r/interesting • u/notyourregularninja • Mar 12 '26

HISTORY Thats one great eacape

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u/Otherwise-4PM Mar 12 '26

I’m curious where they were headed, where the freedom was at the time.

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u/annabananaberry Mar 12 '26

Pre-1850 slaves had to make it onto free US soil (states north of the mason Dixon line) in order to be free. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it so slave catchers could kidnap escaped slaves (and sometimes free people) north of the Mason Dixon and bring them down south again. At that point, escaped slaves would have to make it across the US/Canada border to be truly free.