The Freedom Ring

The Story of the Invasion of a Slave State, told by Henry Ward Beecher John Brown an Abolitionist — Known for his raid on Harpers Ferry, 1859 Adapted Passages from “The Life and Work of Henry Ward Beecher” published in 1887 In 1859 occurred the unlawful invasion of a Slave State for the avowed purpose of liberating its slaves, by John Brown (abolitionist) and his associates an attempt, though really insignificant from a numerical point of view, which aroused and embittered the entire South against the North, for pro-slavery men thereupon naturally concluded that Brown was secretly encouraged and abetted by the Abolitionists of the North. The false nature of these accusations was clearly demonstrated in a sermon entitled “ The Nation’s Duty to Slavery,” in which Brown’s entire career was reviewed by the Abolitionist preacher, Henry Ward Beecher , and from which some extracts are here presented : John Brown, ca. 1858. National Archives “An old man, kind at heart, indus...