"There are numerous volumes, both recent and classic, on American abolitionism, but not one, until now, dedicated solely to the entire movement’s direct impact on politics, and among the many virtues of this book is its vast scope. The research is remarkable, and Harrold’s prose is clear and straightforward and wonderfully free of jargon."
In this exhaustively researched yet compact and lucidly written volume, Stanley Harrold has delivered an incisive account of the antislavery movement's struggle to effect concrete political change in the United States. He masterfully navigates the generations-long and not always successful efforts of its diverse and often combative constituencies men and women, white and black, secular and evangelical to bridge the fault lines between pragmatism and radical idealism.
In this welcome addition to abolitionist scholarship, Stanley Harrold tackles the problem of the relationship of "immediatist" abolitionists—not those simply antislavery—to politics and convincingly reveals how politically active the immediatists were for over one and one-half centuries. In a broader sense, this is a marvelous story of the collision between purists and politics, between the desire to keep a standard unsullied and an equal desire to be effective in this earthly realm. The resulting battle between purity and practicality leaves, as Harrold concludes, a legacy difficult to untangle.
o what extent did the abolitionist movement bring about the end of slavery in the United States? For a century a half historians have debated this question.... American Abolitionism takes a new approach to answering this complicated question by examining the direct political influence of the abolitionist movement from the colonial era to Reconstruction. Harrold is not the first historian to do this, but the chronological scope of the book and its laser focus on politics sets it apart.
Harrold’s robust examination of the multi-century struggle to end slavery makes iteminently clear that there was never a time when that vile practice was not threatening toexplode into a general disaster.
This tightly written political history of abolitionism begins with a concise but sweeping contextualization of the historiography.... Fleshing out this important study, the author situates abolitionists’ motives and sensitivities, ranging from Enlightenment ideals about natural liberty to evangelicals’ egalitarian beliefs inspired by the First Great Awakening. Summing Up: Highly recommended.
In American Abolitionism: Its Direct Political Impact from Colonial Times into Reconstruction, Stanley Harrold presents a cogent, concise argument stressing the "direct abolitionist impact on colonial, state, and national [End Page 459] governments" using "such tactics as petitioning, lobbying, and personal contacts with politicians."... This book’s broad sweep, brevity, and forceful... argumentation make it an important contribution to the historiography and a highly assignable text.
Journal of Southern History
In this welcome addition to abolitionist scholarship, Stanley Harrold tackles the problem of the relationship of "immediatist" abolitionists—not those simply antislavery—to politics and convincingly reveals how politically active the immediatists were for over one and one-half centuries. In a broader sense, this is a marvelous story of the collision between purists and politics, between the desire to keep a standard unsullied and an equal desire to be effective in this earthly realm. The resulting battle between purity and practicality leaves, as Harrold concludes, a legacy difficult to untangle.
"In this exhaustively researched yet compact and lucidly written volume, Stanley Harrold has delivered an incisive account of the antislavery movement's struggle to effect concrete political change in the United States. He masterfully navigates the generations-long and not always successful efforts of its diverse and often combative constituencies men and women, white and black, secular and evangelical to bridge the fault lines between pragmatism and radical idealism. "Fergus M. Bordewich, author of The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government
"In this welcome addition to abolitionist scholarship, Stanley Harrold tackles the problem of the relationship of "immediatist" abolitionistsnot those simply antislaveryto politics and convincingly reveals how politically active the immediatists were for over one and one-half centuries. In a broader sense, this is a marvelous story of the collision between purists and politics, between the desire to keep a standard unsullied and an equal desire to be effective in this earthly realm. The resulting battle between purity and practicality leaves, as Harrold concludes, a legacy difficult to untangle. "James L. Huston, Oklahoma State University, author of The British Gentry, the Southern Planter, and the Northern Family FarmerAgriculture and Sectional Antagonism in North America
"This tightly written political history of abolitionism begins with a concise but sweeping contextualization of the historiography.... Fleshing out this important study, the author situates abolitionists’ motives and sensitivities, ranging from Enlightenment ideals about natural liberty to evangelicals’ egalitarian beliefs inspired by the First Great Awakening. Summing Up: Highly recommended. "author of CHOICE
"In American Abolitionism: Its Direct Political Impact from Colonial Times into Reconstruction, Stanley Harrold presents a cogent, concise argument stressing the "direct abolitionist impact on colonial, state, and national [End Page 459] governments" using "such tactics as petitioning, lobbying, and personal contacts with politicians."... This book’s broad sweep, brevity, and forceful... argumentation make it an important contribution to the historiography and a highly assignable text. "author of Journal of Southern History
"o what extent did the abolitionist movement bring about the end of slavery in the United States? For a century a half historians have debated this question.... American Abolitionism takes a new approach to answering this complicated question by examining the direct political influence of the abolitionist movement from the colonial era to Reconstruction. Harrold is not the first historian to do this, but the chronological scope of the book and its laser focus on politics sets it apart. "author of Civil War Monitor
"Harrold’s robust examination of the multi-century struggle to end slavery makes iteminently clear that there was never a time when that vile practice was not threatening toexplode into a general disaster. "author of Civil War Book Review