John Brown's Body

[kestrelsparhawk]

There are stories about John Brown's Body. For those not inculcated in American history in grade school, John Brown was an heroic abolitionist who thought slavery was anathema and should be stopped by any means necessary. Not being a Quaker, the strongest anti-abolition religious group, he didn't see a reason to eschew violence. (Sorry, I think

Comments

Ghastly man.

[wemyss]

The original American Taliban, really. Lincoln was right to call him mad. (Typically, his first victim at Harper's Ferry was a free African-American, Mr Hayward Shepherd, the station baggage-master.) All one can say in Brown's is favour is that he, unlike his money-men the Secret Six, wasn't a coward.

Speaking of ironies: do you know why Lee was on leave and near to Washington DC to be seconded? (And who ended up as his 2ic?)

[kestrelsparhawk]

Actually, no. I was just guessing he was home on leave, since he was from Virginia. As a rhetorician, my history focuses on people talking. But I'm always up for gossip!

The problem with the kind of heroes who start (or attempt to start) revolutions is that they have to be a little crazy at the very least. He'd fit quite well in my list of Left wing crazies, except of course his politics don't precisely qualify and also, he's dead.But I prefer them idealistic to lethal and successful -- Lenin always gave me the shivers when I read him.

I threw in the Lee bit because that was all I knew. Tell!

I cannot claim expertise - that's MSP; not my country or my period.

[wemyss]

But