He was born the son of a New Englander in 1800. His family was considered one that wandered but John spent most of his younger days in Ohio. He was taught in area schools and taught from a young age to hate slavery.
During the War of 1812, John took care of the cattle for General William Hull's army. In 1820, he married and the couple had seven children. John moved his family to Pennsylvania and they opened a tannery. His wife died and Brown remarried a sixteen year old young woman. They had an additional thirteen children bringing Brown's offspring to twenty.
Even though John had big dreams and opened various tanneries, bought real estate, and became a wool broker, his businesses never succeeded. He was deeply burdened by his debt. Since he spent a lot of time with friends considered "blacks", John Brown became an advocate for their rights. He even organized a league for free blacks and fugitive slaves.
After Brown turned fifty years old, he began to believe that God wanted him to help abolish slavery so with five of his sons, he traveled to Kansas where he worked on making the state an anti-slavery land. It was during this time that four of his sons joined him in killing pro-slavery men. The Browns became hated yet feared by all those who were "for" the ownership of slaves.
Brown returned to Ohio in 1856. His mission was still at the front of his focus. He wanted to free slaves in the south. He began his quests by invading Missouri plantations where slaves resided and worked for their owners. In 1859, Brown led a group of men to an armory raid at Harpers Ferry.
Robert E. Lee learned of Brown's intentions and stopped him in the midst of his raid. During the fight, Brown lost ten people and was ultimately captured. He was found guilty of treason and met a death by hanging while people cheered. He was verbal and outspoken on the gallows and in the courtroom leaving behind a legacy that made him a well respected martyr in the north.
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