John Brown's raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in October 1859, involved only a handful of abolitionists, freed no slaves, and was over in two days. Although many Northerners condemned the raid, by 1863, John Brown had become a hero and martyr in the North. John Brown was an overzealous and radical abolitionist who wanted to end slavery in the South. In October 1859, he, along with 18 of his followers attacked the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. His plan was to use the guns from the arsenal to arm slaves in the north. He then wanted the slaves to rise up in revolt, first in the north and then spread it down to the southern states. However the plan proved futile after Army Colonel Robert E. Lee and his troops captured Brown, and killed over half of his followers. Brown accused of treason, was found guilty and then hanged. Even though many Northerners denounced his raid as a criminal act, he was later hailed as a philanthropic hero for wanting to free slaves from their pain and misery. However, the South felt offended by the North's compassion for Brown as he wanted incite an upheaval in the southern states. The raiding of Harpers Ferry by John Brown illustrates the changing North-South relations between 1859 and 1863.
             The south was determined to secede from the Union after the Harpers Ferry incident. Even though many northerners denounced this incident as a criminal act, southerners felt that the entire Northern public approved of Browns action. They also were enraged after several northern intellectuals, including Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson praised Brown for his actions. They were finally enraged after it was discovered that Brown had received financial backing by several northern abolitionists to pursue this insurgency. Southern slaveholders had almost witnessed one of their greatest fears about to take place. They had become increasingly nervous of slave revolts especially after ...