American History Tellers - Bleeding Kansas | The Pottawatomie Massacre | 2

Episode Date: April 21, 2021

On the night of May 24th, 1856, radical abolitionist John Brown and seven of his followers crept along the banks of Kansas’s Pottawatomie Creek and stormed a proslavery settlement. They dragged five men from their cabins and killed them in cold blood. Soon, Brown’s name was splashed across the nation’s newspapers, making him a lightning rod for controversy. He would exploit his notoriety to escalate his crusade against slavery, taking his guerrilla war to a new theater: the slaveholding South.Support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Imagine it's May 23rd, 1856, early in the morning, and you're in the woods near the Ottawa Creek in Kansas, sitting around a breakfast campfire with your brothers and a few other men. The conversation is subdued. There's only one thing on everyone's mind. The violent attack on the town of Lawrence yesterday by pro-slavery border ruffians. Hundreds of men rode in and shot up the town. It's the latest clash in the

ongoing battle over the future of Kansas, a battle you fear your anti-slavery side is losing. One of the men pokes at the sausage he's roasting over the fire and shakes his head. So is this what we can expect now? For every free state settlement to be burned to the ground? You throw a stick into the fire in frustration. I'm just sorry we didn't get to Lawrence sooner to mount a real defense. You look up to see your father emerge from the trees. Even though he's gray and walks with a slight stoop now, he hasn't lost the steely courage you remember from your childhood. If anything, he's grown more determined and more zealous.

Father, there you are. Join us for some breakfast. He shakes his head. His whole body is trembling with anger. Something must be done to defend our families and our neighbors. We must take concrete action to show these barbarians that we too have rights. The others are grinning with excitement, but you stare at your father warily. What are you saying, father?

We need a radical retaliatory measure. We need to punish the men that did this. How many will join me? What do you mean by a retaliatory measure? What do you think? Talking about some killing. Now who's with me? I'm with you.

We gotta kill, but let's do it. talking about some killing. Now who's with me? A wave of nervous excitement rolls through the group as the men get up from their campfire and begin gathering their swords and rifles. Among them are four of your brothers. Usually they follow your lead, you being the eldest, but your father has more sway over them. Except for your brother Jason, who hangs back, your brothers eagerly grab their weapons with the others.

You try to pull your wild-eyed father aside. Please, father, let's not be rash. We must exercise caution. Caution? I am tired of hearing the word caution. It's just another word for cowardice. The time for caution has long since passed. But what if we...

It's time to show these enslavers what we are made of. You know it's no use. You recognize the frenzied look on your father's face. He won't be dissuaded. Sharpen your swords. We ride out tomorrow night. He picks up a revolver and stashes it in his belt. You feel sick to your stomach, knowing that whatever he's got planned is sure to lead

to more bloodshed. pitched to an audience of potential customers. If the audience liked the product, it gets them in front of our panel of experts, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Anderson, Tabitha Brown, Tony Hawk. Oh, my God. Buy it now. Stream free on Freeview and Prime Video. From the team behind American History Tellers comes a new book,

The Hidden History of the White House. Each chapter will bring you inside the fierce power struggles, intimate moments, and shocking scandals that shaped our nation. From the War of 1812 to Watergate. Available now wherever you get your books. From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American History Tellers. Our history, your story. On the morning of May 23, 1856, John Brown gathered volunteers for an act of violent

retribution. The previous day, pro-slavery forces had pillaged and torched the anti-slavery town of Lawrence, Kansas. As a radical abolitionist, Brown was determined to exact revenge. Brown would attack his pro-slavery neighbors with a fury and fanaticism that shocked America and sparked months of guerrilla warfare. By summer's end, the fighting in what became known as Bleeding Kansas had made Brown famous nationwide. He would exploit this newfound notoriety to amass funds, weapons, and recruit for a dramatic new assault, one that would strike at the very heart of the slave-holding South. To help tell the story of John Brown and the many African Americans who aided him on his crusade,

