Timesuck with Dan Cummins - Short Suck #39: The Abolitionist John MF'n Brown

Episode Date: August 8, 2025

You'll be hard pressed to find a man who stood for his convictions more firmly than John Brown. John was an white abolitionist willing to do more to end slavery than any other man - of any color - in America in the 1850s. It wasn't enough for John to speak out against slavery, or to help freed slaves find freedom through the Underground Railroad. John felt that if slaveowners weren't willing to immediately free their slaves and renounce their ways, they deserved death. And he felt called by God to send them directly to their graves. For Merch and everything else Bad Magic related, head to: https://www.badmagicproductions.com

Welcome to another edition of Time Sucks Short Sucks. I'm Dan Cummins, and today I'll be sharing the story of a 19th century evangelical Christian who took his religious convictions incredibly seriously. A man who truly believed he was an instrument of God brought to this world to strike a death blow to slavery in the United States, a spiritual assignment he considered a sacred obligation. I'm talking about old John Brown, a fiery abolitionist, revolutionary, and all-around bad motherfucker. A man who took the golden rule and the all men are created equal maxim from the Declaration of Independence, deathly, seriously. A man willing to dish out death and sacrifice his own

life to bring about what he knew was right, the end of slavery in America. His raid on the federal armory at Harper's Ferry is considered by many to be the spark that went on to ignite the Civil War. Words and ideas can change the world. I hated her, but I wanted to love my mother. have a dream. I'll plead not guilty right now. Your only chance is to leave with us. In the years leading up to his Harper's Ferry raid, Brown would capture America's attention multiple times for incredibly daring acts of violence carried out against slaveholders and other supporters of the inhuman institution. One of these acts occurred almost a year before his infamous raid when John Brown organized a lesser-known but still wildly inspirational fuck-you move against

the pro-slavery southern states. Brown and his financial backers from the north, a group of abolitionists referred to as the Secret Six wanted to draw attention away from his upcoming raid on Harper's Ferry after plans for that attack were leaked. And why was Harper's Ferry John's focus? Well, in a word, guns. Lots and lots of guns.

Harper's Ferry, located in what was then Virginia, but what is now West Virginia, was the site of America's second armory. It was both an armory and an arsenal, the side of a whole lot of rifles and even more bullets, and he wanted to place both in the hands of slaves and other abolitionists because you can't pull off a revolution if you don't have the right weapons. And in order to distract from this upcoming attempt, it'd grab it a bunch of guns. In December of 1858, Brown would lead a group of men across the Kansas border into the slave state of Missouri, where they would raid two pro-slavery

homesteads and liberate nearly a dozen enslaved people. Thanks to the successful attack, Brown made more headlines across the nation by the time he made it back to Kansas, which at the time was a territory divided between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers. U.S. President James Buchanan offered a $2,500 reward for Brown's capture. And in response, John Brown cheekily offered a $2.50 reward for the arrest of the man he considered too immoral to be in the Oval Office, James Buchanan. Pretty funny, pretty ballsy gesture. As Brown and his group made their way through Kansas, a number of pro-slavery men heard of his journey and attempted to take him down,

and their ensuing altercation is best summed up by a description from one of John Brown's own men. We now learned that there were about 80 ruffians waiting for us at the Ford. We numbered 22, all told, or men, black and white. We marched down upon them. They had as good a position as 80 men could wish, but the closer we got, the farther they got.

damn even when pro-slavery assholes outnumbered john brown by almost four to one they were when push came to shove often too scared to face him the kansas newspaper the leavenworth times wrote after the incident old captain brown is not to be taken by boys and he cordially invites all pro-slavery men to try their hands at arresting him can't believe brown was able to sit in the saddle and ride a horse when he clearly had a set of nuts bigger than most of the men who opposed him brown would make it to iowa by late february eight 1859, where he was met with more substantial support by fellow abolitionists, Detective Allen Pinkerton, founder of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, whose interactions with John Brown were covered in the suckers years earlier in an episode on the Pinkerton Agency, raised $500 for Brown's group once they arrived in Chicago, even set up a box car to take Brown and his men from Chicago to Detroit to help them get a little further up into Canada.

On March 12, 1859, almost three months since Brown left Missouri, his escape was officially made a success when 11 formerly enslaved people he was transporting were put on a ferry to Canada where their freedom could now be insured. Given how committed the southern elite were to maintaining slavery, it's pretty fucking insane

that John Brown was able to pull this stunt off. And it raises the question, why him? How did old Captain Brown go from being a struggling businessman and farmer in his 40s to one of the most well-known abolitionists of the pre-Civil War era only a few years later in his 50s, a larger-than-life figure, who struck fear into the hearts of powerful southern plantation owners.

Born on May 9th and 1800, to parents Owen Brown and Ruth Mills, John Brown came from a family of proud Yankees, both of his grandfathers having fought against the British in the Revolutionary War. He's also descended from the pilgrims on his father's side, and an ancestor named Peter Brown was one of the men who traveled to America on the Mayflower.

Shortly after John's birth, birth, his father moved the family from Torrington, Connecticut to Hudson, Ohio, opening up a tannery there. You don't hear a lot about tanneries these days. Not a lot of tannery talk. Places where the raw skins of animals are processed into leather, but there were a lot of tanneries back then, big business. In an interesting connection, Jesse Grant,

the father of future Union General and another bad motherfucker, U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, would actually live with the Brown family for several years while he apprenticed as a tanner. An early indicator of Brown's willingness to fraternize with all different types of people, despite the intense racism of his time, a young John had no trouble becoming friends with some Native American children living in the area, even learning some of their language, hunting with them and inviting them in for meals in his home.

And that, unfortunately, was not the norm for the time. Most folks, it seems, made it clear that their kids were not to fraternize with people many Americans of European descent at the time considered less than. Hudson would be where Brown's anti-slavery beliefs were developed, rooted in both empathy and strong religious conviction. The area around Hudson, Ohio, became one of the biggest hotspots in the country for a growing anti-slavery movement, with fiery debates raging frequently in Hudson's town hall and elsewhere. John's dad Owen was one of the men frequently speaking out against slavery. At the age of 12, Brown witnessed a friend of his, who was enslaved, get beaten with the shovel for no damn reason.

