Freedom

operating mills. Larger ships that needed deeper ports passed the town in favor of Boston, Salem, and Plymouth, keeping ips which is trade and population small. At first, settlers struggled to survive. The weather was less than hospitable and winters proved to be brutal, but the ocean brought fish, the marsh was perfect for growing hey, and the rivers supplied water for drinking and running the mills, and the effort

and hard work were worth it. Starting over in a new world was better than the tyranny they had suffered in England. In the America's settlers could almost smell freedom in the salt air. Life wouldn't be easy, but then one worth living never was, and some people took that saying the heart long before it became mainstream. Jenny Slew was born in Ipswich in seventeen nineteen as the daughter of a free white woman and an enslaved black man.

According to state law, such children inherited their white mother's status and were allowed to live as free people. However, children bor into enslaved women fathered by white men did not inherit the same privilege. Though the state didn't legally recognize her parents union, Jenny insisted her parents were married and they lived together. When she herself became an adult, she married twice, both times two enslaved men, but Jenny remained free until seventeen sixty two, when she was kidnapped

and forced into slavery. The kidnapper was a prominent citizen within the community. John Whipple Jr's ancestors had been one of the town's founding families, had been a respected military officer. He was wealthy, too, and with that wealth came status and a large fourteen room estate he had inherited from his father. He already owned several enslaved people, including a Native American boy he had kidnapped during the genocide committed

in King Philip's war. He needed more servants for his large home and happened upon Jenny walking along the road one day. Being a woman, and especially one of color, her legal status was inconsequential. Not willing to give up her freedom, forty three year old Jenny sought out an attorney willing to hear her case. Now, in most of the colonies, enslaved people had no right to counsel. Massachusett was different, though, and permitted them to bring civil suits

to court. Despite this, it still took her three years to find an attorney willing to hear her out. Attorney Benjamin Kent filed her case with the court on January seventeen sixty two. Whipple was furious. He believed she had no right to sue him for any reason. For starters, she was married and being a man's property, he argued that she had no identity of her own, therefore, without her husband's permission, she had no right to sue, and

the courts agreed. They reasoned that because she wasn't a spinstress, she had no rights in court. In short, enslaved people could bring a case to court, but married women of any color or status could not. The judge didn't even address the kidnapping. Kent was a shrewd lawyer, though, and so he called into question the validity of Jenny's marriages. You see, he knew that the law provided an fortunate loophole,

since enslaved people were not legally allowed to marry. Both of her marriages were void on account of her partner's status is no matter what her own. It took another four years before the Essex Superior Court of Judicature in Salem agreed to hear her case. Now Jenny the spinstress had been granted a trial by Jerry. Just as Jenny couldn't provide a birth certificate, Whipple couldn't provide a bill

of sale. So Kent reminded the court of the state's anti miscegenation statute that made his client a free woman by her white mother. In closing, he told the court, I shall not enter into the right of some men to slave others. The judge himself owned several enslaved people. However, the jury ruled in Jenny's favor, ordering her immediate release and awarding her damages. Whipple didn't face any charges of kidnapping.

Jenny became the first person in the colony's history to be granted her freedom in a court March five of seventeen sixty. She walked out of the courtroom a free woman. Her liberation came at a time when citizens in Massachusetts began to rise up against England for their own independence. A close and prominent friend of Kent's who had attended the trial, stated that liberty had been restored to Jenny slu Kent went on to represent other such cases over

the next several years. He encouraged his high profile friend to include a declaration in the Massachusetts state Constitution that all men are born free and equal. That friend was John Adams. I'm Lauren Bogelbaum. Welcome to American Shadows. Records don't show exactly where in Virginia he was born. The births and deaths of enslaved African or Native Americans were

rarely registered as of eighteen forty. What the records do show is that as an adult, Madison Washington appeared to have been an enslaved cook who kept his eyes on freedom for himself and his wife, Susan. When the opportunity presented itself one night, they took the chance to slip away. Unfortunately, while Washington escaped, his wife didn't quite make it off the property. He stuck to the plan, though, determined that

he'd eventually figure out how to free her. He trusted the abolitionists who operated safe houses to help him make a safe journey north. They supplied him with forged papers, and the occasional stranger provided food and the place to sleep at night. Mostly, though, he relied on luck, and perhaps miraculously, he made it to Canada, a Britain had abolished slavery years before, and since Canada was under British rule, Washington became a freeman once he stepped foot across the border.