we've enlisted actor Ace Anderson to voice the characters you'll hear throughout the series. This is Episode 2, The Pottawatomie Massacre. By 1855, Kansas was a raging battleground in the nation's ongoing debate over the future of slavery. For the past year, the newly incorporated territory had been fraught with tension and small acts of violence. But the May Assault on Lawrence was an unprecedented escalation in the conflict. For John Brown, it was an act that could not go unpunished. But his plan for retaliation threatened to raise the stakes even higher. When Brown issued his call for volunteers to attack and kill nearby

pro-slavery settlers, his eldest son John Jr. tried to dissuade him. But Brown refused to stand down, insisting he wanted to fight fire with fire and strike terror in the hearts of the pro-slavery people. John Jr. led a militia group, the Pottawatomie Rifles, in defending free state settlers from pro-slavery attacks. But the idea of murdering people in their homes was too much for him. He and his brother Jason refused to participate. In the end, Brown was joined in his mission by seven men, his sons Frederick, Owen, Solomon, and Oliver, his son-in-law Henry, and two other close allies. The men spent that night and most of the next day making plans. They chose targets who were connected to the pro-slavery Law and Order Party,

though they themselves were not slave owners. On the night of May 24th, Brown's band picked up their broadswords and headed toward a small pro-slavery enclave along the Pottawatomie Creek. They soon arrived at the cabin of James Doyle, a poor farmer who had recently moved to the area from Tennessee. Brown banged on the door and his men barged in. They ordered Doyle and his two eldest sons out of the house to the horror of Doyle's wife and four younger children. Brown's men led the

three eldest Doyles 200 yards into the woods. Brown looked on as his sons Owen and Solomon slashed the captives with their swords. They brutally dismembered them, chopping off their fingers and arms and splitting open their heads. Finally, Brown put a bullet in James Doyle's head for good measure. Next, Brown's band stormed more cabins, dragging out two more victims and hacking them to death. Brown and his party washed the blood off their swords in the creek and rode back to their camp. In total, the men executed five victims in what became known as the Pottawatomie Massacre. John Brown had devoted his life to the abolitionist cause, but this was the first time

that his crusade involved killing. For months, pro-slavery forces had terrorized Kansas, culminating in the attack on Lawrence. Brown was determined to sow fear among his enemies and show that the anti-slavery side could retaliate with equal force. When his sons, who had refused to join the attack, heard the news, they were stunned. Jason Brown described the massacre as an uncalled-for wicked act. John Jr. was especially rattled. After the gruesome killings, his brother Salomon described him as being in a very dejected state of mind, bordering on a breakdown. But their father showed no remorse. Brown declared, God is my judge. It was absolutely necessary as a measure of self-defense and for the defense of others. For Brown, the Pottawatomie

Massacre was about more than Lawrence or the fate of Kansas. It was revenge for a southern culture of violence against black people and abolitionists. For years, Brown had watched in despair as northern abolitionists were attacked by pro-slavery mobs. He knew that every day, enslaved people across the South were tortured, raped, and killed. He was determined to strike back at the vicious brutality of the slave system. Brown saw no contradiction between his violence and his deeply held religious beliefs. He looked to Old Testament stories of warriors chosen by a vengeful god. He believed that God had selected him to lead a mission against slavery and do whatever was necessary to cleanse America of its most egregious sin. But the viciousness of the Pottawatomie Massacre did not sit so easily with all those who took part.

Despite a lifelong disability in his arm, Brown's third eldest son, Owen, managed to wield a heavy broadsword in attacking his victims. But he cried hysterically in the aftermath of the massacre, which would haunt him for the rest of his life. The massacre also exposed the divisions within John Jr.'s militia, the Pottawatomie Rifles. Most members were horrified, with one man calling the slaughter barbarous and inhuman. Though they all fought for a free Kansas, most of the rifles felt the Browns had gone too far. Soon they would turn against not just John Brown, but John Jr. too. For them, his fierce abolitionist sentiments had become far too extreme.

