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The Passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
In 1854 congress passed the Kansas Nebraska Act. The act allowed the people in the Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide for themselves whether or not to have slavery. The act repealed the Missouri Compromise, which had previously prohibited slavery north of latitude 36°30'. Pro and anti-slavery forces rushed into Kansas so that they could participate in the vote as to whether they would have slavery or not. The voting was unsuccessful and tensions between the two sides continued to rise. -
John Brown Leaves For Kansas
John Brown, an abolitionist, learns of the situation in Kansas and leaves to support the anti-slavery cause. They stop in Albany in June to attend an anti-slavery conference. At the conference, there was a great deal of controversy as to whether or not violent resistance was necessary to stop the pro-slavery movement. John Brown was very much in favor of the use of armed insurrection and managed to raise some funds while at the conference to support the abolitionist forces in Kansas. -
Siege of Lawrence, Kansas
Pro-slavery forces, led by Sheriff Samuel J. Jones, attacked and ransacked the town of Lawrence, Kansas, which had been settled by anti-slavery settlers from Massachusetts who were hoping to make Kansas a free state. -
Pottawatomie Massacre
Just days after the attack on Lawrence Kansas, John Brown responded by killing five pro-slavery settlers near the Pottawatomie creek in Franklin County, Kansas. This was one of the larger acts of violence preceding the Civil War and launched what was known as Bleeding Kansas. -
Battle of Black Jack
John Brown and 29 other members of his abolitionist forces attacked the encampment of Henry C. Pate, a prominent pro-slavery organizer. Pate had captured 2 of Brown's sons and was holding them prisoner. The battle lasted for 5 hours and ultimately Brown and the abolitionists successfully captured Pate and 22 of his followers who they later released in exchange for Brown's sons. This was also a key event during Bleeding Kansas. -
Missouri Invades!
In August, a company of over 300 Missourians lead by General John W. Reid crossed into Kansas intending to destroy the Free State settlements there. On the morning of August 30th, they shot and killed John Brown's son Frederick as well as their neighbor David Garrison. Brown was outnumbered more than 7-1, but he and his 38 men hid themselves along the road that General Reid's forces were marching down and managed to kill at least 20 of them and wounded 40 more. -
The Final Battle of Bleeding Kansas
Although John Brown was able to slow General Reid and his forces, there were still too many of them and they managed to plunder and burn the nearby town of Osawatomie. Days later, Brown arrived in Lawrence Kansas to meet with Free State leaders about a feared assault on the town. At least 2,700 pro-slavery Missourians were again invading. Fighting began a week later, but ended quickly when Kansas governor John W. Geary ordered a ceasefire and granted clemency to all involved. -
John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry
Brown left Kansas after governor Geary called for peace. He spent the next several years raising funds and developing a plan that he hoped would spark widespread insurrection amongst enslaved people throughout the country and end slavery. Beginning on October 16th, he and 22 other abolitionists captured an armory in Harpers Ferry Virginia. The plan was to free enslaved people and distribute the weapons to them. They never made it out of the armory and Brown was captured 2 days later. -
The Civil War Begins
In April of 1861, the tensions between pro and anti-slavery forces culminated in the beginning of the Civil War. John Brown was hanged for treason on December 2nd, 1859 after he was captured at Harpers Ferry. However, many historians agree that his resistance to the institution of slavery forced the country to address it. The author Herman Melville is famously quoted as calling Brown, "The meteor of the war."
