John Brown Goals

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Brown proved to be an abolitionist when he helped found North Elba, New York, in order to help liberated slaves. Originally bought by Gerrit Smith, North Elba was 120,000 acres of land located in New York. The overall goal for North Elba was to provide land to the liberated slave for them to farm and own. Since ownership of land was a requirement for the right to vote, Brown made sure each liberated slave was given possession of one acre of land. Unfortunately, this land was unlike the soil Southern-liberated slaves knew how to farm. In addition, there were not enough supplies to build houses or barns, and many did not know how to build those structures. Brown wrote to Smith saying he wanted to help the settlers. At the low cost of one dollar …show more content…
Brown studied the History of Insurrection and familiarized himself with the abolition movement. A little over ten years later, Brown put his plan into action. In November 1857, John Brown had gone to Kansas to recruit soldiers for his attack in Virginia. His goal was to carry out his plan to invade slave states- a plan he had shared with Frederick Douglass a few years earlier. About two years later, he was once again in Kansas, where this time, he recruited twelve men he called the “Kansas Jayhawks.” Sunday, October 16, 1859, the Brown’s men were told to gather their arms. Brown and his eighteen comrades ventured on foot to Harpers Ferry. The first three men were commanded to guard the house until further notice. The next two were supposed to cut the telegraph wire; four others were to capture the bridge guards. Once the Potomac and the Shenandoah bridges were captured, another two men were to stand guard on each. After securing the bridges two more men were to capture the engine house, and the remaining were charged with capturing the armory and protecting the rifle factory and bringing certain slave owners and their slaves into the city. Harriet Tubman, a heroine of the Underground Railroad movement was supposed to be a soldier at Harpers Ferry. Only the sickness of Tubman, who was called “General Tubman” by Brown, kept her from participating. The men promptly arrived at Harper's Ferry and officially began the raid. They took their first captive at ten o'clock. The first target the group was determined to capture was Colonel Lewis Washington. Soon Washington was captured and begged the soldiers to take his slaves but leave him alive and at home. Stevens, a trusted soldier to Brown, responded by telling Washington they had no intention of killing anyone unless it was self-defense; they were there to liberate slaves. Once they freed the
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