He confronted the man who beat him, asked him why he would do such to think, and the man said essentially because he could because the boy was his property and he would do with his property what he wished. Brown would later say that that moment, he decided to swear eternal war against slavery. Helping Brown in regards to his impassioned anti-slavery beliefs was him being raised in a family with very unique religious beliefs for the time. Unsurprisingly, given his family's Puritan and Calvinist background, Brown believed in the angry, vengeful God of the Old Testament. And on its own, that belief was not inherently anti-slavery at that time, many plantation owners twisted their strong religious

beliefs into using them to somehow defend their abhorrent practice of slavery. However, the angry, vengeful God that Owen and Ruth Brown taught their son to believe in a God not afraid of righteous violence was also one deeply committed to mutual respect for all men, and the family saw slavery as a practice deserving of God's wrath. And his family's unique commitment to this religious ideal led directly to John Brown's rare brand of religious militant abalienable. and Brown believed his predestined purpose on this earth was to completely destroy the institution of slavery. Basically, it was a belief of God wants everyone to be free for all of us to love and respect each other and anyone who gets in the way of that, well, that motherfucker can get smited.

Brown's religious convictions were so deep that at the age of 16, he traveled in New England with plans of studying to become a minister. However, a random bout of eye inflammation, some kind of infection, forced him to return home and recuperate, and then he took up up his dad's occupation of tan and leather. Four years later, Brown married a woman named Diantha, or Diantha Lusk. So I mean a lot of Dianthas. A lot of Dianths, not a lot of Dianthes these days. Brown and Lusk would have seven kids together, although two of these children would die young, as so many did back then in the days before antibiotics, vaccines, and current medical care practices. After a few more years of living in Ohio, Brown moved to New Richmond, Pennsylvania,

in 1825 with his wife and started a farm in his own tannery, practicing what his dad had taught him. And there, Brown began to really show how he was truly willing to put his anti-slavery beliefs into action. He and his wife used their farm as a depot for the Underground Railroad, something his own father, Brown's father Owen, was doing back in Hudson. Giving formerly enslaved people a chance to safely rest as they made their journey north. In the 10 years that Brown lived in Pennsylvania, it is estimated that approximately 2,500 newly freed people passed through his farm on their way to Canada. During that period, Brown didn't just demonstrate his empathy for enslaved people, but for humanity in general.

David Reynolds, a professor and author of a biography on John Brown, shares a story of an instance where, quote, a white neighbor came to him and complained about the Indians in the region, asking John Brown if he would join him and taking guns to drive off the natives. And Brown replied, quote, I would have nothing to do with so mean an act. I would sooner take my gun and help drive you out of the country. Fucking badass.

So much admiration for a man that outspoken in his convictions, right? Somebody who truly puts their money where their mouth is, you know, walks the walk. I find that to be such a rare quality in life. And to have it as much as John Brown had, it's just incredible. In 1832, Brown's wife, Diantha, would pass away. The following year, Brown would marry Marianne Day, the younger sister of a woman he'd hired to take care of the house after Diana's death. And Brown a day would remain together until John's death, and they would also have 13 kids together.

John's passion clearly wasn't only reserved for abolishing slavery. He clearly craved taking action in the bedroom as well. Sadly, only six of those kids would make it to adulthood. All in all, John would father 20 kids between his two wives. In 1835, Brown, now 35 years old, would move his family back to Ohio, where he would engage in a variety of occupations, including working as a surveyor and real estate speculator, Two years later, the U.S. would experience its worst financial collapse yet an event known as the panic at 1837.

And like so many others, Brown and his family were hit hard by that panic, leading to a difficult few years and a declaration of bankruptcy. Luckily, a wealthy landowner by the time of, or excuse me, by the name of Colonel Simon Perkins would seek out Brown in 1844, hoping to partner with them and raise some sheep in order to enter the wool business. Make that wool money. Brown had been attempting to find success as a sheep and wool merchant since 1839, and it apparently developed a good reputation for his ability to properly grade wool. Brown would now spend two years in Akron, Ohio, with Perkins, before moving his family to Springfield, Massachusetts in 1846, in order to be close to his business partner's wool warehouse.

And in Massachusetts, John's passion for abolitionism increased. Springfield had both a large community of white abolitionists and a large African-American community, and John Brown, quickly became involved with both. Famously, Brown once spent an entire night discussing the national debate on slavery with none other than Frederick Douglass while Douglas was passing through Springfield. Douglas had spent the first 20 years of his life as a slave before escaping and making it up north and becoming the most famous abolitionist in America.

He published a book in 1845, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, and then another in 1855, my bondage and my freedom, and both would be bestsellers, and do a lot to stir up sympathies for the cause of freeing American slaves. Brown's resolve made a deep impact on Douglas who would write of John. Though a white gentleman, he is in sympathy with the black man and as deeply interested in our cause as though his own soul had been pierced with the iron of slavery. The conversation had a lasting effect on Douglas' hope for the ending of slavery, with the great order later recalling,

While I continued to write and speak against slavery, I became all the same less hopeful for its peace abolition. My utterances became more and more tinged by the color of this man's strong impressions. While in Springfield, John Brown heard of a plan by wealthy abolitionist, Garrett Smith, to offer thousands of acres of land in upstate New York to African American farmers. And in order to support that plan, Brown purchased 244 acres of land from Smith and moved his family to North Elbe, New York in 1849, so he could help these other African Americans learn how to farm. just a fucking great human, just a great meat sack.

