“John Brown is immortal”: Charles Spurgeon, the American press, and the ordeal of slavery

Abstract

The American popularity of the English evangelist Charles Spurgeon was short-circuited by the burgeoning crisis over slavery and secession. Some scholars have noted his antislavery views, but few have even commented on the controversy over his antislavery stance, or fully examined the American context of his controversial opinions in the turbulent months between John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry in October 1859 and Abraham Lincoln’s nomination for president in May 1860. Spurgeon’s reputation in the U.S. was particularly damaged by a letter published in early 1860 in which he praised Brown, making Spurgeon a major target of white southern anger.