what was John brown hoping to do with any weapons he obtained ?

Answer 1

Start a rebellion against slavery.

Answer 2

To free the slaves, I call the slaves prisoners of war.

Answer 3

Hi Ava,

In addition to attempting to start a rebellion against slavery, Brown and the men who funded his raid on Harper's Ferry in October 1859, wanted to take direct action against the bloody fighting that had happened in Kansas in 1856 (prior to the Civil War) and also to get revenge against the failed resistance in New England to the Fugitive Slave Act. By obtaining weapons at the armory in Harper's Ferry, an insurrection conducted by slaves and freedmen would occur and ultimately lead to the abolition of slavery and to the autonomy of individuals of African descent. Ultimately, however, Brown was unable to obtain the large amount of black recruits he had been hoping for in order to enact his rebellion, and his raid was seen by some as an act of martyrdom: he sacrificed himself for the cause of abolition.

I hope this helped!

Let me know if you have any further questions.

-Tim

Answer 4

John Brown was a rabid abolitionist. He is what we might consider an American Taliban in today's parlance in the sense that he was a strict fundamentalist who would stop at nothing.

When they set the raid at Harper's Ferry they want to arm slave for a rebellion.

You might check on Russell Bank's Cloud-Splitter a novel about John Brown and the social and cultural times before the Civil War.

Answer 5

Hi, Ava;

John Brown was a staunch abolitionist who tried to start a slave uprising. He broke into the armory at Harper's Ferry intending to give those weapons to hordes of slaves who would rise up against their owners in revolt. That didn't go so well, of course, when only a small number of slaves bought into his plan, not the hordes he'd envisioned.

Does that answer your question?

Answer 6

Kill the slave owners & free the slaves

End slavery in the US, ahead of his time