The Secret Six: The True Tale of the Men Who Conspired with John Brown

by Edward J. Renehan

Overview

"A spellbinding study in revolution from the top down."—New York Times Book Review

Most Americans know that John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was one of the events that sparked the Civil War, but very few know the story of how a circle of Northern aristocrats covertly aided Brown in his quest to ignite a nationwide slave revolt. These influential men, who called themselves the Secret Six, included the editor of the Atlantic Monthly, a world-famous physician, a Unitarian minister whose rhetoric helped shape Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, an educator and close friend of Emerson and Thoreau, and two prominent philanthropists. Edward J. Renehan, Jr., recounts how these pillars of Northern society came to believe that armed conflict was necessary to purge the United States of a government-sanctioned evil, how the messianic Brown enlisted their support, and how they sought to cover up their association with him—even perjuring themselves before a congressional investigation—after his bloody debacle.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781570031816
Publisher:	University of South Carolina Press
Publication date:	03/31/1997
Edition description:	REPRINT
Pages:	324
Sales rank:	736,941
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.68(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Edward J. Renehan, Jr. is the author of John Burroughs: An American Naturalist and a contributor to the American Scholar and other publications. He lives in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.

What People are Saying About This

James M. McPherson

In vivid prose, The Secret Six unravels the mysteries of the six prominent abolitionists who supported John Brown but abandoned him to his fate after the ill-starred raid at Harpers Ferry.

James M. McPherson James M. McPherson

In vivid prose, The Secret Six unravels the mysteries of the six prominent abolitionists who supported John Brown but abandoned him to his fate after the ill-starred raid at Harpers Ferry.

Garry Wills

Renehan admirably works himself into the inner circle of these would-be conspirators for good.

author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Battle Cry of James M. McPherson

In vivid prose, The Secret Six unravels the mysteries of the six prominent abolitionists who supported John Brown but abandoned him to his fate after the ill-starred raid at Harpers Ferry.

author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lincoln at Ge Garry Wills

Renehan admirably works himself into the inner circle of these would-be conspirators for good.

Editorial Reviews

Renehan provides a significant addition to the literature on abolitionism in this study of six prominent Northerners who supported and financed John Brown's 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, Va. (now W.Va.). Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Theodore Parker, Samuel Howe, Gerrit Smith, Franklin Sanborn and George Luther Stearns were all men of learning, wealth and status who seemed to inhabit a different world than the rough-hewn Brown. They shared with him, however, an idealistic hatred of slavery and the growing belief that the evil could be purged only by direct action. In the aftermath of the mission's failure, they successfully distanced themselves from the venture, at least publicly. Nevertheless, Renehan establishes the abolitionist movement's essential unity and how Brown and his advocates, willing to use violence, helped push the country toward civil war. Photos. (May)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

When John Brown was captured after his raid on Harper's Ferry, letters were found from prominent citizens who had been his financial backers since his days in Kansas. The Secret Six included Thomas W. Higgins, publisher of Atlantic Monthly, and other well-to-do men of Boston and New York, all of whom wished anonymity. Their names were published shortly after the raid, prompting two of the six to run to Canada and one to go insane; all concerned thereafter distanced themselves from Brown for fear of being convicted of treason. Renehan (John Burroughs: An American Naturalist, LJ 11/15/92) describes how these pillars of society, with their romantic notions about war, decided after the Fugitive Slave Act and other proslavery decisions that armed conflict was necessary to end slavery. Brown was a violent man with a history of fraud and failed ventures, but he was also a devout abolitionist and a persuasive speaker. His raid on Harper's Ferry in 1859 failed, but it did feed the flames that erupted into civil war. This well-researched book about that turbulent time is strongly recommended for serious collections.-Robert C. Moore, DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Co. Information Svcs., N. Billerica, Mass.

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