basically he is working in the office of sidney howard gay the anti- slavery office but his main job is to go and help fugitive slaves. he scours the docs. when william still when william still since people by train from philadelphia to new york louis napoleon goes and meets them at the train of the train depot and brings into his office and they are sent to abstain new york and canada. the interesting thing command he goes to court to get writs of habeas corpus for slaves who were brought to the state trying to get them free. use illiterate yet he is an activist. a remarkable guy and i knew nothing about him until i discovered him in the manuscript. in one case the lawyer says is this louis napoleon the emperor of france? and john j who is representing the slaves says, no, he is a much better man. a very upstanding a courageous man. >> and he is just one of many african-americans so intimately involved in helping these fugitives. we know so much about harriet tubman made several trips to free relatives and people that she did not know we we don't know about people until now were esc

he would quickly put them on a train up to new york and notify sidney howard gay by telegram two were coming or something like that. napoleon would meet them at the depot and then remember you could not stay in philadelphia. you could not stay in new york. you are liable to be captured in the moments of the was quickly to get them moving on to upstate new york which was safer. after 1850 you have to get to canada because of this fugitive slave law. you were not safe anywhere in united states. it's a commentary on our history that these were people we often think of people immigrating to the united states to seek freedom but here were people who had to flee the united states for another country to enjoy liberty. >> host: indeed. not just fugitives from slavery either but free black people who were leaving the united states and going to canada because they don't feel safe anymore in the north and certainly they don't feel safe there in the south. they don't even feel safe in places like philadelphia and new york even. >> guest: you are right. with first of all it's retroactive so you co

but basically by the 1840s napoleon is working in the office of sidney howard gay what they call the anti-slavery office with this newspaper is published by this main job is to go in the fugitive slave. he scours the docs, after looking for those hidden on both the win william steele since people by train from philadelphia to new york louis napoleon goes and meets them at the train depot and brings them to the office and in their sent upstate new york and canada. the interesting thing and louis napoleon goes to court to get writs of habeas corpus for people who are brought, slaves were brought to the states try to get them free. what's interesting is he is illiterate. there are papers of his marked with an expertise signs his name with an x. and yet he was an activist, very courageous and even has come he takes part in legal cases. so he's a remarkable guy and i had known nothing about them until i discovered him in again manuscript. you mentioned john jay the second pick in one case napoleon versus limit where napoleon had gotten this writ of habeas corpus to free some slaves brough