John Brown's War against Slavery

Drawing on both new and neglected evidence, this book reconstructs Old John Brown's aborted war to free the 3.8 million slaves in the American South before the Civil War. It critiques misleading sources that either exalt Brown's heroism and noble purpose or condemn his monomania and lawlessness . McGlone explains the sources of his obsession with slavery and his notorious crime at Pottawatomie Creek in Bleeding Kansas as well as how the Harpers Ferry raid figured into Brown's larger vision and why he was captured in the federal armory there. John Brown's War Against Slavery chronicles how this aged American apostle of violence in behalf of the downtrodden, this abolitionist fanatic and terroriser, ultimately rescued his cause by going to the gallows with resolution and outward calm. By embracing martyrdom, John Brown helped to spread panic in the South and persuaded northern sympathizers that failure can be noble and political violence righteous.