John Brown: The Abolitionist & His Legacy

by James G. Basker

This booklet examines John Brown’s beliefs and actions in the context of growing national divisions over slavery in the 1850s. It concludes with documents and images highlighting the gradual acceptance by Americans of John Brown’s vision of racial equality.

79 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2009

About the author

James G. Basker is President of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Richard Gilder Professor of Literary History at Barnard College, Columbia University. He is the author or editor of several books, including Amazing Grace: An Anthology of Poems about Slavery 1600–1810; Early American Abolitionists: A Collection of Anti-Slavery Writings 1760–1820; and Slavery in the Founding Era: Literary Contexts.