Podcast Summary: "What Caused the Civil War? | John Brown's Raid"

American History Hit with Don Wildman – September 18, 2025
Guest: Kelly Carter Jackson (Associate Professor of Africana Studies, Wellesley College)

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode explores the roots of the American Civil War through the pivotal and often misunderstood event of John Brown’s 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry. Host Don Wildman and guest historian Kelly Carter Jackson examine not only the chronology and drama of the raid itself, but also the deeper history of anti-slavery resistance, the evolution of abolitionism, the motivations behind acts of violent resistance, and the perspectives of both white and Black abolitionists in the tumultuous decade leading up to war.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Pre-Civil War Context: Abolitionism and Tensions Rising

[04:51 – 08:44]

• Abolitionism had deep roots: Organized anti-slavery activism began in earnest as far back as the 1820s with figures like David Walker, the founding of the American Anti-Slavery Society (1832-33), and continued for over 20 years into the 1850s.
• Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 as a turning point:
  • The Act nationalized slavery, making escape difficult even in "free" states and turning the North into hunting grounds for slave catchers.
  • "The only border that can really protect you is Canada." – Kelly Carter Jackson [05:45]
  • Led to a more militant response: “It makes… the abolitionist movement one that had started out being moral suasion… into, now, fight or flight. You’ve got two options… stand your ground.” – Carter Jackson [06:31]
• Bleeding Kansas (1850s):
  • Violent struggle over whether Kansas would be a free or slave state; "56 people are killed just trying to determine whether Kansas is a slave state or a free state…" [07:38]
  • Events like the Anthony Burns case and the caning of Senator Charles Sumner radicalized northern public opinion.

2. Fracturing of the Abolitionist Movement

[09:38 – 10:40]

• By the late 1850s, abolitionists split directionally:
  • Garrisonians: Nonviolent, moral persuasion (William Lloyd Garrison)
  • Radical Black Abolitionists and Allies: Many concluded that “slavery starts with violence… will only be overthrown with violence.” (Henry Highland Garnett, Lewis Hayden, Jermaine Logan, Frederick Douglass)

3. Black Resistance: Limited Options and Organizing for Survival

[10:55 – 12:04]

• Free Blacks in the North faced existential threats; groups organized quasi-military patrols for community protection, similar to modern-day parallels with immigration enforcement.

4. John Brown – Symbolism and Evolution

[12:33 – 15:30]

• Not a lone wolf: Brown’s mission was a partnership with Black abolitionists and drew inspiration from Haitian revolutionary heroes and contemporary Black leaders.
  • “He wasn’t just willing to work for freedom, he was willing to defer… be in solidarity for that effort.” [13:04]
• Religious conviction: Brown’s actions rooted in a Calvinist upbringing and Second Great Awakening era beliefs: “He believes that God has told him he has a mandate… set the captives free.” [14:42]

5. Tipping Points and Precedents

[15:30 – 18:04]

• Elijah Lovejoy’s murder (1837): A touchstone for Brown and other abolitionists; “He becomes… one of the first white martyrs of the movement. Brown sees him… and is so inspired…” [17:11]
• Lincoln was also influenced by Lovejoy’s murder [17:34]

6. The Road to Harpers Ferry: Strategy and Support

[18:04 – 22:11]

• Location: Harpers Ferry chosen for strategic escape possibilities and the presence of a federal armory.
  • “He’s looking at places… where enslaved people could easily run away… get to the Blue Ridge Mountains…” [18:10]
• Funders and Supporters:
  • Mary Ellen Pleasant, “the first Black millionaire” of California, major financier ($30,000), traveled east to support the raid, was frustrated by sudden changes in schedule [19:24 – 21:23].
  • Other backers: Frederick Douglass, Garrisonians, Secret Six.
  • Tubman was to participate but missed the raid due to its premature launch and health issues [21:50].

7. The Raid: Sequence of Events

[24:40 – 28:12]

• Small force led by Brown: 21 men (16 white, 5 Black); stockpiled supplies, kept secrecy paramount.
  • “Enslaved people… knew how to keep a secret. That is the only way they survived.” [25:44]
• October 16, 1859: Brown’s men seize the federal armory after dark, cut telegraph wires, initially face little resistance.
  • “21 people, I mean, we’re talking two dozen men. That’s not an army…”
  • Townspeople eventually notice, raise the alarm, militia summoned.

8. Collapse and Capture

[28:12 – 32:31]

• Brown’s group becomes trapped in the armory with hostages, including Lewis Washington, grand-nephew of George Washington.
• Local and state militias, then federal troops under Col. Robert E. Lee, surround and assault the armory (engine house).
  • Federal troops storm the building after 36 hours; 10 raiders killed (including Brown's two sons), 7 captured, 5 escape [31:26].
  • Brown is captured, severely wounded but not killed at the scene.

