TBF, Mags, you have been doing a lot of the heavylifting for the quest, so this will be in good hands.
To be clear to everyone, this is just me burning out on imagination of the quest, since my muse has been hitting me over the head a lot with so many different ideas that I just can't find myself too interested in this.
I'll still hang out here, though, since this still does have a sepcial place in my heart.
I'd like to thank you all for making this a wonderful experience while it lasted.
I'd also like to thank @Magoose, @Fluffy_serpent, and @Martin Noctis for doing so much to help prepare and write this quest. I couldn't have done it without you all.
Alright, to begin with, this is not related to the TV Mini-Series despite the similarities to the title. The idea for a John Brown Mini-Series did come from there, and from @Carcer who recommended it to me, but frankly speaking I could not get into it. I mean, I get it, John Brown was described as a madman, a zealot, and deeply religious...and he was clearly all of those things save for one; John Brown was not a madman, as many writings of the time speak of his clear thinking, his eloquent speech, his wits and calm under pressure stance, during the fight and after. It all just seemed wrong to me.
Not that it's a bad series, just that it was not my cup of coffee.
So, I want to try and go for a Mini-Series that shows John Brown as the man he was, with his warts and all, but also with his good points emphasized rather than the caricature that he's sometimes relegated. For his characterization, I've tried to guide myself from the books I've read, but also from some videos about him I've found on YouTube. Both of the main ones are below the Episode list.
Thus, I give you:
TV Mini-Series Pitch: John Brown: The Good Lord Bird
GENRE: Action/Historical/Drama
SUBGENRE: Western/Political
FORMAT: TV Mini-Series
Set Up: The tale of John Brown, not as a symbol, but as the living, breathing activist. Was he a foolhardy man, or was he far more sober and sane that historians usually give him credit him for? This Mini-Series hopes to give a new perspective on the man and his actions, using re-enactment techniques similar to From the Earth to the Moon where aside from narration at the beginning of each episode, the rest develops as a regular TV series.
Director: Edward Zwick Composer: Jerry Goldsmith Episode Length: 45-50 Minutes
The year is 1837, and after the death of Elijah Lovejoy, a prominent abolitionist, at the hands of a pro-slavery mob, at a church meeting, a man stands up and declares "Here, before God, in the presence of these witnesses, from this time, I consecrate my life to the destruction of slavery.". This man's name is John Brown, and his life would change the world as we know it.
We move to a flashback, seeing John Brown's life, from his humble beginnings with his father Owen Brown, a man who aided runaway slaves with the help of his family, the meeting he had at 12 years old with a black kid, whom he became friends with, and saw him being beaten for being a slave. From there on, he solidified his beliefs that slavery is immoral.
His studies of the Bible to become a Pastor, and the need to return and work as a tanner after the death of his father. Growing up, forming a family, and looking at the politics of the time, along with helping slaves through the "Underground Railroad", along with meeting with anti-slavery societies, the many jobs and meetings he had, all the way till the death of Elijah Lovejoy.
We also get POVs from different relevant characters of the period, from local politicians, to Anti-Abolitionists, to those who champion the vile institution.
It is 1846, in the city of Springfield in Massachusetts, where John Brown has moved him and his family after a series of failures in business, yet making connections through his knowledge in sheep and wool. He is there as an agent for the wool growers, but also for his future schemes for emancipation; with many of the city's leadership, including the publisher of "The Republican" being in the Anti-Slavery movement.
John Brown meets with Anti-Slavery Societies in between business meetings, learning and solidifying his views from greats like Sojourney Truth and Frederick Douglass, as well as William Lloyd Garrison. His interactions with them push him further into being more militant in his anti-slavery views.
John Brown also learns more about the Underground Railroad in the area, becoming ever more involved, and helping in the escape of more slaves, though at the same time there are also failures where they have to either run, or escape in a different direction, all of which help him grow more in his views and relationships with his family.
POVs from his family, Frederick Douglass, local leadership and anti-slavery leading members.
A contained episode which is set in 1847, where after speaking at the Sanford Street Free Church (one of the most prominent abolitionist platforms in the country) John Brown meets Frederick Douglass, where they spend the rest of the night getting to know each other, moving from a bar, to Douglass' house, where they settle for a long talk.
During their walks and arrival, they had seen different people interact, among themselves, between blacks and whites, seen how some act towards the other, etc. Both Brown and Douglass' believe in the abolition of slavery being a necessity, but their talk goes into the human condition, the American system, slavery and economics, values and beliefs, the bible and the Lord, etc.
Through the entire meeting, the topic of slavery is never far away from their mind, both sharing their experiences as either a former slave, or as a man who'd seen his friend be a slave. As the night comes to an end and Brown leaves, we see Douglass' write in his diary "From this night spent with John Brown in Springfield, Mass. 1847, while I continued to write and speak against slavery, I became all the same less hopeful for its peaceful abolition."
