An old engraving of American abolitionist John Brown in the 1850s. It is from an American history book of 1895. John Brown (1800 –1859) was a prominent leader in the abolitionist movement. Brown was captured, tried, and executed by the Commonwealth of Virginia for a raid and incitement of a slave rebellion at Harpers Ferry in 1859. An evangelical Christian of strong religious convictions, but he argued violence was necessary to end American slavery after decades of peaceful efforts had failed. He was the first person executed for treason in the USA.
An old engraving of American abolitionist John Brown in the 1850s. It is from an American history book of 1895. John Brown (1800 –1859) was a prominent leader in the abolitionist movement. First reaching national prominence in the 1850s, Brown was captured, tried, and executed by the Commonwealth of Virginia for a raid and incitement of a slave rebellion at Harpers Ferry in 1859. An evangelical Christian of strong religious convictions, Brown was profoundly influenced by his Puritan faith. He argued violence was necessary to end American slavery after decades of peaceful efforts had failed. Brown first gained national attention when he led anti-slavery volunteers during the Bleeding Kansas crisis of the late 1850s, a state-level civil war over whether Kansas would enter the Union as a slave state or a free state. In October 1859 Brown led a raid on a Federal armoury at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (later West Virginia). He seized the weapons store and seven people were killed. Brown intended to arm slaves with weapons from the armoury, but only a few slaves joined his revolt. Brown was captured and tried for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, murder and inciting a slave insurrection. He was found guilty of all charges and was hanged later the same year, the first person executed for treason in the history of the United States. Brown's trial was covered extensively in national newspapers, escalated tensions that next year led to the South's long-threatened secession and the American Civil War. Union soldiers marched to the song ‘John Brown's Body’ that portrayed him as a hero.
Size: 2677px × 3543px
Location: USA
Photo credit: © M&N / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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