This Day in History

Dec. 2, 1859: John Brown Executed

Time Periods: Civil War Era: 1850 - 1864
Themes: African American, Slavery and Resistance
Print
John Brown | Zinn Education Project

Portrait of John Brown by Robert Shetterly.

I believe that to have interfered as I have done — as I have always freely admitted I have done — in behalf of His despised poor, was not wrong, but right.

On Dec. 2, 1859, abolitionist John Brown was executed by the state of Virginia for leading the infamous Harpers Ferry Raid. Below are resources for teaching about John Brown, including a reading of his last speech from Voices of a People’s History of the United States.

The quote on the painting reads:

I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with Blood. I had, as I now think vainly, flattered myself that without very much bloodshed it might be done.

The stunning portrait of John Brown is a painting (also available as a poster for $20) by Robert Shetterly from Americans Who Tell the Truth. 

Two of the other raiders, John Copeland and Shields Green, were executed on Dec. 16, 1859.

1859 Harpers Ferry raid. Clockwise from bottom left: John Anthony Copeland, Lewis Sheridan Leary, Dangerfield Newby, Shields Green, John Brown, and Osborne Perry Anderson

Related Resources
collage of six Black abolitionists in the United States.
Teaching Activities (Free)

‘If There Is No Struggle…’: Teaching a People’s History of the Abolition Movement

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools. 16 pages.
In this lesson, students explore many of the real challenges faced by abolitionists with a focus on the American Anti-Slavery Society.
Teaching Activities (Free)

The Color Line

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 6 pages.
A lesson on the countless colonial laws enacted to create division and inequality based on race. This helps students understand the origins of racism in the United States and who benefits.
Teaching a Peoples History of Abolition and the Civil War (Book Cover) | Zinn Education Project
Teaching Guides

Teaching a People’s History of Abolition and the Civil War

Teaching Guide. Edited by Adam Sanchez. 2019. Rethinking Schools. 181 pages.
Students will discover the real abolition story, one about some of the most significant grassroots social movements in U.S. history.
Black Abolitionists (Profile) | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History
Profiles

Black Abolitionists

Profiles. Zinn Education Project. 2014. Brief biographies of 25 Black abolitionists.
Film Clips

John Brown’s Last Speech

Film clip. Voices of a People's History.
Dramatic reading John Brown’s Last Speech delivered on November 2, 1859, by Josh Brolin.
This Day in History

May 8, 1858: John Brown and Constitutional Convention

John Brown, Martin Delany, and others gathered for a Constitutional Convention in Chatham, Canada.
This Day in History

Oct. 16, 1859: Abolitionist Raid on Harpers Ferry

An abolitionist raid against a federal armory in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in an attempt to start an armed revolt against the institution of slavery.
“Mrs. Francis E. W. Harper,” portrait with Frances Harper’s name misspelled, taken from page 748 in The Underground Railroad: A Record of Facts, Authentic Narratives, Letters… printed by Porter & Coates (Philadelphia, 1872).
This Day in History

Nov. 25, 1859: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Writes to John Brown in Prison

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, a Black abolitionist and writer, wrote to John Brown as he awaited his execution.