Customer Reviews

The Secret Six : John Brown and the Abolitionist Movement

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a marvelous book! A real eyeopener, and backed with facts, not opinions! The author, a professional journalist, really did his homework before he wrote this very professional and thorough fact filled book. Highly interesting and thought provoking, though some of what he reveals is a bit shocking. As a college history instructor, this is one book that I highly recommend to everyone who enjoys history and who values truth.

Dr. James Brooks

A great treatise on a subject that many Americans are ignorant and misinformed about. As with any work, the reader must realize the underlying assumptions and agendas being put forth by the author and their reasonableness and validity. I believe that Otto Scott has done an exceptional job presenting and supporting his argument.

This book shows John Brown's victims were NOT "Pro-slavery" and they were NOT slave owners. (Contrary to Northern mythology.)
The previous person said to read Renehan's book instead, which refuted this book. That's NOT correct. Here is what Renhan had to say:

[Quoting directly from Renhan's book]

Free-state emigrants flowed not only from the North but also from the South, looking to found a state where, in the absence of slavery, their labor would be in demand. One John Doyle, who was destined to have a fatal run-in with John Brown, brought his family from Tennessee, recalled his widow, in order to "get to a free state where they would be no slave labor to hinder white men from making a fair day's wage." Her husband often said to her "that slavery was ruinous go to white labor; and that they had a large family of boys and would go there [to Kansas] and settle and try to get comfortable homes for their children." (5)

Source-"The Secret Six"-Edward J. Renehan, Jr-copyright-1997; University of South Carolina Press-ISBN 1-57003-181-9 (pbk)-p. 82-83

(5) [p. 281] Amos A. Lawrence, Papers Relating to John Brown, Given to the Massachusetts Historical Society by Amos A. Lawrence, February 12, 1885, 151. Maggie Moore to Amos A. Lawrence, Chattanooga, 26 May 1885, Lawrence Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society

[End Quote]

Now notice, what Otto Scott says. (again notice, both books state, Browns victims were NOT "pro-slavery", and they were NOT slave owners. (also note the footnotes both books use. The footnotes are primary source material)

[Quoting this book-Otto Scott]

The night was hot and humid; the river was not far away. The Doyle family was asleep as the men approached their cabin. Two bulldogs rushed out, barking. Two of the men stopped and slashed one to death with their sabers. The other dog fled, howling, and the family awoke.

The men knocked heavily on the door and James Doyle swung out of bed. "What is it?" he called.

"What way to the Wilkinson place?" a man's voice answered.

Doyle opened the door, saying he would tell them, and was almost knocked off his feet when several men rushed in shouting, "We're the Northern Army! Surrender!"

Mahala Doyle clutched her youngest, a girl, and began to stammer. "Hush, Mother, hush," said James Doyle. His three sons moved beside him: William, twenty-two, Drury, twenty, and Hon, fourteen. The men pushed Doyle, and then the two eldest sons, out the door. Mahala Doyle began to weep, but when they reached for the fourteen-year-old she sprang out of bed and clutched him "Not him; Oh, God, not him." (3)


The old man in the light jacket, leather tie, and farmer's straw hat, his face as thin and stern as an ax, punched the boy back and the men left, slamming the door.

Mahala Doyle clutched John and listened, her eyes wide.

The men stopped their prisoners about two hundred yards from the Doyle cabin, The leader placed his revolver against Doyle's forehead and pulled the trigger (4) as coolly as a man shooting a lame horse.

That set them off. One, in a frenzy stabbed Doyle's corpse with his saber. William Doyle was stabbed in the face, slashed over the head and shot in the side. Drury broke and ran in the darkness, was pursued, and overtaken near a ravine. He put his arms up to ward off their blows, but the men, bearded, burley, and in a near frenzy, hacked at him with their sabers. His fingers and then his arms were cut off, his head was cut open, and he was stabbed in the chest. They continued to hack after he fell-and after he was dead. He had frightened them; he might have escaped.

The Wilkinson cabin was next.


Source-"The Secret Six" (John Brown and the Abolitionist Movement)-Otto Scott-copyright-1979-p.6

(3) [p.323] Cf. Howard Report Appendix, ex parte testimony, 1193; Villard, op. cit. 159

(4) [p.323] James C. Malin, John Brown and the Legend of Fifty-Six (Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society, 1942), p. 385.

Dr. Malin, who explored John Brown's career in Kansas with thoroughness that has enraged propagandists, especially Marxists ones, quotes George Grant-a young settler who knew that Brown boys, saw them leave on their murder mission, and spoke that Brown shot Doyle but personally did nothing more..."

[Emd Quote]

This is not only the best historical accurate book, but a very good reading book also. Hard to put down!

.
Oddly, there are two books on Amazon with the same title: THE SECRET SIX. I wonder how that happened?

A number of scathing reviews on the OTTO SCOTT version make the obnoxious comment that Scott "is not a historian".

Anyone who knows how the "historian" business works in the USA should be very happy that non-historians such as OTTO SCOTT, TOM DILORENZO, JEFFREY ROGERS HUMMEL, CHARLES ADAMS & MILDRED LEWIS RUTHERFORD have chosen to write about the American history covered in both of these books. Don't let the chihuahuas and pismires dissuade you from reading these great authors by barking: "But, but, but... they aren't historians and they don't have the King's stamp of approval!"

