The Harper's Ferry Invasion as Party Capital

What it is

This is an editorial from the Richmond Enquirer, a Southern newspaper, published in 1859 after the raid on Harper's Ferry. It argues that the conservative press of the North should use the raid against the Republican Party, which it accuses of links to Brown and his men. The Wikisource record describes a passage that calls Brown's comrades treasonous and links them to Republican politics. We hold a transcription of the editorial, not the original newspaper page.

Why it matters

The editorial shows how the raid was used in the political battle over slavery before the Civil War. Southern writers tried to link the Republican Party with violence, while anti-slavery readers saw the raid differently. The text helps students see how one event could be turned into a weapon in national politics, and how Brown became a symbol for both sides.

Look closer

• What political goal does the writer seem to have in mind, and how does he try to reach it?
• Which words are used to describe Brown and his men, and what effect do they have on the reader?
• What evidence does the editorial offer for its claims, and what evidence is missing?