John Brown

by W. E. B. Du Bois

• Abolitionists, [86], [91], [93], [96], [125], [341]–342.
• Adams, John Quincy, [49].
• Adirondack farm, the, [12], [199].
• Alcott, A. Bronson, [210], [290]–291.
• Alleghany Mountains, [48], [106], [127], [275], [279], [299].
• Anderson, Jeremiah, [258], [282]–283, [324], [325], [336].
• Anderson, John, [282].
• Anderson, Osborne Perry, [280], [305], [334], [336].
• Atchison, Senator, [134], [175].
• Black Jack, battle of, [166]–169, [221].
• Brown, Anne, [286], [300], [301].
• Brown, Edward, [145].
• Brown, Frederick (the brother), [95].
• Brown, Frederick (the son), [128], [152], [155], [166], [167], [178].
• Brown, Jason, [87], [128], [146], [149], [159], [160], [186].
• Brown, John, Jr., [127], [146], [147], [159], [186].
• Brown, John, ancestry of, [15], [16], [18], [19], [20];
  • boyhood and youth of, [21]–23, [25], [31];
  • as tanner, [31];
  • marriage of, [32];
  • occupations of, [32];
  • family life of, [33]–37;
  • second marriage of, [38];
  • in panic of 1837, [41];
  • as shepherd, [52]–60;
  • as wool merchant, [61]–68;
  • in England, [68]–71;
  • lawsuits of, [71]–74;
  • and fugitive slaves, [84], [85];
  • first plan against slavery, [87]–88;
  • and Negroes in, [89]–91;
  • and mobs, [91];
  • and oath vs. slavery, [92], [93];
  • and Abolitionists, [91]–94;
  • and settlement in Virginia, [95];
  • and black men, [97]–121;
  • and Frederick Douglass, [102]–109;
  • in the Adirondacks, [111]–113;
  • in Kansas, [126]–134, [139]–140, [143]–144, [145]–197;
  • developing plans of, [198]–206;
  • trip eastward of, [197], [207]–218;
  • meets Forbes, [216];
  • return westward, [218];
  • securing arms and men, [218]–225;
  • second trip eastward, [225]–251;
  • at Douglass’ home, [225]–227;
  • revelation of, [229]–231;
  • trip to Canada of, [15], [248]–251;
  • meets Harriet Tubman, [249]–251;
  • return to Iowa of, [251]–253;
  • third trip eastward of, [252];
  • return to Canada, [252];
  • Chatham convention, [253]–266;
  • betrayal of, by Forbes, [266]–269;
  • in New England and New York, [268]–270;
  • third return westward, [270]–272;
  • Harper’s Ferry plans of, [274]–277;
  • financial resources of, [277]–278;
  • military organizations of, [106], [116], [149], [160]–169, [175]–179, [181]–182, [188]–189, [191], [226]–227, [278]–279;
  • Negro companions of, [280]–283;
  • white companions
• of, [283]–287;
  • health of, [288];
  • seventh trip eastward, [288]–291;
  • starts South, [291];
  • arrives at Harper’s Ferry, [292];
  • perfecting arrangements, [293]–307;
  • meets Douglass, [295]–297;
  • life at Kennedy Farm, [298]–302;
  • betrayal of plans of, [302]–303;
  • raid of, at Harper’s Ferry, [308]–337;
  • capture of, [333]–334;
  • fate of companions of, [336];
  • results, [338];
  • trial of, [356]–364;
  • execution of, [363]–364;
  • last letters of, [365]–373;
  • and present Negro problem, [373]–396;
  • character of, [15], [16], [22]–23, [26]–47, [300]–301, [338]–358;
  • descriptions of, [21], [28], [73], [74], [92], [104], [173]–174, [197], [287];
  • family of, [31]–39, [42], [44], [45], [58], [71], [73], [74], [87], [88], [89], [92], [95], [102]–104, [112], [119], [120], [121];
  • letters of, [42]–46, [53]–60, [62]–63, [66], [67], [69], [71], [72], [74], [87]–88, [113], [118], [132], [146]–149, [151], [152], [159], [166]–169, [178], [179], [182], [186], [187], [188]–189, [218], [220], [227], [228], [232]–234, [248], [249], [257], [266], [267], [270], [271], [304], [357], [365]–373;
  • reading of, [40];
  • religion of, [23], [25], [40]–41, [42], [47], [365]–373;
  • speeches of, [132], [150], [180]–182, [213]–214;
