One hundred and fifty years ago abolitionist leader John Brown was hanged in Harper's Ferry, Va. Brown was accused and convicted of treason, murder in the fist degree and conspiracy to incite a slave revolt. The charges stemmed from his leadership of a small band of abolitionists in a rebellion that freed some slaves in the area and seized a federal arsenal. His goal was to spark an anti-slavery guerrilla insurgency in the Appalachians that would scare slaveowners into fleeing. At the time of his execution, John Brown was asked if he wanted a clergyman to walk him to the gallows. His answer was that he'd be more honored to be accompanied by a slave woman and her children. John Brown was a true American hero, his life an example of commitment to human dignity.
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