John Brown the Abolitionist -- A Biographer's Blog

"In all the records of history, upon all the pages for the struggle for liberty, we read of men who died for kindred, homes and country. Posterity calls them patriots and burns incense upon the altars of their memory. The sacrifice of this man was for a despised and hated race, a rejected and down-trodden caste, for slaves, for negroes. For that Christian America calls him traitor."

John S. Duncan. "Traitor or Martyr." First Prize Oration at Junior-Senior Contest, Geneva College, May 23, 1888. Geneva Cabinet (Beaver Falls, Pa.), September 1888.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Old News--

Thaddeus Stephens on John Brown in 1859

. . . .A good joke about Harper's Ferry is laid to the door of Thaddeus Stephens. He was talking of the "invasion" at a Washington hotel, the other evening, with a Southern friend. Southern waxed hot, and declared that John Brown, "d--n him,["] deserved a dozen hangings. "Yes," said Thaddeus, in his solemn, drawling style, "you are right; he deserved hanging. He only brought 17 men; if he had brought thirty he would have settled the Slavery question forever."

Original Source: "Miscellaneous News," Independent Republican [Montrose, Pa.], Dec. 15, 1859, p. 2

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John Brown: In His Own Words

* "There are a number of good Colored families on the ground; most of whom I visited. I can think of no place where I think I would sooner go; all things considered than to live with those poor despised Africans to try, & encourage them; & show them a little so far as I am capable how to manage." To his father, Owen Brown, Jan. 10, 1849, regarding black New York State settlers in the Adirondack wilderness

* "Mr. H. Clay has been called an American. Why may not Abolitionists?" To Congressman Joshua R. Giddings, June 22, 1848

* "I never seemed to possess a faculty to console and comfort my friends in their grief; I am inclined, like the poor comforters of Job, to sit down in silence, lest in my miserable way I should only add to their grief." To his father Owen Brown, January 16, 1848

* "Always dependent and constantly receiving, we are ungrateful enough to be cast off, if that were our only fault!" To his father, November 1, 1847

* "One more dear little feeble child I am to meet no more till the dead small & great shall stand before God. This is a bitter cup indeed, but blessed be God: a brighter day shall dawn; & let us not sorrow as those that have no hope. Oh that we that remain, had wisdom wisely to consider; & to keep in view our latter end." To his wife Mary and family, November 8, 1846, after the scalding death of 16-month-old daughter Amelia in a household accident (Akron, Ohio)

