1. -The development by American intellectuals of a national culture committed to the liberation of the human spirit, as expressed in art, literature, utopian communities, and transcendental philosophy.
2. -The effect of this commitment to the liberation of the human spirit in reinforcing the evangelical reform impulse of the period, in movements as diverse as temperance, education, rehabilitation, and women's rights.
3. -The emergence of the crusade against slavery as the most powerful element in this reform movement, and the various strategies of such prominent abolitionists as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass in combating the "peculiar institution."