomplished from the list of his visions for the “New World.” Despite the contrasting opinions the Americans had on Brown’s Calvinist actions and pursuits, Brown remained unwavering, as indicated in the constitution.
Mahala Doyle’s Letter, November 20th, 1859
On November 20th, 1859, Mahala Doyle, the spouse of a pro-slavery victim in the Pottawatomie Massacre, wrote a private letter to John Brown in prison, where he was condemned to be hanged and waiting for his execution. Doyle pitied herself for her situation and blamed Brown, strongly desiring his suffering in an offensive matter. This source represents a prime example of the general opinion of Southerners on Brown’s brutal blow in response to the slave institution in the South. Brown had attacked the people of the South, stimulating anger from pro-slavery forces. In contrast to Doyle’s hostility, many Northerners and abolitionists had mixed feelings about Brown’s massacres, responding to his earnestness and willingness to fight for freedom. Americans on both sides began to experience how severe the division between the two forces was because of the shocking assaults Brown made. Brown further intrigued people on the topic of slavery, and regardless of their opinion of Brown, he became controversial national news. Mahala Doyle’s letter introduces the main legacy Brown left after his execution, and what conflicts led up to the Civil War.
William Lloyd Garrison’s Speech, December 2nd, 1859
On December 2nd, 1859, the day Brown was hanged, a speech on Brown’s Calvinist methods in Harpers Ferry was delivered throughout the country. In the speech, William Lloyd Garrison, a famous abolitionist who believed in pacifism, officially asserted that Brown’s violence was justified and righteous, primarily because Brown used it to protect and save humanity from slavery. Garrison also agreed with Brown’s own cover up for his trial that the reason for his violence was nothing but self-defence and that he had never intended bloodshed, which gained support from the audience. Regardless, Garrison had publicly made an excuse for using brutal methods for freedom in his indestructible belief in pacifism, for John Brown. This shows the considerable and prominent effect that Brown had on the Northerners, which even led Garrison, who originally didn’t believe in Brown’s methods, to stand up for him. Brown encouraged both sides of the nation to bring themselves together and further worsened the conflict between the two sides. William Lloyd Garrison’s speech counters Doyle’s letter and shows the other side of the contradiction.
John Brown by William W. Patton, 1861 In 1861, the year the Civil War broke out, William W. Patton, a union soldier from Massachusetts, composed a song heroizing John Brown. Like his, march songs featuring John Brown were considered the most popular anthem among the Union soldiers during the warfare. This source illustrates Brown’s lifetime as a martyr and a “Liberator,” demonstrating the prominence of Brown and his attempts in freeing the enslaved population. The song further emphasizes the influential effect Brown’s raid in Harpers Ferry had upon the Americans by referring back to the event. The lyrics “they hung him for a traitor, themselves the traitor crew…,” criticizes the capture of Brown by pro-slavery forces, which indicates that the raid in Harpers Ferry was a major event which factored into the conflict between the South and the North. Furthermore, the song supports how Brown’s legacy affected not only the Southerners and their desires but also the Northerners to form strong bondages and fight over their single goal: to demolish the institution of slavery.
