John Brown
Among the most well-known and controversial figures in Kansas history is John Brown. During his time in Kansas Territory, Brown demonstrated his most radical methods to fight the institution of slavery. Here his actions led to the territory’s nickname Bleeding Kansas. The work he started in Kansas erupted at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and he paid the price of his life for pursuit of the cause.
John Brown was born in Connecticut in 1800, the fourth of eight children born to Owen and Ruth (Mills) Brown. After Ruth died, Owen remarried and he and Sarah Sally (Root) Brown had eight more children. Owen, a deeply religious man, hated slavery. His son John adopted these beliefs. They both believed in equality for African Americans and wanted them to have a place in society. When John was 16 he dedicated himself to religion and chose to further his education as a Congregational minister.
He married Dianthe Lusk in Ohio in 1820. They had seven children together before she died in 1832. Those who survived to adulthood were John Brown, Jr., Jason, Owen, Ruth, and Frederick. Brown then married Mary Day in 1833. They had 13 children.
Brown pursued several different types of work in his life, including as a farmer, tanner, and surveyor. In the course of these jobs he moved the family from Ohio to Massachusetts and New York. He was acquainted with other abolitionists including Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman.
Years before Brown came to Kansas he began efforts to take action against slavery. In 1848 he formulated a plan liberate enslaved people. While he knew he could not free the large populations trapped in slavery himself, he felt he could cause a panic that would lead to the end of the institution.
When Kansas Territory opened for settlement in 1854 several members of Brown’s family moved to the area. His half-sister Florella (Brown) and her husband Samuel Adair, were abolitionists and drawn to be a part of the free-state cause. They settled near Osawatomie where they established a Congregational church in 1855. Soon several of Brown’s sons moved to the area. They became concerned by the presence of proslavery supporters who enslaved people in the area and they convinced their father to follow them to the territory. He arrived with another son in the fall. Tensions were growing with accusations of fraudulent elections and strife between proslavery supporters along the border and new antislavery settlers.
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Brown and his sons rallied free-state supporters, quickly forming the Pottawatomie Rifles, a self-appointed militia of about one hundred armed abolitionists. They hoped to guard against Missouri proslavery men who became known as Border Ruffians. As these opposing forces patrolled, passions erupted on both sides of the slavery issue. Brown became a pivotal figure in this fight that resulted in several deaths.
By 1856 the territory had earned the nickname, Bleeding Kansas, much to the credit of Brown and his followers. In May proslavery men attacked and destroyed free-state homes and businesses in Lawrence. This came as Brown was learning about the beating of an abolitionist senator on the floor of the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C. His rage led to action days later, on May 24, 1856, when he and the Pottawatomie Rifles kidnapped and executed five proslavery men with broadswords.
When those who had attacked Lawrence kidnapped two of Brown’s sons, he and his followers engaged in the Battle of Black Jack. Several days after the massacre, this five-hour battle ended without injury through negotiation.
Positioned along the Kansas-Missouri border, the free-state town of Osawatomie was under increasing threat from Border Ruffians. On an August morning several hundred proslavery men advanced toward the free-state guards. One of Brown’s sons was shot and killed in the encounter. Brown was unable to gather enough support to match the force of the intruders. Four more men were killed before freestaters finally fled the battle in all directions.
Brown left Kansas Territory soon after the battle, but he returned two more times. Late in 1858 he led a raid into southwest Missouri to free enslaved people. In the process one of the enslavers was killed. Near Holton early in 1859 as Brown was transporting the 12 freed people, he was engaged by a posse hoping to secure the bounty posted for Brown’s capture. Brown’s men boldly ordered them to surrender, but their fear of Brown was so great they fled instead with no shots fired.
With a much larger goal in mind, Brown turned his efforts toward gathering resources and support to gain national attention. His raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, was intended to secure weapons and spur a riot of Blacks across the South. Brown’s troops were overwhelmed and forced to find refuge. After negotiations failed most of his raiders were taken prisoner. Two of his sons died and Brown was convicted of treason and sentenced to be hanged. In one of his last statements he claimed he had “captured the attention of the nation like no other abolitionist or slave owner before or since.”
The legacy of John Brown is present in much of eastern Kansas yet today. One of the most well-known works of public art in the nation is John Steuart Curry’s mural, Tragic Prelude. This original work with its fiery depiction of Brown at the center of the brewing storms of civil war can be seen at the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka.
Quick Facts
Born: Torrington, Connecticut, May 9, 1800
Married: Dianthe Lusk, Ohio, June 21, 1820, she died in 1832
Married: Mary Day, June 14, 1833
Died: Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia) December 2, 1859
John Brown , remembered not only for his raid on Harpers Ferry, but for his actions in Kansas, was a strict abolitionist, who lost his life fighting for the cause he dedicated so much to.
Timeline
1800 - John Brown is born in Connecticut.
1854 - Kansas-Nebraska Act opens up Kansas for settlement.
1855 - John Brown’s sons and later John Brown himself, arrive in Kansas.
1856 - Sacking of Lawrence, Pottawatomie Massacre, Battle of Black Jack, and Battle of Osawatomie occur.
1858 - Brown leads a raid into Missouri to free slaves.
1859 - John Brown attacks the federal arsenal located at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He was convicted of treason and is hung for his crimes.
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