While living in North Elba, Brown attempted to help his neighbors develop economically, surveying their property, showing them how to effectively clear the land, build cabins, you know, amongst other farming techniques. Brown also demonstrated his belief in full equality between all races at this time, as seen in an anecdote shared by author and professor David Reynolds. Reynolds tells a story of a visit to North Elba by popular novelist of the day Richard Henry Dana, Dick Dana, who was, quote, shocked when he stumbled upon Brown's cabin up there. And there were several blacks sitting at the table,

and Brown made a point of treating them exactly the same way as he treated the famous Richard Henry Dana and the other whites present. And he addressed everyone present as Mr. and Mrs. Even amongst white abolitionists, this behavior was practically unheard of at the time. While many Northerners were against slavery, they still also believed in white supremacy, and they rarely, if ever, treated African-Americans as true equals.

Brown, however, attempted to truly involve himself in the black community, becoming friends, good friends with people like Frederick Douglass and former suck subject, Harriet Tubman, whom he referred to as General Tubman. In 1850, after the passing of the despicable and disgusting fugitive slave act, which allowed, quote, slave-catchers to legally kidnap free former slaves from the north and force them to return and once again be enslaved on plantations, John Brown, now 50 years old, returned to Springfield.

He was inching closer and closer to take an action, violent action, in the fight to end slavery instead of just using words. Brown once again became deeply involved with the black community of Springfield, reuniting with his former friends in order to figure out a proper response

to the new act. And now Brown would draft the founding document for the League of Gileadites, an anti-slavery militia, dedicated to defending the city from slave catches at any cost. Although Brown had to return to North Elbow to tend to Family Matters shortly after the League of Gileadites was successful in his goals. From the league's founding to the Union's victory in the Civil War, not a single person in Springfield was ever kidnapped and forced back into slavery.

A famous black orator William Wells Brown would recall how, on a visit to Springfield, he even witnessed armed local African Americans defending the train station from any potential visits from slave catchers. Love it. Meanwhile, the need to make a living and provide for his wife and many kids was getting in the way of John's anti-slavery mission. On 1851, a failed attempt by Brown to establish a new market for his wool business in London, cost him a lot of money,

and forced him to travel back to Ohio in order to work off some debts to his business partner. He was eventually able to return to North Elba, but then some new events in Kansas called him away again soon after. And before I share what those events were, Time for this week's first to two mid-show sponsor breaks. If you don't want to hear these ads, please sign up to be a space lizard on Patreon,

get the entire entire catalog ad-free, these episodes early and more. Thanks for listening to those ads, and now we return to the 1850s to talk about bleeding Kansas. As the United States continued to expand westward, the formation of each new state provided a new opportunity for the debate over slavery. And after a few more years, working in North Elba, debates over the admission of Kansas and Nebraska into the Union in 1854 would give John Brown the chance to first enter the public spotlight

with his opposition to slavery. Under the previous Missouri compromise of 1820, Missouri was entered into the Union as a slave state and Maine would enter as a free state and this was a deal that was done in order to make both sides happy and keep the country together.

As a part of that agreement, any future states formed out of the Louisiana purchased land that were above the 36 degree and 30 feet latitude line, would be free states. Anything below would be slave states. Since this latitude line marked the southern border of Kansas, it would obviously have to be a free state. And everyone agreed on that. John Brown would go on to become the first governor of the state of Kansas, and African Americans living in Kansas would never fear being enslaved or even suffer from any kind of

racial discrimination, not even one time, not ever. Except, of course, that did not happen. Now, what actually happened was that in 1854, when Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas wanted to make sure a railroad to the Pacific, went through Chicago instead of through Texas. He was willing to do anything to make sure the Nebraska Territory became organized into states as quickly as possible. Seeing an opportunity,

southern senators demanded that the restriction on slavery in the new states be removed, although that directly contradicted the Missouri compromise. Douglas bent and replaced the previous agreement with popular sovereignty, basically making the decision to have slaves or to not have slaves, you know, up to each new state. Unsurprisingly, this resulted in a massive increase in tensions between the north and the south.

Settlers from both sides poured into the new states to try and make sure the states would be entered into the union or into the southern states, or I guess they were both the union at this time on their terms. And all that led to the period known as Bleeding Kansas, which was basically a mini civil war in Kansas between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers. And now, John Brown was done just talking. when it came to not only sheltering freed slaves, trying to get out of the country, but actively attacking those who tried to kidnap free slaves and those who held slaves.

John Brown was among a small group of New Englanders who believed in the fight against slavery enough to travel to Kansas and literally fight to keep the territory free. Brown would first travel to Kansas in 1855, alongside four of his sons. An important to note, Homeboy is now 55 years old. Not 25, not 35, not even 45.

he is heading into fucking battle around the time most men, you know, his age are finalizing their retirement plans. And two major events happening at almost the exact same time in May of 1856 would directly precede his violence and make him feel that only extreme measures could take down slavery. On May 21st, the town of Lawrence in Kansas would be sacked by pro-slavery men. The human cost of the attack was low, only one person, a member of the pro-slavery gang actually was killed and accidentally.

But these dumb motherfuckers destroyed the free state hotel and through the local newspapers printing press into the Kansas River for printing what they considered anti-slavery bullshit. Some real good old boys. And then only one day later on May 22nd, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner would be brutally caned by South Carolina representative Preston Brooks, a congressman, in the Capitol building. As a side note, it is insane. We don't hear about Sumner's caning more. Let me take a little detour for this and then we'll jump back. to John Brown's timeline, while given his speech, and this actually does help us connect, while given a speech on May 19th and May 20th, 1856, Sumner criticized the two senators who authored

the Kansas Nebraska Act, Stephen Douglas, and South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler, as well as supporters of slavery just kind of generally. Somehow, many articles on the incident seem to believe that Sumner brought the caning onto himself by being far too cruel in his speech. One article points out that, quote, Sumner's speech had violated the Senate's decorum with its vulgar characterizations of Butler and other pro-slavery politicians. Excuse me. But didn't they earn themselves some vulgar characterizations by being so passionately pro-slavery? I would argue that they certainly did. Another notes, his accusation against a fellow senator and condemnation of the entire state of South Carolina, Butler's home, shocked even those who agreed with

Sumner's assessment of the situation in Kansas. Well, fuck those people for being shocked. Putting decorum before passion and action reminds me of a lot of spineless politicians today. If you can help the country and do it in a way that follows proper decorum, that is awesome. Fantastic. That's best case scenario. But the end is more important than the means oftentimes.

