From the late colonial period through the Civil War, slavery developed as the most powerful obstacle to the triumph of liberal values in America. In the second quarter of the nineteenth century, the ambiguities of the revolutionary generation's accomodation of slavery gave way to a direct and violent conflict between northern liberalism and southern slavery. The character of the antislavery movement -- its relationship to broader discussions of morality, law, political economy, and mass politics -- and the expectations it raised for the postemancipation South are central themes of this work.