  • song of, [334].
• Brown, Oliver, [133], [146], [149], [152], [155], [283].
• Brown, Owen, [19], [20], [77], [78], [128], [147], [152], [155], [186], [252], [259], [272], [283], [319], [329], [335], [336].
• Brown, Peter, [19].
• Brown, Salmon, [128], [137], [152]–168, [186].
• Brown, Watson, [155], [283].
• Buchanan, President, [142], [214].
• Burns, Anthony, [72].
• Canada, the Negroes in, [236]–238, [253]–254, [270].
• Caste and the Negro, [76]–78, [81], [235]–247, [377]–380, [387], [388], [391]–393.
• Catchers, slave, [97].
• Charleston, Va. (W. Va.), [13].
• Committee, National Kansas, New York meeting of, [13], [207].
• Constitution, articles of Brown’s, [265], [266].
• Constitution, pro-slavery, of Kansas, [136].
• Constitution, Lecompton of Kansas, [143], [187], [224].
• Contact of races, [380], [382].
• Convention, address of Philadelphia, [236]–238.
• Convention, Big Springs, Kansas, [12].
• Convention, Chatham, [203], [257], [267].
• Convention, Syracuse, of Abolitionists, [12], [132], [133].
• Cook, John E., [219], [220], [252], [259], [315], [316], [318], [319], [324], [331], [336].
• Copeland, John A., [281]–305, [325], [336].
• Coppoc, Barclay, [223], [319], [336].
• Coppoc, Edwin, [223], [336].
• Coronado, [16], [123].
• Covenant and by-laws of John Brown’s followers, [160]–161.
• Crandall, Prudence, [87].
• Daingerfield, Captain, [326].
• Daniels, Jim, [192].
• Davis, Jefferson, [124], [391]–393.
• Day, Mary Ann, [11], [38], [241].
• Decision, Dred Scott, [142], [213].
• Delaney, Martin R., [245]–246, [248], [254], [258].
• Diary, John Brown’s, [278].
• Douglass, Frederick, [7], [12], [13], [15], [47], [101], [102]–109, [121], [122], [131], [132], [214], [225], [241], [247], [258], [342], [344]–346, [353].
• Douglas, Stephen A., [126].
• Dutch Henry’s Crossing, [134], [154].
• Emancipation, [386]–387.
• Engine-house at Harper’s Ferry, [326], [334].
• Fight at Harper’s Ferry, [322]–326.
• Floyd, John, Secretary of War, [124].
• Forbes, Hugh, [73];
  • meets Brown, [216]–217;
  • goes West, [218]–219;
  • returns East, [219];
  • betrays plans, [225];
  • complaints of, [266], [268].
• Franklin, Kansas, attack on, [175]–176.
• Freedom, League of, [244].
• Free Soilers, [131].
• Fugitive Slave Law, [12], [236].
• Fugitive slaves, [82], [84], [85], [88], [94], [106]–108, [203]–204, [241].
• Gabriel, [11], [83], [127].
• Garnet, H. H., [98], [102], [240], [243], [248], [258].
• Garrison, William Lloyd, [15], [93], [342].
• Geary, Governor of Kansas, [13], [141]–180, [183]–184.
• Giddings, Joshua, [152], [391]–392.
• Gill, George B., [223], [259].
• Gloucester, Negro minister, [98], [248], [258].
• Great Black Way, the, [273].
• Greeley, Horace, [130], [266].
• Green, Shields, [280], [323], [334], [336], [343]–347.
• Hall, Pennsylvania, [91].
• Hamilton’s massacre, [188], [192]–194.
• Harper’s Ferry raid:
  • the place 273–274;
  • plans of, [274]–276;
  • financial resources of, [277]–278;
  • military organizations of, [278]–280;
  • participants of, [280]–288;
  • depot at Chambersburg, [291]–292;
  • preparations, [293]–307;
  • beginning of foray, [308];
  • capture of armory, [310];
  • capture of town, [311];
  • capture of Colonel Washington, [311]–312;
  • halting of train, [313];
  • bringing up the arms, [314]–316;
  • further plans, [317]–319;
  • gathering of militia, [320]–322;
  • dislodging of Kagi, [324]–325;
  • retreat of engine-house, [326];
  • killing of Brown’s men, [327]–329;
  • arrival of Lee, [331];
  • parleying, [330]–333;
  • capture of Brown, [333]–334;
  • capture and escape of others, [334]–336.
• Harper, Samuel, [194]–195.
• Hayti, [75], [97].
