This is a moving and deeply felt biography of abolitionist John Brown, which defends its subject against the popular notion of him as a delusional fanatic. The author, W.E.B. DuBois, was a renowned author, scholar, sociologist, socialist, and civil rights activist, and one of the founders of the N.A.A.C.P.. - Summary by Ciufi Galeazzi

In November, 1897, I submitted to the American Academy of Political and Social Science a plan for the study of Negro problems. This work is an essay along the lines there laid down, and is thus part of larger design of observation and research into the history and social conditions of the transplanted Africans. W.E.B. Du Bois At the end of this work are appendices, mainly additional statistics and not included here--the most noteworthy of them being Appendix B, a list of legislation regarding the Philadelphia Negro during this period.