November 2, 2009, 3:37 pm
The
United States in the first half of the 19th century was a nation
divided on the issue of slavery. In the American South, slaves were the
primary labor force on large plantations growing cotton, tobacco and
other lucrative cash crops. But a growing chorus of voices was calling
for an end to slavery. One of those voices belonged to abolitionist
John Brown, who decided, in October 1859, to take matters into his own
hands. His actions still stir controversy 150 years later.
Today,
Harper's Ferry is a quaint little town of tourist shops and
restaurants, and a National Historical Park, located on a scenic bank
of the Potomac River in West Virginia. Many of the buildings in
Harper's Ferry have been standing here for more than 150 years.
But
the town was much different in 1859. "It was a noisy, dirty, polluted,
industrial city in what was then Virginia, the largest slave state in
America," says Park Ranger David Fox.
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