And if being polite is going to get the job done, fine. But if not being polite, if being the rudest rude boy motherfucker that there ever was is the way to get the job done, then maybe do that. So what were these horrifying remarks? Well, Sumner's description of Andrew Butler went as follows. The senator from South Carolina has read many books of chivalry and believes himself a chivalrous knight, with sentiments of honor and courage. Of course, he has chosen a mistress to whom he has made his vows, and who, though ugly to others, is always lovely to him. Though polluted in the side of the world, is chased in his sight, I mean the harlot slavery. And that's all it took to outrage many in the

south who found these words disgusting abhorrent but people who also had no problem owning whipping other human beings separating them from their families you know parents and children allowing them to be raped and order to breed more slaves etc etc pretty funny lines people fucking draw crazy what some people choose to be outraged about and then not outraged about well these comments were designed to make a good southern gentleman mad and that's exactly what they did while butler was not present during the speech his cousin preston brooks was Brooks decided that he couldn't let Sumner's comments go unpunished and he spent the next two days waiting for a chance to exact some revenge

on the Massachusetts senator. And on May 22nd, while Sumner sat at his desk in the Senate chamber, writing, surrounded by other senators and staffers, Brooks walked up to him holding a big old stick and he began to beat the man senseless. I think it's worth reading out historian and author Stephen Puello's description of the event in order to fully understand just how fucking insane this was. Quote, when Sumner looked up and saw Brooks raise his arm, he moved as if to rise.

But Brooks struck him on the top of the head with a smaller end of the cane, causing an outpouring of blood that blinded Sumner. Brooks then struck Sumner again and again on his head and face with the heavy end of the cane. Sumner struggled to rise, but his legs were still pinned under his desk. After a dozen blows to the head, his eyes blinded with blood, he roared and made a desperate effort to rise. his trapped legs wrenched the desk, which was bolted to the floor by an iron plate with heavy screws. He tore it from its moorings. Sumner staggered forward down the aisle, now an

even easier target for Brooks, who continued to beat him across the head. Brooks rained down blows upon Sumner. Every lick went where I intended, Brooks recalled later. As he pounded Sumner, Brooks Kane snapped, but he continued to strike the senator with the splintered peace. Oh, Lord! Sumner gasped. Oh! Oh! Brooks grabbed the helpless and reeling Sumner by the lapel and held him with one hand while continuing to strike him with the other. He thrashed Sumner, delivering about thirty-first-rate stripes. Near the end of the beating, Sumner was entirely insensible, though before he succumbed, he bellowed like a calf, according to Brooks. Two New York representatives' bystanders in the

Senate chamber finally intervened as the fracas rant wound down. One cradled the fallen Sumner, who, head and face covered in blood, groaned pincoled. hideously at first and then went silent. Quote, as senseless as a corpse for several minutes, his head bleeding copiously and blood saturating his clothes. Friends led Brooks to a side room. Other Southerners picked up pieces of the splintered cane. Later, these scraps were fashioned into rings

that many southern lawmakers wore on neck chains as a sign of solidarity with Brooks. Jesus Christ. No one fucking stopped that. Not until the cane was busted into pieces, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner was already beaten unconscious, or virtually unconscious. And then pro-slavery senators had the fucking gall to have pieces of the cane made into rings and put on necklaces, and then they would wear those in the fucking Senate.

And sadly, I can see a lot of completely morally bankrupt senators doing the same kind of shit today. After all that, could have seen. After all that, not only did Brooks not go to jail, he didn't get kicked out of Congress. Instead, he got sent hundreds of of replacement canes. Some even had the words hit him again, written on him. Well, it would take Charles a full three years to physically recover enough from that beating

to be able to return to the Senate floor. And then he would remain a Republican senator to his credit until his death at the age of 63 over a decade later in 1874. Well over decade. Meanwhile, his attacker, Democrat Preston Brooks would die the next year and painfully. At the age is 37.

Karma doesn't always get everybody. But it seems to get a few. The official telegram announcing his death stated, quote, he died a horrid death and suffered intensely. He endeavored to tear his own throat open to get breath. Well, good. And now let's connect this to old John Brown. The same week, old Chuck was literally beaten half to death with a fucking stick in front of his coworkers.

On May 21st, Brown was marching into Lawrence with a militia group called the Potawatomi Company, the Potawatomi Company, in order to protect settlers living near Potawatomi. Me Creek from pro-slavery settlers. After learning that he was too late and hearing about the caning of Sumner the next day, Brown became enraged. He said, quote, something must be done to show these barbarians that we two have rights. Brown was now fully planning violence, even though many of his peers still cautioned against it. He often found himself in opposition to other more moderate anti-slavery leaders in Kansas,

and he would refer to these other more moderate people as old women. And on the night of May 24th, John Brown set about on a campaign, a terror in the area surrounding Pottawatomie Creek. The events of the night would later become known as the Pottawatomie Massacre. Brown's group consisted of himself, four of his sons, a son-in-law, and another man sympathetic to the cause named Theodore Weiner. Oh, hell yeah. You got to get fucking Teddy Weiner on your side. Got to get Mr. Weiner along with the right. First, the group approached the cabin of pro-slavery settler James Doyle, demanding that Doyle and his sons step outside. Brown then proceeded to shoot James Doyle right in the fucking head. And then two of his sons

hacked James two older sons to death with swords. Oh yeah, these dudes were not playing. The time for talking was over, and it was either free your slaves and renounce your slavery ways or fucking die. After Doyle's youngest son was spared, the group then moved on to the home of another pro-slavery settler, Alan Wilkinson, and they hacked that bag of shit to death as well. Finally, Brown's group came to the house of James Harris. Brown questioned him and some other men with him about their views on slavery and attempted to discover if any of them had participated in the sack on Lawrence. One man, William Sherman, did not impress Brown with his answers. And Brown's sons? Well, they took some blades to him. Brown and his men then proceeded to disappear into the night. Frederick Douglass

