With the assistance of sketches, photos, and a reenactment of John Brown's trial and indictment, Dr. C. Vann Woodward, history professor at Johns Hopkins University, describes the details of John Brown's failed slave insurrection of 1859 and sketches in the historical and biographical background. A copy of Brown's "Provisional Constitution and Ordinances" is shown and Brown's famous trial speech is recited. Dr. Woodward concludes with comments on whether the end justified the means.