John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry
Historians rely on primary sources in order to understand the thoughts and experiences of people in the past. Primary documents are usually produced during the time period that is under examination, but they still need to be interpreted. The historian’s job is to examine sets of primary documents in order to draw larger conclusions about events in the past. In this assignment, students are asked to examine the primary documents contained in Earle, John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry. No outside sources may be used for this assignment. The most successful papers will use documents through the book (not just the first few documents contained in the book.) Samples of footnotes and a tip sheet for interpreting primary documents are included in this assignment sheet. John Brown was a polarizing figure in his own time as well as during the decades after his death. John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry presents a range of documents that both denounce and support John Brown and one of the most important acts of radical antislavery in the pre-Civil War United States. According to John Brown and his contemporaries, was Brown justified in his actions at Harpers Ferry and elsewhere? Why or why not? If yes, how did individuals, newspapers, and government bodies claim that John Brown was in the right? If not, what attacks did newspapers, thinkers, and government representatives bring against John Brown and his tactics? Your essay must have a thesis. Be sure to cite with footnotes at least five of the primary sources in the book, directly quoting at least two.
Solution
John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry
October 16, 1859, John Brown, who was an abolitionist arrived at Harpers Ferry town in Virginia in the company of 18 men. The group captivated some of the prominent persons and seized the federal arsenal. “John together with his men came to the town and got hold of the very noticeable and elite people, and captured armories (Moore, 1959).” John’s intention was to free the captives in the neighboring territories and engage them into an army. It is through the formation of a martial grouping that John deemed fit to free all slaves from the South. Since his battalion lacked a strategic action plan[1], they were surrounded by the federal troops and local militia groups. At the end of the invasion, a majority of John’s men ended up either being killed or held hostage…………………………..To access the rest of the solution for $10, please click on the purchase button.