Imagine it's an early morning in late May 1856. You're deep in the woods near the Pottawatomie Creek with your little sister. Just a few days ago, a group of white men with rifles arrived at your farm outside Lawrence, Kansas, where you were enslaved. They promised you safe passage out, so you and your sister took a chance and fled with them. Now, as you warm your hands by the fire, you're dreaming up plans for a life of freedom. We'll go east, maybe Ohio. I bet our uncle is making a good life for himself there. I'll get an apprenticeship, learn to trade, and you can find work as a seamstress. You're good at that. Your sister grins and nods. It hits you that you hardly remember the last time you've seen her smile like that.

But then you tense up at the sound of someone approaching, but then relax when you realize it's John Brown Jr., the man who rescued you. Good morning. Good morning, sir. Please join us. But as John approaches the fire, you see that his face is shadowed with guilt. I'm sorry. I'm afraid I've come with bad news. The others are on their way to return you to your owners. Return us? I don't understand.

I'm afraid it's out of my hands. I'm not in charge anymore, and the other men are set on bringing you back. I should have known. I couldn't trust you. Can't you understand? Things only be worse for us now. I understand completely. But the other men don't see things the way my brothers and I do. So what? They're not against slavery anymore? We're all against slavery, son.

But we're not all in favor of freeing slaves ourselves. He looks over his shoulder. If you give yourselves up, I'll do my best to make things easy for you. You exchange a glance with your sister. No. We'll make a run for it. Why should we let them return us? Best get going, then. They're almost here.

Your sister's face is creased with fear as you grab her hand and lead her deeper into the woods. Come on, keep your head down and stay close. We can make it, we just gotta keep heading north. You want to keep her hopes up, but deep down, you know your chances of escape are slim. It seems you can't trust any white people here in Kansas, even the ones who say they're anti-slavery. And from the sound of their horses' hooves, the pursuers are closing in. Just before the Pottawatomie Massacre, John Brown Jr. liberated two enslaved teenagers from a farm outside Lawrence. His followers in the Pottawatomie Rifles were furious. They took the terrified teenagers back to their enslavers and removed

John Jr. of his command. Most of the riflemen were free soilers who wanted Kansas free from slavery, but also to be limited just to white people. They were fed up with being allied with full-throated abolitionists like the Browns. And even though John Jr. did not participate in the Pottawatomie Massacre, his men were appalled by his family's role in it. In the days after the massacre, pro-slavery forces swept the area in search of John Brown and his followers. They burned Brown's station to the ground and arrested and imprisoned Jason and John Jr., even though they did not take part in the killings. Brown himself avoided capture by fleeing into the woods,

and over the next several days he hid out in the wilderness and collected new followers. Brown and his men were indicted for the murders, but chaos in the fledgling Kansas justice system meant that Brown went unpunished. Very few pro-slavery or anti-slavery settlers would ever be arraigned in court for killings in the bleeding Kansas period, though the violence was rampant. Brown's new notoriety extended well beyond the Kansas borders, as newspapers carried the shocking story of the Pottawatomie Massacre. Pro-slavery newspapers in the region reported the murders in grisly detail. The St. Louis Morning Herald described how the accursed wretches mangled and mutilated the bodies they

had slain. But Brown also found more sympathetic outlets for his story. A few days after the massacre, a young journalist named James Redpath stumbled upon Brown in his hideout in the woods. Redpath was the Kansas correspondent for the North's most influential anti-slavery newspaper, the New York Tribune. Brown spoke to the reporter about his God-given destiny, while deflecting questions about his role in the Pottawatomie killings. Redpath's reporting made Brown famous in the Northeast, laying the groundwork for him to become a legendary figure in the fight against slavery.

Brown's notoriety only grew as the fighting in Kansas intensified in the wake of the Pottawatomie Massacre. In the summer of 1856, Kansas Territory plunged into an all-out civil war, with ongoing skirmishes between pro-slavery border ruffians and free state militias. On June 2nd, Brown led eight men in fighting the Battle of Blackjack. After three hours of gunfire, Brown and his men successfully captured a pro-slavery militia that had crossed the border from Missouri, hoping to arrest him. In late August, some 300 border ruffians descended on the free state enclave of Osawatomie. A pro-slavery Baptist minister who was serving as a guide encountered Brown's son Frederick on

