I posted somewhere to someone about proving John Brown was moving freely in the North as a murderer and planning his raid on the South.
The book I refer to is 'John Brown, Abolitionist', by David S. Reynolds. I would recommend the book though it is somewhat pro-Brown and what I would call anti-southern, but gives a fair treatement of him.
Brown murdered 5 men and boys in May of 1856 at Pottawatomie Creek Kansas. " It is oftened maintained that the Transendentalists would not have supported John Brown had they suspected his role in the Pottawatomie murders. The evidence suggests, however, that they knew of it and yet embraced him anyway. A detailed report of the crime, and of Brown's involvement in it, had been on public record since 1856, when the Committee to Investigate the Troubles in Kansas described it on the floor of the United States House of Representatives in vivid testimony that was subsequently published. " p.221-222
Brown would meet with many people in the north after these murders and after it was known. Most especially significant is the Mass. Legstate legislature to get support. He didn't get the support, but he was allowed to speak. "Introduced by Sanborn as a patriot with the blood of the Puritans and the Revolutionary generatin in his veins, Brown made an impressive showing....(saying nothing, of course, about Free State crimes, least of all Pottawatomie)." p.212-213
It would be beneficial to read pages 138-238 to get the fuller picture of Brown and his Secret Six money men of the North and the Norths allowing him the freedom to roam and prepare for his attack upon the South.
Quantrill