 Brown was hastily tried for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, the murder of five men, and inciting a slave insurrection; he was found guilty on all counts and was hanged.He was the first person executed for treason in the history of the United States.Historians agree that the Harpers Ferry raid and Brown's trial (Virginia v. John Brown), covered extensively by the national press, escalated tensions that led to the South's secession a year later, and the American Civil War.