a nearby road. The minister shot Frederick in the chest at close range, and he fell to the ground dead. When Brown heard the news of his son's death, he gathered 30 men and rushed to Osawatomie to fight the invaders. Brown tried desperately to defend the town. He spread his thin ranks behind trees and brushed to shoot the ruffians, ordering his men to choose their targets wisely. But Brown's forces were overpowered. The ruffians charged the woods, forcing Brown and his men to flee. Thrilled with their victory, the ruffians looted and torched Osawatomie, burning it to the ground. Even though Brown lost the Battle of Osawatomie, he won a strategic victory. Brown's forces suffered five casualties while killing some two dozen men on the pro-slavery

side. In a letter to his father, written from prison, John Jr. declared, The Battle of Osawatomie has proved most unmistakably that Yankees will fight. Everyone I hear speaking of you is loud in their praise. The Missourians in this region show signs of great fear. Brown's heroic defense of a free state settlement also became a massive media sensation in the North, earning him the nickname Osawatomie Brown. Despite the death of his son Frederick, Brown had only become more convinced of the righteousness of using violence to carry out his crusade. As he looked

on at the smoking, charred remains of Osawatomie, he told his son Jason, I have only a short time to live, 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. Brown knew his life's purpose was to fight slavery with violence. Soon he would capitalize on his new fame to find new allies in his mission and identify a new and far more challenging target to strike. In a quiet suburb, a community is shattered by the death of a beloved wife and mother. But this tragic loss of life quickly turns into something even darker.

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You can listen to Kill List and more Exhibit C true crime shows like Morbid early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+. Check out Exhibit C in the Wondery app for all your true crime listening. I'm Tristan Redman, and as a journalist, I've never believed in ghosts. But when I discovered that my wife's great-grandmother was murdered in the house next door to where I grew up, I started wondering about the inexplicable things that happened in my childhood bedroom. When I tried to find out more, I discovered that someone who slept in my room after me, someone I'd never met, was visited by the ghost of a faceless woman. So I started digging into the murder in my wife's

family, and I unearthed family secrets nobody could have imagined. Ghost Story won Best Documentary Podcast at the 2024 Ambies and is a Best True Crime nominee at the British Podcast Awards 2024. Ghost Story is now the first ever Apple Podcasts series essential. Each month, Apple Podcasts editors spotlight one series that has captivated listeners with masterful storytelling, creative excellence, and a unique creative voice and vision. To recognize Ghost Story being chosen as the first series essential, Wondery has made it ad-free for a limited time, only on Apple Podcasts. If you haven't listened yet, head over to Apple Podcasts to hear for yourself. In August 1856, Kansas' pro-slavery governor, Wilson Shannon, resigned, frustrated with the chaos spreading across his territory. And as he left office, he remarked,

govern Kansas in 1855 and 56? You might as well attempt to govern the devil in hell. In his place, the federal government installed John Geary. Geary arrived in September and began to restore order. Attempting to stay neutral on the issue of slavery, he ordered the two sides to disarm and extended clemency to both for their acts of violence. John Brown Jr. was released from prison, joining his brother Jason, who had been freed in June. And at long last, peace reigned over Kansas, though intermittent outbreaks of violence continued for the rest of the decade. In total, bleeding Kansas would cost more than 200 lives and millions of dollars in

property damage. But John Brown was not done. Bleeding Kansas had strengthened his resolve to fight slavery. No longer was Brown an obscure abolitionist on the sidelines of the conflict. His fight in Kansas had transformed him into a national celebrity and a hero to Northern abolitionists. Brown decided the time was ripe to leave Kansas and travel east. He would exploit his fame with a fundraising tour, soliciting Northerners for money and weapons to support his fight against slavery in Kansas. Though outright warfare had subsided, the future of slavery in the territory was still uncertain, and Northerners were eager to contribute to the free state cause. But secretly, Brown was already looking elsewhere,

planning to carry his war into Virginia, the heart of the slave-holding South. It was home to more enslaved people than any other state. Brown rolled out of Kansas in September of 1856, accompanied by his three eldest sons, John Jr., Jason, and Owen. Over the next several months, Brown would court influential abolitionists, businessmen, and intellectuals in the Northeast. Northerners were thrilled to see someone fight back against the aggression of the powerful slave-holding South, not just with words, but with action. They devoured newspaper accounts that championed Brown as a brave and rugged

