A Nearly Forgotten Horrible Conductor on the Reverse Underground Railroad

Yes, you read that right the first time. Reverse underground railroad was a thing. I mentioned it briefly on a previous solo podcast talking about slave patrols to modern policing, but I wanted to take a dive into an individual I uncovered during that dig: Patty Cannon

The Cannon-Johnson gang was not just involved in the selling of free or kidnapped Black Americans to slave plantations in areas like Alabama and Mississippi, but they also murdered other slave traders in the process. In this episode I go over Patty Cannon's life, how she started her life of crime, why she was a horrible prostitute, tactics used by the Cannon-Johnson gang, and how she was caught. She wasn't an anomaly though; there were MANY women that participated in illegal practices like the recapture of freed slaves, or even children that were born in free cities, and this was one of the few ways women could provide for themselves after the death of their spouse or father that provided for them financially. But don't have sympathy for Patty when her husband died; she was horrible and while interesting...she's still the literal worst.

It's also weird her skull is on display. Like, is that an honor, or fitting?