American Reformers 1815-1860: Revised Edition

By Ronald G. Walters

Book Overview

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 society and significantly affected American culture as a whole.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809015889
• ISBN13: 9780809015887
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux-3pl
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

"Reformers" gives a great overview of the times

Some of the other reviewers have been awfully hard on Ron Walters for "skimming over" the info in this book. We're talking about a book that covers 45 years and hundreds or thousands of people (if you count all the utopians) in a little over 200 pages. I really liked this book as an introduction to the period and the people. It has led to my reading additional books about things like Brook Farm and the relationships between antebellum feminists and abolitionists. If you want fine detail and scrutany, look for something that is less scattershot, maybe "American Reformers: July 16, 1854." In my mind, this is an introductory text, albeit a fine one. Walters is very accessable, he tries to include necessary historical perspective and whatever cultural information he deems to be valuable to the story he's telling in each chapter. And while each chapter is a story of a different movement or people, he also demonstrates those things these groups have in common. I won't spoil it for you, but at the least of it, they were all idealists who thought to affect the world around them.

A Wonderful Resource

American Reformers is a wonderful resource book. Walters has done a beautiful job blending information with anecdotes. A great book for anyone interested in reform movements of the 19th Century, and their infuence on contemporary society.