27:
217:
134:
308:. Smith's wife wrote to Sanborn in 1874, confirming that her husband had destroyed every one of his letters having anything to do with John Brown. Sanborn likewise combed through his own papers and letters, weeding out anything implicating himself or his partners in Brown's raid. Only some letters to Theodore Parker, which came back to Sanborn a year and more after his death, were not destroyed at this time.
256:
213:"We did not know that Brown meant to begin there, in Virginia, at Harper's Ferry," Sanborn insisted. Like Gerrit Smith, Sanborn felt justified in making public statements which told a part of the truth, but not the whole truth. "We expected he would go farther west, into a region less accessible, where his movements might escape notice for weeks, except as the alleged acts of some marauding party."
169:. While it is unclear whether these men knew of Brown's ultimate plan, it is known that some were ambivalent regarding the use of violence as a way to bring about the destruction of slavery. Brown met with members of the Six several times during 1858 and 1859 to discuss how he would attack the slave system.
251:
until his death in 1860. Higginson was the sole member of the Six to stay in the United States and to publicly proclaim his support for Brown. He even developed a plan to have Brown rescued from his jail cell, but Brown did not want to be rescued. Higginson asked
Sanborn upon the latter's absconding
318:
Higginson expressed the wish that disunion could have been achieved "without the sacrifice of Brown" and believed a counter-proposal to the Harper's Ferry scheme should have been made—one that protected Brown from himself, believing the Six should have perceived "the madness that dwelled within
345:
adopted a bill applauding him for his various life works, with special mention given to
Sanborn's role as "confidential adviser to John Brown of Harper's Ferry, for whose sake he was ostracized, maltreated, and subjected to the indignity of false arrest, having been saved from deportation from
252:
to Canada, "Can your clear moral sense justify our holding our tongues in order to save ourselves from the reprobation of society, even as that nobler man whom we did provoke to enter into danger becomes the scapegoat of that reprobation, going for us even to the gallows?"
112:
Of the six, only Smith and
Stearns could be called wealthy. The others consisted of two Unitarian ministers (Parker and Higginson), a doctor (Howe) at a time when physicians were not well-to-do, and a teacher (Sanborn). Smith was one of the guarantors of a bail bond for
124:
To the extent the group had a leader, it was Brown biographer
Sanborn. "Some of the money and nearly all the correspondence relating to the contributions passed through my hands in 1858–9. ...e all raised money to aid Brown in carrying this plan forward."
297:. Higginson, who was busy commanding a regiment of black Union soldiers, sent his regrets. Gerrit Smith did not respond to Stearns' invitation. A marble bust of John Brown, created by sculptor Edwin Brackett, was unveiled at this time.
68:
of
Franklin Benjamin Sanborn (1878). The men involved helped Brown as individuals and did not work together or correspond with each other. They were never in the same room at the same time, and in some cases barely knew each other.
315:. Frank Sanborn saw to it that the daughters of John Brown received an education in Concord, and even after the turn of the twentieth century took a measure of responsibility for Brown's children and grandchildren.
172:
In
October 1859, Brown's plan failed. The question immediately arose of who was backing Brown, as his declarations that the raid was his own idea were not believed. Speculation and then testimony, reported in
259:
Higginson, Sanborn, and Sterns made periodic pilgrimages to the grave of John Brown in North Elba, New York, which has since been designated a New York State
Historic Site. His tombstone is protected by
244:
wrote, "Sanborn was nearly kidnapped. Great ferment in town. Annie
Whiting immortalized herself by getting into the kidnapper's carriage so that they could not put the long legged martyr in."
53:. Sometimes described as "wealthy," this was true of only two. The other four were in positions of influence, and could, therefore, encourage others to contribute to "the cause."
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228:, handcuffed him, and attempted to wrestle him into a coach and take him to Washington to answer questions before the
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636:
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558:
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359:
323:
47:
186:
and other papers, began to link the names of the Six with Brown's. On
November 7, Smith had himself confined to an
56:
The name "Secret Six" was invented by writers long after Brown's death. The term never appears in the testimony at
1351:
1331:
1243:
996:
1321:
311:
For the remainder of their lives, Higginson, Sanborn, and
Stearns made periodic pilgrimages to Brown's grave in
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232:
in regard to his involvement with John Brown. Approximately 150 townspeople rushed to Sanborn's defense. Judge
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915:
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90:
50:
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680:
543:
The Intercollegiate Socialist Society, 1905-1921: Origins of the Modern American Student Movement
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57:
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190:, denying that he had been involved in supporting Brown. Howe, Sanborn, and Stearns fled to
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1095:
1082:
1018:
1013:
1003:
986:
765:
750:
698:
490:. The Magnet and the Iron: John Brown and George L. Stearns. The Stories Behind the Busts.
