Moralists and Modernizers tells the fascinating story of America's first age of reform, combining incisive portraits of leading reformers and movements with per

This thesis traces the historiography of antebellum reform from its origins in Gilbert Barnes's rebellion from the materialist reductionism of the Progressives

Long before the United States became a major force in global affairs, Americans believed in their superiority over others due to their inventiveness, productivi

Periods of time characterized by large scale social change encourage reinterpretations of the meanings of categories like race and class, strategies for their r

Laws and cultural norms militated against interracial sex in Virginia before the Civil War, and yet it was ubiquitous in cities, towns, and plantation communiti