Posted on 10/16/2009 11:16:18 AM PDT by Kid Shelleen
--snip-- It was 150 years ago today, Oct. 16, 1859. The long-haired, wild-eyed Brown was about to launch a raid that would hasten the Civil War and make him the most notorious man in America, a figure who still ignites controversy a century and a half later. Some see him as an Osama bin Laden; others, as a Christian soldier who gave his life to end human bondage.
"You could ask 100 people about John Brown and still get 100 opinions," said Jeff Bowers, a ranger at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, which plans three days of activities this weekend to commemorate Brown's raid
(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...
Good post. The New England Transcendentalists were the Hollywood Left of their day. Otto Scott wrote an excellent book on their secret support for John Brown’s campaign of terror that began in Kansas.
one of the fist people killed at harpers ferry was a free black man
The north turned the tide on the bodies of Irish immigrants. The same Irish immigrants that staged a draft riot in NYC that lasted 3 days and lynched a goodly number of blacks. So tell me again what was the norths point? Oh yea, southerners should pay for the norths leadership and enrichment. This is how it turned out. Don’t know that the blacks were well served by the exercise, but some say they were. Destroying half your country doesn’t seem such a great achievement unless your selling steel, canned goods, and textiles. Oh yea, so the north did win something - profits.
“one of the first people killed at harpers ferry was a free black man”
That was Hayward Shepherd, a baggage handler on the railroad, who was shot and killed by Brown’s gang when he confronted them.
“The long-haired, wild-eyed Brown was about to launch a raid that would hasten the Civil War “
But don’t they know? The Civil War was not about slavery at all, it was about state’s rights!!
(by the way, the above was pure sarcasm, if you couldn’t tell).
I don’t think either side was worth fighting for.
John Brown was insane yes, but also totally demon possessed just as the New England apostates who funded him and egged him on were.
The Southern States were ardent “State’s Righters” . . . with the exception that they wanted the Federal Government to force the Northern States to capture their runaway slaves for them, something the Northern States did not want to do.
Of such contradictions, was the hypocrisy of the South made apparent. The truth is the less profitable slavery was in a particular state, the more opposed to slavery the state was on “moral grounds”. Actually, it had everything to do with profits, and much less to do with morals.
Jefferson was convinced that slavery would die out when the huge profits did. The invention of the cotton gin gave an unwelcome boost to the slave economy. Slavery would have been abolished peacefully as it became economically untenable. This is how slavery was abolished in states like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, peacefully, without violence.
I'm guessing the Buchanan justice department was more than willing to let Virginia take on this case alone.
“The Southern States were ardent “State’s Righters” . . . with the exception that they wanted the Federal Government to force the Northern States to capture their runaway slaves for them, something the Northern States did not want to do.”
A fact which indicates that Lincoln wasn’t motivated by the intention of abolishing slavery in the South. Had this been his goal he simply would have let the deep south secede. He would have been under no obligation to return any runaway slaves to the CSA and this would have made slavery untenable.
“Of such contradictions, was the hypocrisy of the South made apparent. The truth is the less profitable slavery was in a particular state, the more opposed to slavery the state was on “moral grounds”. Actually, it had everything to do with profits, and much less to do with morals.”
This is a good point that also exposes the hypocrisy of the North. Slavery had been practiced in the North as well, but abandoned over time as it wasn’t especially profitable there. So being clever businessmen they sold their unwanted slaves down south. Many a great yankee fortune owed its existence to the trans-Atlantic slave trade. People are surprised to learn of the large slave cemetery found near New York City, of the slave riots that occurred there during colonial times. And while the “Plantations” part of the full name of Rhode Island has nothing to do with slavery the fact remains that black and Indian slaves were kept in that state and Providence and Newport were major ports in the slave trade triangle.
Brown was also tried for multiple counts of murder. It doesn’t look like your court challenge will exonerate him.
Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery - the greatest material interest of the world.
Its labor supplies the product, which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth.
These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun.
These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization.
How involved was the Federal government in prosecuting cases at that time? It took Lincoln to do in the significance of the states and make them mere organizational districts under the national government.
I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.
Abraham Lincoln
First Inaugural Address
Monday, March 4, 1861
http://bartelby.org/124/pres31.html
Ask 100 college kids who John Brown was and 99 will say an R & B singer or Al Gore’s vice-president.
Well I'm no legal historian but if the feds could prove that Brown's assault took place at the armory itself along with the town then I imagine they'd have had jurisdiction to take action against Brown.
Or the Sheriff from Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff"
They definitely punted it, that's for sure.
As well as formenting insurrection among the slaves. But that still doesn't explain that first charge, which he was convicted on BTW.
It doesn’t look like your court challenge will exonerate him.
Wasn't meant to. Brown was guilty as sin. But the murder and slave insurrection charges were enough to hang him. Why toss in the asinine treason charge as well?
Abraham Lincoln wasn’t “looking for a fight” with the South. But he certainly wasn’t going to walk away from one either.
He wanted to end slavery and probably was delighted with all of the tactical errors that the “fire-eaters” of the South made and basically allowed him to use the Union Army for that purpose.
To believe Lincoln was a great President, you must first believe that Civil War was inevitable. I don’t happen to be in that camp. I think a more skillful, diplomatic, and motivated President could have delayed the conflict until the political and economic circumstances of slavery were resolved.
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