455:
312:
273:
went into effect, a celebration, also called a "John Brown party", was held at the home of
229:
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8:
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82:
224:
On the night of April 3, 1860, five federal marshals arrived at Frank Sanborn's home in
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615:
Ambivalent Conspirators: John Brown, the Secret Six, and a Theory of Slave Violence
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105:, and had gradually become convinced that violence was necessary in order to end
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590:
The Significance of Being Frank: The Life and Times of Franklin Benjamin Sanborn
452:
The Significance of Being Frank: the Life and Times of Franklin Benjamin Sanborn
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101:. All six had been involved in the abolitionist cause prior to their meeting
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735:
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240:, formally demanding the surrender of the prisoner. In a letter to a friend,
206:, as it was believed that a warm climate was helpful to those suffering from
187:
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133:
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1341:
1008:
940:
803:
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The Magnet and the Iron: John Brown and George L. Stearns - Online Exhibits
319:
him—the insanity that sat stealthily beside his great, selfless nobility."
301:
207:
94:
1253:
331:
304:
helped post bail to release the imprisoned former Confederate President,
1172:
597:
The Secret Six: The True Tale of the Men Who Conspired With John Brown
971:
578:
Faust, Drew Gilpin (December 2023). "The Men Who Started the War".
237:
154:
514:
Secret Six: The True Tale of the Men Who Conspired with John Brown
459:
671:
255:
191:
343:
House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
248:
195:
141:, with two sons at his feet, one dead and the other dying.
625:
The Secret Six: John Brown and the Abolitionist Movement
571:
145:
Brown was planning to capture weapons from a federal
194:temporarily to avoid arrest. Parker was already in
377:
1364:
220:Frank Sanborn resists arrest by federal marshals
128:
42:, were a group of men who secretly funded the
657:
16:Abolitionist conspiracy supporting John Brown
247:Parker, dying of tuberculosis, remained in
664:
650:
137:John Brown inside the engine house at the
967:B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing
507:
505:
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215:
132:
25:
1388:Massachusetts in the American Civil War
1136:Remarks After the Hanging of John Brown
511:
445:
443:
441:
439:
414:
383:
1365:
1078:John Brown Museum (Osawatomie, Kansas)
1045:Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
498:
1109:John Brown's Provisional Constitution
1068:John Brown Farm, Tannery & Museum
1040:Burning of Winchester Medical College
645:
577:
449:
540:
436:
30:The Secret Six who helped John Brown
1063:John Brown Farm State Historic Site
572:Further reading (most recent first)
420:"Comment by a radical abolitionist"
341:After Sanborn's death in 1917, the
62:The Public Life of Capt. John Brown
13:
1398:John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
673:John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
322:In 1905, Higginson co-founded the
14:
1409:
1393:Abolitionism in the United States
1277:Origins of the American Civil War
1167:Abolitionism in the United States
360:Origins of the American Civil War
324:Intercollegiate Socialist Society
1352:Winchester and Potomac Railroad
512:Renehan, Edward J. Jr. (1995).
1122:The Last Moments of John Brown
1073:John Brown House (Akron, Ohio)
534:
476:
408:
1:
1129:A Plea for Captain John Brown
593:, by Tom Foran Clark. (2009)
370:
72:
992:Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
384:Emerson, Jason (Fall 2009).
264:
7:
1115:The Last Days of John Brown
1035:Battle Hymn of the Republic
977:Charles Town, West Virginia
962:Allstadt House and Ordinary
353:
129:Involvement with John Brown
44:1859 raid on Harper's Ferry
21:Secret Six (disambiguation)
10:
1414:
784:Thomas Wentworth Higginson
390:American Heritage Magazine
269:In January 1863, when the
204:Elizabeth Barrett Browning
79:Thomas Wentworth Higginson
18:
1378:John Brown (abolitionist)
1159:
1050:Heyward Shepherd monument
1027:
954:
817:
799:Franklin Benjamin Sanborn
774:
721:John Anthony Copeland Jr.
679:
450:Clark, Tom Foran (2015).
271:Emancipation Proclamation
91:Franklin Benjamin Sanborn
1104:John Brown's last speech
350:only by mob violence."
40:Secret Committee of Six
1150:Virginia v. John Brown
856:John E.P. Daingerfield
756:Francis Jackson Meriam
689:Osborne Perry Anderson
326:, along with attorney
277:, attended by Sam and
261:
226:Concord, Massachusetts
221:
142:
31:
1297:Pottawatomie massacre
809:George Luther Stearns
432:: 411–415, at p. 412.
