Foner, Eric

Follows the life and career of Abraham Lincoln and the development of his anti-slavery sentiments, discusses his position that the institution was protected by the Constitution in the original slave states, and looks at the measured steps he took after the Kansas-Nebraska Act made the expansion of slavery a national issue.

Examines the fundamental conflict at the heart of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, the struggle for all men to be treated equally.

Presents a history of the underground railroad, including biographical information on fugitive slaves and antislavery activists, an exploration of the legal and commercial aspects of slavery, and an examination of how the underground railroad successfully helped over 3,000 slaves reach freedom during the years 1830 to 1860.

Presents an analysis of the Reconstruction era, looking at how Americans on both sides of the Civil War dealt with the changes caused by the conflict and the end of slavery in the years between 1863 and 1877.

Relates the story of fugitive slaves and the antislavery activists who defied the law to help them reach freedom via the Underground Railroad.