The Harpers Ferry raid confirmed for many Southerners the existence of a widespread Northern plot against slavery.

In fact, Brown had raised funds for his raid from Northern abolitionists. To arm the enslaved people, he ordered one thousand pikes from a Connecticut manufacturer. Letters to Governor Wise betrayed the mixed feelings people held for Brown. For some, he was simply insane and should not be hanged. For others, he was a martyr to the cause of abolition, and his quick trial and execution reflected the fear and arrogance of the Virginia slave-owning aristocracy. Many Northerners condemned Brown's actions but thought him right in his conviction that slavery had to end.

This up-to-date study reveals how John Brown's raid and subsequent execution further polarized North and South and made a solution of the slavery issue central to the national debate which ultimately led to Civil War in 1861.