• Hazlett, Albert, [334], [336].
• Henson, Josiah, [241], [253].
• Hinton, R. J., [7], [173], [181], [189], [204], [207], [222], [258], [277], [284].
• Holden, Isaac, [257], [258], [277], [284].
• Howe, Dr. S. G., [210], [231], [267], [341], [343].
• Hunter, Andrew, [352], [353], [356].
• Independence, Chatham Declaration of, [272].
• Insurrection, Cumberland region, [97].
• Insurrection in Virginia, [81].
• Insurrection of slaves, [79], [80], [83], [85], [97], [105]–106.
• Insurrection, proposed Negro, [166].
• Intermarriage of races, [382], [384], [385].
• Isaac, insurrection of, [97].
• Jackson, President, [50].
• Jamaica, [79], [97].
• Jones, Henry, [241].
• Jones, John, [248].
• Jones, J. M., [256], [258].
• Jones, Ottawa, [178].
• Journal, Freedom’s, [239].
• Kagi, J. H., [13], [196], [199], [200], [201], [202], [252], [259], [317], [318], [324], [325].
• Kansas, [123];
  • Brown’s sons in, [127]–131;
  • and slavery, [126], [134], [138], [144];
  • John Brown and, [125], [126]–127, [131]–134, [139], [143]–197.
• Kansas-Nebraska Bill, [13], [135], [136], [219]–221.
• Kennedy Farm, [319].
• Lane, General James, [134], [141], [173]–176, [186].
• Lane’s Army, [13], [173]–176.
• Lane College, [95].
• Langston brothers, [241], [258].
• Law, Fugitive Slave, [12], [113], [119].
• Lawrence, Kansas, [12], [167], [170];
  • sacking of, [153]–154;
  • last attack on, [180]–184.
• League, Liberty, [244].
• League of Gileadites, [12], [114].
• Leary, Lewis Sherrard, [282]–305.
• Lee, Robert E., [13], [331], [332].
• Leeman, William H., [221], [252], [259], [325], [336].
• Liberator, The, [94], [239].
• Liberty Hall, [158].
• Loudoun Heights, at Harper’s Ferry, [275], [318].
• L’Ouverture, Toussaint, [75], [216].
• Lovejoy, [91], [115].
• Lusk, Dianthe, [11], [32], [38].
• Marlborough Chapel, [91].
• Massacre at Dutch Henry’s Crossing, [139]–140, [143]–144, [154]–159.
• Maxon farm, Iowa, [252].
• Merriam, F. J., [286], [305], [336].
• Middle Creek, Kansas, [158].
• Military organization of Brown’s men, [106], [146], [149], [160]–169, [175]–179, [181]–182, [188]–189, [191], [226]–227, [278]–279.
• Mills, Peter, [19].
• Missouri slave raid, [191]–197.
• Mobs, abolition, [91].
• Mobs against Negroes, [235].
• Moffett, Charles W., [221], [252], [259].
• Montgomery, Captain, [188], [189], [190], [191].
• “Morgan, Shubel,” [189].
• Mulattoes, [77].
• Mysteries, American, [244].
• Negro character, [17].
• Negro conventions, [236], [237], [238], [239], [242], [244], [245]–246.
• Negro emigration, [245]–246.
• Negro insurgents, [318], [353]–354.
• Negro insurrections, [79]–80, [83], [85], [97], [105]–106.
• Negro leaders, [97], [98], [101], [102], [110], [240], [241]–243, [246], [258], [259], [294], [295].
• Negro, Northern, [235].
• Negro organizations, [203]–204, [244].
• Negro progress, 1830–1840, [235];
  • 1840–1850, [240];
  • 1850–1860, [243].
• Negro slavery, [76]–84.
• Negroes, [12], [16].
• Negroes in America, [16], [17];
  • in Canada, [236]–238.
• Negroes, increase of, in ten years, [243].
• Negroes and John Brown, [343], [344], [347].
• Negroes of Springfield, [98], [99].
• Negroes, present condition of, [389].
• Newby, Dangerfield, [281], [323].
• North Elba, New York, [12].
• North Star, [101], [242].
• Oberlin College, [11], [53], [55], [95], [258], [281], [283].
• Oberlin College lands in Virginia, [53]–55, [95].
• Odd Fellows, Negro, [240].
• Osawatomie, Kansas, [12], [128], [142], [147], [152], [159], [162], [166], [177], [224].
• Owen, John, [19].
• Panic of 1837, [11], [50], [55], [91].
• Parker, Theodore, [210], [227], [231].
• Parsons, L. L., [220]–221, [252], [259].
• Perkins, Simon, [58], [68].
