Нельсон Хаккеттің қайғылы тағдыры және құлдықтан құтылуға тырысуы

Nelson Hackett (born c. 1810) was a enslaved man who was extradited to the United States after having fled to Canada. In 1841 he escaped from his Arkansas enslaver, Alfred Wallace of Fayetteville. Using a stolen horse, six weeks later, crossed the border and entered Canada West (present day Ontario) near what today is Windsor.

Despite slavery having been abolished throughout the British Empire in 1834, Wallace refused to let the matter drop. He was one of the wealthiest men in Arkansas and was well connected, particularly to the Governor of Arkansas, Archibald Yell. He wrote to the colonial governor in Canada, who ordered Hackett's arrest. Hackett was retained in Chatham. Wallace and an associate, George C. Grigg, traveled to Canada and made out sworn dispositions against Hackett for stealing the horse, as well as a gold watch belonging to Wallace. Despite opposition from prominent Canadian politicians such as William Henry Draper, Hackett was extradited to the United States on the order of Governor General Sir Charles Bagot. In justifying his decision, Bagot cited the alleged theft of the watch, which exceeded what was necessary to facilitate his escape to freedom. Public reaction from abolitionists in England, Canada, and the northern United States was strong. Politicians in the British House of Commons and the Canadian
Parliament questioned the motives for the extradition and its legality. Research indicates Hackett was returned to Fayetteville in the summer of 1842. He was not put to death for the alleged theft (a fate frequently suffered by enslaved people under similar circumstances) but was publicly whipped several times and tortured. Researchers have said he was sold to a new enslaver in Texas, from where he escaped again. Hackett's fate remains unknown.

In June 2023, the city of Fayetteville re named a street formerly named for Governor Yell (who had played an essential role in ensuring Hackett's return and re enslavement) Nelson Hackett Boulevard. The street is believed to be near where Hackett had labored before he escaped to Canada.