South to Freedom was a great read! I did not know that slaves escaped to Mexico. While reading the book I began to wonder what these newly freed slaves lives were like and I plan to research more about that. Thank you for the wonderful read!

I honestly enjoyed this read. I learn a lot about this small migration since growing up the only thing that we focused on was the great migration during the Jim crow era but this book really made made me want to more more about this time in history. I can only speak for myself who is trying to get more into historical nonfiction. This was surprisingly fast-paced yet fully detailed exploration of this moment and time. I find myself having to slow down on my highlighting.

I found this book to be fascinating--Baumgartner shows how US and Mexican history are so intertwined. I learned a lot about Mexican history from this book--many of the names, like Santa Anna, I was familiar with. But the details and links to American and world history--and American slavery--were new to me. I took a Latin American history class in college, and it was all about Spain, Bolivar, and Argentina (the professor was from Argentina); I also took a Civil War class, and it was largely about the legal runup and battles (we read [book:Battle Cry of Freedom|35100]. We did not spend much if any time discussing Texas/Mexico.

Baumgartner's thesis--which I don't think she spells out in full--is that the Mexican-American War was the result of Mexico's outlawing slavery AND giving instant freedom to any enslaved person who set foot on Mexican territory. American southerners had moved into Tejas--with their slaves--looking for good cotton-growing land. They wanted Tejas for the US, where they could be certain of keeping their "property". As Mexico's laws became more specific regarding freedoms and they refused to pass any kind of fugitive slave law, norteamericanos in Tejas became more and more antsy about being able to recruit more slave-owning immigrants. Slave owners in Louisiana become more antsy as more slaves ran for Mexico.

Even after the Mexican-American War results in major territory loss for Texas, American slaves were still able to run for Mexico, and they did. The numbers do not seem particularly large--but they are still very relevant. And they were very relevant to American politics.

This is not a region (Texas/Louisiana/Mexico) that is covered in many American history classes in high school or college (unless you are in Texas--but I do not know what/how they teach this time period). This book fills yet another gap in my American and world history knowledge.

Random fact: the only Emperor of Mexico was the uncle of Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination started WWI. He got played by one of the Napoleons and Mexican conservatives.

My mistake in approaching this book was thinking it was a memoir type of escaped slaves. While some stories of individual slaves are included, this is a deep dive nonfiction piece on the policies of slavery in Mexico and the US, particularly Texas and Louisiana, and how those differences affected their relationship.

I was saddened at how much I learned in this book - that only shows how sorely lacking American education is when it comes to slavery. I had no idea Mexico played such an integral role in the freedom of escaped slaves. I should say "freedom" is used in the most technical sense, as despite being granted it, they were still often forced into indentured servitude where they were still beaten by their masters or military service. They were not granted the freedoms they were owed which is tragic.

While I generally prefer accounts of the slaves themselves, I appreciated Baumgartner's approach because she combined both the legal history, which I am usually bored by, and personalized then with individual accounts of slaves. A good example is the story of Honorine, an escaped slave from Louisiana. She was betrayed at every turn, and I was able to understand how the laws at that time affected her life.

If you're interested in history or slavery, this is an excellent resource. Thank you to NetGalley and Basic Books for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Baumgartner’s South to Freedom covers the history of slavery in Mexico and the United States from the 1820s through the end of the U.S. Civil War. It pays specific focus on Mexico’s slavery policies, which were much more progressive compared to the United States’ policy. Mexico abolished slavery almost 30 years before the United States did. I learned a lot in this book, it was very well researched. My only issue is that I incorrectly assumed that the central focus of the book would be on the slave's perspective of escaping to Mexico. There is some of that in the book but it is part of the larger story of slavery's impact on these two countries and their relationship. I wanted to read more of the slave's journeys to freedom in Mexico.

this was a really interesting read, it was well researched and well written. I found the topic was interesting and I look forward to more from the author.

The North Star in the minds of most Americans bears some connection with their American history classes, being linked to the Underground Railroad and the journey to freedom tens of thousands of slaves made to the Northern United States or Canada. But for thousands of slaves, particularly those in Texas and Louisiana, the path to freedom led south to Mexico.

Alice Baumgartner’s 'South to Freedom' shines a light on a part of U.S. history that has largely gone unnoticed. While it is known that the Texas Revolution and Mexican-American War expanded the United States and intensified the debate over the future of slavery, much of the context and nuance for understanding those conflicts, the debates they engendered and their consequences has been left out of the picture because we’ve detached them from the policies relating to slavery in Mexico and New Spain.

Baumgartner masterfully begins with examining how New Spain granted freedom to escaped slaves who reached her territories, which in turn served as one factor for the conquest of Florida by General Andrew Jackson. She doesn’t isolate this event, but will bring forward human stories which follow the Seminoles and Black Seminoles to the Indian Territory and from there to Mexico. The fluctuations of Mexican politics are also examined in detail, allowing for false starts and mixed motives – but using further examples and stories to highlight a general and profound commitment to equality for escaped slaves. After tracing these developments in Mexico, the reader is prepared to understand how American and Mexican politics around slavery intersected. Along the way there will be planned invasions of Cuba, an 80-year gap between presidents who could tout that they won the popular vote in the North and South, a Habsburg Emperor in the Americas, self-exiled Confederates and more.

This work sacrifices neither credible scholarship or the drama of human narrative. Anyone interested in American or Mexican history will find their efforts highly rewarded in reading this book.

Alicia Baumbgartner's "South to Freedom" is most generally about how Southerners attempt to spread slavery and prevent fugitive slaves from escaping to Mexico led to the takeover of what is now Texas and ultimately the Civil War. More specifically, Baumgartner dives into Mexican political history and their strong opposition to slavery, despite Mexico's own relationship with indentured servitude, and how they refused to return any fugitive slaves to slaveholders once they crossed Mexico's border. Also, this book provides a necessary analysis into how slaveholders' attempts to colonize Texas and spread slavery into new territories had in causing the Civil War. It also confirms for me how much more Northerners cared about preventing Southerners from asserting the rights of individual states to extend slavery rather than ending slavery for moral reasons. This is a really important read for getting a deeper dive into US politics and history and the country's relationship with Mexico.

A very well researched and scholarly book that would lend itself well to college classes. I found the topic of slaves escaping to Mexico quite interesting. Jam packed full of U.S history facts. I especially liked the more personal parts of the people escaping slavery. Great insight into Mexico at that time too.

I never realized that Texas and Mexico played a large role in the events leading up to the Civil War and abolition. It was very eye-opening to learn about the ways in which Texas was settled by norteamericans, as well as how many slaves were able to flee there and follow the Mexican law that one could easily become free with, by converting to Catholicism. or buying your freedom. Many slaves also apparently fled there, pretending to be white men or lying and saying they had permission to travel.

Things then escalate once the abolition movement grows in the US, which eventually leads to Texas' attempt at annexation. A fascinating, timely read for those looking to understand more about the history of slavery.