American Reformers, 1815-1860, Revised Edition [Paperback]

For this new edition ofAmerican 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 society and significantly affected American culture as a whole.

Ronald G. Waltersis Professor of History at The John Hopkins University. He is the author ofThe Antislavery Appeal: American Abolitionism after 1830and editor ofPrimers for Prudery: Sexual Advice to Victorian AmericaandA Black Woman's Odyssey: The Narrative of Nancy Prince.

A most impressive work. Walters has clearly succeeded better than anyone else in explaining the complex subject of pre-Civil War reform movements. James B. Stewart, Macalester College

The most impressive feature of this fine book is the author's ability to synthesize a large, rich, and diverse literature about antebellum reform movements and to present a clear, readable, and persuasive account of their important impact on American society. James M. McPherson, Princeton University

Although lucid and witty, the author does not oversimplify the tangled history of reforms...Walters has met the task brilliantly, without a wasted word. Bertram Wyatt-Brown, Case Western Reserve University