The Boston Way: Radicals Against Slavery and the Civil War

by Mark Kurlansky

An untold story of the Civil War pacifists in Boston who led the fight to end slavery without war.



Has there ever been good violence or a good war? The American Civil War is likely considered to be so since there seemed to be no alternative. Or was there? Before the war, Bostonian abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison correctly predicted that fighting would not bring about real freedom and justice. If emancipation came about through violence, he believed, it would take at least a century for Black people to get their rights. As we now know, it has taken even longer than that.



Here is the story of Garrison and other abolitionists, Black and white, male and female, who advocated a peaceful end to slavery and the start of human rights for Black people. The Boston Clique, as they were called, were victorious in persuading their fellow Bostonians to end Jim Crow laws on Massachusetts’ railroads. Persuasion was, these pacificists believed, the only means to lasting change.



In these pages, we find Frederick Douglass and lesser-known Black abolitionists, William Nell and Charles Remond. We meet leading feminists of the nineteenth century Lydia Maria Child, Margaret Fuller, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Additional key figures include Adin Balou, William Ladd, and Noah Worcester whose voices for nonviolence impacted Leo Tolstoy, Gandhi, and Dr. Martin Luther King.



Still, if it meant a faster end to the horrors of slavery, wasn’t violence the answer? In time, pacificist abolitionists such as Douglass and John Brown came to believe the entire system in the South needed to be overthrown and that could only happen through the shedding of blood. Time may now provide a different perspective.



While history has little memory of abolitionists, and even less for pacifists, nothing can be learned from that which is not remembered. What if the Civil War had never have been fought? Might we now live in a world of far greater justice and peace? What does this mean today as we still pursue “righteous” violence? This is the story of a road not taken.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Civil War

240 pages, Hardcover

Published October 7, 2025

About the author

Mark Kurlansky is an American journalist and author who has written a number of books of fiction and nonfiction. His 1997 book, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World (1997), was an international bestseller and was translated into more than fifteen languages. His book Nonviolence: Twenty-five Lessons From the History of a Dangerous Idea (2006) was the nonfiction winner of the 2007 Dayton Literary Peace Prize.

Reviews

[David Hawk · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid 4.5

Was a little slow at 1st but definitely not low enough for a 4.
This was a great look into parts of our nation's history that I had not been fully aware of. It was engaging and covered a wide range of ideas, people, and events that happened coincidentally. I was aware of the abolitionist movement in theory, but the detail of certain people figures and the role they played I found interesting. Some of the nonviolent, nonresistant ideals and strategies used over a hundred years before, helped shape civil rights movements of the 1960s and now. I checked my copy out at the library, but is definitely worth getting my own copy as well.

[Sarah Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review: The Boston Way: Radicals Against Slavery and the Civil War by Mark Kurlansky

Mark Kurlansky’s The Boston Way offers a meticulously researched and compelling narrative of Boston’s abolitionist movement, focusing on its radical yet nonviolent resistance to slavery in the decades leading up to the Civil War. Known for his ability to weave historical detail into engaging prose, Kurlansky delivers a work that is both scholarly and accessible, shedding light on a lesser-explored dimension of 19th-century activism. The book stands out for its nuanced portrayal of ideological tensions within the abolitionist movement, particularly the moral and strategic debates over pacifism versus armed rebellion.

Key Strengths and Contributions
-Historical Depth and Originality: Kurlansky unearths the stories of Boston’s abolitionist leaders—many marginalized in mainstream histories—highlighting their commitment to nonviolent protest despite escalating national violence. His focus on local activism provides a fresh lens on the broader antislavery struggle.
-Ideological Clarity: The book adeptly contrasts Boston’s pacifist radicals with militant abolitionists like John Brown, exploring how their divergent tactics reflected deeper philosophical divides about morality and political change.
-Narrative Power: Kurlansky’s signature storytelling elevates the text beyond academic analysis, with vivid portraits of key figures and dramatic moments (e.g., the Fugitive Slave Act resistance) that underscore the movement’s urgency.

Critiques and Limitations
-Geographic Narrowness: While Boston’s centrality to abolitionism justifies the focus, a comparative analysis of other Northern cities might have enriched the study’s broader implications.
-Structural Pacing: The middle sections occasionally lose momentum in detailed biographical sketches, diluting the thematic flow.
-Post-War Absence: The abrupt conclusion sidesteps the legacy of these radicals in Reconstruction, a missed opportunity to connect their ideals to later civil rights movements.

Thematic and Analytical Insights
Kurlansky’s core argument—that Boston’s radicals pioneered a uniquely moral and tactical approach to abolitionism—challenges simplistic narratives of the Civil War’s inevitability. His exploration of nonviolence as a strategic tool (rather than mere idealism) resonates with contemporary social movement studies, though deeper engagement with Black abolitionists’ perspectives could have further nuanced the analysis.

Overall Rating: 4.2/5

Section Scoring Breakdown
-Research Rigor: 4.5/5 — Archival richness and primary-source integration are exemplary, though broader contextualization is occasionally lacking.
-Theoretical Contribution: 4.0/5 — Offers fresh insights into abolitionist pacifism but stops short of redefining broader historiographical debates.
-Narrative Engagement: 4.3/5 — Masterful storytelling, albeit with intermittent lapses in pacing.
-Historical Relevance: 4.5/5 — A vital corrective to top-down Civil War narratives, emphasizing grassroots moral resistance.
-Structural Balance: 4.0/5 — Strong thematic cohesion, but the final chapters feel truncated.

