John Brown, born on this day in 1800, was a militant abolitionist who advocated for and practiced armed insurrection to overthrow the system of slavery in the U.S. He became the first American executed for treason after raiding Harpers Ferry.
Brown first gained national attention when he led small groups of volunteers during the Bleeding Kansas crisis of 1856. He was dissatisfied with the pacifism of the organized abolitionist movement, stating "These men are all talk. What we need is action - action!"
In October 1859, Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (modern day West Virginia), intending to start a liberation movement that would spread south through the mountainous regions of Virginia and North Carolina.
Although Brown's group successfully seized the armory at first, his raid was defeated by a combination of volunteer militia and state forces led by Robert E. Lee, who later commanded the Confederate States Army. Seven people were killed, two of whom were Brown's sons Oliver and Watson, and at least ten more were injured.
Brown had intended to arm enslaved people with weapons from the armory, but only a small number of locals were willing to join him, possibly due to an unfamiliarity with firearms. Within 36 hours, those of Brown's men who had not fled were killed or captured by local farmers, militiamen, or U.S. Marines.
Brown was hastily tried for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, the murder of five men, and inciting a slave insurrection. He was found guilty on all counts and was hanged, becoming the first person executed for treason in the history of the United States.
"I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land can 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."
- John Brown
Megathreads and spaces to hang out:
- 🐻 Link to all Hexbear comms https://hexbear.net/post/1403966
- 🐼 Hexbear Matrix Chat https://matrix.to/#/#Hexbear:matrix.org
- 📀 Come listen to music and Watch movies with your fellow Hexbears nerd, in Cy.tube](https://live.hexbear.net/c/movies
- 🔥 Read and talk about a current topics in the News Megathread https://hexbear.net/post/8026521
- ⚔ Come talk in the New Weekly PoC thread https://hexbear.net/post/8030647
- 🏳️⚧️ Talk with fellow Trans comrades in the New Weekly Trans thread https://hexbear.net/post/8034428
- 👊 New Weekly Improvement thread https://hexbear.net/post/8027723
- 🧡 Disabled comm megathread https://hexbear.net/post/7886148
- ☕ Parenting Chat https://hexbear.net/post/8025314
- 🐉 Anime & Manga discussion thread https://hexbear.net/post/7546692
- 🎩Fashion megathread https://hexbear.net/post/7228810
- 🎨 Art & Drawings megathread https://hexbear.net/post/8070591
reminders:
- 💚 You nerds can join specific comms to see posts about all sorts of topics
- 💙 Hexbear’s algorithm prioritizes comments over upbears
- 💜 Sorting by new you nerd
- 🐶 Join the unofficial Hexbear-adjacent Mastodon instance toots.matapacos.dog
Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):
Aid:
Theory:
Financial Support to the Bearsite
view the rest of the comments
Chapotraphouse
Banned? DM Wmill to appeal.
No anti-nautilism posts. See: Eco-fascism Primer
Slop posts go in c/slop. Don't post low-hanging fruit here.
Its podcast posting, but wtf was up with Felix on the Libby Watson episode today lol
Idk but parts of it were hilarious, some of it reminded me of very early chapo when they’d do death threats to op-ed writers at the end.
No the beginning where he is silent for a while and drops calling Will middle school level for leaving cigarettes to Lynch - but then pivots to an Austin Powers diarrhea drinking joke????
Oh yeah! Completely forgot about that one. Found it a bit funny but I was like “ok but those silly rituals are fun”. Like in fully leaving a shot of sake at Ozu’s grave if I visit Japan.
"I'm sorry, some days I'm just needlessly combative"
doing his best "ok fat" 
inadvertantly