258:
219:
136:
99:George Luther Stearns
66:Memoirs of John Brown
60:, in James Redpath's
29:
1282:Battle of Osawatomie
1227:Fire on the Mountain
1179:Battle of Black Jack
1019:Winchester, Virginia
1014:Sandy Hook, Maryland
987:Harpers Ferry Armory
766:Aaron Dwight Stevens
751:Lewis Sheridan Leary
681:John Brown's raiders
456:Bloomington, Indiana
313:North Elba, New York
139:Harpers Ferry Armory
77:The Secret Six were
19:For other uses, see
1322:Henry David Thoreau
1221:Ralph Waldo Emerson
1184:Battle of the Spurs
836:Owen Brown (father)
789:Samuel Gridley Howe
365:Mary Ellen Pleasant
287:Ralph Waldo Emerson
83:Samuel Gridley Howe
1249:Haitian Revolution
1239:The Good Lord Bird
1233:Wm. Lloyd Garrison
1216:Frederick Douglass
1189:James Madison Bell
830:Mary Ann Day Brown
541:Horn, Max (1979).
295:John Murray Forbes
262:
222:
176:The New York Times
143:
64:(1859), or in the
32:
1360:
1359:
1287:Quindaro Townsite
1259:Elijah P. Lovejoy
1211:George DeBaptiste
1206:John Stuart Curry
1097:John Brown's Body
1089:John Brown's Body
1083:John Brown's body
1004:John Brown's Fort
997:Historic District
982:Gibson-Todd House
926:George H. Steuart
876:Stonewall Jackson
866:George Henry Hoyt
825:John Wilkes Booth
818:Other individuals
761:Dangerfield Newby
547:Boulder, Colorado
484:"Joshua B. Smith"
469:978-1-5144-0837-7
242:Louisa May Alcott
236:issued a writ of
1405:
1272:James Montgomery
936:Lewis Washington
921:Lysander Spooner
916:Heyward Shepherd
896:Wendell Phillips
711:Owen Brown (son)
666:
659:
652:
643:
642:
619:Jeffery Rossbach
585:
565:
564:
538:
532:
531:
518:Crown Publishers
509:
496:
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492:Tufts University
480:
474:
473:
447:
434:
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425:Century Magazine
412:
406:
405:
403:
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386:"The Secret Six"
381:
291:Wendell Phillips
234:Ebenezer R. Hoar
107:American slavery
1413:
1412:
1408:
1407:
1406:
1404:
1403:
1402:
1383:Bleeding Kansas
1363:
1362:
1361:
1356:
1311:Seven Angry Men
1292:Allan Pinkerton
1194:Bleeding Kansas
1155:
1023:
950:
931:J. E. B. Stuart
841:John Brown, Jr.
813:
794:Theodore Parker
770:
746:John Henry Kagi
726:Barclay Coppock
675:
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574:
569:
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553:. p. 259.
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328:Clarence Darrow
306:Jefferson Davis
279:Julia Ward Howe
267:
182:New-York Herald
163:slave rebellion
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115:Jefferson Davis
87:Theodore Parker
75:
24:
17:
12:
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1327:Harriet Tubman
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1317:Storer College
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1303:Santa Fe Trail
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1143:Tragic Prelude
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911:George Sennott
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891:Richard Parker
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886:James M. Mason
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851:Samuel Chilton
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551:Westview Press
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416:Sanborn, F. B.
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336:Upton Sinclair
275:George Stearns
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161:), and lead a
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34:The so-called
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1265:Marching Song
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946:Henry A. Wise
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906:James Redpath
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901:Richard Realf
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881:Robert E. Lee
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418:(July 1883).
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1009:Kennedy Farm
941:Walt Whitman
804:Gerrit Smith
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706:Oliver Brown
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581:The Atlantic
579:
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516:. New York:
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400:10 September
398:. Retrieved
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302:Gerrit Smith
299:
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95:Gerrit Smith
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48:abolitionist
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1254:Victor Hugo
1244:miniseries)
1058:(biography)
332:Jack London
1373:Secret Six
1367:Categories
1332:Nat Turner
1173:La Amistad
1056:John Brown
1028:Afterwards
776:Secret Six
694:John Brown
631:. (1979) (
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371:References
117:after the
103:John Brown
73:Background
51:John Brown
36:Secret Six
972:Beall-Air
955:Locations
300:In 1867,
265:Aftermath
119:Civil War
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621:. (1982)
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354:See also
238:replevin
155:Virginia
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192:Canada
147:armory
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167:South
157:(now
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