would describe these killings as, quote, a terrible remedy for a terrible malady. Well, well put. sometimes the only remedy for violence, sadly, is more violence. And now before I share what the national reaction to the Padawadovi Masker was, time for today's second to two mid-show sponsor breaks. Thanks for listening to those sponsors, and now let's find out what the national reaction to John Brown's Padoadoby Masker was. The national reaction to the Padawati Mastker was immediate. Pro-slavery settlers were both outraged and, more importantly, terrified. side. U.S. Deputy Marshall, Robert L. Pate, quickly gathered around 50 so-called border ruffians in order to hunt down Brown and his men. For reference, border ruffians was the title given to men from Missouri who crossed into Kansas stateers and make sure slavery was written into the Kansas State Constitution. Pate and his pro-slavery go house-to-house searching for Brown, even kidnapping several free state settlers. This behavior did not help her search, since the free state settlers in the area felt little desire to reveal Brown's location to the pro-slavery band and instead gathered intel about what Peyton's men were up to

and tried to send word to Brown so he and his men could keep from getting caught. After hearing a paid search, rather than use the advance notice to flee to safety, further north, old John Brown began gathering a group of his own men in order to confront the U.S. Marshal head on. And on June 2nd, Brown's group of now around 30 dudes ready and willing to die for their cause would find Pate and his border ruffians outside the little camp of Blackjack, Kansas. which is a badass name for a place to live. Although outnumbered, Brown was not deterred,

split in the men into two groups and preparing to attack. Pate's camp was awoken shortly before dawn by gunfire from Brown's forces that were making their way down the hillside. The border ruffians were able to organize the defense quickly, enough that Brown's smaller force could not then overwhelm them, and the two sides entered a stalemate. After a few hours, Pate rose the white flag and was taken to Brown in order to negotiate.

However, Pate refused the unconditional surrender desired by Brown, and fighting continued. Brown desired to capture all of Pate's forces, and after seeing some of the border ruffians fleeing the battle, he ordered his son Frederick and some of the other men to cut off the pro-slavery force's escape route. After successfully getting into position, Frederick called out to his father that they had the border ruffians surrounded. Paid heard that.

Mistakingly thought that the anti-slavery men had received reinforcements. Deputy Pate raised the white flag a second time, but this time Captain Brown was done fucking around, and Brown told Pate that he would blow. his fool head off, if he did not command the rest of his men to surrender. That stern negotiating tactic did the trick. And Brown won what some historians consider the first true battle of the Civil War. Brown, his men, and his 30 men, excuse me, had defeated Pate's group of about 80 dudes. While the Battle of Blackjack did not have a large direct impact on the slavery tensions in Kansas,

with Brown organized in a prisoner exchange to free those kidnapped by Pate's group before the two forces went through separate ways, the battle did help protect anti-slavery settlers in the area from further harassment. After a brief period, several weeks, of relative inactivity, Brown would then find himself called to action yet again the following month, August 1856. Fearing further attacks from Brown, pro-slavery leaders John Reed and Reverend Martin White gathered more than 250 Missourians and prepared to attack Brown's base of operations currently camped outside the abolitionist community of Osawatomi, Kansas. John Brown and his family were standing at the cabin of Reverend Samuel Ladegh,

the husband of Brown's half-sister, Florella. And on August 30th, Reed and White's group of border ruffians would cross the border into Kansas. After receiving notice of the approaching forces, John Brown organized between 30 and 50 men in a defense of Osawatomi. Expecting the Missourians to approach from the east, Brown was caught off guard when his attackers instead looped around in advance from the West. Brown's son Frederick, who was serving as one of his scouts, was killed as a result of this unexpected move. Reverend Martin White himself told the story to the Kansas House of Representatives

on February 13th of the following year. He said, whilst I was acting as one of the advanced guard coming in contact with their picket guard, Frederick Brown, one of their guard advanced towards us. We halted and I recognized him, and I ordered him to halt. But he replied, I know you, and he continued to advance towards me. I ordered him a second time to halt. But this time he was getting very close to me, and he threw his hand to his revolver. To save my own life, I shot him down.

And he shot him right to the heart. Having heard about his son's death, John Brown rushed from his camp towards Osawatomi, gathering several dozen men to meet the Missourian invaders. The fighting began when Reed advanced its forces and long rose towards the woods in which Brown and his men were located. Brown's men opened fire on Reed's mounted troops,

wounding several horses and men and forcing them to dismount. Reed then opened fire with grape shot, though it was aimed too high and only damaged the trees. Long-distance firing resulted in little damage to either side for about 15 minutes. Finally, the border ruffians charged, and Brown's forces were forced into a retreat through the woods and back across a river. Five of the freestaters were killed, including Frederick Brown, and several others wounded. The pro-slavery forces, instead of trying to catch Brown's men now,

well, they turned their attention to the town itself. In the end, the men under John Reed went through Osawatomi and burned almost all of its buildings. The three they spared were full of women and children. Before leaving, they thoroughly looted the town, took six prisoners, but were unable to find John Brown himself. When he reemerged from some rush following the final departure of the Missourians that day, John saw the charged settlement and reportedly said the following to his son, Jason. God sees it. 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. I will give them something else to do than extend the slave territory. I will carry this war into Africa. I would a truly courageous, just righteous son of a bitch. My God. Although he lost the battle of Osawatomi, with four other men dying in addition to his son and a dozen other men taken prisoner, his stubborn resistance would also earn John the nickname of Osawatomi Brown. With tensions in Kansas, cooling down, as winter arrived following this,

Brown returned to his desire to raid Harper's ferry. Get those guns. You've been thinking about this for a while. He would find himself back to the Northeast, traveling around New York and New England in an effort to gain funds for his mysterious plan to take down southern slave power. And in January of 1857, Brown would be welcomed to Boston by Franklin Sanborn. a young schoolmaster.

