Sam Brownback: “today, May 9, is the 200th anniversary of the birth of a famous American who remains probably the most controversial…”

“today, May 9, is the 200th anniversary of the birth of a famous American who remains probably the most controversial figure in U.S. history. On May 9, 1800, John Brown was born. It is his birth and his life and the institution of slavery that I will speak about this evening for a few minutes. I grew up in eastern Kansas. As a child, I played on the ground where John Brown stayed most often while he was in Osawatomie, KS. He was known as Osawatomie Brown for his fighting during the early phases of what led to be the Civil War. He stayed at the Adaire cabin. His brother-in-law was a minister in Osawatomie. It was on property which my grandparents owned that the cabin was later moved, to the park where the Battle of Osawatomie took place. That park was dedicated by Teddy Roosevelt. Such was the importance of what took place there in the epic struggle in this country to end the institution of slavery. John Brown, the renowned abolitionist, was hanged for his attempt to incite a slave rebellion at Harper's Ferry, VA. Yet even though everyone objects to his tactics, his death has become 'the symbol of every element opposed to slavery.' His contemporary, Frederick Douglass, the great African American abolitionist, acknowledged that 'John Brown began the war that ended American slavery and made this a free Republic.' This 200th anniversary is a reminder of the heartache wrought by slavery in America.”