Why was harper's ferry, virginia, significant in the antebellum era? A) it was the first capital of the confederacy. B) it was t
he first city to withdraw from the union. C) it was the location of the first shots of the civil war. D) it was the site of a failed slave rebellion in october of 1859.
The correct answer is D. Harper's Ferry, Virginia, was significant in the antebellum era because it was the site of a failed slave rebellion in October of 1859.
Explanation:
On October 16, 1859, the radical abolitionist John Brown led an attack on the Harper's Ferry arsenal: he hoped to seize weapons to use it to arm slaves in the south and thus unleash an uprising. Marines under Col. Robert E. Lee's command helped the local militia to overpower Brown and his men. Brown was tried by the state of Virginia for treason, sentenced to death and hanged in nearby Charles Town.
