A Plea for Captain John Brown
A Plea for Captain John Brown
by Henry David Thoreau
[Read to the citizens of Concord, Mass., Sunday Evening, October 30, 1859.]
I trust that you will pardon me for being here. I do not wish to force my thoughts upon you, but I feel forced myself. Little as I know of Captain Brown, I would fain do my part to correct the tone and the statements of the newspapers, and of my countrymen generally, respecting his character and actions. It costs us nothing to be just. We ...