John Brown, frequently referred to as “Osawatomie Brown,” stands as one of the most enigmatic and controversial figures in American history, a fervent abolitionist whose radical actions irrevocably shaped the nation’s path toward the Civil War. Born on May 9, 1800, in Torrington, Connecticut, John Brown dedicated his life to the militant overthrow of slavery, believing it to be a moral imperative ordained by God.
Early Life and Abolitionist Roots
Born to Owen and Ruth Mills Brown, John Brown hailed from a lineage deeply rooted in American history; his earliest American ancestor, Peter Brown, arrived on the Mayflower in 1620, and both his paternal and maternal grandfathers served in the American Revolution. In 1805, his family relocated to Ohio, where young John spent his formative years working on the family farm and in his father’s tannery. This upbringing in Ohio, particularly under his father Owen, an early and staunch abolitionist, instilled in John a profound and unwavering antagonism towards the institution of slavery.
Brown’s early career saw him dabble in surveying before attempting to establish himself in the wool business in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1846. His ambitious but ultimately failed attempt to control wool prices led to a significant financial loss and bankruptcy. Despite these setbacks, he later found some success in the wool trade upon returning to Ohio. Gerrit Smith, an influential abolitionist, provided Brown with a piece of land near North Elba, New York, in the rugged Adirondacks, a place that would later become his final resting place.
His personal life was marked by two marriages and a large family. He first married Dianthe Lusk, who bore him seven children, and after her death, he married Mary Ann Day, with whom he had 13 more. Eight of his twenty children died young, but those who reached maturity shared their father’s intense abolitionist convictions, many actively participating in his desperate struggle against slavery.
“Bleeding Kansas” and the Fight for Freedom
The mid-1850s saw John Brown and his family drawn into the escalating sectional conflict over slavery, specifically in the Kansas Territory. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 introduced the controversial doctrine of
