Description

In October 1859 abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry His goal was to secure weapons and start a slave rebellion The raid was a failure but it galvanized the nation and sparked the Civil War

Still one of the most controversial figures in American history John Browns actions raise interesting questions about unsanctioned violence that can be justified for a greater good

For more than a hundred years after Browns hanging biographies of him tended to be highly politicizedthen came historian Stephen B Oatess biography of Brown Since its publication Professor Oatess work has come to be recognized as the definitive biography of Brown a balanced assessment that captures the man in all his complexity