John Brown (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) was an American abolitionist who believed in and advocated armed insurrection as the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States. Brown first gained attention when he led small groups of volunteers during the Bleeding Kansas crisis of 1856. Dissatisfied with the pacifism of the organized abolitionist movement, he said, "These men are all talk. What we need is action—action!" In May 1856, Brown and his supporters killed five supporters of slavery in the Pottawatomie massacre, which responded to the sacking of Lawrence by pro-slavery forces. Brown then commanded anti-slavery forces at the Battle of Black Jack June 2 and the Battle of Osawatomie August 30.
In 1859, Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry to start a liberation movement among the slaves there. During the raid, he seized the armory; seven people were killed, and ten or more were injured. He intended to arm slaves with weapons from the arsenal, but the attack failed. Within 36 hours, Brown's men had fled or been killed or captured by local pro-slavery farmers, militiamen, and U.S. Marines led by Robert E. Lee. Tried for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, the murder of five men, and inciting a slave insurrection, Brown was found guilty on all counts and was hanged.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)
When the Fugitive Slave Act of 1851 became the law of the land, it found a large number of escaped slaves in the Northern States, who, on their flight from the South, had temporarily taken up their abode in towns through which they were passing, instead of going to Canada, as they had at first intended. Many of these had been years from slavery, had accumulated property, raised up families, and were considered a part of the resident population. In some places they had churches of their own, where a sufficient number warranted a separate organization. The announcement of the passage of the law created a profound sensation throughout the country, both amongst the whites and blacks; and especially the latter. So great was their feeling and the fear of recapture that large numbers fled to Canada, without waiting to dispose of their property; others sold out at an enormous sacrifice; while many laborers and domestics left without stopping to settle with employers. Thus families were suddenly broken up, and every railroad train toward the British Provinces was a bearer of these people. In one town in the State of New York the whole of the members of a Methodist church, with their pastor, fled to Canada. In Springfield, Mass., where a large number of fugitives had taken up their residence, the excitement appeared intense. The blacks left their employment, and were seeking more secluded hiding-places in the surrounding towns, or preparing to leave the country.
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