Teacher
Resources
Entire
Unit |Lesson Plans
John
Brown: In His Own Words | John Brown in Kansas
John Brown and the Secret Six | John
Brown and Frederick Douglass
Planning the Raid | The Raid
| Interrogation of John Brown
The Trial of John Brown | Was John
Brown Insane? | The Execution
The Public Response
Entire
Unit
History
Professor Michael Eric Dyson once noted that, "America
was founded on breaking the law." Ask students to describe
the process to change a school policy that they don't like or
disagree with.
Then
discuss how to change governmental policies. Discuss and evaluate
the ways in which policy is shaped and set, specifically including
special interest groups. Issues that are relevant to your students
should be used - for example, a local town sets a 10 pm curfew
for teenagers, the state is considering raising the age for
a driver's license, or the Federal Government decides to ban
all skateboards in public places.
Ask
students: Is it ever right to break the law? If so, when? If
not, why not? Under what circumstances would students approve
of breaking the law?
Vocabulary:
insurgency (an armed rebellion against a constituted authority,
by any irregular armed force that rises up against an enforced
or established authority, government, or administration)
Frederick
Douglass said of John Brown, "I could live for the slave,
but he could die for him…" Today, Brown would be
labeled a terrorist for his tactics in a bloody personal war
against the South's "peculiar institution." Was John
Brown a terrorist?
During
the Civil War, many people became abolitionists. Why did these
people - many of whom were white - become zealots and devote
their lives to the anti-slavery cause?
Vocabulary:
zealot: a fervent and even militant proponent of something
What
causes, if any, do students believe are worth devoting one's
life to? What causes, if any, are worth risking one's life or
the lives of others for?
What
issues today would arouse people's passions as seriously as
John brown's raid on Harpers Ferry? Ask students to compare
and contrast John Brown's actions at Harper's Ferry with a contemporary
religious conflict. They may present their findings in a presentation
or report. Such conflicts might include Sikh terrorism, the
fatwa against author Salman Rushdie, Christian—Muslim
battles in Kosovo, or the Taleban vs. the Afghani government.
Ask students to consider the following in analyzing and comparing
conflicts: What is the cause? What groups make up the two sides?
What does each want? How do the goals of each side affect the
other? What are each group's methods? Do the goals justify means?
How are innocent bystanders affected? What are outcomes of each
conflict? Are these outcomes, in students' opinions, positive
or negative? Ultimately, was each fight worth it? Is one fight
more worthy than the other?
Resources:
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John
Brown: In His Own Words
This
activity asks students to explore who John Brown was through
a variety of media.
Music:
Ask students to read the history of the
John Brown song. Play a recording of the song in class,
if possible.
A
version of the song are available from the PBS website:
John Brown's Holy War:
RealAudio
[2min 7sec]
wav
[472K -- 43 seconds]
wav
[1.4MB -- 2min 7sec]
Then
ask students to research historical songs of their choosing
from our Historical
Music page.
Here
are some questions to begin:
- What
is the songwriter saying about the subject?
- Why
might this subject be worth featuring in a ballad?
- What
place in history does the subject hold?
- How
does the music make listeners feel about the subject? The
lyrics?
- Is
the ballad a positive or negative portrayal?
- How
does the music relate to the life and times of the subject?
- What
do students learn about the subject from the song?
-
How is listening to a ballad different than reading about
a subject or watching a filmed account?
Newspapers:
John Brown's national notoriety was largely due to extensive
newspaper coverage of his raid, trial, and execution. As an
extension, ask students to write a fictional account of a meeting
with John Brown. There are a variety of different types of articles:
for example, profiles, news stories, features, and essays.
Students
may write from a variety of viewpoints as well: Northern abolitionist,
Southern anti-abolitionist, Free Soiler, freed slave, slave,
neutral observer.
What
was the Free Soil Party? The Free Soil Party merged
with the Liberty Party in 1848. Their title clearly states their
platform: no extension of slavery outside the boundaries of
the Wilmot Proviso. Whigs attracted to the party nailed an internal
improvements plank to the official platform. The party's campaign
slogan was, "Free Soil, free speech, free labor, and free
men."
