Abstract
Interpretations of national icons, including John Brown, often present themselves as timeless, rather than as the last link in a long chain of historical revisionisms. From generation to generation and from region to region, interpretations of John Brown have differed. This analysis demonstrates that the engine house, occupied by Brown and his followers during his attempted capture of Harpers Ferry, is an unstable sociocultural symbol among the white community, while it has been a stable icon among the black community. Its meaning and locations changed as the social and political atmosphere changed in this country.
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Shackel, P.A. Terrible saint: Changing meanings of the John Brown Fort. Hist Arch 29, 11–25 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03374214
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03374214