"In this small but elegant book, Professor Walters approaches the interpretation of antislavery from a fresh vantage point . . . he asks new questions of old sources and comes up with novel and convincing interpretations . . He] has allowed us to see antislavery as an organic outgrowth of American values and institutions." --Gerda Lerner, New York Historical Society Quarterly

"Penetrating insights are sprinkled generously throughout, and monographic studies of abolitionism should take a new turn, now that Walters has shown how to perceive it in terms of symbols, perception,...

For this new edition of American Reformers 1815-1860, Ronald G. Walters has amplified and updated his exploration of the fervent and diverse outburst of reform energy that shaped American history in the early years of the Republic. Capturing in style and substance the vigorous and often flamboyant men and women who crusaded for such causes as abolition, temperance, women's suffrage, and improved health care, Walters presents a brilliant analysis of how the reformers' radical belief that individuals could fix what ailed America both reflected major transformations in antebellum...