Document 12.5 State Register (Springfield, Illinois), The Irrepressible Conflict, 1859
Document 12.6 Henry David Thoreau, A Plea for Captain John Brown, 1859
Document 12.7 Reverend J. Sella Martin, Day of Mourning Speech, December 2, 1859
Document 12.8 A Southern Paper Reacts to Brown’s Execution, December 3, 1859
Document 12.9 Currier and Ives, John Brown on His Way to Execution, 1863
Interpret the Evidence
How do these different sources describe Brown? What language and imagery do they use? How is religious imagery employed in the various documents?
In what ways do Brown’s admirers, such as Henry David Thoreau (Document 12.6) and J. Sella Martin (Document 12.7), support Brown and his use of violence?
Critics of Brown used his raid to condemn abolitionism. On what basis did they make more generalized claims of northern guilt (Documents 12.5 and 12.8)?
In what ways do these sources characterize Brown before his execution (Documents 12.5 and 12.6) and after (Documents 12.7, 12.8, and 12.9)?
What images and messages are used in the Currier and Ives illustration (Document 12.9) to portray Brown as a martyr?
Put It in Context
How do the reactions to John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry illuminate the conflicts that led to Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860 and South Carolina’s secession shortly after?
What are the connections between northern political opposition to slavery, Garrisonian moral persuasion, and Brown’s armed raid?
Exploring American HistoriesPrinted Page 412
Chapter Timeline