American Reformers brings together informative biographies of 550 men and women who were the principal architects of reform in America from the seventeenth century to modern times. Designed for students and the general reader, coverage includes not only the chief facts of each subject's life, but also offers a thought-provoking assessment of the subject's significance to the general reform movement in this country.

Last published in 1985, this new second edition offers over 100 new entries, to extend its coverage into the twenty-first century. You'll find new information on the key figures involved in the Black Lives Matter movement, LGBTQ & transgender rights, income equality, plus today's leaders in environmental, social, cultural, political and civil rights reform movements.

Plus, this edition includes New Topical Entries on the major social movements in American since the seventh century. This new content allows readers to learn more about these important movements and makes solid connections between the movements themselves and the lives of the leaders behind these social movements.

Coverage includes a remarkably broad range of reformers, from all political and ideological persuasions:

The list of subjects includes such well known reformers as Anne Hutchinson, Thomas Paine, Henry David Thoreau, Harriet Tubman, Harriet Beecher Stowe, "Mother" Bloor, Eugene V. Debs, Saul Alinsky, Jacob Riis, Rachel Carson, Joe Hill, Herbert Croly, Margaret Sanger, Clarence Darrow, Louis Brandeis, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Malcolm X. However, American Reformers is especially notable for its coverage of those men and women active in numerous causes which are not so widely known about.

Entries include selected bibliographies of books and other sources, both by and about their subjects. Virtually all entries include a portrait.

With a high level of accuracy, thoroughness, and informed assessment, American Reformers is an important reference tool but will also be of value as a companion to courses in American history, political science, and social science at the high school or college level.