James Buchanan, Part 6

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2004-11-24

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VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English.

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Throughout most of the eighteen-fifties, war between north and
south over the issue of slavery remained a continuing threat. Then,
in the autumn of eighteen-fifty-nine, the American crisis seemed to
cool.

There had been elections in most states of the north and south.
The people had rejected candidates of extreme ideas and elected
moderate men. Only in a few states of the north did anti-slavery
extremists rule. And pro-slavery extremists held power in only a few
states of the deep south.

People saw the elections as a sign of hope that reasonable men
might find a way to settle the bitter dispute over slavery.

But these hopes fell on October seventeenth, eighteen-fifty-nine,
with the news that a group of Abolitionists had attacked the
Virginia town of Harper's Ferry.

VOICE TWO:

The attack was led by John Brown,
an old anti-slavery extremist. Many believed him insane. He had gone
to Kansas and fought bitterly against pro-slavery forces. Once, to
answer an attack on the town of Lawrence, Brown and his men pulled
five men and boys from their homes amd murdered them.

The wife of one of the men said brown told her: "If a man stands
between me and what I believe to be right, I will take his life as
coolly as I would eat my breakfast."

Brown lost a son in a pro-slavery attack on his home at
Osawatomie, Kansas. Brown and his friends were forced to flee. They
watched as the pro-slavery men burned the town.

Brown shook with grief and anger. "I have only a short time to
live," he said, "only one death to die. And I will die fighting for
this cause. There will be no more peace in this land until slavery
is done for. I will give them something else to do than to extend
slave territory. I will carry this war into the south."

VOICE ONE:

To fight a war against slavery, Brown needed money and guns. He
went to Massachusetts and New York. He spoke at town meetings and
met privately with Abolitionist leaders.

In these private talks, Brown said it was too late to settle the
slave question through politics or any other peaceful way. He said
the only answer was a slave rebellion. It would be bloody, Brown
said, and this was terrible. But slavery itself was a terrible wrong
-- the same as murder. Only blood, he said, would wash away the
wrongs of slavery.

Brown said God meant for him to begin this rebellion by invading
Virginia with a military force he already was organizing. Brown said
even if the rebellion failed, it would probably lead to a civil war
between north and south. In such a war, he said, the north would
break the chains of the black man on the battlefield.

VOICE TWO:

Brown won the support of a group of Abolitionist leaders. They
formed a secret committee and called themselves the "Secret Six. "
They agreed to advise Brown and, more importantly, to raise one
thousand dollars for him.

From New England, Brown went to Chatham, Canada. He went there
for a secret convention he had called to form a revolutionary
government. This government would rule all the slave territory that
Brown and his men could capture.

Forty-six representatives went to the convention -- thirty-four
Negroes and twelve whites. Brown told them of his plan. He said he
was sure that southern slaves were ready for rebellion. He said they
would rise up at the first sign of a leader who wished to break
their chains.

VOICE ONE:

"But what if troops are brought against you," one man asked.

Brown answered that his men would fight in the mountains, where a
small force could stop a much larger one. He said his men would be
well-trained in mountain fighting. Brown said he expected his small
force to grow much larger. He would invite the slaves he freed to
join his army. And, he said he thought that all the free Negroes of
the north would come to fight slavery with him.

The representatives approved Brown's constitution. And they named
him commander-in-chief.

VOICE TWO:

Brown had decided to strike at Harpers Ferry, a town of about
twenty-five-hundred people. It was in northern Virginia about one
hundred kilometers north of Washington. Harpers Ferry was built on a
narrow finger of land where the Shenandoah River flowed into the
Potomac River. There were two bridges. One crossed the Shenandoah.
The other, a railroad bridge, crossed the Potomac to Maryland.

John Brown chose Harpers Ferry because there was a factory there
that made guns for the army. There also was an arsenal where several
million dollars' worth of military equipment was kept. Brown needed
the guns and equipment for the slave army he hoped to form.

VOICE ONE:

James Buchanan, Part 6
Brown's fort near Harpers Ferry

(Image:www.nps.gov/hafe)

Old Brown arrived at Harpers Ferry
early in July, eighteen-fifty-nine. Two of his sons, Owen and
Oliver, and another man came with him. They rented an old house on a
farm in Maryland not far from Harpers Ferry. Brown told people that
he was a cattle buyer from New York.

Brown's men joined him, one or two at a time, over the next
several months. They traveled at night so no one would see them.
Once they reached the farm house, they had to stay in hiding.

Week by week, the little force grew. But it grew too slowly. By
the end of summer, there were still less than twenty men hiding in
the old house.

Brown wrote letters to his supporters in the north. He asked for
more money and more men. He got little of either. His supporters
were afraid. Too many people knew of Brown's plans. The "Secret Six"
feared they would face criminal charges if Brown attacked Harpers
Ferry.

Brown's men grew tired of the small, crowded rooms of the farm
house. Brown knew he must act soon or his young men would begin
leaving.

VOICE TWO:

On Saturday, October fifteenth, three men arrived to join the
group. One of them brought six-hundred dollars in gold for Brown's
use. Brown saw the gold as a sign that God wanted him to act. He
told his men they would strike the next night.

Brown held religious services Sunday morning and prayed for God
to help him free the slaves. Then he called his men around him to
explain to them his battle plan.

They would seize the two bridges at Harpers Ferry and close them.
Next, they would capture the armory and the rifle factory. They
would capture as many people as possible. They would use the people
as hostages for protection against any soldiers that might be sent
against them.

VOICE ONE:

The army had no men near Harpers Ferry. Brown believed he would
have all the time he needed. He believed his only opposition might
be local groups of militia. He did not fear these civilian soldiers.

The old man thought he and his men could hold Harpers Ferry until
slaves in the area rebelled and joined them. Brown knew that
Maryland and western Virginia were full of people opposed to
slavery. He expected many of them to come to his aid.

The twenty-two men rested until dark, listening to rain hit the
roof of the farm house.

VOICE TWO:

About eight o'clock, Brown called his group. "Men," he said, "get
your weapons. We are going to the Ferry."

A wagon was brought out and a horse tied to it. In the wagon were
a few tools and some extra guns. Brown climbed into the wagon and
started it toward town. Two of his men stepped out in front of the
wagon, leading the way. The others walked behind.

It was a dark and cold night. A light rain was falling. There was
no one else on the road. After a time, they reached the high ground
above the Potomac. Below them, across the river, lay the town of
Harpers Ferry. Most of the town was sleeping. Only a few lights
shone through the rain.

John Brown was ready for his final struggle against slavery.

That will be our story in the next program of THE MAKING OF A
NATION.

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VOICE ONE:

You have been listening to the Special English program, THE
MAKING OF A NATION. Your narrators were Harry Monroe and Jack
Moyles. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. THE MAKING OF A
NATION can be heard Thursdays.