"This study of the political drive toward the complete abolition of slavery is most welcome. Leonard Richards has rescued from obscurity James Ashley, who managed the course of the Thirteenth Amendment through the House of Representatives. The reader will come away with greater appreciation for the courage and skill of those antislavery leaders who never gave up and eventually triumphed."
— James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom
"Richards centers his narrative on Ohio Congressman James M. Ashley . . . [and] makes a spirited case that James Ashley breathed life into the Thirteenth Amendment. He writes with verve and flair. His muscular prose reminds us that this was an era of no-holds-barred political combat."
— Daniel W. Crofts, Civil War Book Review
"Richards has waded into the debate with a combination of narrative and analysis focusing mainly on the political players and factors that shaped the movement toward the amendment. . . . Richards finds the pivot for his story in the efforts of James Ashley, a Radical Republican congressman from Ohio who had been a stalwart early opponent of slavery. Throughout the book, Ashley’s story unfolds, including the political difficulties he faced at home, the principles he upheld (and his regret when he failed to uphold them), and his support for and management of the Thirteenth Amendment in the House of Representatives. . . . [Richards] has woven an excellent account of the road to the Thirteenth Amendment. That road had many bumps and detours, and thanks to this book, we now know better how it was traveled."
— Michael S. Green, The Journal of the Civil War Era
"Richards helps restore the Thirteenth Amendment to the central place it should hold in the story of the Civil War. He also sketches a picture of Lincoln that contrasts with his popular image as the Great Emancipator."
— David O. Stewart, Washington Independent Review of Books
"Richards has produced a solid contribution to the scholarly literature on the Thirteenth Amendment."
— Ira Lee Benjamins, Journal of Southern History
"Richards . . . has given us a compelling and multi-faceted account of how the antislavery movement achieved its definitive triumph in the form of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.. . . Richards has produced a very rich account--a veritable gold mine of information--that consists of many overlapping stories: stories of how the overall strategies of different kinds of slavery opponents developed; stories of how different individuals, groups, and key episodes played out as the violent struggle over slavery in America unfolded."
— Richard Striner, The Weekly Standard