There are no other POV's as the entire episode is the talk between John Brown and Frederick Douglass.
The episode focuses on John Brown's time in Springfield, as he becomes even more deeply involved in transforming the city into a major center of abolitionism, and one of the safest and most significant stops on the Underground Railroad. This however is also contrasted to his normal life, with the death of his daughters, and the failure of his farm, which has him consider the offer from Gerritt Smith to give away land for a farming community for free black people.
When the United States passed the Fugitive Slave Act, a law mandating that authorities in free states aid in the return of escaped slaves and imposing penalties on those who aid in their escape, due to the Compromise of 1850, Brown founded a militant group to prevent the recapture of fugitives, the League of Gileadites.
It was operated by free Blacks, meeting men like Eli Baptist, William Montague, and Thomas Thomas, all who risked being caught by slave catchers and sold into slavery. John Brown leaves Springfield for the farming Community of Timbuctoo in 1850, and he instructed the League to act "quickly, quietly, and efficiently" to protect slaves that escaped to Springfield.
From Brown's founding of the League of Gileadites onward, not one person was ever taken back into slavery from Springfield. Like previous episodes, different POVs are shown beyond Brown.
John Brown arrives with his family at Timboktoo to buy some land from Smith in order to establish a farm around free black people, with Brown aiding the community in any way he can. His day-to-day life, discussions with the freed people, and his continuing activities with the Underground Railroad are also mentioned and expounded on.
We see his sons, John Brown Jr. and Jason Brown as they make their way to Kansas to make a living by themselves, which is threatened in 1854, when the issue that "Popular Sovereignty" is discussed, and then passed into law with the "Kansas-Nebraska Act", opening the gates for Kansas to become a slave state of the people themselves vote for it.
Soon, they are embroiled in a fight against the "Border Ruffians", Pro-Slavery raiders from Missouri that attempted to scare the abolitionist and anti-slavery settlers in Kansas, leading to a state of anarchy and violence. The sons write to John Brown to help them with guns to defend themselves.
John Brown moves his family to Kansas in 1855, on the way visiting the Abolitionist settlements in Kansas, and gathering the arms needed for the fight ahead.
The episode take a deeper focus on John Brown's sons in Kansas, along with the political climate and how it's growing more extreme.
John Brown arrives near the town of Osawatomie, where his sister Florella Adair (nee Brown) resides with her husband, the Reverend Samuel Adair. His stay and interaction with the family, as well as the discussions of the situation in Kansas, are shown, as well as how he rallied support to fight against the Pro-Slavery forces, how his previous experience in the Underground Railroad helped him become the leader of the Anti-Slavery forces in Kansas.
In May of 1856, Pro-Slavery activists organized in order to make Kansas their own, sacking the town of Lawrence, the center of Anti-Slavery activity on Kansas. The subsequent caning of Senator Sumner, enraged Brown, who tries to get the rest of the Anti-Slavery forces to respond, yet they don't seem to be interested, or are too afraid to do anything. Calling them cowards, John gathers his own posse.
Five days after the sacking of Lawrence, John Brown leads a strike into Potawatomie town, where they killed five pro-slavery settlers in return. This sparked the bloodiest period of Bleeding Kansas.
Point of views from John Brown and his family and children, as well as the introduction of Henry Clay Pate, one of the posse members who sacked Lawrence, who was later deputized and set to hunt Brown.
John Brown and his men are on the run from Pate and his troops, during which John Brown Jr. and Jason Brown are captured and used as hostages and put in Irons. As a response, Brown captures two of Pate's men. All leading to the further conflict in June 2, when Pate and his men raid the Free Settlement of Palmyra.
Pate and 22 of his men attack the settlement, to which John Brown and his men manage to not only counter said raid, but also capture both pate and all his men. IN response, a company of 300 men from Missouri raided into Kansas and attacked the settlement of Osawatomie, where Brown managed to launch a defense to evacuate the town. While raided and burnt, the people managed to escape to the forest, though not without losses; 1 of Brown's men dies, and four are captured.
Brown is made a hero to abolitionists, and becomes known for his military prowess, as well as his bravery as "Osawatomie" John Brown.
POVs of both Brown and Pate, as well as abolitionist figures who learn of Brown's actions.
One month after Osawatomie, an attempt at Lawrence is being done once more by Pro-Slavery forces with over 2,000 men. John Brown meets with abolitionist forces in the city and prepares a defense of it. It all comes to naught however as the new governor of Kansas, John W. Geary, arrives at the last moment and orders both sides to disarm and disband, offering clemency to both sides.
It is 1858 now, and John Brown has returned to aiding in the Underground Railroad. After the events in Kansas, his name had become famous, with warrants for his arrest being spread through the country. He now needs to take care of where he travels and with whom, yet it does not stop him from his goal.
