The American conflict over slavery was divisive, costly, and momentous. It made race an unavoidable issue, set North and South against each other, and precipitated the Civil War. The conflict reached a turning point in the early 1840s when three leading abolitionists presented provocative speeches that, for the first time, addressed the slaves directly rather than aiming rebukes at white owners. By forthrightly embracing the slaves as allies and exhorting them to take action, these three addresses pointed toward a more inclusive and aggressive antislavery effort. These addresses were particularly frightening to white slaveholders who were, in some parts of low country Georgia and South Carolina, significantly in the minority of the population. The Rise of Aggressive Abolitionism includes the full text of each address, as well as related documents, and presents a detailed study of their historical context, the reactions they provoked, and their lasting impact on U.S. history.