The Hanging of John Brown, 1860 Drawing, Frontispiece (engraved)
by Victor Hugo
(Virginia Historical Society, Call no. E451 .H89)

Observers were conflicted in their judgment of a man who had invaded an American town. Most white southerners denounced John Brown as a lunatic and criminal. In the same way, many in the North rejected his violence, but other whites there eulogized a martyr whose death opened the way to emancipation. From the start, African-Americans, North and South, praised John Brown. Europeans were disappointed that America chose to execute a man whose only objective was to free slaves.