Sanborn would introduce Brown to George L. Stearns, a wealthy businessman and merchant, who was also a dedicated abolitionist. And he would prove to be an important financial backer. Brown spent the rest of 1857 doing his fundraising, and Sanborn and Stearns would become the first two members of this so-called secret six group. This group of six northern abolitionists

committed to funding Brown's war against slavery. One of these men, Garrett Smith, was also the man that had sold Brown that land in upstate New York, where his family was still currently living. With his financial backing in place, Brown then began to make preparations for his eventual raid on Harper's Ferry. Brown's hope was that after making a quick strike

on Harper's Ferry, and seizing the approximately 10,000 muskets and rifles held there, he could free and arm the slaves in the area and then retreat into the surrounding mountains, where he would then begin to wage guerrilla warfare campaign throughout the South, freeing and arming more and more slaves, killing more and more slave owners.

However, an Englishman named Hugh Forbes that Brown had hired to drill his troops became dissatisfied with his conditions. Forbes was a former British soldier that had fought in various European revolutions in 1848 and 1849. He'd fought under Garibaldi in Italy, and after the failed effort, had ended up as a silk merchant in Florence. Forbes had left his wife and family behind in Italy around 1855, seeking his fortune in America. He landed in New York City where he struggled to make ends meet as a fencing instructor, part-time journalist, author, and speaker. Well, Brown had read Forbes's Manual for the Patriotic Volunteer,

published in 1856, and also Forbes's pamphlet, Duties of a Soldier, while in Kansas and discussed it with another English immigrant turned writer William A. Phillips. Brown was impressed with Forbes's work, and when he came east in March of 1857

on a fundraising mission, he looked up Forbes in New York. Forbes appeared to Brown to be like-minded. Much of Forbes's writing in the book bore this out, For example, Forbes had written, Right is that which is good, true, honorable, just, humane, and self-sacrificing. It is the opposite of wrong. Brown could not have agreed with that sentiment more.

He saw Forbes as, you know, being yet another believer in the wrongness of slavery, even though Forbes actually did not share Brown's unyielding belief in equality of the races. At that initial meeting, Brown contracted, or contracted, excuse me, with Forbes to train his men back in Kansas and Iowa. While the mercenary demanded $100 a month in salary to help support his family back in Italy and an expense account. And Brown feeling that his plan was finally moving forward, and this was the right guy to train his troops, well, he readily agreed. After a delay then to tie up loose ends in New York, Forbes showed up at Tabor, Iowa in August,

to find only Brown and his son Owen as his two patriotic volunteers, not a big group of men like he expected. From this rough start, things actually got worse for Brown and Forbes. They were in a disagreement over how to best carry out Brown's plan of a slave revolution, added to the lack of men and means and Brown's inability to pay any more salary to Forbes his deal snapped and Forbes left to go back east to New York

pissed off by early November but he did promise to set up a training camp for men in Ohio if the necessary men could be raised and if he would then be paid in full and it was looking like that was going to happen Brown's Iowa forces actually increased dramatically after Forbes departed he got more funding but when Brown traveled to Ohio in January of 1858

to check on progress there he learned that Forbes disgruntled over not being paid yet what they had agreed to had already turned against him. Forbes didn't know who specifically was funding Brown's anti-slavery operations, but he attempted to contact many he believed were Brown's philanthropists, including some of the Secret Six, in an attempt to discredit Brown, reveal Brown's potential future plans, and in effect, blackmail them all if he didn't get his money. And this action caused Brown to have to contact his benefactors, assure them that they still had things under control, and this delayed his plan further. And what a fucking chicken

shit right he just couldn't give brown a second chance and he was willing to fuck up an entire revolution that could free over a million people over what a monetary dispute and now this brings us to brown's missouri raid that we began the episode with when in december of eighteen fifty eight brown led a group of men across the kansas border into the slave state of missouri where they raided two pro slavery homesteads and liberated almost a dozen slave people the massive success of that raid in terms of capturing national attention meant that harper's fair plan was back on. Brown made one last visit to his family in North Elba before traveling down south, arriving at the Kennedy Farmhouse in Maryland just across the Potomac River from Harper's Ferry

July 3rd, 1859. Excuse me. A little over 20 men, including again, some of Brown's own sons, were living at the farmhouse, and to avoid suspicion from neighbors, the majority of them, would stay hidden in the attic during the day. Brown also sent for his 15-year-old daughter, Annie, and the 17-year-old wife of a son, Oliver, Martha, in order to keep up the appearances of just a normal family home, nothing suspicious, we're not plotting a revolution, we're just, you know, farming and shit. And then on September 30th, Brown sent Annie and Martha home,

as the date for the attack was drawn near and he didn't want to risk them getting hurt or worse. Finally, on the evening of October 16th, 1859, Brown gathered his men together and announced the time was now. At around 8 p.m. that night, Brown and his small, armed, and dedicated group of men left the Kennedy Farmhouse, advancing towards the federal armory at Harper's Ferry. Only two hours later, by 10 p.m., the group had successfully taken both bridges across the Potomac

and even held control of the armory and the weapons arsenal itself. It was barely guarded. By Midnight, Brown's team was already starting to make moves to free local slaves. Two prominent slaveholders in the area, Lewis Washington and John Allstatt, were taken hostage and their slaves are free. Washington, by the way, actually the great-grand-nephew of President George Washington himself. Up to this point, the attack had been going shockingly well. However, at around 1.30 a.m., a passenger train passed through town, and after briefly stopping the train, Brown decided to let them keep on going, and that was a huge mistake. The Raiders had cut the telegraph lines leading into the town as they approached so that nobody could call for help, and once his train

made it to the next train town, the functioning telegraph system, also men on board immediately now sounded the alarm. And now the word was out, and the military was coming. Also, Brown and his team had stalled much longer than they probably should have. Around 25 to 50 former slaves had been armed by the Raiders, which would have doubled or even tripled the size of his original group, not many guys, but these slaves had zero experience with guns. They were not trained militia members. They were scared. They were not ready for what was coming. Instead of quickly fleeing into the hills with the freed slaves that he'd already recruited to his cause, like he probably should have, Brown stayed in Harper's Ferry for all of October 17th, engaged in small skirmishes with the townspeople and local militias.

