Examing John Brown

Friday, October 16^th was the 150^th anniversary of John Brown’s attack on the federal armory at Harper’s Ferry. To mark this event and explore John Brown’s legacy, STCC organized a symposium on October 17^th entitled the Sword of the Lord and of Gideon: John Brown and the Coming of the Civil War.

Dinah Mayo-Bobee, Professor of African-American History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, discussed the controversial Pottawatomie Affair carried out by Brown and his followers in Kansas. David S. Reynolds, author of the best-selling biography, John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights, described the ways that John Brown has been viewed by historians. John Gately, Professor of English at STCC showed off his impressive collection of documents and artifacts from the abolitionist movement.

According to STCC Dean Arlene Rodriguez (pictured right), John Brown lived in Springfield from1847 to 1851. The years Brown spent in Springfield are seen by scholars as pivotal to his deepening involvement in the abolitionist movement. In November, 1847, Brown met slavery’s most renowned critic, Frederick Douglass, who interrupted a speaking tour to meet him in Springfield. It was in Springfield in 1851 Brown founded a black self-defense organization – the first in the nation - called the League of Gileadites.

Friday, October 16th was the 150th anniversary of John Brown’s attack on the federal armory at Harper’s Ferry. To mark this event and explore John Brown’s legacy, STCC organized a symposium on October 17th entitled the Sword of the Lord and of Gideon: John Brown and the Coming of the Civil War.