John Brown's Holy War

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• Learn more about abolitionist, African Americans, American history, antebellum, Harper's Ferry, John Brown, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Pottawatamie Creek, slavery, slavery rebellion, and Underground Railroad.

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“Martyr, madman, murderer, hero: John Brown remains one of history’s most controversial and misunderstood figures. In the 1850s, he and his ragtag guerrilla group embarked on a righteous crusade against slavery that was based on religious faith — yet carried out with shocking violence. His execution set off a chain of events that led to the Civil War.”

This online companion to the PBS American Experience program of the same name provides the events that led up to John Brown’s crusade against slavery and his death at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Find biographical information about not only John Brown but also Frederick Douglas, James Redpath, Henry David Thoreau, and Henry A. Wise. Get an in-depth look at the Secret Six: its founding, it members, and the part it played in Brown’s plan.Transcripts of primary sources include letters, speeches, and an editorial. The site also has a timeline of events from the birth of John Brown through the signing of the 13th amendment of the Constitution which abolished slavery.

Special features include an interactive map which follows the path John Brown took across the country, QuickTime VR Tours of John Brown’s Fort and the farmhouse where John Brown’s army gathered before the raid on Harpers Ferry and the story behind the song, John Brown’s Body.