I A Power above Ourselves1 "And They Had No Comforter": John Brown and the "Everlasting Negro" Question 2 John Brown's Heritage 3 Revival, Resistance, and Abolition in the Time of John Brown II A Good Cause and a Sovereign God 4 The Early Years: Autobiography and History5 Millennial Hopes, Abolitionist Awakenings 6 "This Path of Life": From Ohio to Pennsylvania III Providence and Principle 7 Citizen Brown's Calvinist Community 8 The Pursuit of Success and the Disappointments of Providence 9 Of Vows and Tears IV In Times of Dif?culty10 Belted Knights and Practical Shepherds11 "We Are Tossing Up and Down" 12 The Practical Shepherd in Spring?eld V Big Dif?culties and Firm Footholds 13 A Cold and Snowy Canaan Land 14 "So We Go": Failed Ventures and Disappointing Outcomes15 "All the Encouragement in My Power" VI Enduring Hardness 16 Ohio and Beyond 17 "Kansas the Outpost": An Overview 18 Pottawatomie and the Fatherless VII I Will Raise a Storm 19 "The Language of Providence" 20 "This Spark of Fire" 21 "My Public Murder"
This biography offers fresh insight into the life and actions of this renowned figure in American history.
Louis A. DeCaro, Jr., is Associate Professor of Church History at Alliance Theological Seminary, and is the author of “Fire from the Midst of You”: A Religious Life of John Brown and Freedom’s Dawn: The Last Days of John Brown in Virginia.
"[DeCaro] provide[s] a concise, sympathetic, and, on occasion, dramatic and compelling account of Brown." --The Journal of American History "Readable and well-researched." --Journal of the West "The biography nicely integrates the moral imperative of the Brown family, particularly the ideal of racial egalitarianism, with increasing sectional tension. Engagingly written." --American Historical Review "In this biography, Louis A. DeCaro reveals the religious integrity of a man whom others have seen as a criminal, a lunatic or a study in contradictions." --Christian Century "Fire from the Midst of You" is the first major religious biography of John Brown...should become a classic religious biography...no future work on Brown can be complete without a serious consideration of its many claims and insights." --Journal of the American Academy of Religion "DeCaro's challenging book depicts [John Brown] as a man ahead of his time...From its title (a line from Ezekiel) to its last line, Fire From the Midst of You brings to life an austere time when America saw itself as a Christian nation and fire-and-brimstone gospel shaped the populace." --Philadelphia Inquirer "Handsomely produced and fluently written, the book is based on extensive research: a very worthwhile addition to the scholarship relating to John Brown." --Journal of American Studies "A welcome addition to the literature of John Brown." --Publishers Weekly "Decaro sets out to establish Brown's legacy as one grounded in an alternative evangelical tradition that decried pacifism, developed a doctrine of holy war, and called any church that did not actively work for abolition anti-Christian. He places Brown in his religious milieu, reforming the legacy of this religious extremist." --Library Journal "DeCaro mines a wealth of information about Brown and the black community, showing that Brown was a well known antislavery activist and ally long before the Harper's Ferry raid of 1859." --Oakland Post
"[DeCaro] provide[s] a concise, sympathetic, and, on occasion, dramatic and compelling account of Brown." --The Journal of American History "Readable and well-researched." --Journal of the West "The biography nicely integrates the moral imperative of the Brown family, particularly the ideal of racial egalitarianism, with increasing sectional tension. Engagingly written." --American Historical Review "In this biography, Louis A. DeCaro reveals the religious integrity of a man whom others have seen as a criminal, a lunatic or a study in contradictions." --Christian Century "Fire from the Midst of You" is the first major religious biography of John Brown...should become a classic religious biography...no future work on Brown can be complete without a serious consideration of its many claims and insights." --Journal of the American Academy of Religion "DeCaro's challenging book depicts [John Brown] as a man ahead of his time...From its title (a line from Ezekiel) to its last line, Fire From the Midst of You brings to life an austere time when America saw itself as a Christian nation and fire-and-brimstone gospel shaped the populace." --Philadelphia Inquirer "Handsomely produced and fluently written, the book is based on extensive research: a very worthwhile addition to the scholarship relating to John Brown." --Journal of American Studies "A welcome addition to the literature of John Brown." --Publishers Weekly "Decaro sets out to establish Brown's legacy as one grounded in an alternative evangelical tradition that decried pacifism, developed a doctrine of holy war, and called any church that did not actively work for abolition anti-Christian. He places Brown in his religious milieu, reforming the legacy of this religious extremist." --Library Journal "DeCaro mines a wealth of information about Brown and the black community, showing that Brown was a well known antislavery activist and ally long before the Harper's Ferry raid of 1859." --Oakland Post
When abolitionist martyr John Brown led an armed raid on Harper's Ferry, VA, in October 1859, he helped set the stage for the American Civil War. Yet as pastor and educator DeCaro points out, Brown himself felt that all life was precious, claiming that he would fight no war "unless it was a war of liberty." DeCaro (Malcolm and the Cross) sets out to establish Brown's legacy as one grounded in an alternative evangelical tradition that decried pacifism, developed a doctrine of holy war, and called any church that did not actively work for abolition anti-Christian. He places Brown in his religious milieu, reforming the legacy of this religious extremist into "a [Protestant] saint in his own way a sincere believer, however imperfect, also believing himself carried along by God's grace and mercy." Combining a moral and ethical abhorrence of slavery with a genuine religious fervor, he is the modern embodiment of that most reviled social pariah, the uncompromising fanatic. More ambitious than a popular history but not quite a scholarly treatise, DeCaro's plainly written book may find an audience among readers with a deep interest in history and religion. Recommended for larger public and academic libraries.-Sandra Collins, Duquesne Univ. Lib., Pittsburgh Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
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