The Republican Party grew in the 1850s in opposition to the expansion of slavery. John Brown launched a raid in 1859 on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, intending to start a slave revolt but failing to do so. Brown was captured and hanged for treason in 1859. His actions increased sectional tensions and polarized views on slavery, contributing to the conditions that led to the Civil War.
34. The Republican Party is created and grows very
quickly
The name “Republican” appealed to many
groups and had a historical connection to
Thomas Jefferson and Henry Clay
The most important plank of the party was that it
was opposed to the extension of slavery – so the
common ground for this party in 1856 was what
is was against, not necessarily what it was for!
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44. • John Brown had been
active in Kansas, had no
faith in the political
system, and firmly
believed that slavery was
a sin which the country
had to pay for in blood
• Brown openly helped
slaves escape to Canada
• Brown moved to
Maryland in 1859 and
rented a farm
• He collected an army of
21 men
John Brown’s Raid On Harper’s Ferry
45. October 16, 1859
• Brown and his men raid the Federal arsenal
at Harper’s Ferry
• He intends to liberate the slaves of the South
• The slaves do not rise up in revolt
• Brown fortifies himself in the fire house in
Harper’s Ferry and waits – he should have
fled to the hills
• Federal troops – Marines- arrive under the
command of Robert E. Lee and Jeb Stuart
46. John Brown Is Hanged
• Brown was hanged on December 2, 1859 in Charles Town
• Over 5,000 militia come to Charles Town to maintain
security and/or to watch
• Professor Thomas J. Jackson led the corps of cadets from
Virginia Military Institute to the hanging
• John Wilkes Booth joined the Richmond Militia in order to
come to this hanging
• Brown spoke before he was hanged and said that the
United States would pay in blood for its sin of slavery
• John Brown becomes the Martyr of Abolition
• Six of Brown’s men are hanged after him ( at a later date)
• “John Brown’s Body” became one of the most famous
songs of the era