Before he left Virginia, he and his wife had made a pact if only one of them made it to Canada, they'd work until they had enough money to buy the other's freedom. And so Washington found steady work with a farmer called Mr. Dixon. He earned a fair wage and saved what he could, but the price set for his wife proved too high for him to afford. At his current pace, he figured it would take nearly five years to save up the money. By then, anything could happen.

She might be sold off, or fall ill, or be killed before he could buy her. For Washington, freedom meant nothing without his Susan. Dixon tried to talk him out of leaving. Had been lucky to escape, luckier still to have made it to Canada. He warned Washington of the severe, if not fatal, consequences if he were caught. Washington thanked him for the job, but left in eighteen forty one

and headed back south. When he reached Rochester, New York, he met with one Lindley Murray Moore, the president of the Rochester Anti Slavery Society. The More family was also part of the Underground Railroad, a network of paths and safe houses foreign slaved African Americans trying to escape. While staying with the Moors, Washington tried to hire a slave steeler to rescue his wife, but none took the job. Without another option, he'd have to risk returning to Virginia

to free her himself. With donations from other abolitionists, Washington collected enough money to help make his trip easier. From New York, he made it to Virginia, but that's where his luck ran out. He made it back to the plantation and was captured and re enslaved. He expected the usual violent physical punishment, such as a whipping, but his owner decided on a different path. He chose to sell Washington. If he whipped him, he'd leave scars, a telltale signed

future owners of a rebellious nature. He sold Washington to a slave trader, Thomas Macargo, frequently purchased large numbers of enslaved people and sold them to other parts of the country or as part of the Atlantic Slave t aid the human trafficking was of lucrative business, and ma Cargo had plans to sell Washington and twenty six others had purchased at the auction blocks in New Orleans. In late October of eighteen forty one, Washington was loaded onto the

ship Creole. The ship, along with the one hundred and nine enslaved people aboard, belonged to the Johnston Epperson Company of Richmond, Virginia. Along with the human cargo, the ship carried tobacco, plus eight additional enslaved persons belonging to the traders, and a paid crew, ringing the total to a hundred and thirty five people on board. The captain, Robert Answer, felt confident enough that his human cargo was docile that he brought along his wife, four year old daughter, and

fifteen year old niece. It was a bold move, conditions for even the paid sailors aboard such cargo ships weren't exactly the best, and the conditions the human cargo were subjected to could understandably make them anything but docile. Washington was assigned to the job of head cook for the enslaved persons, allowing him to stay on deck most of the day while he supervised his crew, He also had the opportunity to talk to the sailors. He got to know their routines and who was who in the hierarchy.

Slave traders considered their cargo no better than live stock. They'd been bought as cheaply as possible, kept in crowded conditions, and fed just enough to insure top dollar the auction block. To Washington's shock, he learned that his wife had been sold too, and was in the cargo hold, though he wasn't permitted to see her. Slave ships, like the Creole were either built specifically or converted for transporting human cargo,

and often referred to as guinea men. Such a ship's worth was determined by how many trafficked people it could carry. The holes were divided into holes, one for men and another for women. Transatlantic ships usually shackled people to the hole's planks, though the creole didn't chain it's human cargo. The cell doors of the overcrowded hold remained locked. The conditions were unhygienic. Disease was common, leading to a roughly fifteen percent mortality rate. The fasterest ship made it to

its destination, the better. At night, some of the ship's officers selected women to take to their quarters, returning them to the holding area the next morning. Not all enslaved people were kept in the holds, though some, like Washington, were allowed above deck. Being the cook, he and a handful of others were permitted to move about the ship to perform their duties. Usually they were watched closely, but as he began to notice, usually didn't mean always. Before long,

