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Unit Plan
Read Works

Read Works: John Brown's Antislavery Raid

For Teachers 4th - 6th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This ReadWorks passage provides a brief history of John Brown, an American abolitionist. A paired passage, a lower level passage with related content, and a question sheet are available to help students...
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Handout
Other

History Net: The Madness of John Brown

For Students 9th - 10th
Was John Brown mad, suffering from a mental disorder or perfectly sane? This article briefly contrasts the possibilities. (July 2009)
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Website
Other

John Brown Raid: 1859 Raid on Harpers Ferry

For Students 9th - 10th
Commemorating John Brown's historic Harpers Ferry raid of 1859, this site has lots of information about Brown and the raid. The Educational Resources page is helpful for lesson materials. The links on the pressroom page will help you...
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: John Brown at Harper's Ferry [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out about the influences in John Brown's life that led him to think inciting a slave insurrection would be the way to get rid of slavery. Read about his actions in Kansas, and the raid he planned at Harper's Ferry. [pdf]
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: John Brown's Raid

For Students 5th - 8th
John Brown was considered a madman by many and a martyr by others. Read about his ill-fated raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. Why did this raid cause such a reaction in the Southern states?
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Lesson Plan
University of California

History Project: The Trial and Execution of John Brown

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Using primary source documents, high school lesson plan focuses on John Brown, the events at Harper's Ferry, and his trial and execution. Included are excerpts from 16 primary source documents to aid in the research of writing this paper.
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Article
PBS

Africans in America: John Brown

For Students 9th - 10th
PBS Online provides a brief biography of John Brown and the way his life affected the abolitionist movement and contributed to the start of the U.S. Civil War.
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Handout
University of Virginia

John Brown and the Valley of the Shadow: The Conspirators' Biographies

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out about the men who joined John Brown in his raid on Harpers Ferry. The biographies are brief but informative. Click on the highlighted names for more information about them.
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Primary
The History Place

The History Place: Great Speeches: William Lloyd Garrison on Death of John Brown

For Students 9th - 10th
A speech delivered by William Lloyd Garrison after John Brown was hanged for leading the slave rebellion at Harpers Ferry in 1859. In his speech, Garrison advocates for taking a stand against slavery by seceding the North from the South.
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Primary
Digital Public Library of America

Dpla: John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection uses primary sources to document John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry and the broad range of responses it provoked across the country. Includes a teaching guide.
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Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Lincoln, Douglas and Brown

For Students 9th - 10th
Overview of events of a nation in conflict including the 1858 U.S. Senate race between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas and the attack on Harpers Ferry.
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Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: John Brown

For Students 9th - 10th
Comprehensive overview presents a biography and detailed facts and information on the famous events during the life of John Brown.
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Website
Ducksters

Ducksters: Quiz: Harpers Ferry and John Brown for Kids

For Students 1st - 9th
History Questions: Harpers Ferry and John Brown Quiz, Test, and WebQuest
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Website
Ducksters

Ducksters: Kids History: John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid

For Students 3rd - 8th
Explore an attempt at a slave uprising at Harpers Ferry to end slavery by John Brown during the Civil War on this site.
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Handout
Civil War Home

Home of the American Civil War: John Brown

For Students 9th - 10th
This website details the life of John Brown, the abolitionist, including his attack at Pottawatomie and the raid at Harpers Ferry. Information is from Historical Times Encyclopedia of the Civil War.
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Primary
Library of Congress

Loc: African American Odyssey: Abolition, Anti Slavery Movements

For Students 9th - 10th
A section of an online exhibit that deals with historically important documents about the abolition movement from its earliest Quaker beginnings in the early 18th century through 1860.
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Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry

For Students 9th - 10th
Interest facts about John Brown, the militant anti-slavery activist who tried to seize ammunition from an armory at Harpers Ferry in 1859.
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Handout
Other

Ny History Net: The "Black Dream" of Gerrit Smith, New York Abolitionist

For Students 9th - 10th
This site talks about the life of abolitionist Gerrit Smith, who was convicted in the John Brown Raid on Harpers Ferry but maintained innocence in any involvement in planning the raid.
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Website
Library of Congress

Loc: The Champions of Human Liberty

For Students 9th - 10th
Frederick Douglass gave as speech praising John Brown and his raid on Harper's Ferry. He viewed Brown as a real hero of the abolitionist cause. Read his speech or listen to an excerpt.
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Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Secession

For Teachers 6th - 8th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart describes events leading to secession, including John Brown's Raid, Lincoln's election, and South Carolina's break with the Union. It also includes information on the first states to...
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Graphic
Curated OER

Wikipedia: Natl Historic Landmarks in New York: John Brown Farm and Gravesite

For Students 9th - 10th
Home and final resting place of famous abolitionist John Brown, executed for his raid on Harper's Ferry Armory before the Civil War.
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Website
Other

Geni: American Abolitionist Movement

For Students 9th - 10th
Looks at the history of the abolitionist movement in the United States, the key people involved, and important events.
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Graphic
Curated OER

Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Clip Art Etc: John Brown

For Students 9th - 10th
In 1859, John Brown collected a small body of men, white and black, in the mountains of Maryland. He made a sudden attack upon Harper's Ferry, where there was a United States arsenal, which he seized and held for a few hours. The attack...
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Graphic
Curated OER

Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Clip Art Etc: John Brown

For Students 9th - 10th
John Brown was an anti-slavery abolitionist, known for the John Brown raid on October 16th, 1858, when he and others seized the United States Armory at Harper's Ferry.-E. Benjamin Andrews 1895

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