Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs: Cet: Africans in America: The Raid on Harper's Ferry

For Students 9th - 10th
PBS' four-part series, "Africans in America," highlights the antislavery movement, including a focus on John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry. Content includes a description of the event, as well as the after-effects including the news of...
Primary
University of Missouri

Famous Trials: Trial of John Brown: Lee's Report on the Attack at Harper's Ferry

For Students 9th - 10th
The text of the message Robert E. Lee sent to his adjutant general on Oct. 19, 1859 concerning his men's actions in response to John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry.
Article
Henry J. Sage

Sage American History: John Brown at Harper's Ferry

For Students 9th - 10th
Article on John Brown's raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry including excerpts from the U.S. Senate report on the case as well as John Brown's last speech and letter.
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.
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...
Website
Digital History

Digital History: Harper's Ferry

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the infamous raid on Harper's Ferry by John Brown and his band in 1859. His first plan had a chance of success thought Frederick Douglass, but the plan that was carried out was doomed from the start. See what John Brown was...
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]
Graphic
Other

Civil War Album: Site Photos: Battle of Harpers Ferry

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief description of the attack on Harpers Ferry along with maps of Confederate troop placements and photos of how it looks today.
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.
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
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.
Unknown Type
Stanford University

Beyond the Bubble: John Brown's Legacy

For Teachers 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students answer questions about a poster for a play written in 1936 that celebrates the abolitionist John Brown, who tried to start a slave revolt in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859.
Website
Virginia Historical Society

Virginia Historical Society: The Portent: John Brown's Raid in American Memory

For Students 9th - 10th
Online companion of an exhibition mounted in 2009 to commemorate the anniversary of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry examines Brown's role as a catalyst of the American Civil War.
Website
Digital History

Digital History: Explorations: John Brown: Hero or Terrorist?

For Students 9th - 10th
Comprehensive account explores John Brown, the Attack at Harper's Ferry, and his trial. You decide if he was a hero or a terrorist.
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.
eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: John Brown and the Election of 1860

For Students 11th - 12th
By reading this section from a chapter on " The Tumultuous 1850s," students will be able to describe John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry and analyze the results of the election of 1860.
Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian: John Brown

For Teachers 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students use primary source documents to investigate central historical questions. In this investigation, students must determine whether John Brown was a "misguided fanatic," by examining a speech by...
Graphic
Curated OER

Wikipedia: Natl Historic Landmarks in Va: Harpers Ferry Natl Historical Park

For Students 9th - 10th
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.
Website
Library of Virginia

Death or Liberty: John Brown's Raid

For Students 9th - 10th
The Library of Virginia details John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry as a prelude to the U.S. Civil War. Content also lists various records and resources regarding John Brown's Raid held in the library.
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.
Website
Curated OER

National Park Service: Dr. Stephen Oates on John Brown

For Students 9th - 10th
This site presents audio and video clips of an interview with Dr. Stephen B. Oates conducted at Harpers Ferry National Historic Park on June 30, 1994. Dr. Oates comments on John Brown's impact upon the nation with regard to the slavery...
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?
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.
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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