9. National Outcry and Symbolism

[32:31 – 35:42]

• Southern terror: Brown’s raid viewed as proof that the North aimed to incite slave revolts; used to galvanize support for secession.
• Brown’s trial:
  • “He is a white man… He suddenly gets the attention that abolitionists have been looking for a long time.” [33:45]
  • His statements from jail turn him into a martyr:
    • “Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice… let it be done.” – John Brown [35:42]

10. Aftermath: Executions and Impact

[37:01 – 39:49]

• Brown hanged December 2, 1859; Black collaborators Shields Green and John Copeland also executed Dec 10.
• Copeland’s letter:
  • “Could I die in a more noble cause?… what I’m doing is no different than what George Washington did. I am fighting for freedom…” [37:12]
• The raid becomes legendary, immortalized in song (“John Brown’s Body”) and popular memory; seen as the true spark for the Civil War:
  • “John Brown’s light, his fire, keeps on blazing for the next five years.” – Carter Jackson [39:49]

11. The Raid’s Legacy: Myths and Realities

[41:55 – 46:46]

• Northern and Southern reactions diverge strongly:
  • In the North, Brown is compared to Christ (Ralph Waldo Emerson) and his story inspires abolitionist fervor.
  • In the South, fear of slave insurrection intensifies; Brown’s actions justify talk of secession and hardline resistance.
• Many abolitionists try to distance themselves, painting Brown as a fanatic, but Carter Jackson defends his rationality and purpose.
• Significance of Black collaborators and supporters often overlooked in history; stories of Mary Ellen Pleasant, John Copeland, and others underscore the broad, diverse roots of resistance.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the inescapability of violence:
  • “Slavery starts with violence. Slavery is sustained by violence. Slavery will only be overthrown with violence.” – Kelly Carter Jackson [09:59]
• On Black self-defense and secrecy:
  • “People were very much… if their allegiance was to anything, it was to secrecy, because secrecy was safety.” – Carter Jackson [25:44]
• On the importance of Black agency:
  • “John Brown… was willing to defer. He was willing to look at Black leadership and say, what do you want… and be in solidarity for that effort.” – Carter Jackson [13:04]
• On Brown’s religiosity:
  • “He believes… he has a mandate, that he is there to set the captives free in biblical language.” – Carter Jackson [14:42]
• John Brown’s martyrdom (at trial):
  • “Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice… let it be done.” – John Brown, quoted by Don Wildman [35:42]
• On Black abolitionist John Copeland:
  • “What I’m doing is no different than what George Washington did. I am fighting for freedom, I am fighting for liberty. And to die in this noble cause is what he would consider an honor.” – Carter Jackson [37:23]
• On legacy:
  • “John Brown’s light, his fire, keeps on blazing for the next five years.” – Kelly Carter Jackson [39:49]
• On Mary Ellen Pleasant:
  • “It’s also crazy… that when she dies, on her tombstone, she requests that it say she was a friend of John Brown.” – Carter Jackson [46:28]

Key Timestamps for Segments

| Topic | Speaker | Timestamp | |-------------------------------------------------|------------------------|:--------------:| | Abolitionist movement & Fugitive Slave Act | Carter Jackson | 05:08 – 07:38 | | Violence in Bleeding Kansas, Dred Scott, Sumner | Carter Jackson | 07:38 – 08:44 | | Fracturing abolitionists; rising militancy | Carter Jackson | 09:38 – 10:40 | | Black resistance and defense | Carter Jackson | 10:55 – 12:04 | | Brown as follower & ally to Black leaders | Carter Jackson | 12:33 – 14:42 | | Brown’s religiosity & inspiration | Both | 14:42 – 15:30 | | Elijah Lovejoy: martyrdom & inspiration | Carter Jackson | 16:14 – 17:34 | | Why Harpers Ferry? | Carter Jackson | 18:04 – 19:11 | | Mary Ellen Pleasant: support and fallout | Both | 19:24 – 22:11 | | Reconstruction of the raid | Both | 24:40 – 28:12 | | Breakdown and crisis in the raid | Both | 28:12 – 32:31 | | Impact, trial, and martyrdom | Both | 32:31 – 39:49 | | Legacy, North/South views, long-term effects | Both | 41:55 – 46:46 |

Conclusion & Reflection

The episode powerfully reframes John Brown’s Raid as the culmination of decades of fracturing anti-slavery activism—a bold, tragic attempt that forced the nation into a reckoning with its “original sin.” Kelly Carter Jackson emphasizes both the diversity and bravery of abolitionist actors, especially otherwise-neglected Black leaders and supporters. While Brown became a martyr and point of polarization, the episode underscores the vital collective effort—Black and white, violent and nonviolent—that pushed the US inevitably toward civil war.

“Slavery was not abolished nonviolently. It was a long, bloody battle. And still to this day, the most casualties the United States have ever experienced has come from the Civil War. Over 750,000 people die in that war.”
– Kelly Carter Jackson [45:38]

Further Reading by Kelly Carter Jackson:

• We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance
• Force and Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence

Find Kelly Carter Jackson on her podcast:

• “This Day Podcast”

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