USA HISTORY

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR(1861 1865)

THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION

[SOURCES]
Why was John Brown so important to the fight against slavery?

(A) He led a slave revolt on plantation owners in VA.

(B) He fought for the South to maintain slavery.

(C) He fought for the North to receive his freedom after the war.

(D) ** He led a revolt at Harper’s Ferry in an attempt to start a slave rebellion.

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -In October 1859, Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (today West Virginia), intending to start a slave liberation movement that would spread south; he had prepared a Provisional Constitution for the revised, slavery-free United States that he hoped to bring about.

Concept note-2: -John Brown was a leading figure in the abolitionist movement in the pre-Civil War United States. Unlike many anti-slavery activists, he was not a pacifist and believed in aggressive action against slaveholders and any government officials who enabled them.

Concept note-3: -In May 1858, Brown held a secret anti-slavery convention in Canada. About 50 black and white supporters adopted Brown’s anti-slavery constitution. In December, Brown moved beyond talk and plans. He led a daring raid from Kansas across the border into Missouri, where he killed one slave owner and freed 11 slaves.

Concept note-4: -Although the raid failed, it inflamed sectional tensions and raised the stakes for the 1860 presidential election. Brown’s raid helped make any further accommodation between North and South nearly impossible and thus became an important impetus of the Civil War.

Concept note-5: -His so-called raid at Harpers Ferry resulted in both reverence and revulsion. When Brown and his small, integrated army of twenty-one men invaded Harpers Ferry and took over the federal armory, arsenal, and rifle factory, it was the fulfillment of a pledge to God to increase hostility toward slavery.