About this episode:
The stage: the town of Alton in southern Illinois. The date of the act committed: the 7th of November, 1837. On that Tuesday, an angry mob murdered Elijah Lovejoy, the Presbyterian minister who was the founder of the Illinois State Anti-Slave Society. Two days later, some 500 miles east in Hudson Ohio, a church congregation held a memorial service to honor the murdered activist. Owen Brown opened the gathering with a long, tearful prayer. At its conclusion, there was a long silence. Then, in the back, Owen Brown’s son rose and, stiffly, raised his right hand, then vowed, “Here before God, in the presence of these witnesses, I consecrate my life to the destruction of slavery.” It was 37-year-old John Brown’s first public statement on the inflammatory issue and, as time would tell, his message and actions would be ominous. And yet, on that Tuesday and in that service, this was John Brown of Hudson, Ohio. It would take time and events to fully create the John Brown of “Bleeding” Kansas and Harpers Ferry. From crusader to Old Testament avenging angel, this is his story.
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Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:
Gerrit Smith
John Brown, Jr.
William Lloyd Garrison
Frederick Douglass
John B. Floyd
Watson Brown
Get The Guide:
Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.
Producer: Dan Irving
14 - "With Malice Toward None" - Lincoln's Greatest Speech
13 - Thunder On The Rivers Tennessee And Cumberland: Forts Henry And Donelson
12 - The Gibraltar Of The Confederacy - Fort Fisher
11 - Fredericksburg And The Winter Of 1862-'63
10 - Mr. Lincoln Goes To Gettysburg
9 - The Ram Of The Roanoke - The CSS Albemarle
8 - Sheer Unadulterated Violence: The Battle Of Antietam
7 - Little Mac: Letters From George B. McClellan
6 - The Plains Of Manassas
5 - "Stonewall" - Part 02
4 - ”Stonewall” - Part 01
3 - Lee And Grant - Their Finest Hour
2 - Call To Duty: The Common Soldier - 1861
1 - Flashpoint 1861 Fort Sumter
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