Document Type
Paper
Abstract
On Sunday October 16th, 1859, John Brown and 21 men besieged Harpers Ferry in an attempt to sow chaos and upheave the institution of slavery. Brown held the area for a few days before being captured, taken to court, and killed. Seen as an inciting incident in the American Civil War, the raid’s influence far outweighs its actual success. Brown may not have been able to abolish slavery himself, but he started a chain of events that would lead to his dream coming to fruition. Although Brown’s use of direct action as a means of creating change at Harpers Ferry didn’t achieve results immediately, the legacy of his martyrdom shows that his methods were effective.
Department(s)
General Education
Date Accepted/Awarded
11-2021
Award/Distinction
Library Research Prize for First Year Students - Third Place Winner
Course
Humanities III
Recommended Citation
Derfus, Sam, "John Brown: The Hanged Hero" (2021). Library Research Prize Student Works. 16.
https://spark.bethel.edu/library-research-prize-work/16
Answers to reflection questions about the library research process
Terms of Use and License Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.