John Brown’s earliest known portrait
1846-47
In 1837, for the first time, John Brown declared his hatred of slavery publicly. It happened after the murder of abolitionist editor Elijah P. Lovejoy. After being harassed for over ten years from Missouri to Illinois, Lovejoy was attacked once more by a large pro-slavery mob who threatened to destroy his printing press for the fourth time. In the ensuing gunfire, Lovejoy was killed with the shotgun. His death sent a shockwave among the abolitionists throughout the country. After a prayer meeting at the local church concluded, John Brown, who sat silently in the back, rose and lifted his right hand saying:
Here, before God, in the presence of these witnesses, from this time, I consecrate my life to the destruction of slavery! 4
No longer did John Brown act in secrecy. He started to think about more practical ways of helping the liberation of slaves. If the murder of Lovejoy pushed many abolitionists towards pacifism and non-resistance, Brown became more militant after that incident.
:Slavery, condition in which one human being was is owned by another.