John Brown cashes $50 to check slavery in Kansas

by JOHN BROWN

$35,000 · Offered by Biblio

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JOHN BROWN. Endorsement Signature on verso of Syracuse City Bank check filled out and signed by GERRIT SMITH to "Pay Captain John Brown of Kansas or bearer, fifty Dollars." May 16, 1857, 2 pp. 7.6 x 2.6 in. Historical Background In 1846, Gerrit Smith purchased 120,000 acres of land in the Adirondacks, centered around North Elba, New York, specifically to settle African Americans on the land. In April 1848, John Brown went to see Smith at his Peterboro, New York, home, where they quickly formed a friendship over their shared hatred of slavery, concern about the welfare of free blacks, and deep religious faith. Brown possessed a strong desire to take overt action against slavery. He bought a 244-acre tract from Smith for $1 per acre and settled his family at North Elba in May 1849. In 1855, Brown followed five of his sons to the Kansas Territory to assist antislavery forces struggling for control there. With a wagon laden with guns and ammunition, Brown settled in Osawatomie and soon became the leader of antislavery guerrillas. On May 24, 1856, Brown led a small force including four of his sons on a nighttime retaliatory raid (three days after proslavery Missourians sacked the town of Lawrence). They dragged proslavery men from their cabins north of Pottawatomie Creek and hacked them to death with swords. Brown returned to Springfield, Massachusetts, in November 1856, and began raising money for more anti-slavery activities. Introduced to several influential abolitionists in th

• Year: 1857

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