Nelson Hackett's Escape -- and Return -- from Canada (1844)

It’s July 14th. This day in 1844, a formerly enslaved man by the name of Nelson Hackett is being sent back to the United States after having escaped to Canada. It would be the first — and last — time that the Canadian government would collaborate with the U.S. to return an escapee.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss Hackett’s journey north, the ad-hoc network of safe-houses and sympathetic institutions that carried people north, and why Canada sent Hackett back to Detroit.

Here’s the KUAF podcast we mentioned on the show.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia