Reviews for The Black Hearts of Men: Radical Abolitionists and the Transformation of Race

The average rating for The Black Hearts of Men: Radical Abolitionists and the Transformation of Race based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-05-29 00:00:00 Emmanuel Rios This is a fascinating book that is packed with a lot of information and frankly I feel like I would like to re-read it just to absorb it all. Stauffer profiles two African American abolitionists, Frederick Douglass and McCune Smith and two white abolitionists, John Brown and Gerrit Smith and follows their transformation over time. The reader sees how the ideals of these men are changed and shaped by the times and especially by the bloodshed at John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry and the violence of the Civil War. Brown is the only one who remains true to the same ideals he held before the war as he dies a martyr to the cause after the raid. All are less fiery after the war and tend to no longer believe that violence is the answer and prefer peaceful means to resolve racial issues. Gerrit Smith is an interesting case as he is so passionate before Brown's raid and after he suffers a mental breakdown and basically becomes a different man. I highly recommend this book but only gave it 4 stars because frankly Stauffer outdoes himself with his latest book "Giants" which is a 5+ star book in my opinion. Stauffer is also a great lecturer. If you ever get the chance to see him go!! I remain a big fan.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-12-25 00:00:00 Adde Hulta This is an exceptional book. Although Stauffer is a professor teaching at Harvard, he has written a highly readable yet still very scholarly presentation integrating personal correspondence and newspaper articles from the times as well as many other books and articles. Stauffer depicts how the religious, social, and political beliefs of two African American leaders, Frederick Douglass and James McCune Smith, and two white men, Gerritt Smith and John Brown, coalesced in the context of the Panic and subsequent depressions of 1837 to form the Radical Abolitionist Party in 1845. Believing that slavery was a state of war on the USA these men began to propose in the mid 1840's that it could only be ended through violent acts. From there they went on to support Brown's efforts in Kansas in the mid 1850's and his failed raid on Harper's Ferry in 1859. The impact that the failure of the raid had on the four of them as well as the country at large is also depicted. Having already read a fair amount about Douglass I still learned some things about him I had not known before. And I learned a great deal about the other 3 men about whom I knew little about. Equally important, the times in which they lived were thoroughly and expertly portrayed by Stauffer. I recommend this book most highly. I plan to read other books by him as well. One cannot compliment an author any more highly than that.