14. John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry (1859)
In October 1859, abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, aiming to incite a slave rebellion by arming enslaved people. The plan failed; Brown was captured, tried for treason, and executed. The raid intensified Southern fears of slave uprisings and deepened the rift between North and South, making compromise increasingly untenable (history.com).
