In early 1840, abolitionists founded the Liberty Party as a political outlet for their antislavery beliefs. A mere eight years later, bolstered by the increasing slavery debate and growing sectional conflict, it had grown to challenge the two mainstream political parties in many areas. In The Liberty Party, 18401848, Reinhard O. Johnson provides the first comprehensive history of this short-lived but influential third party, detailing how it helped to bring the antislavery movement to the forefront of American politics and became the central institutional vehicle in the fight against the peculiar institution. Epic in scope and encyclopedic in detail, The Liberty Party, 18401848 will serve as an invaluable reference for anyone interested in nineteenth-century American politics.

Reinhard O. Johnson lives on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. He is currently developing a project on nineteenth-century antislavery politics in New York.