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The Secret Six : John Brown and the Abolitionist Movement Paperback – November 1, 1993
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(First Edition, New York Times Book Co., 1979. Second Edition, The Foundation for American Education, 1987, as The Secret Six: The Fool as Martyr. Third Edition, Uncommon Books, Seattle, Wash., 1993, as The Secret Six: John Brown and the Abolitionist Movement.)
Unlike previous biographies of John Brown, this is the first to look at the rich men who funded his attack on Harper's Ferry. It looks into their backgrounds and personalities, their associations with Emerson, Thoreau, and other Transcendentalists, and places them not on the fringe, but in the center of the Abolitionist movement.
In the process, antebellum New England takes on a new and more interesting aspect than the whitewashes of the past. This is history as it was, not as it is taught by the winners of the Civil War.
First published by Times Books in 1979, The Secret Six elicited the following comments (among others):
"The author's thesis is that John Brown and the cabal of eminent Massachusetts clergymen, literati and wealthy businessmen, the Secret Six, who encouraged and financed him were pioneers in a use of terror that in our day has come to plague the world: the idea that killing even innocent people is moral if it serves a greater good." The New Yorker
"...Scott's accomplishment is considerable, and worth studying, not only as a signal contribution to the bibliography of terrorism, but as a vivid and penetrating account of an awful phase of our history." Norman Corwin in The Los Angeles Times
"Thanks to Otto Scott's energetic and intricate account of past delusions of righteous grandeur, terrorism may not in the future be so easy to rationalize away." Dr. Gordon M. Pradl in Chronicles of Culture
"If Scott's thorough study of the halfsecret movement behind John Brown receives the attention it deserves . . . there will be less adulation, even in liberal and radical circles, of a 'reformer' as mad and merciless as any 20th century terrorist. And there should be some reassessment of the famous Northern abolitionists who made mad Brown their tool." Russell Kirk.
"Among other distinctions, John Brown is the only known massmurderer in American history to be remembered as a national hero." M. Stanton Evans.
Now an underground classic for its "incorrect" perspective but eminently correct historical accuracy, this is the definitive book on the exemplar of modern political terror (the practice of murdering helpless and innocent people to make a political point) and the physical origins of the Civil War.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherUncommon Books
- Publication dateNovember 1, 1993
- ISBN-100963838105
- ISBN-13978-0963838100
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"The author ties all these notables together in a skillful narrative that drives home the central thesis: the derangement of John Brown in the realm of political action resulted from a prior derangementof Brown and othersin the realm of theology. The ultimate point is that the same thing is occurring now, only more so. John Brown has his counterparts in the modern-day terroristthe FALN, the PLO, the SLAwho attack the innocent in order to remedy the alleged evils of society. Like Brown, these terrorists fill the void of modern nihilism with the fearful certitudes of violence, and have their deeds explained away as understandable, if extreme, responses to a monstrous evil." -- M. Stanton Evans, Dark Horse
"Scott's portraits of the Six are detailed and realistic; indeed, his book is full of vigorous and accurate detail, forming a panorama of politics and culture in the 1850s. It may be grimly amusing to picture the Proper Bostonians of this successful conspiracy against the laws of the United States, meeting initially at the Boston Institute for the Blind, at their genteel work of fomenting civil war. But it is not equally amusing to contemplate the similar conspiracies of intellectuals and rich and fashionable folk which in this century have reduced half the world to ruin and tyranny." -- Russell Kirk, The Birmingham News
About the Author
His political histories are equally varied. In addition to The Secret Six, he has written a history of the French Revolution up to the death of Robespierre, and a book about James I who sowed the seeds of the English Civil War the forerunner of our own War of Independence.
His major interests, therefore, are industrial and political. As his books most of which have been published by major New York publishers indicate, he is an expert on corporate management and pre-revolutionary periods.
Now in his eighty-first year, he continues as an author, essayist, book and film reviewer, and speaker who writes a monthly cultural journal (Otto Scott's Compass) and records his views twice a month on audio tape (Points of the Compass). In addition, he is an Associate Scholar for the American Council on Economics and Society, and member of the Philadelphia Society, John Randolph Society, Committee for Monetary Research and Education, Society of Professional Journalists, the Author's Guild, and the Overseas Press Club. He is the recipient of the George Washington Medal from the Freedom Foundation (1976) and the John Newman Edwards Media Award (1994).
His articles and essays have appeared in numerous publications, including the Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union, San Diego Tribune, Chronicles, Salisbury Review (London), Conservative Digest, Human Events, Tabletalk,, and Southern Partisan.
He has been a featured speaker at the Stanford Law School, the Sound Money Institute, the San Diego Legal Institute, the Committee for Monetary Research & Education, and many other groups here and abroad.
His Books include:
The Great Christian Revolution, The Reformer Library, 1995.
Robespierre: The Fool as Revolutionary, Mason & Lipscomb, 1974, repr. by The Reformer Library, 1995.
The Secret Six: John Brown and the Abolitionist Movement, New York Times Book Co., 1979, repr. by The Foundation for American Education, 1987, repr. by Uncommon Books, November, 1993, paper.
The Powered Hand: The Story of Black & Decker, Uncommon Books, 1994.
Buried Treasure: The Story of Arch Mineral, Braddock, 1991.
James I: The Fool as King, Mason Charter, 1976, repr. Ross House Books, 1986.
The Other End of the Lifeboat, Regnery, 1985.
The Creative Ordeal: The Story of Raytheon, Atheneum, 1976.
The Professional: A Biography of J. B. Saunders, Atheneum, 1976.
The Exception: The History of Ashland Oil, McGraw Hill, 1968.
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Product details
- Publisher : Uncommon Books; 3rd edition (November 1, 1993)
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 0963838105
- ISBN-13 : 978-0963838100
- Item Weight : 1.38 pounds
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,826,012 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #97,929 in World History (Books)
- #131,712 in United States History (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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From the book:
Unlike those who murdered innocent people in the past, this new type of assassin was praised by many journalists and hailed by some as a hero of the people. His murders were blended, by skillful propaganda, into praises of the cause he claimed to represent and this, too was a departure from standards of judgment that had distinguished civilization from barbarity throughout the centuries.
As I read this book, the old saying, "history repeats itself" and there is "nothing new under the sun" came to mind. We have just found out that the leader of the women's march on Washington D.C., is actually Muslim-Organizer, Linda Sarsour who Is Pro Sharia Law with Ties To Hamas, not to mention George Soros and his funding of all things socialist.
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
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