Washington had formed a dangerous idea. He began to feel out fellow captives who also had deck privileges, and some of them he had met before being sold. Others were new to him, and soon enough, nineteen others agreed to his plan in a plan for mutiny. It almost didn't happen when William Merritt, one of the slave traders, went down into the hold where the women were kept on November seven, eight forty one. He was surprised to find

Washington there. He demanded the cook take himself above deck immediately. Washington initially did as asked, but he didn't disclose the weapon had confiscated earlier. After the two men reached the deck, Washington shoved Merit to the ground. The two struggled, and Washington managed to take the slave trader's pistol from him. At some point, another enslaved man, Elijah Morris, joined the fray and one. Another member of the crew saw what was going on and raised the alarm. Morris shot him.

When nut shot rang out, Washington called out to the others that their mutiny had begun, and the rest of the mutineers throughout the ship extinguished all of the lamps, throwing the decks below into darkness. They surrounded the staterooms and overpowered the crewmen, taking their weapons. A couple of mutineers went after the slave traders, first killing one by throwing him overboard. One of the mutineers was seriously injured in the fight and later died in scuffle, the captain

was wounded. His wife, daughter, and niece remained unharmed but kept under guard. A couple of the mutineers were also injured but would survive. Washington called out to not kill anyone else, and with the situation under control, the men listened. During the confusion, the first mate, Gifford and the wounded captain had vanished. Eventually, one of the mutineers found the two hiding on the main masts platform. One of the enslaved men shouted for them to come down or had

shoot them both. Gifford descended, where one of the ringleaders placed a musket to his chest. By one am, Washington had control of the Creole. They had gotten this far, but had no idea what to do next. One of the mutineers suggested the Bahamas, since they were under British rule and had outlawed slavery. By morning, they forced first Mate Gifford to steer toward Nassau. Early on November ninety one, the Creole sailed into Nassau Harbor. When quarantine officers boarded,

Gifford reported the mutiny. Since the captain was injured and Gifford had taken over as acting commander. He requested the ship be watched while the crew went ashore for medical treatment. He also asked for guards to prevent their human cargo from leaving the ship. If an enslaved person stepped on the shore, they'd be free. The quarantine officers obliged as a temporary measure, and Gifford would need to speak with the proper authorities before the ship would be allowed passage

on to New Orleans. The first mate up with Counsel John Bacon. The mutiny and the human cargo were unusual circumstances, and the matter was taken to Colonel Sir Francis Cockburn, the governor. Instead of giving an answer straight away, he required paperwork and reports in order to proceed with an investigation. Keeping the ship just offshore meant wasted time. The longer the ordeal took, the more of the Creole's cargo would die, and to Gifford that amounted to a loss of money.

He tried a plea bargain. He asked that the authorities detained the mutineers and allow him to continue onward to New Orleans. Cockburn refused. Nassau had no jurisdiction regarding the mutiny. And then he ordered everyone on the ship detained until the Secretary of State in London weighed in. Meanwhile, they would proceed with their own investigation. The hired crew of the Creole found themselves unwelcome among the black population in Nassau.

Not surprising really, most have been enslaved before it and outlawed it. Even white members of the community would mutter under their breath, there goes another one of the damned pirates and slavers. Depositions were set to start the following Monday, but due to Captain Ensore's injuries, were called off on Thursday. The Creole's crew testified that the mutineers had acted savagely,

trying to kill any white person they could. Meanwhile, through all this, the ship remained guarded more to prevent the crew from sailing off in the middle of the night than to prevent anyone from stepping ashore. No matter how, Gifford and the others argued that the people aboard were as much cargo as the tobacco. The Nassau government remained unmoved. Considering the potential loss of the valuable cargo. Gifford convinced

his counsel Bacon, to help him release the ship. The plan entailed taking weapons from two other American ships in the port and sneaking them onto the Creole. Gifford had already gained approval from one of the other ship's captains. Once the weapons were aboard, the Creole's crew would overpower the Bahamian and British guards, forced them off the ship, and the Creole would be on her way. Of course, the British soldiers would send a ship after them, but

