Slandered by craven abolitionists as unhinged, John Brown was in fact an eloquent, cool-headed tactician who succeeded in his long-range plan: launching a civil war

“Pondering the degree to which accident could overturn the schemes of wise men, Prince Bismarck once concluded that there was a special providence for drunkards, fools, and the United States. Indeed there is much to be said for the argument that America has survived and grown strong by a miraculous streak of luck that, at one turning point after another, has directed fortune its nay A So writes OSCAR HANDLIN, Professor of History at Harvard and author of The Uprooted, which won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1951. This is the fourth in a series of Jive articles drawn from Mr. Handlin’s forthcoming book, which will be published in early spring under the Atlantic-Little, Brown imprint.

Regrettably, our conversation got waylaid yesterday by politics in a debate over the meaning "is." That's my fault.