William Lloyd Garrison (1805-79) was one of the most militant and uncompromising abolitionists in the United States. As the editor of the abolitionist paper The Liberator and cofounder of the American Anti-Slavery Society, Garrison spent most of his life arguing against slavery on strictly moral grounds. This engrossing book presents six essays that reevaluate Garrison's legacy, his accomplishments, and his limitations.

Eminent scholars--David W. Blight, Bruce Laurie, James Brewer Stewart, Richard J. M. Blackett, and Lois A. Brown--and a distinguished journalist, Lloyd McKim...