Beacons of Liberty

‘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, 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, The Journal of Interdisciplinary History

‘Recommended.’ E. R. Crowther, 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, Indiana Magazine of History

‘A valuable contribution to the study of African Americans and the Atlantic world.’ Stephanie J. Richmond, The Journal of the Civil War Era