Borderlands of Slavery: The Struggle over Captivity and Peonage in the American Southwest

Debt peonage and Indian captivity persisted in the Southwest after the Civil War, challenging the idea of slavery's end. William S. Kiser's book "Borderlands of Slavery" explores these two coercive labor systems and their impact on freedom and bondage in post-Civil War America.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 280 pages
Publication date: 03 September 2021
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

In the aftermath of the Civil War, a complex web of labor systems emerged in the Southwest region of the United States. While it is commonly believed that slavery was abolished with the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, this narrative overlooks the existence of two coercive labor systems that persisted in the region: debt peonage and Indian captivity.

Debt peonage, a system in which individuals were forced to work off their debts as servants to their creditors, had its roots in the early 1700s when Indian slavery was introduced through slave raiding and fictive kinship. By the early 1800s, debt peonage had become a secondary form of coerced servitude in the Southwest, supplementing Indian slavery to meet the growing demand for labor. This system, which often resulted in lifelong servitude, was particularly prevalent among the region's poor and marginalized populations.

On the other hand, Indian captivity, in which Native Americans were held as slaves by non-Native Americans, had been a part of the region's history for centuries. While it received considerable scholarly attention, debt peonage, in contrast, has been largely ignored. William S. Kiser's book, Borderlands of Slavery, seeks to rectify this oversight by providing a comprehensive history of debt peonage and Indian captivity in the territory of New Mexico after the Civil War.

Kiser argues that these two intertwined systems were of not just regional but also national importance and must be understood within the context of antebellum slavery, the Civil War, emancipation, and Reconstruction. He demonstrates how the struggle over Indian captivity and debt peonage in the Southwest helped to broaden the public understanding of forced servitude in post-Civil War America and to expand political and judicial philosophy regarding free labor in the reunified republic.

Borderlands of Slavery emphasizes the lasting legacies of captivity and peonage in Southwestern culture and society as well as in the coercive African American labor regimes in the Jim Crow South that persevered into the early twentieth century. The book sheds light on the complex and often brutal nature of these labor systems and their impact on the lives of individuals and communities. It also highlights the ongoing struggle for freedom and justice in the United States, particularly for marginalized and oppressed populations.

In conclusion, while the Civil War and the Thirteenth Amendment are often seen as the end of slavery in the United States, the story of debt peonage and Indian captivity in the Southwest reveals a more nuanced and complex history. Kiser's book provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of this period by shedding light on the enduring legacies of captivity and peonage and their impact on American society.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780812225020