• Perkins and Brown, wool-merchants, [62], [67].
• Pierce, President, [151].
• Plans at Harper’s Ferry, [101], [318], [319], [324], [326].
• Plans of John Brown, [106]–107, [260], [276].
• Pottawatomie Creek, [12], [157], [158], [162].
• Purvis, Robert, [241], [246].
• Raid at Harper’s Ferry, see Harper’s Ferry.
• Realf, Richard, [215]–220, [252], [259].
• Redpath, James, [7], [72], [99], [132], [147], [181], [246].
• Reeder, Governor of Kansas, [215].
• Reynolds, G. J., [208], [258], [260].
• Richardson, Richard, [221], [252], [258].
• Robinson, Charles, Governor of Kansas, [134], [150], [184], [207], [341], [342].
• Rochester, N. Y., state convention, [244]–245.
• Ross, Dr. A. M., [251], [257].
• Routes, Fugitive Slave, [97].
• “Sambo’s Mistakes,” [99].
• Sanborn, Frank B., [7], [13], [210], [228], [267].
• Schools for Negroes, [87], [94], [95].
• Shannon, Governor of Kansas, [141], [149], [150], [176].
• Shore, Captain, [167]–168.
• “Shubel Morgan’s” Company, [189].
• Slave insurrections, [79]–80, [83], [85], [97], [105]–106.
• Slavery, [75]–89, [124]–126, [235].
• Smith, Gerrit, [12], [53], [131], [132], [133], [207], [226], [303], [341].
• Smith, J. McCune, [98], [131], [132], [225], [240], [267].
• Smith, Stephen, [241], [248], [258].
• Societies, Phœnix, [239].
• Society, American Anti-slavery, [246].
• Society, American Moral Reform, [238].
• Society, New England Emigrant Aid, [136], [145].
• Song of “John Brown’s Body,” [374].
• Southern bands in Kansas, [152], [166], [188].
• Spell of Africa, [121].
• Springdale, Iowa, John Brown in, [221]–224.
• Stephens, Aaron D., [173], [194], [195]–222, [252], [259], [336].
• Stearns, George L., [208]–210, [226], [228], [277], [341].
• Still, William, [241], [248].
• Stuart, J. E. B., [332], [333].
• “Subterranean Pass Way,” [214].
• Sumner, Colonel, [15], [137], [139], [168]–169, [225], [266].
• Survey of Virginia lands, [53]–55.
• Swamp, Dismal, [86].
• Swamp of the Swan, [134], [145], [177], [188], [288].
• Sword of Gideon, [96].
• Tariff and wool, [61].
• Tariff of 1846, the, [65].
• Taylor, Stewart, [223], [259].
• Thayer, Eli, [126], [214].
• Thomas, John A., [258].
• Thomas, Thomas, [101], [247].
• Thompson, Henry, [113], [155]–168.
• Thompson, William, [77], [173], [315], [316], [319], [324], [328], [329].
• Tidd, C. P., [221], [252], [259], [315], [316], [319], [324], [331], [335], [336].
• Tubman, Harriet, [204], [241], [249], [251], [293].
• Turner, Nat, [11], [85], [97], [127], [239].
• Underground Railroad, [94], [101], [107], [110], [198], [243], [263].
• University, Western Reserve, [86].
• Vesey, Denmark, [83], [97].
• Virginia, [16].
• Wakarusa war and treaty, [151].
• War, Civil, [48], [142].
• War in Kansas, [140], [142].
• War of 1812, [25], [48]–49.
• Ward, Samuel Ringgold, [242], [243].
• Wars, Seminole, [84].
• Washington, Colonel Lewis, [317], [322].
• Wilberforce University, [236], [253].
• Wilson, Senator, [225], [226].
• Wise, Governor of Virginia, [336], [355].
• Woodson, Governor of Missouri, [180], [241].
• Wool-growers’ convention, [62].

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[1]. Redpath, Public Life of Captain John Brown, p. 25.

[2]. Autobiography of Owen Brown in Sanborn, Life and Letters of John Brown, p. 7.

[3]. The quotations in this chapter are from John Brown’s Autobiography, Sanborn, Life and Letters of John Brown, pp. 12–17.

[4]. John Brown’s Autobiography, Sanborn, p. 16.

[5]. Heman Hallock, in the New York Journal of Commerce, quoted in Sanborn, p. 32.

[6]. John Brown’s Autobiography, Sanborn, p. 16.

[7]. John Brown’s Autobiography, Sanborn, pp. 16, 17.

[8]. John Brown, Jr., in Sanborn, p. 34.