Midnight Rising: John Brown & the Raid That Sparked the Civil War by Tony Horwitz (Henry Holt and Co, 2011. 365 pp. Prologue, epilogue, appendix, bibliography, acknowledgements, illustration credits, index $ 29)
The book, Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War, provides an in-depth narrative on the event that led to the conception of the American Civil War. Unlike other novels, the book, written by Tony Horwitz, deviates from the normal direction other similar authors take in narrating historical events. Idiosyncratic travelogues, past and present amalgamation, masculine soldiers and surreal commanders are all replaced by a narrative regarding one of the most troubling figures in American history, John Brown. Horwitz narrates the story of John Brown’s attack on the central armory in Harpers Ferry, which led to the most demoralizing war ever experienced in the country. The author achieves the main theme of the book by concentrating on John Brown’s past and the events circulating the event of the raid.
The book details the raid by John Brown on Harpers Ferry, which remains to be a fundamental moment in American history. The raid was an attempt at attacking the South, which supported slavery of which John Brown vehemently repealed. Raised as an abolitionist by his parents, John Brown viewed slavery as a sin soiling the founding principles of the United States of America. However, Brown was different from most abolitionists. A considerable number of abolitionists preferred peaceful mass protests against slavery. One man, William Garrison, advocated for the end of slavery through moral suasion. However, Brown differed from them since he discarded the use of armistice and resorted to the use of violence in order to astound the slave system that was ubiquitous throughout the country.
In 1859, the night of October 16, John Brown instigated an unprecedented attack on the South. Joined by his three sons, his teenage daughter and guerilla militants who were comprised of former slaves, Brown attacked and seized the federal armory at Harpers Ferry. Consequently, he granted the slaves freedom, armed them, and pledged to unfetter every slave in America. The raid stunned the nation and prompted a barbaric street fight and a counterattack led by the United States Marines under the command of Robert E. Lee. The bloodshed, Brown’s incarceration and the legal proceedings that ensued incited the North and dismayed the South, who viewed Brown as a terrorist. The raid influenced the election of Abraham Lincoln who began addressing slavery and led to the American Civil War resulting from the division of the states throughout the country.
Because of the extensive historical research done by Horwitz in writing the book, the narrative’s strengths are based on the concise facts in the book highlighting a succession of events that led to the Raid, which is a major incidence in the country’s history. He also covers the events of the aborted revolution, the prelude and aftermath as well as the political effects arising from the incident. Additionally, Horwitz also engages the reader in knowing about Brown’s personality as well as his primary influences that led him to instigate the attack. For instance, Horwitz covers Brown’s background under his parents’ mentorship. His parents influenced him considerably as an abolitionist due to the Christian view of slavery as a sin that should be punished. Apparently, the structure and pace of the novel is good. Horwitz achieves this by offering the correct quantity of context regarding matters and places for a famed history.
The book has notable weaknesses aside from the strengths aforesaid. One of the weaknesses is based on the comparisons of Lincoln and Brown at the novel’s conclusion. For instance, Horwitz mentions Abraham Lincoln and compares him to John Brown. The differences captured by Horwitz regarding the two historical figures are a flaw to the book. In real sense, Lincoln separated himself from Brown denouncing his raid on Harpers Ferry. Horwitz characterization of Brown and Lincoln creates an austere disparity between their opinions (Horwitz, 275-290). Moreover, the book is well written but lacks historic analysis. For instance, the events surrounding John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry are retold insipidly. Furthermore, Horwitz does not vividly capture the character of John Brown but focuses considerably on his actions, which is different from the way he captures Brown’s sympathizers. Horwitz also comes off as a Brown supporter. This is a weakness of the novel since the book only captures one side without raising other questions mostly based on the use of violence in the advocating of one’s ideals.
The aforementioned strengths and weaknesses of the book are overall factual. Regarding strengths, Horwitz is a journalistic writer, which makes him reliable enough to author the book since it involves real events. By doing extensive historic research on the novel, Horwitz is able to assess and gather historical information regarding John Brown’s raid and other aspects encompassing the novel. Despite writing an actual event, Horwitz retains his writing aptitude by delving on the character of Brown, which enables the reader to know more about Brown and at the same time know the history behind the raid on Harpers Ferry and the Civil War. Regarding weaknesses, Horwitz flaws by equaling Lincoln and Brown’s ideals regarding abolitionism. Moreover, the book hurriedly captures Brown’s character and extensively follows Brown’s actions, which is arguable based on the book’s theme. Moreover, it is evident that the book is biased based on abolitionism tactics regarding slavery since it disregards the consequences of violence tactics in solving disputes.
The novel is engaging since it allows readers to evaluate Brown’s actions. It enables the reader to raise questions on the frequency of violence and the moral quandary between utilization of violence and harmful acts on people in the solving of disputes. Nevertheless, Horwitz’s book captures every type of audience since it implies the various events that encompass society presently by giving an illustration of the raid and the events circulating the violence.
References
Horwitz, T. (2011). Midnight rising: John Brown and the raid that sparked the Civil War. New York: Henry Holt and Co.
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