SPRINGFIELD - Long viewed as a wild-eyed abolitionist whose failed raid on the federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Va., hastened the Civil War, John Brown's reputation is no longer "a-mouldering in the grave." Indeed, the former wool merchant in Springfield is increasingly seen by historians as a selfless martyr who was so moved by the brutal injustice of slavery that he gave his life to end it, said David S. Reynolds, the author of "John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights." That's why he is calling on President Obama and the governor of Virginia to formally pardon Brown, who was hanged for his deed on Dec. 2, 1859, 150 years ago Wednesday. "There are compelling reasons for the pardon. Far from the actions of a misled fanatic, his plan made sense. He knew that in the West Indies mountain-based groups of blacks had driven major European powers from their islands. Similarly, he wanted to use Appalachian hideouts as attack bases for destabilizing Southern slavery," Reynolds said. In fact he is asking that people petition for the pardon online. "I urge readers to Google ‘Pardon John Brown' and add their names to the online petition demanding a pardon of the man who willingly gave his life for the emancipation of four million enslaved blacks," Reynolds said. Brown's raid was aimed at starting an armed slave insurrection in the South, a plan that may have been hatched in Springfield. One of the most important moments in Brown's development as an abolitionist took place in the city, Reynolds said. He met with slavery's foremost critic, Frederick Douglass, a former slave who interrupted a speaking tour to visit Brown in his home on Franklin Street. "Brown outlined for the first time his plan to dislodge slavery in the South. He visited with Douglass and he revealed his plan to make an attack and then hide in the mountains and terrorize the South," said Reynolds. Brown, who was born in Torrington, Conn., lived with his family in Springfield from 1846 to 1849 and continued to work in the city until 1851. At the time, Springfield was a crossroads in the anti-slavery movement. The underground railroad, which delivered slaves from the South into free areas of the North and Canada, ran through the city. One of the first black-created churches was founded in Springfield, and many freed slaves had settled here, helped by a local network of people, including ministers, who were fervently anti-slavery. "Some historians have looked at John Brown's years in Springfield as pivotal. They were transformational," said Joseph Carvalho III, president of the Springfield Museums, where an exhibit devoted to Brown is on display at the new Museum of Springfield History. "Brown was against slavery before he got here. But he came to a community that had coalesced around the issue of slavery. And what was going on in the city gave him a vision of what freedom truly meant for black Americans," Carvalho said. On Oct. 16, 1859, Brown and 21 other men, including several blacks, attacked the lightly defended armory at Harpers Ferry, initially capturing it and its cache of weapons. However, within a day they were surrounded by local militias and federal marines led by Colonel Robert E. Lee. Ultimately, 17 people died as a result of the raid, including 10 of Brown's men, and Brown was captured. By the time he was hanged Dec. 2, Brown had become revered as a martyr to Americans who were against slavery. To those who were pro-slavery, he had become reviled as the embodiment of the threat to their way of life. The morning of the hanging, The Republican noted that "a brave old man goes to the gallows for what he considered a patriotic and Christian deed, in which he had no personal objects to accomplish, but sacrificed property and life to a benevolent purpose." Throughout the Civil War, Brown remained an inspiration to Union troops, who marched to the song "John Brown's Body," Reynolds said. "His reputation peaked during the war but afterward, it started falling off the map. Historians tended to negate him or criticize him or bury him. Only with the rise of the civil rights movement do you get some favorable opinion of him emerging again. More and more he is seen as a causative influence of the Civil War," he said. Reynolds said Brown was, to an extent, a product of his times. "Most of the anti-slavery people before that time were pacifists. But during the 1850s, there was increasing anger and militancy because of the number of pro-slavery laws that went into effect. For instance, the Dred Scott decision of 1857 stripped African Americans of their rights. Feelings were gathering." "There were an increasing number of people who did feel violently anti-slavery, and John Brown crystallized the feelings of that whole group," he said. Often depicted in history books as a wild-eyed fanatic whose raid was a momentary "explosion that happened and has been forgotten," Brown is more often viewed now as a selfless idealist who was eloquent in his defense of his views. And while he is guilty of violent actions in the 1850s in Kansas, including participation in murders of pro-slavery settlers there, many of the leaders we revere today had their shortcomings, Reynolds noted. "Let's remember that many Americans we honor had as many or more flaws in their character and behavior: Washington and Jefferson owned slaves, Columbus has been understandably accused of genocide, and Lincoln shared the racial prejudice of his time and long wanted to deport blacks once they were freed," he said. Brown was also a decisive factor in the election of Abraham Lincoln as president, and because of that, in setting the nation on a course to a war that would end slavery, Reynolds said. Due to Brown's actions, political factions intensified prior to the November 1860 election. The extreme secessionists gathered around one presidential candidate, moderate unionists gathered around another and so on, Reynolds said. If Lincoln, who was against slavery, had faced only one opponent in the election, he might not have won. But he faced several and was able to gain the White House with less than 40 percent of the vote. The South knew he was against slavery "and not long after he was elected, some states seceded. They only left the union because he was elected," Reynolds said. "John Brown was a cannonball that shattered the party system. He became a disruptive force politically that led to the election of Lincoln, which almost automatically led to the Civil War," he said.
Author David Reynolds calls on President Obama, VA governor Tim Kaine to pardon abolitionist John Brown
on November 28, 2009 at 2:00 PM
on November 28, 2009 at 2:00 PM