frontier warrior. Few knew the true extent of Brown's trail of blood in Kansas, and he proved to be a savvy self-promoter. While he downplayed his role in the Pottawatomie Massacre, Brown exploited his family's suffering at the hands of pro-slavery forces. His son Frederick had lost his life in Kansas. Jason and John Jr. had been imprisoned, and his son Solomon and son-in-law Henry were wounded in battle. Brown would use these personal sacrifices to his advantage as he spoke to potential donors. At the time of his return east, Brown had not seen his wife and daughters for a year and a half. After reuniting with them in North Elba, New York, he made his way to Boston in January 1857 to the office of

Franklin B. Sanborn, a 25-year-old schoolteacher and radical abolitionist. Sanborn was fresh out of Harvard and brimming with ideas about destroying slavery. He was immediately enthralled by Brown and his tales of bleeding Kansas. To Sanborn, Brown was the picture of a hardened frontier soldier in his old-fashioned brown broadcloth suit, military cape, and worn cowskin boots. Sanborn later reflected on his first impression, describing Brown's commanding presence and his instantly recognizable courage and greatness of mind. To Sanborn, Brown embodied the ideals and spirit of the Puritans and America's revolutionary generation. Sanborn was the embodied the ideals and spirit of the Puritans and America's revolutionary generation. Sanborn was the secretary of the Massachusetts State Kansas Committee,

an organization dedicated to supporting anti-slavery settlers in the territory. On January 5, 1857, the committee agreed to give Brown 200 Sharps rifles, ammunition, and $500 in aid for the fight against pro-slavery forces in Kansas. Later in January, Brown traveled to New York to seek donations from another group, the National Kansas Committee. Over the past six months, the committee had raised over $200,000 in cash and supplies for free state settlers. Brown knew their support could be critical to his dreams of going to war against slavery. Imagine it's January 24, 1857, and you're sitting in a private dining room in Astor House, New York's finest luxury hotel.

You're meeting with the National Kansas Committee, an organization dedicated to aiding free state settlers. John Brown has just left the room after speaking to the committee about his need for weapons in Kansas. Committee secretary rises from his chair at the head of a long mahogany table. All right, gentlemen, I think we've all heard enough. I propose a resolution to appropriate $5,000 for weapons for Captain John Brown. Hold on a minute. If we give Brown arms, there's no way in hell he won't use them recklessly. The secretary glares at you. The Kansas Territory is in a state of anarchy, plain and simple. If the Missouri ruffians are going to play dirty, well, then we have no other choice. I think we all remember the bloodletting last summer.

Things have finally quieted down. Why should we help Brown start another guerrilla war and put our settlers in danger? Any violence that Brown has committed has been in self-defense. You call the Pottawatomie Massacre self-defense? As a matter of fact, I do. It was a defensive measure against more attacks like the Sack of Lawrence. And besides, Brown's involvement was minimal. If you ask me, Brown had more to do with those killings than he's letting on.

The way he kept deflecting questions, I'm sure he's hiding something. The secretary sweeps his gaze around the room, as if he's trying to check the temperature of the other committee members, then fixes you with an angry scowl. I'm starting to wonder if you're truly committed to the Free State cause. You stare down your tumbler of whiskey. He's touched a nerve. You have reservations about violence, but you won't let anyone question your dedication to halting the spread of slavery. I'm as eager to support Brown as any of you, but we already know the Massachusetts Committee has seen fit to give him weapons.

Do we really need to arm him further? There must be some kind of compromise here. The secretary scratches his beard, considering your words. Fine. We'll meet Brown halfway. We won't give him the weapons directly, but I say we approve $5,000 in funds to be used at his discretion. You stare across the table and shake your head. You have no doubt what Brown will be using those funds for.

From everything you've seen, he has no problem resorting to violence. You've joined this committee to sponsor settlers, but its real purpose is quickly becoming clear. You're funding a war. In January 1857, John Brown's request for money and arms in Kansas sparked heated debate among the members of the National Kansas Committee. When the committee secretary asked Brown if he was planning to invade Missouri or any other slave state, Brown dodged the question, responding, You all know me. You are acquainted with my history.

