The Provisional Dispatch:
Renewing the revolution with words
John Brown on the Terrorism of Slavery
Louis DeCaro Jr., Ph.D., historian and biographer of John Brown, shares what may be a previously unpublished letter Brown wrote to a Kansas abolitionist shortly before the October 1859 Harper's Ferry raid.
"Not Like His Father": What John Brown Said About His Son Jason
In a letter to Quaker activist Rebecca Spring, the abolitionist offered an unguarded portrait of Jason Brown — his honesty, his suffering in Kansas, and a father's quiet pride.
Mary Stearns and the Marble Witness: Brown, Brackett, and a Bust That Went Missing
A broken marble bust in a Tufts University crawl space turned out to be Edward Brackett's tribute to John Brown. A Tufts curator tells the story of how it was found, restored, and what it reveals about the woman who helped fund John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry.
"Anything Mr. or Mrs. Stearns Desires": How Edward Brackett Got Into John Brown's Jail Cell
In late 1859, the Massachusetts sculptor Edward Augustus Brackett traveled to Charlestown, Virginia to sculpt John Brown from life. When Brackett invoked the name of his patron Mary Stearns, Brown relented.
"Marvelously Successful": Edward Brackett's Bust of John Brown, Sculpted from Life in a Virginia Jail
In November 1859, as John Brown awaited execution in Charlestown, the Boston sculptor Edward Augustus Brackett walked into his cell with measuring tools and sketch pads.
In a World of Brutality, Why is Brown Singled Out for Violence?
Welcome to our first official Browniac Therapy session. Today's presenting issue: the persistent, mainstream delusion that John Brown was a terrorist.
A Call for Declaration! Readings wanted July 4
A letter from Owen Brown Gravesite Committee regarding Fourth of July plans…
Black Abolitionist Women Who Were Friends of John Brown
Women were equal in the Brown family because all people were created equal
Defining John Brown’s Masculinity: Not Toxic
John Brown biographer Louis A. DeCaro Jr., and environmental psychologist Shawndel Fraser explore John Brown’s masculinity through Frser’s work with contemporary men who earn a living with their hands.
The Historical Relationship Between John Brown and Harriet Tubman
Biographer Lou DeCaro, Historian Margaret Washington, and environmental psychologist Shawndel Fraser explore the deeply respectful relationship between two patriotic freedom fighters.
Declarations of Contradictions: Dr. Margaret Washington on broken promises, Womens Suffrage, and John Brown
Historian Margaret Washington, Ph.D., discusses the promising, but disappointing Declarations of Independence and Sentiments.
Abolitionist Women wrote Letters to John Brown in his cell
Brown receives multiple letters in his cell from abolitionist women
A New Nose for the Old Man
Two videos about the bust of John Brown and it’s restoration by Tufts University.
DeCaro on Pardoning Brown: No
Considering the recent UN resolution, declaring human slavery a crime against humanity, I feel like it is worth revisiting some words from our resident scholar, Dr. Louis A. DeCaro Jr. from a decade and a half ago…
Bury Me in a Free Land
This poem was read during the “John Brown and Abolitionist Women” roundtable of March 16, 2023. Written by abolitionist Frances Ellen Watkins, it was published in the Antislavery Bugle in 1858.
Who John Brown Was
In this excerpt of an interview with the John Brown Project, Dr. Louis A. DeCaro Jr. explains who John Brown was: a man of deep faith, a man who loved his family, and a man who hated the notion of human enslavement.
Who John Brown Wasn’t
In this interview excerpt with the John Brown Project, Dr. Louis A. DeCaro Jr. begins the discussion of who John brown was, but spelling out who he wasn’t.
is advocating for John Brown the same as advocating for violence?
No. America was built on the notion that you have the right to defend yourself against oppressors.
John Brown 250 is about American Ideals
As we mark America’s 250th anniversary, JohnBrown250 is setting the historical record straight about John Brown— a patriot whose vision of a multiracial democracy aligned precisely with the nation’s founding promise that all people are created equal.