John Brown, the abolitionist Essay Example for Free

John Brown, the abolitionist Essay John Brown was one abolitionists of the 19th century who became known for using the instigation of anger and unrest among slaves as a means to destroy the institution of slavery. Born May 9, 1800 to Owen Brown and Ruth Mills, John Brown was a native of Connecticut. He was the fourth of eight children. When Brown was 16, he enrolled in a preparatory program in Massachusetts and transferred to Morris Academy in Connecticut soon after. Financial and physical hurdles prevented him from continuing his education in the academy and he soon returned to Ohio. Upon his return to Ohio, he worked in his father’s tannery. Soon, with his adopted brother, he was able to open his own tannery. Brown married Dianthe Lusk in 1820 and had a son with her 13 months later. They moved to Pennsylvania where he bought 81 hectares of land. This piece of land became the new venue of his tannery where he had 15 workers. He also grew cattle in this land and also earned extra by being a surveyor. But his prosperous life came to an almost abrupt end when he fell ill. His tannery and other businesses began to suffer, leaving him in debt. His wife, Dianthe died and on June 14, 1833, Brown was married to Mary Ann Day. Brown had a total of 20 children, 13 children from Mary Ann, and 7 from Dianthe. He and his family moved back to Ohio where they hoped to start anew. He bought land once again and opened a new tannery. He suffered more losses given the economic conditions of that time. He incurred a lot of debt and he explored different business ventures to pay them off. In 1842, Brown was declared bankrupt by the court. His expertise in raising sheep and getting fine wool built for him a name. He built a wide base of relationships with farmers in his area. He began to gain popularity by appearing in agricultural writings and published material. He and Simon Perkins set up a wool commission operation in Massachusetts in the effort to quell the market control of English wool manufacturers. Brown realized that English manufacturers did this to keep US wools cheap. Brown travelled to England in the hope of starting a negotiation to change the situation and for higher prices. But he failed, and lost a great deal of money instead.