You know what I have done in Kansas. I do not expose my plans. If you wish to give me anything, give it freely. I have no other purpose but to serve the cause of liberty. The committee agreed to grant Brown $5,000 for any defensive measures that may become necessary, but Brown would only see a small fraction of the money. The committee's funding dried up over the next few months. But with Sanborn's help, Brown continued traveling through New England in search of other backers, all while writing appeals for donations published in major newspapers. In March, Brown traveled to Connecticut and purchased more weapons, allegedly for use in Kansas. He hired a blacksmith to forge 1,000 pikes, double-edged bowie knives attached to six-foot poles for a dollar apiece.

Brown believed the pikes would be the ideal weapon for enslaved men unaccustomed to using guns. But Brown could only pay a portion of the fee, and the delivery of the pikes was delayed indefinitely. Soon after ordering his weapons, Brown traveled to Concord, Massachusetts, the center of the American Transcendentalist movement. Transcendentalists were writers and intellectuals who prioritized individual self-reliance over authority, convention, and corrupt institutions. Many were committed abolitionists who had become increasingly radicalized after Congress passed the draconian Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. To them, John Brown was the living embodiment of their ideals, a man who shirked societal

constraints in pursuit of a higher principle. Addressing the Concord town hall, Brown spoke passionately about his commitment to defending the Declaration of Independence and the Bible's golden rule by ending slavery. It was a goal he would pursue even if it meant that, in his words, a whole generation of men, women, and children should pass away a violent death. Sitting among the audience in Concord were writer Ralph Waldo Emerson and philosopher Henry David Thoreau. They were enraptured and would become two of Brown's most enthusiastic promoters, helping to shape his reputation as a legendary freedom fighter. But in the end, Brown's fundraising tour was a mixed

success. The money he raised was negligible. But he won over some of America's most influential people, abolitionists and intellectuals who would be crucial allies in the years to come. And even as Brown traveled the Northeast, supposedly raising funds for Kansas, privately, his plans for an invasion of the South were starting to take shape. It had been nearly ten years since Brown first told Frederick Douglass about his plans to go to war against the slave-holding states. Since then, he had studied the tactics of the famous slave rebel Nat Turner and the revolutionary

Toussaint Louverture, who led a successful revolt against the French in Haiti. Brown familiarized himself with European military strategies and studied maps, underground railroad routes, and census data to understand where Black Southerners lived. By the summer of 1857, Brown knew he wanted to lead an attack on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. In Brown's mind, Harper's Ferry was the ideal location to launch his campaign. It was near the Blue Ridge Mountain section of the Appalachians, offering hideouts to his men. It was in Virginia, allowing a direct attack on one of the most powerful slave-holding states. But it was also just 40 miles from the Free State of Pennsylvania. And it was also home to a U.S. armory and arsenal containing 100,000 weapons.

Brown wanted to seize weapons and incite local enslaved people to rebel against their enslavers. He envisioned the freed slaves joining his army and conducting raids on plantations in the surrounding area. Brown believed this would spark a chain reaction of uprisings across the South, leading to a full-blown slave rebellion. Brown had become a warrior in the fight to stop slavery's western expansion, but now he was determined to attack it where it already existed, the plantation south. Striking against his hated enemy on southern soil would be Brown's most daring and dangerous

undertaking yet. If he succeeded, there was no doubt in his mind that the entire system of slavery would be destroyed. This is the emergency broadcast system. A ballistic missile threat has been detected inbound to your area. Your phone buzzes and you look down to find this alert. What do you do next? Maybe you're at the grocery store. Or maybe you're with your secret lover, or maybe you're with your secret

