The Pottawatomie Massacre and Harpers Ferry

1.  Examine the facts about these two events

        On the night of May 24 and the morning of May 25,

John Brown and a small group of men murdered 5

pro-slavery settlers at the junction of the Mosquito

and Pottawatomie Creek in FranklinCounty in bleeding

Kansas. James P. Doyle, his two sons Drury and

William, Allen Wilkinson, and William Sherman were

killed with knives and swords (guns would have made

too much noise and attracted the attention of the

neighbors). Browns objective of the massacre was to

scare the pro-slavery settlers in order to protect the

free state settlers. He later said that he wanted to

sweep the Pottawatomie of all pro-slavery men living

on it.

        On the evening of October 16 and the morning of

October 17 in 1859, John Brown led one of the most

famous raids prior to the Civil War. At around 7pm on

October 16th, Brown led a group of 22 men down to

Harpers Ferry. In order to accomplish their goal,

they would have to do two things. They would have to

capture the arsenal, which help the weapons they would

use and get out of the area before word got to D.C.

They would also have to get slaves to join them on the

raid, which didnt happen because none of the slaves

wanted to join. They were successful for a short time

in keeping the arsenal under their control before U.S.

federal troops overtook it. Only five raiders got away

safely; the others were captured including John Brown.

He was tried, found guilty of treason, and was hanged

a very short time later.

2. Examine primary source documents on both events

The documents we used included:

ß Our APUSH Textbook

ß www.skyways.org/history/khmlane.html

ß

www.britannica,com/eb/article-9061078/Pottawatomie-Massacre

ß www.assumption.edu/ahc/kansas/FranklinCounty.html 

ß www.wvculture.org/history/jnobrown.html 

3. Make inferences and draw conclusions

ß To what extent did John Browns events influence the

Civil War? 

John Browns events led to the civil war. He united the abolitionists and gave them spirit in the cause they were fight for. I think both sides had very strong beliefs which caused the war.

ß Is he a psycho or is he a person who believes in

justice?

John Brown is a person who believes in justice. If Brown

Was a psycho he would be running around the saloons during that time?

He wanted to reform society at that time by making a multicultural community. Even though he never made that town because he was murdered He still left a huge impact on the country eventually leading the country into civil war. He became a hero to many abolitionists including Frederick Douglass who honored him in one of his speeches. 

ß How did Thoreaus feel about Browns raid?

Thoreau compared Brown to Christ calling him an angel of light. 

ß Who were the secret six?

The secret six were a group of men that supported Brown finically. This group was not well known because it was kept hidden.