Osborne P. Anderson: A Voice from Harper’s Ferry

Questions for Further Study

• 1.: Based on what you know about John Brown and his raid on Harpers Ferry, do you believe that he was a hero, a crazed fanatic, or perhaps a bit of both? Would your opinion change or remain the same if you knew that Virginia governor Henry Wise, a staunch southerner, personally interviewed Brown and found him to be sane and eloquent?
• 2.: What impact did Brown’s raid and the attendant publicity surrounding the event have on the course of the nation toward civil war?
• 3.: Compare Brown’s raid with the rebellion led by Nat Turner early in the century, as recounted in The Confessions of Nat Turner (1831). Do you see any similarities between the events and their impact? How were they different?
• 4.: Try to imagine yourself living in 1850s Virginia. Do you think you would have advocated violence to end the slave system? Why or why not?
• 5.: In the modern era, some groups resort to violent acts because they believe such acts serve a higher purpose. An example would be “eco-terrorists” who destroy logging equipment or laboratories where animal experimentation takes place. Do you think that the motives behind and effectiveness of these contemporary actions are similar to or different from those of John Brown?