Classic John Brown Articles for Students

Atkinson, Eleanor. “The Soul of John Brown” [interview with John Brown, Jr.] American Magazine [New York] (October 1909): 633-43
Bacon, Leonard W. “A Prisoner of Jesus Christ.” The Independent [New York] (November 24, 1859)
Brown, Owen [Letter], The Atlantic Monthly (July 1874): 101
Brewster, O. Byron. “John Brown of North Elba.” New York History [Cooperstown] (October 1952): 406-12
Brown, Salmon. “My Father, John Brown.” The Outlook (January 25, 1913): 212-17
Brown, William Wells. “John Brown and the Fugitive Slave Law.” The Independent (March 10, 1870)
Butler, E. S. "A Woman's Recollections of John Brown's Stay in Springdale," Midland Monthly (Dec. 1898): 576
Chapin, Lou V. “The Last Days of Old John Brown." Overland Monthly (April 1899): 322-32
Dana, Richard H., Jr. "How We Met John Brown." Atlantic Monthly (July 1871): 1-9
Darrow, Clarence. "John Brown." The Crisis [NAACP] (May 1926): 12-16
Eby, Cecil D. [ed.] "The Last Hours of the John Brown Raid: The Narrative of David Strother." Virginia Magazine of History and Biography (April 1965): 169-77
Featherstonaugh, Thomas. “The Final Burial of the Followers of John Brown.” New England Magazine (April 1901): 128-34
Fletcher, Robert S. "John Brown and Oberlin." Oberlin Alumni Magazine (February 1932).
Gould, Elizabeth Porter. "John Brown at North Elba.” Outlook [New York] (November 21, 1896)
Gue, B. F. "John Brown and His Iowa Friends." Midland Monthly [Des Moines, Iowa] (Feb. 1897): 103-12
Gue, B. F. "John Brown and His Iowa Friends." Midland Monthly [Des Moines, Iowa] (Mar. 1897): 267-77
Halstead, Murat. “The Tragedy of John Brown.” The Independent (December 1, 1898): 1543-48
Hamilton, James Cleland "John Brown in Canada." Canadian Magazine (December 1894): 119-40
Harris, Ransom L. “John Brown and His Followers in Iowa.” Midland Monthly (October 1894): 262-68
Higginson, Thomas W. “Cheerful Yesterdays VII: Kansas and John Brown.” The Atlantic Monthly (May 1897): 665-78
Ingalls, John J. "John Brown's Place in History." North American Review (February 1884): 138-50
Keeler, Ralph. “Owen Brown’s Escape From Harper’s Ferry.” The Atlantic Monthly (March 1874): 342-65
Land, Mary. “John Brown’s Ohio Environment.” Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly (January 1948): 24-47
Landon, Fred. "From Chatham to Harper's Ferry." The Canadian Magazine [Toronto] (October 1919): 441-48
Lockley, Fred. "John Brown's Son Talks About His Father." The American Magazine (May 10, 1919): 49-50
Macy Smith, Narcissa, "Reminiscences of John Brown," Midland Monthly [Des Moines, Iowa] (September 1895): 231-36
M.H.R. "A Brave Life." [re Mary Brown] The Overland Monthly (October 1885): 360-67
Phillips, William A. “Three Interviews with Old John Brown.” The Atlantic Monthly (December 1879): 738-44
Richman, Irving B. John Brown Among the Quakers and Other Sketches. Des Moines: The Historical Department of Iowa, 1904 [pp. 11-59]
Sanborn, Franklin B. “John Brown and His Friends.” The Atlantic Monthly (July 1872): 50-61
Sanborn, Franklin B. “John Brown in Massachusetts.” The Atlantic Monthly (April 1872): 420-33
Sanborn, Franklin B. “Notes and Comments II,” North American Review (January 1886): 115-16
Sanborn, Franklin B. “The Virginia Campaign of John Brown.” The Atlantic Monthly (January-May 1875)
Smith, Narcissa Macy. "Reminiscences of John Brown." Midland Monthly [Des Moines, Iowa] (September 1895): 231-36
Spring, Rebecca Buffum. "How I Brought First Aid to Wounded John Brown." The New York Press (October 13, 1907)
Stearns, Frank P. "John Brown and His Eastern Friends." New England Magazine (July 1910): 589-99
Stutler, Boyd B. "John Brown Postmaster." American Philatelist (March 1953): 443-49
Stutler, Boyd B. "John Brown's Last Visit to Western Virginia." The West Virginia Review (April 1926): 228-29, 240-41
Stutler, Boyd B. "John Brown's Letter." West Virginia History [Charleston, West Va.] (October 1947)
Stutler, Boyd B. "John Brown's Letters And Documents: A Scholarly Survey." Manuscripts (Fall 1954): 4-12
Stutler, Boyd B. “John Brown’s Lost Carpet Bag.” Manuscripts (Summer 1959): 2-7
Wright, Harry A. "John Brown in Springfield." New England Magazine (May 1894)

"John Brown: Trumpet of Freedom": Reviews

"An outstanding piece of historical theatre, powerfully acted by Norman Thomas Marshall. I highly recommend it." --F. MURRAY ABRAHAM, 1986 Academy Award, Best Actor, Amadeus

“When performing, Norman Marshall is John Brown. He embodies all of the Puritan warrior’s characteristics: his passion, his toughness, his piety, and, above all, his uncompromising commitment to human rights.”

--DAVID S. REYNOLDS, author of John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights

“He is an artist and intellectual and his passion for Brown is authentic and deeply-rooted. . . . armed-to-the-teeth with a larger-than-life wit and wisdom which he well uses in his own struggle against injustice, and in an unabashed defense of the most misunderstood and misrepresented human rights activist of the modern era."

--LOUIS A. DeCARO, Jr., author, John Brown: The Cost of Freedom, John Brown: Fire from the Midst of You and John Brown: The Man Who Lived

”I found the portrayal deeply moving and extraordinarily accurate. In fact, Mr. Marshall can be said to channel the spirit of John Brown in his performance”.

--JONATHAN EARLE, author of John Brown's Raid: A Brief History With Documents

“A mesmerizing show written by George Wolf Reily and Marshall, who gives a passionate performance that carries your attention in this well scripted one-man show.”

--LINDA ARMSTRONG, Amsterdam News

"John Brown's body is most certainly not mouldering in the grave. Norman Marshall has magically and marvelously brought him to life."

–PETER FILICIA, Star-Ledger, Theatre Week

"-single-handedly brings John Brown and a swarming host of his contemporaries to vivid, full-blooded life in this powerful, passionate and richly rewarding solo work."

--JOHN CLANCY, Founder, NY International Fringe Festival

"Brown assumes near iconic dimensions in this production. This is an historical drama recreated with accuracy, accessibility and remarkable emotional depth. I can only hope that many more will be enabled to share in the world of this impassioned man who Norman Thomas Marshall so powerfully illuminates on the stage."

--PETER HINKS, Lecturer in American History, Yale University