Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from Radiotopia.

My name is Jody Avergan.

This day, September 1838, Frederick Douglass, who was born an enslaved man, escapes from Maryland to New York, disguised as a sailor.

He would later write about this journey. My free life began on the 3rd of

September 1838 on the morning of the 4th of that month after an anxious and most

perilous but safe journey I found myself in the big city of New York as a free man

one more added to the mighty throng which like the confused waves of the troubled sea

surged to and fro between the lofty walls of Broadway.

So very good writer in addition to all the amazing work that he would go on to do, but a

biographer would later write that once this high risk

trek was complete that his life's mission to secure the freedom and rights of

others would really begin in earnest. So we of course know a lot about what Douglas would go on to do, it's probably the most

important abolitionist leader of the 19th century, but let's focus on the twists and turns of that

escape to New York, two perilous days. We'll go through it beat by

beat here as always Nicole Hammer of Vanderbilt and Kelly Carter Jackson of

Wellesley. Hello there., Jody. Hey there.

Uh, so yes, we all love Douglas' story.

We've talked about him a bunch of times, but you know, this journey itself over the course of

basically two days is really, really remarkable.

So you know he's born in Maryland in 18.

He's enslaved.

He learns to read covertly, finds out about Nat Turner's rebellion, as well as kind of abolitionist

...