"Hahn's use of primary and secondary sources is extraordinary. He mixes rich quotations with clear writing."-- The Journal of American History "Hahn's study is impressively argued and richly documented. Its intensive and skillful use of local sources gives it a substantial and authoritative quality that disarms criticism."-- The New York Review of Books "Indispensable reading for all students of southern history and the history of American dissent."--David Brion Davis, Yale University "A landmark book.Hahn has pioneered part of a long-neglected subject of nineteenth-century America."-- Journal of Social History "Engagingly written, provocative.

"-- American Historical Review.