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

The main focus of the article is William S. Kiser's book *Borderlands of Slavery: The Struggle over Captivity and Peonage in the American Southwest*, which examines how Native captivity and debt peonage in New Mexico influenced national debates on slavery's expansion and the definition of unfree labor in the antebellum and Reconstruction eras. Kiser highlights that New Mexico's forms of bondage, distinct from Southern chattel slavery yet similarly coercive, complicated federal lawmakers' understanding of slavery and shaped political discourse. The book also addresses local perspectives in New Mexico, revealing ambivalence toward chattel slavery and the economic interests tied to peonage. Additionally, Kiser's work contributes to broader historical discussions on slavery, captivity, and labor systems in nineteenth-century America.