John Brown’s raid of Harpers Ferry, although meticulously planned out, failed. The raid of Harpers Ferry, as well as the public reaction to Brown’s trial and execution, impacted both the already divided North and South eventually causing the civil war. John Brown, a religious man and slavery abolitionist, “felt that the only way to end slavery was through violent revolution” (DeVillers). Each region reacted differently to the raid of Harper’s Ferry and Brown’s trial and execution. In the South it led to civil unrest as Southerners, who were clearly outnumbered by their slaves, became uneasy about living in such close proximity with their slaves. The southern slave owners were completely against Brown and restlessly awaited the moment he would be hung. The North, for the most part, was supportive of John Brown, with many iconic figures publicly showing their support. John Brown’s raid of Harpers Ferry was seen by many Americans as the spark that caused the Civil War. Brown’s goal was to, “gather a small secret army for his attack on Harper’s …show more content…
On the day of Brown’s execution, “widespread popular protests in the North... infuriated Southerners” (John Brown). “Henry David Thoreau and many other luminaries joined in his canonization” (Horwitz). Ralph Waldo Emerson, an influential writer and transcendentalist, stated after his death sentence that John Brown would, “make the gallows glorious like the cross” (Horwitz). Henry David Thoreau was also a testament to the compassion for John Brown and the abolitionist cause, stating that, “some eighteen hundred years ago, Christ was crucified; This morning, perchance, Captain Brown was hung...He is not Old Brown any longer; he is an angel of the light” (Crowder). John Brown had become, to abolitionists, “The embodiment of all that was noble and courageous”