Gifford knew the Creole was fast. Slave ships had to quickly transport their human cargo, not only to prevent disease and death, but to avoid pirates. And pirates sometimes freed enslaved people or took them on his crew, and Gifford knew that pirates who had once been enslaved were bad news for traders. But he thought that all the Creole had to do was sail to the small island of Indian Key off the coast of Florida, where he hoped

to find an American warship that would protect them. A suspicious Bahamian guard watched the activity aboard the neighboring American ship. Men loaded weapons onto a small boat and concealed them in a flag. When they headed toward the Creole, he alerted British officers. Twenty four British soldiers pointed their muskets at the approaching boat and ordered them to turn back.

A major incident had been avoided. Had the crew of the Creole used force against the Bahamian and British guards, it could have caused a diplomatic conflict between the United States and Britain. Boards spread throughout the island about the fate of the people held aboard the Creole. Bahamians freed during the eighteen thirty three British Abolition Act took the small boats and surrounded the ship. In protest. They loudly demanded the men, women and children held on board be released.

As soon as the crew of the Creole had maneuvered out of one dangerous situation, they found themselves dropped right into another. The attempted escape and the growing crowd demanding the captive's freedom forced the governor to make a quick decision. He didn't want to risk dissent among his people on top of the situation at hand with the Americans. He canceled the remaining depositions and ordered everyone removed from the Creole and brought ashore for Washington. The moment was bitter sweet,

and technically he and his cohorts were free. His wife, if she were still alive in the cargo hold, would live as a free woman. For himself and the other uprisers, however, there was the matter of mutiny and murder. Guards took Washington and eighteen of his co conspirators into custody. British soldiers began escorting those left in the holds to shore, granting them their freedom. Five turned down the offer, choosing to stay aboard the ship, perhaps fearing a trick or

preferring the devil they knew. With that the ship's captain and his crew were finally free to leave Nassau. The Creole arrived in New Orleans on December two. When financially interested parties found out there were only five trafficked people on board, they were outraged and demanded the others be

returned to the States. The tension between the United States and Britain row The U s Secretary of State at the time, Daniel Webster, declared the Nassau Governor's act violation of the Law of Nations and the u s Minister to Great Britain contended that per the Constitution, enslaved people were the property of the United States, and thus that Nassau authorities had seized American property. British officials disagreed, since

they no longer recognized slavery. They argued that the US had no power to hold the formerly enslaved people from the Creole without criminal charges. Despite American officials demand to return their cargo and contended property, Nassau refused. Britain and America had no extradition treaties between them. Southerners called for Britain to compensate them for their losses. When even that request was denied, relations between America and Britain were further strained.

It's estimated that the average cost for an enslaved person was between eight hundred and fifteen hundred dollars, With the number of people aboard, that was about a hundred and fifty thousand dollars total, a considerable amount of money for the time. Two people who had been held aboard the Creole died shortly after their release. Without extradition laws, the rest of the men, women, and children from the ship were welcome to stay in Nassa or go wherever they wished.

Most chose to stay, though about fifty set off for Jamaica. Either way, they were free and no longer in reach of the slave traders. Washington and the other mutineers remained in jail until the trial. The United States claimed that because the crime had been committed on an American ship, the trial should take place in the States. London saw it differently and stated that the trial would be held in Nassau. In response, American President John Tyler released the

Bahamian Council's deposition to the newspapers. New Orleans plantation owners raged that the British had, in their eyes, robbed them in their compatriots of US property. Now they waited with anticipation for what would become of the mutineers. The Secretary of State Daniel Webster demanded Nassau's government to return the men to the United States on charges of mutiny and murder, and he said the Bahamian government had no right to interfere with an American ship, citizens, or cargo. It would

have been a death sentence for Washington and the others. Remember, in the States, enslaved people weren't allowed to speak in their own defense, to hire counsel or to even be questioned. This naturally limited their ability to tell their side of the story. NASA, though didn't have the same laws in place.