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John
Brown in Kansas
Background:
Bleeding
Kansas: Aantislavery (Free State) and proslavery (Slave
State) settlers rushed into Kansas to claim land and to ensure
future status of slavery. Violence erupted in early 1855, and
reached a climax in 1856. On May 21, 1856, 800 proslavery men,
many from Missouri, marched into Lawrence, Kansas, to arrest
the leaders of the antislavery government. The posse burned
the local hotel, looted a number of houses, destroyed two antislavery
printing presses, and killed one man. One member of the posse
declared: "Gentlemen, this is the happiest day of my life.
I determined to make the fanatics bow before me in the dust
and kiss the territorial laws. I have done it, by God."
No one was killed, though newspapers incorrectly reported that
five free state settlers killed. John Brown heard this, and
in retribution he and his followers murder five proslavery settlers
a few days later with broadswords.
Bleeding
Sumner: In May 1856, Charles Sumner (Sen, R, MA) gave
a speech called “The Crime Against Kansas.” He says
that proslavery settlers are outlaws, and are aided by southern
politicians such as Sen. Butler of South Carolina. He also attacks
Butler’s character. A few days later Butler’s nephew
Preston Brooks (HR, D, SC) enters the Senate Chamber and beats
Sumner with a cane while Sumner is trapped behind desk.
Back
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John
Brown and the Secret Six
Activity
1: Who Were the Secret Six?
Ask
students to research each member of the "Secret Six":
- Dr.
Samuel Gridley Howe
- Thomas
Wentworth Higginson
- Theodore
Parker
- Franklin
Sanborn
- Gerrit
Smith
- George
Luther Stearns
Here
are some resources:
Activity
2: The Trial of the Secret Six
In
this activity students, students re-enact the trial of
the
six men who helped John Brown. This activity was written
by Steve Pacheco, Tahanto Regional High School, Boylston,
Massachusetts,
and used with permission of the
Museum of Massachusetts History.
The
Trial of the Secret Six (PDF format)
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John
Brown and Frederick Douglass
Frederick
Douglass remarked, "Did John Brown fail? John Brown began
the war that ended American slavery and made this a free Republic."
Do
students think that with Frederick Douglass was correct? Was
John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry the first step towards the
Civil War and ultimately the end of American slavery?
There
were certainly positive and negative effects of the Harper's
Ferry raid. In small groups, students can respond to the following
questions:
-
What were immediate positive outcomes?
- What
were the immediate negative outcomes?
- What
were repercussions for the future?
- What
groups benefited from the raid?
- What
groups were negatively impacted?
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Planning
the Raid
Use
"John Brown's Movements, from June to December, 1859"
at http://www.iath.virginia.edu/jbrown/chrono.html
and an historical map to trace the route John Brown used to
travel to Harper's Ferry in 1859.
You
can use the National Atlas website to create and print maps
for students to annotate. (http://nationalatlas.gov/)
The
interactive map at the PBS website, John Brown's Holy War, provides
an example that maps Brown's life. (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/brown/maps/index.html)
Possible
places to include with links to websites:
- Collinsville,
Connecticut
http://www.civilwar.si.edu/slavery_brown8.html
- Troy,
New York
- Keene,
New York
- Westport,
Connecticut
- North
Elba, New York
http://www.nyhistory.com/gerritsmith/nelba.htm
- West
Andover, Ohio
- Akron,
Ohio
- Pittsburg,
Pennsylvania
- Bedford
Springs, Pennsylvania
- Hagerstown,
Maryland
- Sandy
Hook, Maryland
- Kennedy
Farm, Sharpsburg, Maryland
http://www.wcht.org/art_kennedy.html
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/md1.htm
- Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
- Harrisburg,Pennsylvania
- Chambersburg,
Pennsylvania
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/pa2.htm
- Harper's
Ferry, Maryland
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/wv2.htm
- Charles
Town, West Virginia
http://www.washingtonheritagetrail.org/
whtmapspages/charlestown.asp
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The
Raid
In
this activity, students read three different accounts of
the
raid and compare them using a Venn diagram. Download a Venn
Template (PDF format) to
use in your classroom.
1.
Have students read and take notes on “Recollections
of the John Brown Raid by a Virginian Who Witnessed the Fight”
at http://www.iath.virginia.edu/jbrown/boteler.html
2
. Have students read and take notes on “Charles White’s
Account of the Raid at Harpers Ferry” at http://www.iath.virginia.edu/jbrown/vmhb.html
3
. Ask students compare the two accounts. In what ways were
they similar? In what ways were they different? Why are they
different?
