Description: Broadside announcing an abolitionist lecture by T. B. McCormick, to be given at the Eaton, Ohio, town hall on April 30, 1857. McCormick was a reverend with the Presbyterian Church who was active on the Underground Railroad, primarily in and around Princeton, Indiana. He eventually fled to Canada to escape prosecution for aiding fugitive slaves. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04161
Subjects: Eaton (Ohio); Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights; Abolition movement--1850-1860; Abolitionists -- Ohio
Places: Eaton (Ohio); Preble County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows the Edwin Coppock Memorial, errected by Daniel Howell Hise in Salem, Ohio. The engraving reads "Edwin Coppock 'A martyr to the cause of liberty' Born in Butler Township near Salem, Ohio. June 30, 1835. Was one of John Brown's Company in his attempt to liberate the slaves at Harpers Ferry, VA. October 1859. Was executed at Charleston, VA. December 16, 1859." John Brown was an abolitionists whose obsession with ending slavery led him to violence and his eventual death. Under the influence of his father, Brown decided to dedicate his life to destroying the institution of slavery, and he spent time serving as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Brown gained national attention in 1859 when he led a group of twenty-one men on a raid of Harper's Ferry, Virginia (modern-day West Virginia). A federal arsenal was in the town, and Brown hoped to capture the buildings and the weapons stored inside of them. He then intended to distribute the guns and ammunition to slaves in the region, hoping to create an army of African Americans that would march through the South and force slave-owners to release their slaves. Brown and his men succeeded in capturing the arsenal, but local residents surrounded the buildings, trapping the abolitionists inside. A detachment of United States Marines arrived and stormed the arsenal on October 18, capturing seven men, including Brown. The court found Brown guilty and sentenced him to death, along with his comrades. John Brown's Harper's Ferry raid raised issues for the presidential election of 1860. It was also one of the events that led to the eventual dissolution of the United States and the Civil War that followed. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06500
Subjects: Slavery; Abolition movement--1850-1860; Harpers Ferry (W. Va.) History John Brown's Raid, 1859; Memorials--Ohio
Places: Salem (Ohio); Columbiana County (Ohio)
 

Description: John Brown (1800-1859) was an ardent proponent of abolition. He aided many fugitive slaves to freedom along the Lane Trail while he lived in Kansas. This photograph was taken in September 1856. The image was collected by Ohio State University professor Wilbur H. Siebert (1866-1961). Siebert began researching the Underground Railroad in the 1890s as a way to interest his students in history. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03037
Subjects: Underground Railroad -- Kansas; Abolition movement--1850-1860; Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights; Harpers Ferry (W. Va.) History; John Brown's Raid, 1859; Abolitionists -- Ohio
Places: Bourbon County (Kansas)
 

Description: Engraved portrait of John Bingham, ca. 1850-1859. He was elected to the 34th Congress and served as United States Representative from Ohio from 1855 to 1863 and from 1865 to 1873. Bingham was an opponent of slavery. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02844
Subjects: Legislators--Ohio; Abolition movement--1850-1860
Places: Ohio