John Brown led violent abolitionists

It is the birthday of fiery abolitionist John Brown (1800), who led antislavery forces in battles against slavery supporters in Kansas in the tumultuous years leading up to the Civil War. Brown resorted to violence in an era when most abolitionists advocated peaceful resistance to slavery. Brown’s final act was raiding the U.S. Armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1859 and attempting to incite a revolt among the slaves. He was tried for treason in the Commonwealth of Virginia and excited by hanging. He became a martyr for the Union cause and the song John Brown’s Body became an anthem during the Civil War.