Who led a raid on Harpers Ferry in an attempt to start an armed slave revolt?

John Brown is recognized for leading the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. His primary objective was to seize weapons from the federal armory located there and then distribute them to enslaved people, with the goal of sparking a widespread revolt against slavery in the Southern states. Brown’s actions were motivated by his strong abolitionist beliefs and his desire to end slavery through direct action.

His raid on Harpers Ferry ultimately failed, as Brown and his men were quickly surrounded by U.S. Marines led by Robert E. Lee. Brown was captured, tried, and executed for treason, which elevated him to the status of a martyr in the eyes of some abolitionists. This event heightened tensions between the Northern and Southern states and is often seen as a precursor to the Civil War.

Frederick Douglass, Nat Turner, and William Lloyd Garrison were significant figures in the abolitionist movement but did not lead the raid at Harpers Ferry. Douglass was a prominent orator and writer advocating for abolition, Turner led a slave rebellion in Virginia in 1831, and Garrison was known for publishing "The Liberator," a newspaper dedicated to the anti-slavery cause.