JOHN BROWN

In 1859 "Old John Brown" (who actually was not yet sixty-years-old) the abolitionist went to a Virginia gallows having prophesied that the crisis of black enslavement would not be resolved without a national blood-letting. He was correct. By 1861, the nation was torn in bloody civil war, and federal forces were singing the legendary "John Brown Song." Who was this man whose "soul is marching on"?

Louis A. DeCaro Jr., biographer and student of Brown's life and letters, is one of a few scholars of our era who has closely and extensively examined the life of this controversial and often misrepresented figure in antebellum U.S. history. In his 2002 publication, "Fire from the Midst of You": A Religious Life of John Brown (NYU Press), DeCaro provided the first religiously-focused biography of the abolitionist, as well as the first full-length biography of Brown in the 21st century. Focusing on Brown's unique family heritage, Reformed evangelical faith, and unusual egalitarian- and justice-oriented relation to the black community, DeCaro provided an accurate, studied, and thoroughly researched alternative to the hackneyed "violent" John Brown foisted upon the public by novelists, documentary-makers, and even academics.

In 2007, DeCaro's John Brown--the Cost of Freedom (International Publishers) provided another installment of in depth research, as he revisited major themes in the abolitionist's story. From Brown's personality and temperament, to his business history, and finally the Harper's Ferry raid, DeCaro overturns the fallacies and "hearsay" errors that have plagued Brown's story for the better part of a century. Besides providing what may be the single best assessment of John Brown (in concise fashion too) to date, DeCaro also provides twenty documents of Brown, including some never before published.

Students and researchers will find John Brown--the Cost of Freedom an indispensable work, not only for revisiting the major themes of Brown's story, but providing new avenues of research and insight in certain detail, some of which have come to print for the first time since Brown's death in 1859.

* Who were the real Nelson Hawkins and Isaac Smith, whose names John Brown appropriated as pseudonyms in the late 1850s?

* How does a careful analysis of the econcomic and regional context of the United States in the antebellum era demonstrate that Brown's poor business record has been exaggerated and misrepresented?

* How was Brown's famous friendship with abolitionist Frederick Douglass stressed, and why did the latter stylize his final autobiography in recounting his tensions with Brown over the planning of the raid on Harper's Ferry?

* How did John Brown actually attain the now forgotten status as one of the foremost experts in fine sheep and wool in the United States during the 1840s, and how were his wool business efforts actually a justice effort undermined by wealthy manufacturers in New England?

* How has the conventional interpretation of the Harper's Ferry Raid proven grossly incorrect in light of the evidence that enslaved people were actually ready and waiting to join Brown in 1859?

As 2009 marks the sequiscentennial of Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry (October 16) and hanging in Virginia (December 2), DeCaro has published a collection of essays and research complementary to the further study of Brown's life and legacy. In his newly released, John Brown: The Man Who Lived (Lulu.com), DeCaro provides a collection of essays in an array of biographical themes relating to the abolitionist's story, including a critical expose of Alexander Ross, a Canadian abolitionist who perpetrated one of the biggest frauds in history, fooling Brown's children and followers as well as writers and biographers; an extensive discussion of the various "John Browns of history," showing the many interpretations and myths of Brown that have prevailed; pungent criticism of psycho-biographies and other problematic treatments of Brown in recent years; and reflections on themes ranging from the Harper's Ferry raid to the cinematic John Brown. Though not a biography, John Brown: The Man Who Lived will serve to complement biography and research instead of feeding into the current stream of popular "multidisciplinary" and cultural studies of Brown, most of which are flawed and subject to questionable "research."

These are blunt words though befitting the real problem of studying John Brown: will readers continue to rely upon ivory tower academics whose work reflects more trend and creativity than substantial research? DeCaro, following in the footsteps of Boyd B. Stutler, Clarence S. Gee, Benjamin Quarles, and Jean Libby, is committed to an honest, in depth, and justice-oriented treatment of Brown's life and legacy. While biography is inescapably the work of interpretation, nevertheless it must be done honestly and reliably so that the reader can be assured of the integrity of the scholar's claims. All too often, this has not been the case with work on John Brown. From Allan Nevins in the mid-20th century to Allen Guelzo and Sean Wilentz in the early 21st century, Brown has been misapprehended and diminished with a consistent contempt reflective of the "high priests" of Lincoln adoration and defenders of white society's stylized notions of our "democratic republic." It is no surprise that John Brown is so despised by the gatekeepers of academia, just as it is no wonder that for 150 years, the understanding of Brown has largely reflected the divide of race in the U.S.

Readers are invited to investigate John Brown on the terms of history and research by reading DeCaro's works in 2009. Either John Brown was a "mad man," delusional fanatic, and "terrorist" as the status quo has declared him, or he was one of those all-too-rare figures in history who, despite human failure and imperfection, represents a higher, purer form of struggle and devotion to the glory of God and the rights of humanity. As Thoreau declared, John Brown "could not be tried by a jury of his peers, because his peers did not exist." Lincoln and Jefferson were certainly no peers of Brown, neither man being primarily committed to justice and both men being creatures of a political system premised essentially on white supremacy. In the end, it may be said that Lincoln, Jefferson, and a host of others are "great" men of the past at best. John Brown, whose "soul goes marching on," prompts us still forward. He is not a man of the past. He is a man of the future, as one of his friends put it--"a new kind of man."

"Markedly distinguishing DeCaro's book is the amount of valuable and hitherto unacknowledged data he has unearthed from neglected or overlooked sources. With erudition, logic and eloquence, De Caro takes us through Brown's abolitionist career - - [and] to realize - once and for all - how outlandish is the myth of John Brown as a bloodthirsty religious fanatic - - history has vindicated John Brown’s project." Albert Fried, author, JOHN BROWN'S JOURNEY

"Louis DeCaro's books on Malcolm X and John Brown have filled a void in scholarship concerning the deep religious motivations of both men. John Brown: The Cost of Freedom is an informative, accessible text that reveals the depth and complexity of Brown's character. - - DeCaro helps us to see that Brown's anti-slavery activities were guided by a deep moral sensibility, even in his conduct during the Harper's Ferry Raid.” Mark L.Chapman, Chair, African American Studies, Fordham University; author, CHRISTIANITY ON TRIAL: AFRICAN-AMERICAN RELIGIOUS THOUGHT BEFORE AND AFTER BLACK POWER

"What we Americans tell ourselves about John Brown provides some measure of the race relations of our age. The sacrifices of Schwerner, Goodman, Liuzzo and other white civil rights martyrs have slowly made possible John Brown’s return to sanity. As a result, Lou DeCaro’s book can now take its place as a John Brown for our age. Its primary sources combined with DeCaro’s compact biography help bring the Old Man back to life. And we still need him. For as Brown himself said after his arrest, 'This Negro question is still to be settled.'” James W. Loewen, author, LIES MY TEACHER TOLD ME, AND SUNDOWN TOWNS