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Wondery and William Morrow present the new book, The Hidden History of the White House. Each chapter will bring you inside the fierce power struggles, the world-altering decisions, and shocking scandals that have shaped our nation. You'll be there when the very foundations of the White House are laid in 1792, and you'll watch as the British burn it down in 1814. Then you'll hear the intimate conversations between FDR and Winston Churchill as they make plans to defeat Nazi forces in 1941. And you'll be in the Situation Room when President Barack Obama approves the raid to bring down the most infamous terrorist in American history. Order The Hidden History of the White House now in hardcover or digital edition, wherever you get your books. In August 1857, John Brown was back in Kansas searching for recruits for his Harper's Ferry

campaign. By then, the conflict in the territory had subsided, and Brown could shift his full attention to planning his southern invasion. Ten men signed on, one former enslaved man and nine white veterans of bleeding Kansas. All were young and prepared to fight slavery with violence, but few knew exactly what they were getting into. Brown only doled out more specific details as time went on. That fall and winter, Brown set up camp in Springdale, Iowa, where the group practiced military drills and debated politics and philosophy. Brown hired an English mercenary named Hugh Forbes to train his recruits. A decade earlier, Forbes had fought in

a revolutionary war in Italy. But as he trained the troops, Forbes' relationship with Brown quickly grew strained. The pair disagreed over the specifics of the Harper's Ferry plan. Forbes questioned Brown's decision to rely so heavily on enslaved people spontaneously rising up and joining his side. He also grew disgruntled over a payment dispute. By winter, Forbes had turned against Brown and set off for the East, where he threatened to tell the world that Brown was more than just a Kansas guerrilla fighter, that he was planning a direct assault on the U.S. government. Forbes' threat forced Brown to keep a low profile. But Brown knew he needed more money for his invasion of Virginia.

In January 1858, he left his men in Iowa and traveled quietly back east to seek more funds from his supporters. He tried to avoid notice and often used an alias. Brown was also desperate to see his family in North Elba, New York. He wrote his wife Mary, telling her, The anxiety I feel to see my wife and children once more, I am unable to describe. But he knew it was too risky. So instead, he traveled to Rochester, New York, where he spent several weeks hiding out in the home of his friend, the Black abolitionist Frederick Douglass. While he was there, Brown spent his time drafting his Provisional Constitution, a revised constitution for the United States that included Black Americans as full members of society. He wanted it to be the governing charter for his interracial army as it liberated the South. It had been less than a year since the Supreme Court handed down its

infamous Dred Scott decision, ruling that all Black Americans, enslaved or free, could not be considered U.S. citizens. To Brown, the Dred Scott decision was just another piece of evidence that the highest laws of the land were stacked against Black people. His provisional constitution was similar to the U.S. constitution, but it awarded full rights and citizenship to all of America's oppressed social groups, including women and Native Americans. In a country of rigid racial and social hierarchies, Brown's vision of an egalitarian society was radical, but he was careful to note that the charter was not intended to replace the existing republic. The provisional constitution affirmed,

the foregoing article shall not be construed in any way to encourage the overthrow of the government, but simply to amend and repeal. Frederick Douglass welcomed Brown's dream for a society where Black and white people were fully equal, and his views on the use of violence had continued to evolve in the decades since he and Brown first met. In an 1849 speech, Douglass declared that he would welcome news

of enslaved people rising up in the South and spreading death and destruction there. Still, Douglass stopped short of agreeing to join Brown's army. But other formerly enslaved Black people were eager to enlist. Imagine it's February 1858, and you're in Rochester, New York. You were born into slavery on a Charleston, South Carolina plantation. Last year, you managed to escape by boarding a ship carrying cotton to New England.

Now you're staying in the home with the famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Mr. Douglass, apologies on my lateness. What a mess getting home in this snow. You shake off your coat and pull off your boots. You've been working as a clothes cleaner ever since you came to Rochester. It's hard work, but well worth it for the satisfaction you feel earning a wage for your labor. Your host comes down the stair to greet you.

Welcome back. I'm afraid you just missed John. He's done with his constitution and off to Boston to find more donors. Douglas ushers you into the parlor, where you take a seat on the sofa across from him. Well, I hope he's successful. If you ask me, old Captain Brown's got the right idea about things. Douglas nods, but hesitantly. Certainly I admire the spirit of his document. Brown is a brave and good man.

