John Brown

Opinions about John Brown have always been divided. Supporters saw him as a martyr who gave his life against slavery, while critics condemned him as a traitor and a killer who ignored the law. Most abolitionists of his time worked through peaceful means, but Brown was convinced that slavery could be ended only by force, and he was ready to fight anyone who opposed him. His doomed attack on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859 ended with his hanging, yet it was simply the last step in a long pattern of violent resistance to slavery. Readers are asked to consider a question that Brown's own contemporaries debated and that people still debate: can violence ever be justified as protest? Students are invited to explore Brown's life, the world that shaped him, and the impact he left behind as they weigh that question for themselves.