John Brown

By: W. E. B. Du Bois

Narrated by: Kristen Wallace

Few figures are more seminal in the abolitionist movement in America than John Brown. His firebrand approach to the movement arose out of his religiously inspired and deep-seated belief that slavery was not only morally unjust but that its removal from American society could only be achieved through armed insurrection.

Following his capture in 1859 during an unsuccessful raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry and his subsequent hanging, he became an electrifying and symbolical figure for the abolitionist movement. Many historians argue that the incident at Harpers Ferry was the breaking point between pro- and anti-slavery forces that led to the secession of the southern states and the subsequent Civil War.

Prominent African American W. E. B. Du Bois chronicles the life of John Brown in this 1909 biography. In the words of Du Bois, John Brown was "a man whose leadership lay not in his office, wealth or influence, but in the white flame of his utter devotion to an ideal."

Public Domain (P)2022 Licensing Management, Inc.

Essential Reading

Dubois' loving depiction has extreme utility to the 2020's as America is presented with another Freedom Fighter/Terrorist case in the person of Luigi Mangione. The details of Browns life and the tone of Dubois' century old perspective provide fruitful contrast. Of particular note to me was Browns unswerving patriotism I. the face of the reality of slavery a view that was at odds with the slaves he emancipated. He called America a guilty nation from the gallows making me wonder if he became swayed to the slave perspective before martyrdom but more importantly what this relationship to patriotism did for the propaganda of his actions.

Voice

Lady Reading This Book. It would have been better if a powerful man with have read The Life of John Brown.