On May 9, 1800 one of the greatest representatives of oppressed and exploited people was born in Torrington, Connecticut. His name was John Brown.

The exemplary acts of courage as well as the humanity of John Brown has secured him an eternal place of honor in the archives of the class struggle in this country. He was instrumental in the political defeat of slavery by setting the stage that embolden many to resort to armed conflict. It was precisely his willingness to use force that defined the direction history would  take.

Despite the fact that John Brown did not perceive himself as a revolutionary, but was instead according to him “doing the work of God,” his stance against the widely accepted, centuries-long slave system was in every objective sense  revolutionary. His militant disposition towards the practices of this system differed tremendously from other abolitionists who tended to…