In his raid on harper's ferry, john brown was hoping to

a. provide arms to the slaves

b. divide the south on the issue of slavery

c. force slave states to become free states

d. become famous as an abolitionist

As an effort by armed abolitionist John Brown to initiate an armedslave revolt in 1859 by ... They would free more slaves, obtain food, horses and hostages, and destroy ... Gue was a Quaker who believed that Brown and his men would be killed.

 a) provide arms to the slaves

Further explanation:

John Brown (1800-1859) was an abolitionist who supported armed struggle against existing laws and government in order to end slavery.  In October 1859, Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.  The intent was to arm slaves to fight for their freedom and set in motion a slave revolt that would spread across other regions in the South.  The effort was unsuccessful and Brown was hanged for treason against Virginia.

The answer is installation.