Anyone standing trial, was allowed to speak on their behalf a question, accusers or witnesses, and signed depositions before the trial, which was scheduled for April, though two of the collaborators died, one from wounds sustained during the battle and the other from natural causes. On April sixteenth of eighteen forty two, the Nassau Court debated the case of the remaining seventeen mutineers.

After some discussion about jurisdiction and the legal location of the events, Washington and the others were informed of the court's decision. It has pleased God, The Chief Justice told them, to set you free from the bonds of slavery. May you hereafter lead lives of good and faithful subjects of Her Majesty's government. The men were free and could choose what to do with their lives. All seventeen stayed in Nassau.

The captives on the Creole hadn't been the first the Bahamian government had freed from American ships four slaving brigs had found themselves shipwrecked in their territory. However, the Creole contained the largest number of trafficked people, and its cruise mutiny had been the most successful uprising among enslaved people in American history. Back in the States, insurance companies initially refused to pay the claims that Louisiana slave owners filed

for lost property. Several lawsuits emerged against the companies over financial losses stemming from the revolt. The majority of those cases were consolidated, much like class action lawsuits of today. Eventually that case went before the Louisiana Supreme Court. The two countries involved ultimately reached an agreement in eighteen forty two. The British repaid the losses the following year, totaling roughly

a hundred thousand dollars. And what happened to Washington? His wife, Susan had stayed on the island awaiting her husband's fate. While no one really knows what became of them afterward, some believed the couple was finally able to live the free life they had always dreamed of. It might not have played out how they envisioned it. Back in Virginia, but ultimately their plan worked. He was born on the eastern shore along the Chesapeake Bay. There were rumors that

his father was the plantation owner. As you might imagine, this didn't go over well with the plantation owner's wife, so Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was sent to another plantation twelve miles away to live with his maternal grandparents. Bailey's mother was allowed to visit, but only on rare occasions. She managed to see her son just a handful of times before her death when he was seven years old. After that, his life took another turn when his owner

sold him to the Wye House plantation. Then he was sold again to the Old family, who taught him to read and write. Unusual for most enslaved people, this didn't stop him from trying to escape. Though considered too defiant, the old sold him yet again. Bailey's continued efforts to free himself caused him to be sold or even given away several times more. When he turned twenty one in eight thirty eight, he ran again, hiding away on a

northbound train heading to New York City. This time he was successful and found his way to a safe house soon afterward. Anna, a woman had known while he was enslaved, followed his route and the two married. Bailey and his new wife moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he assisted in the abolitionist movement prominent in the area. He changed his name on the suggestion of a friend who had read a novel by Sir Walter Scott. He became a preacher and a writer, and used his new professions to

shed light on human injustices. He believed that all people, no matter their race, color, sex, were equal, and as an avid reader, he came across the story of Madison Washington. During a speech in Orc, Ireland in eighteen forty five, he praised Washington for his passion for freedom. His words, writings, and speeches on slavery caught the attention of the Rochester Ladies Anti Slavery Society. They planned on publishing a short story collection entitled Autographs for Freedom and asked if he

would consider writing a piece for it. The Adventures of Madison Washington would be his only fictional work, although he'd go on to write other biographical narratives. The NAVELA was published in eighteen fifty two, ten years after Washington had won his freedom. The story, although mostly true, had an almost playlike quality to it, opening with the scene that

