1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:12,960 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome 3 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:16,440 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. 4 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:20,319 Speaker 1: Last time, in our episode about Julius Sands Letters to 5 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:23,960 Speaker 1: Chester A. Arthur, we mentioned that when Arthur was selected 6 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: as the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee in eighteen eighty 7 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 1: some questions came up about whether or not he had 8 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: been born in the United States, and consequently whether he 9 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:37,640 Speaker 1: was eligible to be the vice president at all. And 10 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: some of the details of this are a little convoluted, 11 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: and it's not necessarily everyday knowledge today. I think the 12 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:45,599 Speaker 1: random people in my life that I asked if they 13 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: had ever heard about this head not. But at the 14 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: same time, it has had a surprising amount of staying power. 15 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: And after doing a little bit of research into this 16 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 1: while doing that Julius sand episode, I couldn't decide what 17 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 1: to make of the whole thing. So I tell said 18 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: my friend Amy, who's a history teacher, and I asked her, 19 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 1: do you have an opinion on whether Chester A. Arthur 20 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 1: was born in the United States? She did not have 21 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 1: an opinion, and then We talked about it for the 22 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: next two hours, and over the course of that conversation 23 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:17,679 Speaker 1: we were both like, this needs to be a whole 24 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: episode and not just a two sentence side reference in 25 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 1: the Julia sand thing. So here it is. The questions 26 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,400 Speaker 1: about Chester A. Arthur's birth really traced back to his dad. 27 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:31,839 Speaker 1: Arthur's father, William Arthur, was born December fifth, seventeen ninety 28 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,920 Speaker 1: six in County Antrim, Ireland. His family had enough money 29 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:38,839 Speaker 1: for him to get an education, including pursuing a degree 30 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 1: at Belfast College, but William wanted to practice law, and 31 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:45,319 Speaker 1: they didn't really have the money or connections that he 32 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: needed to do that. So William immigrated to Canada around 33 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: eighteen nineteen, hoping to find more opportunities there. He settled 34 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 1: in Quebec, not far from the United States border, and 35 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: supported himself by teaching while he was still studying law. 36 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:03,520 Speaker 1: In eighteen twenty one, he married an American woman named 37 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: Malvina Stone from Vermont. Her family had moved to Canada, 38 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 1: and then they had a daughter named Regina, born in Dunham, Canada, 39 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:14,960 Speaker 1: in eighteen twenty two. Two years later, in eighteen twenty four, 40 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: the couple moved to Burlington, Vermont, and Arthur continued to 41 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:22,799 Speaker 1: teach and study law, and their daughter, Jane was then 42 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 1: born in Burlington, Vermont that same year. William Arthur never 43 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: put those years of legal study into practice. This was 44 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: during the religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening. 45 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:37,040 Speaker 1: Arthur had been raised Anglican, and after attending a Revival meeting, 46 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: he converted to Free Baptist as that was happening. He 47 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 1: and his wife had another daughter, Almeida, born in Jericho, Vermont, 48 00:02:44,639 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: in eighteen twenty six. By eighteen twenty eight, they were 49 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: living in Waterville, Vermont, where their daughter Anne Eliza was born. 50 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 1: Then later that year, Arthur was ordained in Waterville. From 51 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:58,640 Speaker 1: that point on, people mostly knew him as Elder Arthur. 52 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: He also nearly stopped registering the births of his children 53 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: with civil authorities at this time. In May of eighty eight, 54 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 1: the family moved to Fairfield, Vermont, where a congregation had 55 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 1: hired William as their preacher. In Fairfield, Elder Arthur continued 56 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: to teach to help make ends meet, often with his 57 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:21,520 Speaker 1: students lodging with the family. The congregation was growing and 58 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: building things like a new parsonage and a new church 59 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:29,080 Speaker 1: but the Arthur's often struggled financially. Winters were especially hard 60 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 1: because William was disabled due to some kind of abscess 61 