Secret Six
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The Secret Six (aka the Committee of Six) were six wealthy and learned men who secretly funded the American abolitionist John Brown. They were Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Samuel Howe, Theodore Parker, Gerrit Smith, Franklin Sanborn and George Luther Stearns.
Brown was planning to capture weapons from a federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), and lead a slave rebellion in the South. However, it remains to this day unclear whether or not these men knew of Brown's ultimate plan.
In 1859, Brown's plan failed. During and after his trial, the New York Times and the New York Herald began to link their names with Brown's. On November 7, Smith had himself confined to an insane asylum. Sanborn, Howe and Stearns fled to Canada. Parker remained in Europe. Higginson arranged to have Brown rescued from his jail cell, but Brown wanted no part of it.
See also
Further reading
- The Secret Six: The True Tale of the Men Who Conspired With John Brown, by Edward Renehan. (1997) (ISBN: 1570031819)