Washington might have had with the Canadian farmer. Eventually, the work found its way to the newspapers as a three part serial, coming out shortly after Harriet Beecher Stowe's uncle Tom's cabin. The Navelo was met with acclaim and people clamored for more. Did have to wait, though, as the preacher continued his work for equality in freedom for a

few more years. Later, during the Civil War, he fought for black men's rights to serve in combat, and after the war ended, he wrote his autobiography, which was published just three years before his death. You've heard of it, The Life and Times of Frederick Douglas. There's more to this story. Stick around after this brief sponsor break to hear all about it. He started young. By the age of just thirteen, William was being hired out, a common

experience for enslaved black people. As of eight seven, and most of William's work was aboard steamboats on the Missouri River. His owner was a St. Louis physician named Dr. John Young, who also owned the boy's mother, Elizabeth. William had six brothers and sisters, but his father had been white, and he had a lighter skin color than his siblings. His father was the cousin of Doctor Young. This cousin was

a planter on a nearby plantation. The man acknowledged William as his son and asked Young to never sell him. In eighteen thirty two, William and his mother tried to escape, only to be caught and returned to doctor Young. So seeing the pair is too much trouble and believing he no longer needed their services, doctor Young sold them, but while Elizabeth was purchased by a slave trader working out of New Orleans, William's destination ended up being fairly local.

Not long after, he was sold again, this time to a riverboat captain, but on January one of eighteen thirty four, he made a break for freedom while the boat was docked in Cincinnati, Ohio. A short while later, he found assistance through a Quaker man by the name of Wells Brown. Brown gave him clothes, money, and food, and also eventually taught him to read and write. Ever, thankful for the Quaker's kindness, William added the man's name to his own, and,

after moving on to make a life for himself. He stuck with his writing, almost as though trying to make up for all the years he hadn't been able to. Later, William found work on a steamboat on Lake Erie, but when he wasn't working he helped enslaved people as a member of the Underground Railroad. By eighteen forty two had helped sixty nine people reach Canada, and that was also how he met Elizabeth Schooner, and the two soon married

and started a family. Over time, William became an avid abolitionist and prolific writer, publishing work on causes such as abolition, temperance, women suffrage, and prison reform. But part of his work involved giving speeches, which meant a lot of travel. All this time away took a toll on his marriage, and by a forty seven it fell to pieces. In the aftermath, he gained custody of their two daughters, and the three

moved to Boston, where he continued to write. His first short story sold ten thousand copies within just a couple of years, becoming almost as popular as those written by Frederick Douglas. By eighteen forty nine, William and his daughters were living in England. He spent most of his time lecturing and writing, and remained quite prolific during his time there. His most famous, or perhaps most infamous work, was the

novel Clotel, which was something of a scandal. The story centered around two fictional daughters born to Thomas Jefferson and a fictional woman he enslaved. It was inspired by the former president's real life relationship with Sally Hemmings, whom he owned. The Clotel is considered the first full length novel published by an African American, finding success in Britain before being printed in America in eighteen fifty The Fugitives a law passed in the United States making it unsafe for William

to return. In eighteen fifty three, a British couple paid for his freedom, ensuring that whenever he did return to the States he would be safe. The couple had also purchased freedom for another man a few years earlier, Frederick Douglas. William returned to the States in eighteen fifty four and returned also to the tour circuit. He finally found love again in eighteen sixty at the age of forty four,

marrying twenty two year old Anna Elizabeth Gray. The couple settled into a comfortable life and welcomed to children of their own. Sadly, cholera would take the life of their son just a few years later, and their daughter passed

away due to typhoid fever. To ease the pain from the losses, William found time to help the Union recruit men for enlistment during the Civil War, and while the conflict raged, he published another book on the history of black soldiers and their fight to help the Union against the Confederacy. Like Frederick Douglas, he also wrote about Madison Washington,

though his version was more of a historic biography. Over the years, William Brown wrote in multiple genres, anything from travel articles to fiction, to biographies to a play, and it's clear from the life he lived that Brown, just like Douglas and Washington before him, understood the powerful thing about freedom. It gave a person the chance to make their own stories heard. American Shadows is hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum.

This episode was written by Michelle Muto, researched by Ali Steed, and produced by Miranda Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Mackey, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick To learn more about the show, visit grim and mild dot com. From more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. M