John Brown Today

In Part 1 of "What Did Blacks Really Think of John Brown?" Lou reflects upon the question of white allies, particularly in the case of John Brown's story. What did black leaders and other associates really think of John Brown? Recalling Brown's devotion to black liberation and notable devotion to human equality, Lou suggests nevertheless that human interaction is by nature complex and even Brown might grate upon his black associates. How should these tensions be understood? Was he a paternalistic racist as some have charged in recent times? Did he presume too much despite being a notable and respected white ally in the struggle for justice? Regardless, would-be allies and those otherwise interested in the theme of black-white alliances and intercultural alliances, in general, may find this historical reflection of interest.
Guest theme music: "Progressive Moments" by Ugonna Onyekwe (YouTube Audio Library)

Many people in the United States, especially (but not exclusively) white people, tend to think of John Brown as someone who was "crazy." In this episode, Lou surveys what he calls a historical "thread" regarding the alleged insanity of Brown. Beginning with affidavits filed in Virginia in 1859 in an attempt by friends and relatives in Ohio to spare Brown's life, as well as Republican insanity rhetoric designed to dissociate Brown from their party, it is clear there is otherwise no historical evidence for the insanity notion. In the twentieth century, however, academics promoted Brown's alleged insanity, and the notion was disseminated in popular culture. In the late twentieth century, although scholars began to back away from this unwarranted notion, it was replaced by notions of Brown being manic. Lou traces this thread through three publications by Robert McGlone, Kenneth Carroll, and Tony Horwitz. He also suggests secular inclinations among scholars make them inclined to attribute mental instability to Brown's fundamentalist religious beliefs.
Guest music: "Climbing" by Reed Mathis
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In this episode, Lou presents a narrative written by John Brown's young lawyer, George H. Hoyt, written only a few years after the abolitionist's hanging. Hoyt went to join John Brown in Charlestown, Virginia (today West Va.) and support his lawyers, but really went as a spy for Brown's supporters in the North who wanted to launch a rescue. But not only was the rescue impossible by the time that Hoyt arrived in Virginia, but Brown did not want to escape. Hoyt thus became part of the drama of Brown's trial and last days, a story that can be found in more detail in Lou's book, Freedom's Dawn: The Last Days of John Brown in Virginia (2015).
The Hoyt narrative is provided in ten short segments that somewhat follow the serialized narrative that appeared in the Leavenworth Conservative in 1867, as well as a kind of epilogue that Hoyt published in The Kansas Weekly Tribune in 1870. The narrative, written from a firsthand eyewitness reveals a great deal about Brown's trial and the supposed "fair trial" that he received at the hands of a court dominated by slaveholders and guided by Sen. James Mason of Virginia, the architect of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 and one of the ringleaders of the slaveholders' betrayal that would follow in 1861 following Lincoln's election.
Guest music: "Bittersweet" by Silent Partner
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In this episode, Lou responds to the comments of a thoughtful but critical podcast listener who has well-stated reasons for asking, "why John Brown?" The question is a good one and Lou starts with personal and scholarly reflections on a range of views of Brown that range from anti-Brown to non-admirer. Then, Lou shares the podcast listener's comments and attempts to make a response that hopefully is helpful to this friendly critic as well as others with similar thoughts on the abolitionist and his legacy.
Guest music:
"Climbing" by Reed Mathis
"American Frontiers" by Aaron Kenny
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In this episode, Lou does a deep dive into the story of William Leeman, the youngest of John Brown's Harper's Ferry raiders. From his origins in Maine to Kansas and his enlistment in John Brown's army, we look at the story of a young man with feet of iron and clay, whose death in Virginia in 1859 resonates with the racist gun violence and mass killings that grip our nation today.
A special note of thanks is due H. Scott Wolfe, for providing his extensive research on Leeman, the work of many years and many miles. This episode is produced in his honor.
Guest music by madIRFAN from Pixabay
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In this episode, Lou is interviewed by Dr. Chris Dost, biblical scholar and pastor of the Northville Baptist Church in New Milford, Connecticut. This audio is excerpted from an interview recorded on July 10, 2021.
Closing tune: "Amazing Grace" by Cooper Cannell
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In this episode, Lou provides a slice of biography, zooming in on John Brown's personal and economic challenges as a frontier entrepreneur and his often forgotten comeback in the early 1840s. While overlooked by unstudied and prejudiced scholars, Brown actually bounced back in the mid-1840s and distinguished himself as one of the leading experts on fine sheep and wool. Looking at Brown's attempt to intervene on behalf of wool growers in the 1840s, we get further insight into Brown's inclination to defend the underdog. This observation provides a way to revisit the bias and prejudice that Brown's legacy has long faced both from the academy and Hollywood--a bias that we are still pushing back against today. The story of John Brown is not complicated: Brown is very consistent, and it is no surprise that his inclination to defend the downcast and the vulnerable would be a theme that flows from wool to slavery.
This episode provides a special interlude and conclusion with special music by The Westerlies, featuring their song, "Burden Laid Down." Visit the Westerlies website at westerliesmusic.com.
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To begin the fourth cycle of John Brown Today, Lou reflects upon the life and contribution of Brown biographer, Oswald Garrison Villard, whose life of John Brown was first published in 1910. As Lou argues, Villard did a great favor to historical study and John Brown students by commissioning extensive research for his work--research that he could not even utilize to the fullest extent himself. On the other hand, Villard depreciated John Brown as a restless and principled murderer, used his economic clout to the disadvantage of W.E.B. DuBois, another biographer of Brown, and fueled more hostile biographies that followed. As Lou discusses in this episode, Villard did so for reasons both ideological and familial.
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In this episode, Lou reflects upon the critical thesis of the late Gabriel Moran (1935-2021), who indefatigably pointed out the distinction between "America" as a dream (and as a vast continental land mass) and The United States of America as a nation. Following Gabriel's lead, Lou reflects upon the linguistic and political challenges of confusing the two, something that is done as much by rightwingers as by critics of racism, including such eminent voices as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. What is the significance of confusing the USA with "America"? Lou explores this theme, observing that, interestingly, John Brown typically did not make this error. He was quite aware that the problem with slavery and racism against which he struggled was a problem of The United States of America.
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Gabriel Moran, teacher and friend.--LD
If you're interested in exploring Gabriel's thinking about "America," see his book, America in the United States and the United States in America: A Philosophical Essay (iUniverse, 2018).
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In Part 2 of this two-part episode, Lou reflects upon the question of white allies, particularly in the case of John Brown's story. What did black leaders and other associates really think of John Brown? Recalling Brown's devotion to black liberation and notable devotion to human equality, Lou suggests nevertheless that human interaction is by nature complex and even Brown might grate upon his black associates. How should these tensions be understood? Was he a paternalistic racist as some have charged in recent times? Did he presume too much despite being a notable and respected white ally in the struggle for justice? Regardless, would-be allies and those otherwise interested in the theme of black-white alliances and intercultural alliances, in general, may find this historical reflection of interest.
Guest theme music: "Progressive Moments" by Ugonna Onyekwe (YouTube Audio Library)