Oh, puh-leeze! Nobody from the South was terroristically flying hot-air balloons into six-story buildings in New York.
The analogy is totally lame.
The only fanatics on the subject of slavery were John Brown and his apologists.
There were others. GOPcapitalist posted on another thread about the summer of 1860 when abolitionists set fires in Texas or encouraged blacks to do it. More damage was done by these arsonists than by John Brown's attack on Harper's Ferry, but Texas arson attacks are not nearly as widely known.
I found from newspaper reports that Dallas, Denton, Pilot Point, Belknap, Gainesville, Black-jack Grove, Kaufman, Navarro, Waxahachie, Henderson, Jefferson, Tyler, Georgetown, Bright Star, and even Austin had burned or had suffered arson attacks that were thwarted. Many of these attacks happened on the same day. A number of the arsonists were caught and confessed.
Here are some excerpts from articles I found.
Dallas. The fire was first discovered in front of Peak’s new drug store, on the west side of the square, and continued to spread rapidly until the whole north side were consumed and one half of the east side. … [Lists a bunch of fires a few miles outside of Dallas over the next few days] All of these were so plainly the work of an incendiary, that several white men and negroes were arrested and underwent an examination. This lead to the detection of a most diabolical plan to destroy the county. The scheme was laid by a master mind, and conceived with infernal ingenuity. It was determined by certain abolition preachers who were expelled from the country last year, to devastate with fire and assassination, the whole of Northern Texas, and when the country was reduced to a helpless condition, a general revolt of the slaves aided by white men from the North, and many in our midst, was to come off on the day of election in August. [State Gazette July 28, 1860, July 16th letter from a Dallas newspaper publisher]
Denton. The fire at Denton occurred on Sunday, 8th July, being the same day as at Dallas. … The whole west side of the public square with the solitary exception of Messrs. Blount & Scruggs store on the extreme N. W. corner is in ashes. [State Gazette, July 28, 1860] <
Navarro. These fires have all occurred so near the same time as to evince concert of action by a band of fiends, and the detection at Fort Worth of an abolitionist who had just distributed 50 guns and 50 six shooters among the negroes, places it beyond all doubt that abolition emissaries are at the bottom of it. We rejoice to learn that the man at Fort Worth was hung, and also one in Parker county for a similar act. [Navarro Express, July 21, 1860]
Tyler. Incendiaries. Our town, on Monday night last, was thrown into a fever of excitement, by the detection of an individual, a stranger in our place, in the act of attempting to fire the town. He was shot at two or three times by the patrol, but succeeded in making his escape, not, it is to be hoped, without carrying with him some evidence of the skill of our marksmen. Our people are on the alert, and woe to the scoundrel who, arrested in the act, falls into their hands. [Tyler Reporter, July 18, 1860]
Jefferson. … on that same ominous Sunday the 8th, an attempt was made to fire the buildings in Jefferson, Cass County; one of the buildings was the drug store of Messrs. Campbell & Co., and the other was the Jefferson Hotel. {Herald and Gazette, July 14, 1860]
Henderson. Dear Sir: I write to apprise you that the work of desolating the country is yet going on. Henderson was burned to ashes on Sunday night, while the guard were at supper. It was fired in eight places. Many wells have been poisoned and the slaves are running away. Be wide awake. These things are perfectly reliable. Respectfully yours, W. J. Sparks. [Arkansas True Democrat, August 25, 1860]
Georgetown. Last week the stable and kitchen of L. Gaus, of Georgetown, in Williamson county, were destroyed by fire. Suspicion attached to a negro boy, who had been a short time before near the consumed premises. This negro, on being arrested, at first equivocated, and then without whipping, admitted he had set fire to the stable. He stated that he had been instigated to do so by three white men; that he did not know the names of all of them, but knew their faces; that one of them told him he would take him safely to Mexico if he would fire the town, and other mischief. A music teacher, hailing from higher latitudes, finding himself implicated, made it convenient to decamp. He is said to be a Black Republican, and perhaps not the only one in the limits of the rich and fertile county of Williamson.
On Monday last, the citizens of Williamson county assembled en masse, and instead of waiting for the session of the District Court, which sits in September, they organized the court of Judge Lynch, and in their way tried the negro, and hung him about a mile from town. He may have been, and no doubt was, guilty, and richly merited the extreme penalty of the law; yet, would it not have been better to have waited four weeks and tried him according to law. [Galveston News, August 14, 1860, letter from August 5th]
Bright Star. On yesterday, (Sunday,) about 4 o’clock, there was fire discovered in the kitchen of Dr. Reeves. It appears there had been no fire in the kitchen for some time. The fire was discovered on the opposite side of the house to that of the fire-place. The bed was set on fire first; no damage to any amount. The negroes arrested in Paris confessed that it was their intention, on the day of the election, while the men were at the polls voting, to kill the females at every house, and as the men returned from the polls, they were to be attacked. [Jefferson Herald of August 11, 1860, reporting a story dated July 30, 1860 from Bright Star]