At 11 p.m. the night of October 17th, Colonel Robert E. Lee. Yep, that Robert E. Lee, who would go on to command all of the Confederate Army, a very pro-slavery man who was also a brilliant military tactician in the Civil War, and 90 Marines arrived in Harper's Ferry by train from Washington, D.C. Not good. And by the morning of the 18th, Brown, along with a few other raiders that hadn't already fled or been killed or captured, were holed up in an engine house of the armory. After Brown refused in order to surrender, given by first lieutenant, J.E.B. Stewart, Lee's aide to camp, Marines broke down the door and captured him, ending his dreams of leading a revolution. In the immediate aftermath of the failed raid, many prominent abolitionists were highly critical of Brown, seeking to distance themselves from his violent attacks. However, the resolve and dedication Brown showed during his trial and subsequent execution made him a martyr to many Northerners, and in passioned, God knows how many others to fight for what was actually truly right in the upcoming Civil War. In particular, Brown's speech given to the Virginia court before his sentence, right before it, was handed out, was extremely influential in shaping public opinion against slavery.

There's a few parts of the speech that seem especially worth sharing here. And one, Brown argues, quote, had I so interfered on behalf of the rich, the powerful, the intelligent, the so-called great, or on behalf of any of their friends, either, father, mother, brother, sister, wife, or children, or any of that class, and suffered and sacrificed what I have in this interference, it would have been all right. Every man in this court would have deemed it an act worthy, a reward rather than a punishment. And that certainly feels relevant today, right? People who denounce violence almost always only do so if the violence does not serve their cause, if the violence was not committed on behalf of what they care about and what they think is right. A few paragraphs later, Brown drops another powerful line. Now, if it is deemed necessary

that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments, I say, let it be done. And holy shit, that was quite the braveheart moment. My God, dude truly held his convictions right up until the very end, and so bravely faced his death. Truly can't think of how he could have been a more admirable man, right? Do you have fucking more backbone, more steely resolved than any U.S. politician alive today that I can think of. And I know they're not all bad.

They're not all bad. Not saying that. But are any of them this good? I don't know if they are. It's just so wildly impressive to me. Would you walk the walk he did, knowing the dangers he faced and the end he met? I'd like to say I would, but honestly, I don't think. I've ever been as brave and bold as John Brown. I know I haven't. Try to be a good man, but he was

definitely a better man than me. Brown remained bold and defiant all the way up till his final seconds on this earth. On the morning of his execution, December 2nd, 1859, Brown read a note with a steady hand which read, I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away, but with blood. I had vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed, it might be done. Great foresight for the Civil War. Brown remained committed and unflinching all the way to the gallows, with many spectators noting his impressive lack of fear. Admittance to John Brown's execution was severely restricted. Virginia governor, fucking coward, Henry A. Wise, fearing a last-minute attempt to free Brown had ordered

1,500 soldiers to the site of the hanging in Charlestown. Suspicious characters and loiterers were to be arrested. The hanging site would be free of nearly all civilians. No person would be be allowed within hearing distance at the gallows for if Brown presented any memorable last words, Wise did not want them to hear it. Because he was a piece of shit. One of the few civilians to witness the hanging was journalist David Struther, better known by his pen name, Port Crayon. Funny. He had covered John Brown's war from the first shots at Harper's Ferry. Strother's reporting and sketches were hot items for Harper's Weekly, enabling the paper to go head-to-head with his rival, Leslie's Illustrated. Struther used a family connection to gain

access to the hanging. His uncle was a personal representative of Governor Wise. And Struther was a unionist, but he was not sympathetic to the abolitionist cause, nor the immediate emancipation of slaves, including his own. This was not an uncommon position, but in the aftermath of John Brown's raid, it had become increasingly difficult to stay on this fence. Harper's Weekly received fire from both anti-slavery and pro-slavery sympathizers in response to Struthers' reporting. It was either too critical or not critical enough. Rather than offend readers, Harper weekly dropped their star reporter altogether. However, the paper neglected to inform Strother, who continued to file stories on Brown.

And his vivid description of the hanging would not be printed because he was let go, unbeknownst to him, until 95 years later in February, 1955 issue of American Heritage. And he wrote, I stood with the group of half, I stood with the group of a half dozen gentlemen near the steps of the scaffold when the prisoner was driven up. He stepped from the wagon with surprising agility,

and walked hastily toward the scaffold, pausing a moment as he passed our group to wave his pinioned arm and bid us good morning. I thought I could observe in this trace of bravado, but perhaps I was mistaken. Brown mounted the steps of the gallows. He held his head to one side to accommodate the noose which Avis placed around his neck. No preacher was present, as Brown had declined the services of any minister who approved of or even consented to the enslavement of human beings. from his position on the scaffold he would have a grand view of the countryside the view was of surpassing beauty wrote struther broad and fertile fields dotted with cornstalks and white farmhouses glimmering through the leafless trees emblems of prosperity and peace brown himself had commented earlier about this view this is a beautiful country i did not have the chance to see it before professor thomas l excuse me professor thomas j jackson uh later to be immortalized by the name of Stonewall, when he led Confederate troops in the first Battle of Bull Run, stood with

the cadets of the Virginia Military Institute, and he saw only, quote, unflinching firmness in Brown's actions. Edmund Ruffin, the fire-breathing secessionist, stood behind Jackson, having borrowed a cadet's uniform so he could get a closer view. And he said, he is a thorough as a fanatic as ever suffered martyrdom and a very brave and able man. It is impossible for me not to respect his thorough devotion to his bad cause. Obviously bad in his view. Also watching in the crowd was the actor John Wilkes Booth, future assassin, who will cowardly shoot President Abraham Lincoln.