Thank you to NetGalley and author Mark Kurlansky for providing an advance copy of this illuminating historical work in exchange for an honest review.

[Giana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I really loved this book. It wasn't until I picked it up that I realized I had another book by this author on my TBR for AGES (Salt) and now I'm going to pick it up asap.

This was a history of abolition in Boston, but more accurately, I'd say it's a history of revolution in Boston leading up to the civil war. Kurlansky dedicates large portions of chapters to women's rights and other forms of disobedience, which provides a richer look into the culture of Boston, but I did forget I was reading about abolition at times. However Kurlansky's writing is engaging and paints a really vivid portrait of each of the people he talks about. He highlights all the differences of opinion even within the same movements and I learned a ton.

If I could make one complaint, it would be that I almost felt suffocated by the limitation to Boston at times. It was definitely a very interesting focal point to choose as I feel like a lot of anti-slavery narratives look to the South, and Kurlansky did look outside of Boston a bit to fill in some details, but for the most part we were stuck in Boston as if this was the only place in the world where these debates and conversations were happening. Even if we didn't focus on other countries, other northern cities, or the South in any large capacity, it would've been nice to check in a bit more to see how this Bostonian subculture was interacting with the larger world.

To clarify, I am not a historian, but nothing seemed incorrect or misleading from my limited knowledge, and this book seemed well researched. My rating mostly takes into account my own personal enjoyment as well as how much I felt I learned reading this (which was a lot)

[Nann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slavery was a problem in the new United States from its foundation. In the second quarter of the 19th century the abolition movement gained traction and notoriety because of a group of radical Bostonians. These men and women advocated nonviolent resistance, confident that "moral suasion" and persistence would succeed. The abolitionists included the very well-known -- Frederick Douglass, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, John Brown; the not-as-well-known -- William Lloyd Garrison, Lydia Maria Child, Abby Kelley Foster, Margaret Fuller, Maria Weston Chapman, Gerrit Smith.

The annexation of Texas, the Mexican War, the Fugitive Slave Act, and the Kansas border war all tested the concept of pure nonviolent resistance. Some abolitionists refused to vote as nonviolent resistance to government policies, but that contradicted the concept of women's suffrage (Seneca Falls, 1848). Thus the movement fractured. The Civil War was fought not only to abolish slavery but also to preserve the Union.

"Though [the movement] failed in the short term, their influence had a long reach," Kurlansky concludes. "The strategies of the twentieth century Civil Rights movement -- nonviolence, marches, boycotts, freedom songs, restaurant sit-ins, freedom rides -- were established a century earlier by the Boston Clique." (p. 236)

He adds, "Nothing can be learned from that which is not remembered." Thanks to this concise history we can remember and we can learn.

I'd give this five stars but the book could use tighter editing and many, many fewer commas.

[Bluemoonchild · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers a compelling and necessary reexamination of a lesser-known group of abolitionists—those who sought to end slavery not through war, but through peace and moral persuasion. Centered around figures like William Lloyd Garrison and the so-called Boston Clique, it challenges the conventional narrative that violence was the only viable path to emancipation during the Civil War era.

What stood out most to me was the way the book elevated the voices of both prominent and often-overlooked abolitionists—Black and white, male and female—who were committed to pacifism as a means of social transformation. The author does an excellent job weaving together a variety of historical figures, while not shying away from the philosophical and moral tensions within the movement itself. The narrative prompts readers to ask difficult but vital questions about the ethics of violence, historical memory, and what justice might look like when pursued through peace.

That said, I gave this book four stars instead of five because, while it offers a deeply thoughtful analysis, I occasionally wished for more narrative momentum. The structure leans heavily on biographical and ideological overviews, which sometimes makes it feel like a history textbook. Still, this is an illuminating, timely, and well-researched account of a path in American history too often ignored. For readers interested in Civil War history, abolitionism, or the philosophical roots of nonviolence, it’s a highly worthwhile read. It challenges us to consider not just what happened in history, but what could have been—and how those possibilities still matter today.

[I received an advanced copy of this book. All reviews and ratings are my own.]

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was the Civil War inevitable? Did it have to come to violence?

Many abolitionists didn't think so. They believed that enslavement could be ended without bloodshed. Some, like William Lloyd Garrison, practiced nonviolent resistance.

But enslavers and their enablers were too dependent on the economic system that enriched certain groups of white people at the expense of others, and many whites were too dependent on the racism embedded in society, institutions, etc.

This book taught me about various abolitionists whom I didn't know much about. It made me consider whether there could have been another way to abolish slavery. I don't know that anything but violence would have worked, as enslavers and others were too addicted to and dependent upon human trafficking and its inherent violence, hierarchy, etc. I doubt they would have voluntarily stopped the violence they constantly enacted upon others.

At times I felt as though the author was shying away from explicitly naming how evil enslavement was. He also made no mention of the Indigenous people enslaved by whites.

The author used the word "extinct" for a tribal nation, which is rather dehumanizing when it refers to people.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC

[Rod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this perspective regarding history that I kinda sorta thought I knew. Bringing the details of disagreements and evolving opinions swirling within the abolitionist movement to light leads me to consider not only what might have been but what could be if we don't always fall back on war and violence as a definitive resolution. It isn't. Look at where we are.

[Roger Smitter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Boston Way -- Radicals Against Slavery & the Civil War is a book that might be small for one happened in the books. This is a different way to go through this book. There are different ideas and themes. Lots of themes………..