Founded a few years before the Civil War, the Radical Republican Party drew upon the ideals of the abolitionist movement and put these principles into action with its bold calls for the end of slavery. Here LeeAnna Keith introduces its idealistic Massachusetts preachers and philanthropists, rugged Midwestern politicians, and African-American activists who collaborated to protect escaped slaves from their captors, to create black military regiments, and win the contest for the soul of their party. Keith's fast-paced narrative gives new perspective on figures ranging from Ralph Waldo Emerson and John Brown, to antislavery general John Fremont and his astute wife, Jessie Benton Fremont, and the radicals' ambivalent partner, Abraham Lincoln.