4.23.2012

A visit to Harpers Ferry

This was my second visit to Harpers Ferry. I was pleasantly surprised to learn how much my first grader had learnt in school about President Abraham Lincoln and the abolishment of slavery. There were a lot of interesting facts about Harpers Ferry that we learnt in our visit - it being the marked as the place where John Brown decided  to start his fight against slavery and predicting the oncoming of the Civil War in the country. The state of Virginia which was pro-slavery put John Brown on trial and gave him death penalty for inciting slaves. The federal government did nothing at the time even though it was a federal building Brown attacked and killed federal workers. I felt the U.S president at the time, President Buchanan didn't do the right thing and instead followed a policy of moderation with the southern states like Virginia. Apart from these little factoids, we learnt about how the local economy worked at Harpers Ferry, the major industry - guns and ammunition and its importance during the Civil War.

I think this place is a very good starting point for kids who want to develop an interest in American history.

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