Hundreds of copies of a
provisional constitution A provisional constitution, interim constitution or transitional constitution is a constitution intended to serve during a transitional period until a permanent constitution is adopted. The following countries currently have,had in the past,such a c ...
were found among
John Brown's papers after his 1859
raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia. It called for a new state in the Appalachian Mountains, a sort of West Virginia, populated by
escaped slaves from plantations, which were at lower altitudes. It was introduced into evidence at his trial as evidence of sedition.
John Brown also wrote, at about the same time, a little-known Declaration of Liberty, inspired by the
U.S. Declaration of Independence
The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House (l ...
.
Creation of the constitution
The ''Provisional Constitution and Ordinances for the People of the United States'' was written by Brown while a guest in
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...
's house in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...
, in February, 1858. He later described it as "of my own contriving and getting up". This constitution was adopted at a convention Brown held in
Chatham, Ontario, Canada, on May 8–10, 1858.
[
Although this document was dismissed by contemporaries as evidence of Brown's madness, David Reynolds points out that at the time, the ]U.S. Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...
itself was "a highly contested text". It was rejected by the abolitionists
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The Britis ...
Wm. Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips
Wendell Phillips (November 29, 1811 – February 2, 1884) was an American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, orator, and attorney.
According to George Lewis Ruffin, a Black attorney, Phillips was seen by many Blacks as "the one whi ...
, who called it "a covenant with death and an agreement from hell" because it indirectly sanctioned slavery, as the Dred Scott decision
''Dred Scott v. Sandford'', 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that held the U.S. Constitution did not extend American citizenship to people of black African descent, enslaved or free; th ...
had just confirmed.
Projected use of the Constitution
Just what the provisional constitution was intended for is not completely clear. It was not distributed in Harpers Ferry. There is no record of any comments by Brown on how and when it was to be distributed and used. "John Brown never...communicated his whole plan, even to his immediate followers. ...With characteristic reticence Brown revealed his whole plan to no one, and many of those close to him received quite different impressions, or rather read their own ideas into Brown's careful speech." Brown's planned raid on Harpers Ferry was laid out at the Chatham Convention, held in Chatham, Ontario, Canada
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, in 1858. The convention of mostly black delegates also adopted the measures of Brown's Provisional Constitution.
Printed certificates named the following as officers under the Provisional Constitution:
* John Brown, Commander in Chief
* John Henry Kagi
John Henry Kagi, also spelled John Henri Kagi (March 15, 1835 – October 17, 1859), was an American attorney, abolitionist, and second in command to John Brown in Brown's failed raid on Harper's Ferry. He bore the title of "Secretary of War" ...
, Secretary of War
* George B. Gill, Secretary of the Treasury (reproduced at right)
* Jeremiah G. Anderson, named Captain, October 1, 1859
* William H. Leeman, named Captain, October 15, 1859 (reproduced at right)
It was not the constitution of a projected new state, for that it was made up of the mountainous regions of the mid-Atlantic states, that would join or seek to join the Union. He also denied, during his trial, the intent of revolting against the United States, of creating a new country. Sometimes he seems to want the same United States—he does describe it in the constitution's title as "for the people of the United States"—but with a better and anti-slavery constitution. This proposed one was only "provisional", which implies some sort of procedure to create a new, permanent constitution.
Under Brown's provisional constitution, there would be a unicameral legislature of no less than 5 nor more than 10 members, all chosen at large. There would be no senate.
Brown did not see setting up another government with a different constitution to be a revolt against the United States.
The Provisional Constitution was cited during the trial as evidence of his intent to commit treason.
Not one of the copies was ever distributed; even nearby enslaved persons did not receive copies. The reason for this has never been explained. Although it was reprinted, always with scorn, in the press, Brown was not asked about it by any of the many visitors he saw during the month (November 2–December 2, 1859) between being sentenced to death (in '' Virginia v. John Brown'') and his execution.
Much of the Constitution was reprinted in many newspapers, such as the '' Wheeling Daily Intelligencer'', shortly after his arrest.
In the pockets of William H. Leeman, one of the rebels killed at Harpers Ferry, was found a commission as captain "in the army established under the provisional constitution". It was signed by John Brown, Commander in Chief, at the "War Department, near Harpers Ferry", dated October 15. The commission was a preprinted form, with Leeman's name filled in by hand.
References
Further reading
''(Most recent first)''
*
*
*
External links
John Brown's Provisional Constitution (pp. 187–200)
John Brown's Declaration of Liberty (pp. 205–207)
{{John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown (abolitionist)
Provisional constitutions
1858 documents
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry