John Brown's Best Friend in the Twentieth Century

John Brown Today

In this episode, Lou recalls the important role of Boyd B. Stutler (1889-1970), "the godfather of John Brown scholars." Lou sketches Stutler's life, from his youth as a newspaperman and one of the youngest mayors in his era, to his role as a war time correspondent and veterans' magazine editor. Above all, Stutler was the key figure in gathering John Brown materials, primary and secondary, and became the expert on Brown in the twentieth century. Yet, as Lou observes, Stutler was a rightwinger who held Brown at arms length and held a somewhat detached view of Brown in keeping with the prejudices of his era as well as his own ultra-conservative perspective. Stutler was particularly uncooperative in the case of Richard O. Boyer, a leftist author, and despite the latter's great capacity and success, might have been far more successful had Stutler not snubbed him because he was a "pinko." Notwithstanding Stutler's rightwing bias, his contribution to the study of John Brown is invaluable and his collection remains one of the great resources for John Brown biographers and students. If you're interested, you can visit the digital Stutler John Brown collection by clicking this link!
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