4.
Ask students to read the newspaper account and note how it
differs from the first two accounts, “Harper’s
Ferry Tragedy- Mad Brown’s Insurrection at http://www.iath.virginia.edu/jbrown/spirit.html
5.
In small groups, have the students produce a VENN diagram
showing similarities and differences. Outside of the circles,
have students list reasons why these differences might have
occurred.
Back
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Interrogation
of John Brown
After
students read the transcript of the
interrogation, they could role play the events, then develop
questions that they would have asked John Brown when he was
captured.
Back
to the Top
The
Trial of John Brown
Activity
1: Were John Brown's actions just or unjust?
The
class can reenact the trial of John Brown. Students should be
assigned the role of those people quoted in the section "The
Trial of John Brown" (John Brown, Mahala Doyle, Frances
Ellen Watkins, Henry David Thoreau, a Richmond "Whig"
reporter) and give testimony from each viewpoint. The judge,
the prosecuting attorney, and his lawyer should also be chosen.
Prosecutors
Charles B. Harding, assisted by Andrew Hunter, represented
the Commonwealth of Virginia; and Lawson Botts and his assistant
Mr. Green, were the original defense counsel for the prisoners.
On the fourth day of the trial, when both Botts and Green
resigned from the defense, Samuel Chilton, of Washington City,
and Henry Griswold, of Cleveland, Ohio appeared as additional
counsel for the prisoner.
The
rest of the class can act as the jury, and vote by written ballot.
Ballots should include a paragraph justifying each student's
vote.
Read
the account of the trial in the Life, Trial and Execution
of Captain John Brown; 1859, Robert M. De Witt, publisher.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/treatise/john_brown/john_brown.htm
Activity
2: What if...?
This
activity is from the National Park Service Study Guide, Harpers
Ferry and the Story of John Brown
Ask
students what they think would have happened if any of the circumstances
surrounding the raid and the trial had been different. For example,
what do they think would have happened if...
-
John Brown had escaped during the raid?
- John
Brown had been killed during the raid?
- John
Brown had succeeded at Harpers Ferry?
- John
Brown had pleaded insanity?
- Women
had been included among the raiders?
- John
Brown had been tried by the Federal Government instead of
the Commonwealth of Virginia?
- John
Brown's jury had included African-Americans?
- John
Brown had not been given access to the press?
- John
Brown had not received support from the "Secret Six"?
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Was
John Brown Insane?
Brown's
defense counsel wanted to use insanity as a defense to prevent
him from being sentenced to hang. But because of Brown's determination
to represent his own opinions in his own words, his lawyers
were restrained in their own speeches on his behalf, saying
they "could only declare their belief in the nobility of
John Brown's intentions and indicate some of the atrocities
which he might have, but had not committed."
What
is the definition of insanity as used by doctors and lawyers?
How has this definition changed over time?
Ask
students to debate both sides of the question. Should a plea
of insanity be used to defend a murderer? Should an insane person
be tried in the same manner as a sane person?
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The
Execution
On
the day Brown was hanged, William Lloyd Garrison, America's
best known Abolitionist, delivered a passsionate tribute honoring
Brown by advocating that the North should secede from the South
to end slavery.
Students
can compare this speech to the speech given by Andrew Hunter,
one of the prosecutors at Brown's trial.
Garrison's
speech | Hunter's speech
Back
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The
Public Response
Activity
1: Meanings
Ask
student to complete a chart on what the attack on Harpers Ferry
meant to specific groups of people. Students should also find
a quote that represents this point of view.
See
an example.
Activity
2: Names
During
his life, John Brown was given a number of names. Here are a
few of the names he was called during his life. Discuss which
of these descriptions students think are most appropriate and
why. Are there other names the students can think of?
- Captain
John Brown:
The abolitionist zealot
- Commander-in-Chief:
The leader of the Provisional Army of the U.S.
- The
Lunatic: The insane defendant
- The
Martyr: The man who died for his antislavery convictions
- Ossawatomie
Brown: The man who led the bloody massacre in Kansas
- Old
Devil Brown: The man who terrorized Kansas and Virginia
- Old
John Brown: The business failure who fathered 20 children
- Saint
John the Just: The martyr who was willing to sacrifice
his life to rid the country of slavery
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