JOHN BROWN - December 02：美国历史上的今天

分享是美德，期待您转发！

内容提要：，是美国人民群众试图用武装斗争消灭黑人奴隶制的一次英勇尝试。，故名。，要求废除奴隶制，并逮捕一些种植园主，解放了许多奴隶。，他被逮捕并杀害。

On December 2, 1859, John Brown, an abolitionist 废奴主义者, was hanged. He was captured on October 18 as he tried to cause a slave uprising ， at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.

His plan was to arm slaves with weapons captured at Harpers Ferry. The armed slaves would, in one huge uprising, kill their owners and win their freedom.

John Brown’s plan failed because he did not inform 通知，告知 nearby slaves of his plan. He therefore did not have the support of the people who were to carry out the revolt 反叛，. 

The second mistake he made was not having an escape plan in case his scheme 计划，方案 did not work.

At his trial, Brown was charged with 被指控 the murder of five people, helping slaves rebel, and plotting against the state of Virginia. His lawyers tried to prove that he was insane. By doing so, they could possibly have saved him from being hanged.

The lawyers’ plan failed. Even though they showed that Brown was not very stable, they failed to get a statement from a reliable doctor that would say he was insane. Besides, Brown didn’t want to be thought of as insane. He felt very strongly that slavery was wrong.

At his trial, John Brown acted both bravely and intelligently, but was found guilty of all charges. He was sentenced to hang on December 2, 1859.

Some people have said that John Brown was one of the causes of the Civil War.

He believed that all men were born equal, and that the color of one’s skin should not have anything to do with the way that person is treated.

本文内容选自上海外语教育出版社引进出版的《听读美国小故事》第12册（12月）。如需购买，可到当当、亚马逊、京东等网上书城去看看。