Viscount Palmerston
Viscount Palmerston led the effort in the House of Commons to amend the Webster-Ashburton Treaty to protect fugitives from slavery from extradition.
The effort to amend Article 10 was more robust in the House of Commons than it was in the House of Lords but no more successful. Members—led by Viscount Palmerston of the opposition Whig Party—formally demanded that fugitives from slavery be excluded from the measure, but Lord Stanley, the secretary of state for war and the colonies, and Robert Peel, the prime minister, rose to state that such a move was unnecessary and might jeopardize ratification in the United States. They reiterated the arguments that Lord Aberdeen had made in the House of Lords and suggested that safeguards were in place to prevent the Article 10 from being abused by slave owners. Palmerston and his allies lost the vote to exclude fugitives from the provisions of Article 10 by a vote of 25 to 59.
Image: Courtesy National Portrait Gallery, London.
The Players
Nelson Hackett
An escaped slave who fled to Canada only to be captured and brought back to Arkansas.
Alfred Wallace
The man who claimed to own Nelson Hackett and accused him of stealing a race horse, saddle, coat, 100 £ ($500) in silver and gold coin, and a watch.
Sir Charles Bagot
Soon after assuming office, Governor General Sir Charles Bagot made the decision to send Nelson Hackett back to Arkansas on charges of theft.
Charles Stewart
Abolitionist and attorney who had been one of the founding officers of the Detroit Anti-Slavery Society and who interviewed Nelson Hackett when he was held in Detroit.
Henry Bibb
Henry Bibb, one of the leaders of Detroit’s Colored Vigilant Committee, helped mobilize support for Nelson Hackett.
Hiram Wilson
Hiram Wilson an abolitionist and an American Reverend ministering to Toronto’s fugitive population who visited Hackett at Sandwich.
Daniel Webster
As United States secretary of state, Daniel Webster negotiated the Webster-Ashburton Treaty in 1842.
Lewis Tappan
Lewis Tappan led the American abolitionist effort to amend the Webster-Ashburton Treaty.
Sir Allan Napier MacNab
Sir Allan Napier MacNab presented “Address of the Colored People of Hamilton,” which protested Nelson Hackett’s return to Arkansas, to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson fought to abolish slavery in the British Empire and the international slave trade before turning his attention to Nelson Hackett and the Webster-Ashburton Treaty.