A well organized, readable account of the antebellum social reform causes from 1815-1860. Walters book focuses on abolitionism, women's rights, temperance and "custodial institutional" reform. He portrays the key leaders, the crusaders who began as preachers. The roots of the reform were in the Evangelical Protestant religion. Fear of moral sin and the coming of the millennium fueled the movements. Ultimately, reformers used the government to pass laws to help coerce people to change. The book was fascinating, especially the women's rights chapter and the Grimke sisters. I thought there was excessive detail causing the book to drag. However, for the most part it was very informative, interesting and important for any American history library. ( )