He had joined the Richmond Greys in order to view the execution, and he would say, I looked at the traitor and terrorizer with unlimited, undeniable contempt. On brand. A white linen hood was placed over Brown's head. Strother wrote, I stood within a few paces of him and watched narrowly during these trying moments to see if there was any indication of his giving way.

I detected nothing of the sort. He had stiffened himself for the drop and waited motionless till it came. The sheriff cut the rope with a single blow. There was a crash as the platform fell and Brown dropped through. A spectator recalled there was very little motion of his person for several moments, and soon the wind blew his lifeless body to and fro. The poet Walt Whitman sources differ as to whether he was actually present or not.

at Brown's execution, he would claim to have seen it in a poem titled, Year of Meteors. And in that poem, he references it saying, I would sing how an old man, tall with white hair, mounted the scaffold in Virginia. I was at hand, silent I stood with teeth shut clothes, I watched. I stood very near you, old man, when cool and indifferent, but trembling with age and your unheeled wounds, you mounted the scaffold. Brown was hanged at 11.15 a.m. he was pronounced dead 35 minutes later he was 59 years old and now let's talk about about this amazing man's legacy another boost to brown's popularity came from the support he received by well-known poets and authors of the day ralph waldo emerson and henry david thoreau they even made comparisons between brown and christ

Thoreau in his speech calling out those of the North who criticized Brown would say some 1800 years ago Christ was crucified. This morning, perchance, Captain Brown was hung. These are the two ends of a chain which is not without its links. He is not old Brown any longer. He is an angel of light. Emerson was even more direct, claiming he will make the gallows as holy as the cross. Even Victor Hugo, the French author of works like Le Miserables,

and the hunchback of Notre Dame would publish an open letter arguing against Brown's execution Hugo railed against America writing that executing Brown would go directly against the country's founding values established in the American Revolution. He wrote four, yes, let America know it

and ponder on it well, there is something more terrible than Kane slain Abel. It is Washington slain Spartacus. Brown became a hero in the north, and a tune called John Brown's body would be one of the most popular marching songs in the Union Army. The tune would even be rewritten by poet Julia Ward Howe becoming the famous Battle Hymn of the Republic. Years after the Civil War was over, I do like that at least John's wife and surviving sons,

surviving children, you know, got to see the Union win. But after the failure of the reconstruction that followed, the introduction of Jim Crow laws in the South, Brown's status as a hero would be completely reversed, with the popular narrative around the abolitionist becoming that he was completely, really insane and overly and unnecessarily violent, right? How dare he kill people who routinely beat the shit out of people they own and also sometimes kill them? How dare he not tolerate or even accept slavery? The stigma surrounding Brown would remain for around a century with mainstream historians only beginning to present him in a more positive light start in the

1960s. And the group that sustained his legacy at that time was almost exclusively African-American writers. The famous African-American historian, sociologists, and civil rights activist, W.E.B. Du Bois even wrote a complimentary biography of Brown in 1909, so before the 60s. More recently, John Brown has once again somehow become a divisive figure. In the early 2000s, a Kansas senator introduced a bill that would give some sort of national recognition to Brown. However, that bill was killed by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott from Mississippi, who even went as far to say that the bill would only pass over his dead body. And now I'll leave you with this. My two favorite quotes about John Brown. They were written by Black Revolutionary Malcolm

X sometime in the 1960s and abolitionist Frederick Douglass sometime around 1860. And Malcolm X said, we need allies who are going to help us, as in African Americans, achieve a victory, not allies, who are going to tell us to be nonviolent. If a white man wants to be your ally, what does he think of John Brown? You know what John Brown did? He went to war. He was a white man who went to war against white people to help free slaves. He wasn't nonviolent. White people called John Brown a nut. Go read the history. Go read what all of them say about John Brown. They're trying to make it look like he was a nut, a fanatic. They made a movie on it. I saw a movie on the screen one night, why I would be afraid to get near John Brown if I go by what other white folks say about him.

But they depict him in this image because he was willing to shed blood to free the slaves. and any white man who is ready and willing to go shed blood for your freedom in the sight of other whites, he's nuts. As long as he wants to come up with some nonviolent action, they go for that. If he's liberal, a nonviolent liberal, a love everybody liberal. But when it comes time to making the same kind of contribution for your and my freedom that was necessary for them to make for their own freedom, they back out of the situation. So when you want to know good white folks in history where black people are concerned,

go read the history of John Brown. That was what I call a white liberal, but those other kind, they are questionable. So if we need white allies in this country, we don't need those kind who compromise. We don't need those kind who encourage us to be polite, responsible, you know? We don't need those kinds who give us that kind of advice.

We don't need those kind who tell us how to be patient. No, if we want some white allies, we need the kind that John Brown was. But we don't need you. And the only way to get those kind is to turn in a new direction. And then over a century earlier, Douglas had written,

John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry was all his own. His zeal and the cause of freedom was infinitely superior to mine. Mine was a taper light. His was the burning sun. Mine was bounded by time. His stretched away to the silent shores

of eternity. Man, that's a powerful one. May we look for and recognize the John Browns of today And instead of extinguishing their light Instead of saying that they're crazy May we absorb their light, understand it And amplify it with our own

Hail John Brown And hail all that he stood for And died for And that's it For this edition of Time Sucks Short Sucks Uh Yeah I hope you enjoyed that

I certainly did If you enjoyed this story Check out the rest of the bad magic catalog Beefier episodes A Time suck every Monday at noon Pacific time new episodes of the now long-running paranormal podcast scared to death every Tuesday at midnight with two episodes of nightmare fuel, fictional horror thrown into the mix each month. A big thanks to my son, Kyler Cummins, for the initial research on this one and for wanting to explore this topic.

He's such a great young man, such a wonderful moral compass. He could not stop talking about John Brown the past few weeks, and I couldn't be more proud of him. And thanks to Logan Keith, polishing up the sound of today's episode. Please go to bad magic productions.com for all your bad magic needs. and have yourself a great weekend.