Note: Thank you to NetGalley, David R. Godine, Publisher, and author Mark Kurlansky for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

I’ve stated in the past my frustration with the education system in this country. Even having taken Advanced Placement American History in high school, I only learned a small amount about the Abolitionist movement in this country prior to the Civil War. I learned so much more about it while reading The Boston Way by Mark Kurlansky.

It was the Boston Abolitionists who were really behind the movement to free the slaves. This can be seen all the way back to the writings of President John Adams, who thought slavery was immoral. In the 19th century, this mantra was picked up by William Lloyd Garrison, who published The Liberator monthly, arguing against slavery and promoting passive resistance and nonviolence. This captured the attention of notable writers of the era who joined him, including Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Maria Child, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Margaret Fuller, Maria Chapman, and Henry David Thoreau. Later, Frederick Douglass also joined them, although he and Garrison would later have a falling out.

These prominent names pushed for the abolition of slavery through non-violent resistance. This also included not participating in government. Not all of them agreed, especially into the 1850s. There was disagreement among them on how effective non-violence could be, especially as the years wore on. After the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act, even the Massachusetts government became complicit in returning slaves to their owners. This angered the citizens of Boston a great deal, who didn’t like “ruffians” coming into their state from other states and grabbing black men off the street without regard to whether they were escaped slaves or free. Sound familiar?

In fact, that’s one of the things that really struck me about the book: how much things haven’t changed, and that it still centers on race and white supremacy.

Kurlansky effectively relates the differing personalities in the movement. Although Garrison was considered the leader, there seemed to be infighting, which led to the formation of various factions in the abolitionist movement. I loved reading the history of these people. Maria Child was a prominent writer of the day whose works seem to have lost their prominence over the decades. Many of the people involved in Abolition were also fighting for women’s rights, and Child’s story alone is a reason why things had to change. Out of all this, the Women’s Movement was also born.

The Boston Way was a great read, and I finished it over the course of a couple of days. Kurlansky writes very well and presents history in a very engaging manner. This was a deep dive into the abolitionist movement and how it evolved over time. Many of the principles developed by Garrison et. al. will sound familiar, as it was picked up again 100 years later by Matama Ghandi and the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. The more things change, the more they stay the same, unfortunately. The Boston Way gave me a much deeper understanding of the abolitionist movement as well as the development of the principles of nonviolent resistance.