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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC03007.56.11 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of John Brown documents from Alexander M. Ross |
| Title | John Brown Jr. to Alexander M. Ross about examining land for the purpose of settling black people of limited means |
| Date | 19 June 1879 |
| Author | Brown, John Jr. (1821-1895) |
| Recipient | Ross, Alexander Milton |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Brown Jr. writes from Put-in-Bay Island located on South Bass Island (Lake Erie), Ohio. He mentions he will personally be traveling to Kansas and possibly Colorado to examine the land for the purpose of "settlement by Colored people of limited means; making the [inserted: results] of my observations known to the public through Newspapers friendly to their cause." Says he will be returning "by way of the Northern Pacific route from Bismark [sic] Dakota to St. Paul and Duluth," and plans on examining the land with the same purpose in mind. Sends a copy of his article "address before the Colored Emigrant Aid Society in Sandusky, O.," which was printed in the Cleveland Leader (not included). "In regard to the aspect of affairs are assuming at the South; nothing human can be more certain than that a radical [strikeout] change must soon be inaugurated and become the dominate state of society there, or Revolution is inevitable. I am convinced that the North is slumbering over a Volcano, and that at no distant day our people will be awake from their dreams of money getting and in astonishment exclaim, 'Why did we not see these things before?' It is the North that is this time to be put in the position of rebellion, or in that of abandoning the freedmen to slavery absolute and all that was gained in the war. I am utterly astonished at the blindness and apathy of the people of the North. Will we never learn? How blinding is the service of the god Mammon.!" |
| Subjects | African American History John Brown Abolition Slavery Religion Westward Expansion Immigration and Migration American West Journalism Travel Land Transaction Charity and Philanthropy Finance Freemen Jim Crow Reconstruction |
| People | Brown, John, Jr. (1821-1895) Ross, Alexander Milton (1832-1897) Brown, John (1800-1859) |
| Place written | Ottawa County, Ohio |
| Theme | Westward Expansion; African Americans; Slavery & Abolition |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1860-1945 |
| Additional Information | Folder Information: Ross' collection of letters relating to John Brown's family, mostly letters sent to him by John Brown's children. Scrapbook contains twenty one letters and one cartoon relating to John Brown, as well as envelopes for most of the letters. Letters written by Anne Brown Adams, Ruth Brown Thompson, John Brown Jr., Sarah Brown, Owen Brown, George B. Gill. One letter is signed W. H. Harrison, the pseudonym of Albert Hazlett. Also contains letters written by others to Anne Brown, which she copied and forwarded to Ross. Inside the pages is a small envelope labeled "California wild flowers. Poppies," containing flower petals, likely sent to Ross by Anne Brown Adams. Anne Brown Adams was the daughter of John Brown. Alexander M. Ross was a famous Canadian naturalist, also a prominent abolitionist and a strong supporter of John Brown. Albert Hazlett was one of the Harpers Ferry raiders. After escaping from Harpers Ferry he assumed the name William H. Harrison, and all the other raiders pretended not to know him. His ruse failed, and he was sentenced to hang March 16, 1860. George B. Gill played a major role in John Brown's anti-slavery efforts, but could not participate in the Harper's Ferry raid due to illness. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |
| Civil War: Recipient Relationship | Friend |