But he's... rash. Maybe so. But you must agree with him that there can be no peaceful solution to ending slavery. I've long since abandoned any notion of that. It seems less and less likely that words and ballots will be enough. I expect it will take swords and bullets. So you get it. This Virginia plan of Brown's, I think it could be the spark we need.

Douglas looks at you dubiously. Don't be foolish. Brown's scheme is suicidal. Those men will get themselves killed, and you will too if you join him. After everything you went through to escape the South, do you really want to go back? You walk toward the window and stare out at the falling snow. It's a long way from the warm climate you've known your whole life. My son is still enslaved in South Carolina. I could do this for him. For all of our people still in chains, you can do more for him alive than dead. Stay here

and help me. We win more white northerners to our cause every day. Mr. Douglas, you have a power with words unlike anyone I've ever met, but I'm not like you. You know I'm no good at speeches. I'm a man of deeds. You're surprised to find yourself disagreeing with a man you admire more than anyone. But you know it's not enough to just live your life here in New York, while millions still suffer in the South, including your own family. You think the time is ripe to finally take action. In Rochester, Frederick Douglass introduced Brown to Shields Green, a fugitive slave from South Carolina who would become one of Brown's co-conspirators in the raid on Harper's

Ferry. A few weeks later, in March 1858, Brown bid farewell to Douglass and traveled to Boston to meet in secret with a small group of supporters. They called themselves the Secret Six. Franklin Sanborn, the young abolitionist who had introduced Brown to potential donors the previous year, served as his primary point of contact with the group. Another member was Brown's old friend Garrett Smith, the founder of the experimental black community in North Elba that Brown and his family called home. Sanborn and Smith were joined by a prominent educator, a wealthy manufacturer, and two ministers. Together, these six abolitionists became Brown's primary financial backers. To these close allies, Brown revealed his provisional

constitution and his general plans for an attack on Virginia, but not mentioning his specific intention to raid the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry. Reflecting on his reaction to Brown's plans, Sanborn later wrote, It was an amazing proposition, desperate in its character, seemingly inadequate in its provision of means, and of very uncertain results. Several members of the Secret Six were skeptical that the plot could work, but they were willing to back Brown all the same, determined to do something concrete to rid the nation of slavery. Sanborn recalled, Brown left us only the alternatives of betrayal, desertion, or support. We chose the last. But no one in the Secret Six knew the entirety of Brown's plot. They provided him $600 in funding, but they purposefully kept themselves in the dark. They knew they risked imprisonment by underwriting a crusade to overthrow slavery,

and the less they knew about the details of his plan, the better. After raising funds in New England, Brown traveled to Chatham, Canada, a freedman enclave just across the border from Michigan. Hoping to ratify his provisional constitution, he held a convention with some four dozen men, the majority of whom were black. The charter was unanimously approved, and several of the black representatives were elected as officials in the new government. Now Brown felt he was finally ready to launch his attack on Virginia. But while he was making plans to march on Harper's Ferry, his old disgruntled drill instructor, Hugh Forbes, was getting closer to derailing the plot entirely. That spring, Forbes contacted a number of U.S.

senators and influential abolitionists about Brown's plans. Forbes hoped to use his inside knowledge of the plot for financial gain. He blackmailed abolitionists he thought might be supporting Brown, including members of the Secret Six. Almost as soon as the Chatham Convention ended, Brown received the devastating news that his plan had been betrayed. The Secret Six were terrified that the plot and their role in it would be exposed. The Southern invasion had become Brown's life's purpose and was now in danger of unraveling, even before it began. Brown felt he could afford no further delays. Before his plan

was further exposed, he had no choice left but to attack. From Wondery, this is Episode 2 of Bleeding Kansas from American History Tellers. On our next episode, Brown's momentum comes to a crashing halt as he's forced to delay his long-planned raid on Harper's Ferry. But his commitment to the cause never wavers, and he soon makes headlines once again with a return to the battlefields of Kansas. If you like American History Tellers, you can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. This episode is written by Ellie Stanton, edited by Dorian Marina. Our senior producers, Andy Herman. Our executive producers are Jenny Lauer Beckman and Marsha Louis.

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