My presentation on the rebellious John Brown.

1. John Brown
By: Harley Giles

2. Taking of the Armory
• From October 16-18, 1859, John Brown and his
crew took control of the U.S. Armory and Arsenal.
• At this time he stated that “I came here from
Kansas and this is a slave state; I want to free all
the negroes in this state; I now have possession of
the U.S. Armory, and if citizens interfere with me, I
must only burn the town and have blood.
• Unfortunately for Brown, the U.S. Marines got
involved and took he and his crew captive.

3. Trial of John Brown
• His trial began on October 27, and lasted only five days,
because the jurors came to such a quick verdict. He was
found guilty and sentenced to hanging at the gallows.
• He was executed on December 2, 1859.
• Before he was executed, he issued a prophetic warning: "I
wish to say furthermore, that you had better - all you people
at the South - prepare yourselves for a settlement of that
question that must come up for settlement sooner than you
are prepared for it. The sooner you are prepared the better.
You may dispose of me very easily; I am nearly disposed of
now; but this question is still to be settled - this negro
question I mean - the end of that is not yet".

4. The Legend of John Brown
• John’s wife, Mary, took his body to his home of
North Elba, New York for burial.
• In his death, Brown had become a celebrity of
sorts.
• A contemporary newspaper foretold a grim
future: “The Harpers Ferry invasion has advanced
the cause of disunion more than any other event
that has happened since the formation of the
Government”. Hope of a compromise between the
North and South slowly slipped away. It seemed
that Civil War was inevitable.