Before the Civil War, free African Americans and fugitive slaves crossed international borders to places like Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean in search of freedom and equality. Beacons of Liberty tells the story of how these bold migrants catalyzed contentious debates over citizenship, racial justice, and national character in the United States. Blending fresh historical analysis with incredible stories of escape and rebellion, Elena K. Abbott shows how the shifting geography of slavery and freedom beyond US borders helped shape the hopes and expectations of black radicals, white politicians, and fiery reformers engaged in the American anti-slavery movement. Featuring perspectives from activists and risk-takers like Mary Ann Shadd, Martin Delany, and James C. Brown, Beacons of Liberty illuminates the critical role that international free soil played in the long and arduous fight for emancipation and racial justice in the United States.

‘This encyclopedic study of international free-soil geopolitics, from intellectual debates to creating actual ‘free-soil havens,’ illuminates the manifold contributions of fugitive slaves, free black nation seekers and builders, and antislavery thinkers, black and white, to a vast enterprise: conceiving alternate models of a truly free and equitable society. I can’t imagine a more comprehensive or instructive examination of this immense subject than Beacons of Liberty.’

William L. Andrews - E. Maynard Adams Professor of English Emeritus, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

‘A first-rate study of international freedom struggles in the nineteenth century, Beacons of Liberty is a terrific book that deepens our understanding of trans-national abolitionism. As Abbott shows in rich and compelling detail, African Americans and their abolitionist allies built vibrant Free Soil communities across the Atlantic world.’

Richard Blackett - author of The Captives Quest for Freedom and Andrew Jackson Professor of History, Vanderbilt University

‘Elena Abbott's careful interrogation of the parallel movement of fugitive slaves and black emigrants to free spaces surrounding the slaveholding American republic unearths a significant facet of the abolition movement. Building on recent historical work, she reveals the political as well as ideological significance of international free soil for antislavery activism. This book makes an important intervention in the history of abolition and African Americans.’

Manisha Sinha - author of The Slave's Cause: A History of Abolition and Draper Chair in American History, University of Connecticut

‘Elena K. Abbott’s Beacons of Liberty is one of the most original contributions to the history of the American antislavery movement, and antislavery thought more broadly, in the last decade.’

Kate Rivington Source: Civil War Book Review

‘… a deeply researched and well-crafted narrative of how international antislavery movements shaped the thinking of American activists.’

Jonathan Daniel Wells Source: The Journal of Interdisciplinary History

‘Recommended.’

E. R. Crowther Source: Choice Connect

‘A stunning example of the border-breaking potential of understanding freedom in multiple locales, Abbott’s concept of international free-soil havens will force historians to reckon with how Black Americans understood and implemented transnational abolitionism.’

Elliott Drago Source: Indiana Magazine of History

‘A valuable contribution to the study of African Americans and the Atlantic world.’

Stephanie J. Richmond Source: The Journal of the Civil War Era