cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/28730668
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was among the last in a series of events that led to the American Civil War.[230] Southern slaveowners, hearing initial reports that hundreds of abolitionists were involved, were relieved the effort was so small, but feared other abolitionists would emulate Brown and attempt to lead slave rebellions.[231] Future Confederate President Jefferson Davis feared "thousands of John Browns".[232] Therefore, the South reorganized the decrepit militia system. These militias, well-established by 1861, became a ready-made Confederate army, making the South better prepared for war.[233]