My suggestion is to read BOTH of these books and then consider the reliability of the source. One should of course also do a search on Edward J. Renehan, Jr. for further insight into his infamous qualifications.

Cheers!

MATRIX BUSTERS:

OTTO SCOTT: The Secret Six: John Brown and the Abolitionist Movement

TOM DILORENZO: The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War

JEFFREY ROGERS HUMMEL: Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil War

CHARLES ADAMS: When in the Course of Human Events: Arguing the Case for Southern Secession

MILDRED LEWIS RUTHERFORD: Truths Of History
.

The book shows the kind of men that financed John Brown's Abolitionist movement. They had no regard for the laws and Constitution of this country when it came to their fanatical obsession of the way our government should be governed. After reading this book, one knows that the Abolitionist movement is alive and well, media and all! The American people do not know their history. This book exposes a lot of truth as to what the movement really was: Power to overthrow the government by using the slavery issue to gain power over the states. It was a movement that caused the bloodiest war of our history. The loss of lives was more than any other war the Americans have fought. The Abolitionists were very prominent in their society: Preachers, teachers, and physicians. Because of their staus, they were able to influence the people. The slavery issue could have been solved the same way England solved their slave issue, by compromising and relocating the slaves. The real sad part is John Brown as being hailed as a hero while he should have been tried and hung for the murder of so many inncoent people. This book helps to put to rest the myth of John Brown as being a hero. It shows the fanatacism and cowardice of the Abolitionist movement by their use of others to do their dirty work. In this book, Otto does not take sides. He takes the historical happenings of both sides and allows the reader to draw up the conclusions themselves. He has the book well-indexed so that further study can be made. The excellent thing about this book is that you cannot find many books about the Abolitionist movement. Their movement has been well hidden from public view. (Too bad you only go up to 5 stars. It should have been given 5 and then some. Possibly 10 stars.) If you are interested in another book about the same issue, I recommend Samuel A Aslie's "A Southern View of the Invasion of the Southern States and War of 1861-1865."

The book shows the kind of men that financed John Brown's abolitionsit movment. They had no regard for the laws and Constitution of this country when it came to their fanatical obsession of the way our government should be governed. After reading this book, one knows that the Abolitionist movement is alive and well, media and all! The American people do not know their history. This book exposes a lot of truth as to what the movement really was: power to overthrow the government by using the slavery issue to gain power over the states. It was a movement that caused the bloodiest war of our history. The loss of lives was more than any other war the Americans have fought. The Abolitionists were very prominent in their society: preachers, teachers, physicians, that they were able to influence the people. The slavery issue could have been solved the same way England solved their slave issues, by compromising and relocating the slaves. The real sad part is John Brown was hailed as a hero while he should have been tried and hung for the murder of so many innocent people. This book helps to put to rest the myth of John Brown as being a hero. It shows the fanatacism and cowardice in the Abolitionist movement by using others to do their dirty work. In this book, Otto does not take sides. He takes the historical happenings of both sides and allows the reader to draw up the conclusions themselves. He has the book well-indexed so that futher study can be made. The excellent thing about this book is that you cannot find many books about the Abolitionist movement. Their movement has been well hidden from the public. We are left with the films, fables, poems, books, etc with the one-sided view. All of these are far from truthful. (TOO BAD YOU ONLY GO UP TO 5 STARS. IT SHOULD BE GIVEN 5 AND THEN SOME. POSSIBLY 10 STARS)

I wanted to keep an open mind and read this book, but I can not get over the falacies and one-sidedness of the text. This was obviously not written by a historian. Scott writes that Brown was not charged for the murders, even though everyone knew who committed them, as if it was a conspiracy. But very few murders, from either side, were prosecuted during that time. Murders were committed by pro-slavery forces as well.
Scott also states that Amos Lawrence "relunctantly" let someone raise funds for guns and send them to Kansas marked books. Actually, Lawrence helped raise the money and was very proud of the guns he sent to Kansas marked books. He even said it would be an education that a Missourian would not soon forget.
Even if a historian favors one side of the story, they write it in such a way for the reader to make their own judgement. It's pretty clear from the first sentence that Scott has no intentions of writing that way and has nothing but contempt for John Brown and members of the Secret Six.

Otto Scott is not a historian and this book is not history. It makes no pretense of balanced research. It begins with a thesis -- that John Brown was a madman -- and excludes everything that might get in the way. Fortunately for those who want the true story, there is a more recent book by a real historian: "The Secret Six" by Edward J. Renehan, Jr., published by Crown, New York, 1995. It has been praised by historians on both sides of the John Brown controversy. Otto Scott should stick to writing paid hype by corporations such as Raytheon.

Racist and anti-abolitionist diatribes ruin what could have been an excellent story. The writing is quick-paced, and reads like Tom Clancy,(for good or ill) particularly with his ability to weave several plot threads together and build them towards the inevitable climax at Harper's Ferry. I'm trying to learn more about the secret six, but all this book did was point out how history has been rewritten by the losers - the confederates. Slavery was the fault of John Brown and the people of Boston? I don't think so.