Harpers Ferry looming: a history of the future

Abstract

This article urges historians to study rumors and prophecies as temporal counterparts of historical memories. To conduct such research, it proposes an analytical framework inspired by Koselleck's (2004) ‘horizons of expectations’ and superior mirages called looming, and applies it to rumors and prophecies surrounding John Brown's attack on Harpers Ferry. When people responded to uncertain knowledge about the event, they spread rumors that darkened and bloodied American visions of the future. As apocalyptic prophecies crystallized and spread through national media channels, the act of forecasting empowered unlikely prophets and the stories they told.