John Brown's War against Slavery (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: John Brown's War against Slavery Nicole Etcheson John Brown's War against Slavery. By Robert E. McGlone. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-5215-1443-9, 462 pp., cloth, $35.00. John Brown has been seen as a Christian martyr against slavery, a fanatical [End Page 182] murder, a madman, and a terrorist. He defies easy understanding because his actions were so brutal and his explanations of them so contradictory. He presided over the gory murders of five proslavery men in Kansas Territory and then seemed to evade responsibility. He led twenty-one young men into Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in a raid that failed spectacularly and whose purpose was unclear. He told his captors that he intended the raid to be "bloodless," yet his arms included hundreds of pikes as well as guns and incendiary material. Robert E. McGlone's new work is a meticulous examination of many of the controversies surrounding Brown's life and actions. Not only does McGlone carefully reread the sources to reach his conclusions, he bases much of his work on insights drawn from psychology and the study of memory. While it may be impossible to definitively answer many of the questions he addresses, McGlone comes as close as anyone has to making sense of the many contradictory things Brown said and did. McGlone's Brown is a lifelong abolitionist and sincere Christian, transformed by the violent Kansas Civil War into a terrorist. Although Brown's passionate abolitionism seemed abnormal to many, McGlone does not find that Brown displayed signs of manic depression or any classifiable personality disorder. Nor does McGlone see Brown as an economic failure, arguing instead that Brown was reasonably successful for many years. He was not driven to Kansas by his bankruptcies but came to help defend his sons in that territory's civil strife. McGlone posits that Brown was motivated to carry out the Pottawatomie murders by the climate of fear suffusing the territory and the desire to strike a blow that would show himself worthy of his abolitionist sire Owen, who was dying that spring. While McGlone presents Brown's actions in Kansas as a reaction to the threats against free staters and Brown's emotional distress at his father's last illness, the raid on Harpers Ferry was a long-considered plot. In McGlone's view, however, it was not just a conspiracy to free the slaves but also to spark a civil war with the raid as an opening terrorist provocation. The emphasis on terrorism helps McGlone make sense of Brown's strange behavior after his men had captured the Ferry. Instead of seizing the weapons and making for the mountains, Brown delayed long enough for militia and even troops from Washington to reach and surround him. In fact, he allowed a train to leave with word of the attack. McGlone argues that Brown needed to stay long enough at the Ferry for alarm to spread. Letting the train go helped to spread terror. But Brown stayed too long. In part, forces rallied to Harpers [End Page 183] Ferry more quickly than anticipated because Dr. John D. Starry rode out to give the alarm. But Brown also became carried away with his project, lecturing his captives instead of using them to protect himself and his men. Once captured, Brown made the transition from terrorist to Christian martyr. He realized the importance now of influencing northern public opinion and played down his violent intent for this new audience. McGlone's will not be the last word on John Brown. While I am persuaded by his argument for Brown's sanity as well as his stance on many other questions, I am not sure McGlone has proven Brown's intent to start a civil war, although Harpers Ferry certainly helped bring about such a conflict. But scholars henceforth will be grappling with the arguments McGlone has set forth. John Brown's War against Slavery will be required reading for anyone seeking to understand Brown's crucial role in bringing on the Civil War. Nicole Etcheson Ball State University Copyright © 2011 The Kent State University Press