Of One Blood

In his final book, historian Paul Goodman, who died in 1995, presents a new and important interpretation of abolitionism. Goodman pays particular attention to the role that blacks played in the movement. Goodman demonstrates that the abolitionist movement had a far broader social basis that was previously thought.

Drawing on census and town records, his portraits of abolitionists reveal the many contributions of ordinary citizens, especially laborers and women, long over shadowed by famous movement leaders.