Person

John Brown

1800–1859 · 19th century

John Brown was an American abolitionist and evangelical Christian who believed he was an instrument of God raised to strike the death blow to slavery, the leading exponent of violence in the abolitionist movement. During the Bleeding Kansas crisis he and his sons killed five supporters of slavery in the Pottawatomie massacre of May 1856. In October 1859 he led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, meaning to arm enslaved people, but few joined and his men were killed or captured by militia and US Marines under Robert E. Lee. Hanged for treason in December 1859, Brown was viewed as a hero in the North, and the raid escalated the tensions that led to the American Civil War.

John Brown
Image: Augustus Washington · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Great speeches

John Brown's Last Speech to the Court2 November 1859

Songs in history

Battle Hymn of the Republic1861John Brown's Body1861

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). John Brown. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/john-brown-abolitionist
MLA
“John Brown.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/john-brown-abolitionist. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “John Brown.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/john-brown-abolitionist.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘John Brown’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/john-brown-abolitionist (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