We see the preparations and men he's been speaking with, gathering guns and adherents for his plan. He meets with Harriet Tubman at Niagara Falls while escorting a group of escaped slaves, and impressed with her bravery and dedication calls her "General Tubman". He reveals the overall plan as he drafts the constitution with others for a new country to be made in the Appalachian Mountains in what was then Virginia.
POVs of Brown, Pate, Tubman and Brown's family.
In Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in an old abandoned Quarry, a meeting between John Brown and Frederick Douglass (as well as another escapee slave from South Carolina, Shields "Emperor" Green) takes place. Here is where John Brown reveals his entire plan, one that he'd revealed to Harriet Tubman beforehand and had her entire support. A raid at Harper's Ferry in Virginia, with the intention of arming the slaves of the area, and starting an insurrection that would have them take the Appalachian Mountain as defensible strongholds in order to raid and strike fear upon the slaveholders, as well as to incentivize more slaves to rise and escape.
Douglass and Brown debate through the night as Brown tries to convince him to join them and serve as liaison for the slaves, but Douglass is recalcitrant, believing that it would not work, and they would die in the attempt. Brown agrees that 9 out of 10 chances they would die. but sometimes they could do more being dead than alive, showing his resolve and further plans if the Raid failed.
In the end, though Douglass remains unconvinced, Shields Green agrees to join Brown, leaving Douglass to return alone. On the way back, he writes in his diary his thoughts on the meeting, among them how despite it all, he feels shame to not have the courage to participate.
The episode mirrors episode three, and shows the differences between them as well, serving as a counter for how their talks began, and where it has led them.
The Episode shows the plans John Brown had made in preparation for the Harper's Ferry Raid, the meetings he had among the different members to join, as well as the financing he go from the "Secretive Six" a group of wealthy new Englanders who supported his abolitionist plans. The meeting with Forbes, the drillmaster, and the conflict between them which cost him time needed for the Raid.
It shows the Kentucky Farm where John Edwin Cook infiltrated the community in Harper's Ferry for over a year before it could take place, how little by little more conspirators joined them, sometimes as new members of the community, or by hiding inside it during the day, and coming out only at night to take some air or do some drills. They were a collection of escaped slaves, Kansas former fighters and educated new Englanders.
It continues to identify leaders for potential hostages for the plan. John Brown arrives with his sons Oliver and Owen, as well as his second in command (John Kagi) with crates filled with weapons on July 3rd, 1859. His daughters arrived to sell the illusion of a large family living in the farm. Everyone in Harper's Ferry was oblivious despite many close calls with nosy neighbors, suspicious men, etc.
In October 15, 1859, John Brown tells his men, that it all will begin the following night.
On the night of October 16, 1859, the group left the Kennedy Farm to Harper's Ferry. Some tearing down telegraph wires, walking two by two on the road. Brown ordered no one to be harmed unless in self-defense. The abolitionists moving on to Harper's Ferry managed to sneak into the armory without firing a shot, and took passersby as hostages, controlling it fairly easily at first. The control of bridges came next, but the next step, arming the slaves, took too long, with little to no way to let them know of what was going on. Osborn Perry Anderson managed to let the news out to some of the communities which were ecstatic, but it was too little too late.
By October the 17, at the Harper's Ferry Train Station, the first casualty occurred when Brown's men accidentally killed Heyward Shepherd, a black man who did not stop when told since he was confused about what was going on. This lets the alarm run out, with orders from the Army (among them Colonel Lee and J.E.B. Stuart) to arrive with federal troops and stop them.
The raid thus fails, but Brown rather than surrender, decides for all to become martyrs for the cause, and when captured, then to at least let his words be the ones that will inspire and let his thoughts and ideas for the future.
POV's from Brown, Lee, and Osborn Perry Anderson
The final days of John Brown. During his trial he remains lying down as he was still wounded, the news of his actions are spread far and wide, men and women see him as a fanatic, a madman, a zealot with nothing but anger in his mind.
Yet, when people come to interview him, they find more to him than meets the eye. Though many men come and go after speaking with him, we focus on those who would be his enemies, yet after speaking with him, can't help but respect him, and be impressed by his clear thinking and strength of mind. Among them are Virginia Governor Henry A. Wise, Virginia Senator James M. Mason, and his former enemy, Henry Clay Pate.
What comes from here is showing how clear-thinking Brown really was, how he was not a madman frothing at the mouth, but a man who was fully devoted to the cause of abolitionism, and his actions were always cooly planned and calculated, from beginning to end, even when he was taken captive, he planned for his words to be spread.
The series ends with John Brown's final words before being hanged.
POV's Henry Clay Pate, Gov. Henry A. Wise, Sen. James M. Mason
A.N.: Once more, my thanks to @Carcer for the discussion, and I hope we can do something good here, perhaps enough to finally change the perception of John Brown at least a bit, and give another good hit to the "Lost Cause Myth". I've been working on these for a few days, so I hope that it works well enough.