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: or injury to one of his legs back when he 62 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: was still living in Ireland. It was harder for him 63 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: to do physical work or get around in the harsh, 64 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 1: snowy weather of winter Vermont. On October five nine, William 65 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: and Malvina welcomed a son, and they named him Chester, 66 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: after Malvina's cousin, Dr Chester Abel, who had attended her 67 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:55,200 Speaker 1: during the birth. The baby's middle name, Alan was after 68 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 1: his paternal grandfather, so his full name was representing both 69 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: sides of the family. In a Hober of eighteen thirty, 70 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 1: Elder Arthur took a second job across the Canadian border 71 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: in East Stanbridge, Quebec to try to support his still 72 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 1: growing family. They would ultimately go on to have eight children. 73 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: He took his eldest daughter, Regina with him. He commuted 74 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 1: back to Fairfield to preach his Sunday sermons there. Within 75 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:23,440 Speaker 1: a year, though the family was moving yet again. In 76 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:26,239 Speaker 1: addition to being a teacher and a preacher, William Arthur 77 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 1: was an ardent abolitionist. Vermont had started the process of 78 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 1: abolishing slavery back in seventeen seventy seven, and black men 79 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: in Vermont had been given the right to vote. But 80 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:40,040 Speaker 1: in the eighteen thirties, the idea of abolishing slavery throughout 81 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:44,799 Speaker 1: the United States was incredibly controversial. Pro slavery and anti 82 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: abolition riots and other violence were pretty common, including in 83 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,920 Speaker 1: places where slavery had already been abolished. William was really 84 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:56,320 Speaker 1: outspoken in his views against slavery, and before long he 85 00:04:56,440 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 1: was no longer welcome in Fairfield. The family moved repeat 86 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,040 Speaker 1: eatedly over the next few years, mostly around Vermont and 87 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:05,880 Speaker 1: New York. They would stay in a place until they 88 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:09,159 Speaker 1: were run out of town by anti abolitionists or until 89 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:13,719 Speaker 1: church leadership decided William's activities were too much of a liability. 90 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: Throughout all of this, Chester, Arthur and his siblings were 91 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 1: being taught at home. That changed when the family moved 92 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 1: to Schenectady, New York, in the summer of eighteen forty four. 93 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:26,520 Speaker 1: For the first time, Chester was enrolled in a formal school. 94 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,560 Speaker 1: He went to Schenectady's Lyceum and Academy, and then he 95 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 1: started at Union College in eighteen forty five. He took 96 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:36,839 Speaker 1: up the study of law that his father had previously abandoned. Also, 97 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: like his father, Chester Arthur worked as a teacher to 98 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: support his study of law. This included summer teaching jobs and, 99 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 1: in eighteen fifty one, a post as principal of the 100 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:50,039 Speaker 1: school where two of his sisters worked There, he was 101 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 1: also assigned to teach a group of particularly ill behaved boys. 102 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,479 Speaker 1: He also developed romantic friendships with two other young men, 103 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:02,559 Speaker 1: Campbell Allen and James Maston. James would later marry Chester's sister, 104 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: al Maida. As they got older, Chester and some of 105 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:09,159 Speaker 1: his siblings became pretty disenchanted with their father's self righteous 106 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 1: behavior and his almost zealous pursuit of both religion and abolition. 107 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:17,279 Speaker 1: So Chester, having the option to do so, left home. 108 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:20,280 Speaker 1: He moved to New York City in eighteen fifty three. 109 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,680 Speaker 1: Soon he was moving in Republican political circles, and the 110 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:26,840 Speaker 1: rest of that story is in our earlier episode on 111 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:30,239 Speaker 1: his letters from Julia sand In June of eighteen eighty, 112 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:34,280 Speaker 1: Chester A. Arthur became the Republican Party's nominee for Vice 113 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:38,839 Speaker 1: President of the United States. Soon the Arthur family's nomadic 114 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 1: life during the eighteen twenties and thirties, Elder Arthur's not 115 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 1: reporting his younger children's births and Chester Arthur's extreme secrecy 116 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:51,279 Speaker 1: with the press all combined to cause a problem. Rumors 117 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: started to spread among both Democrats and the moderate Republican 118 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,360 Speaker 1: faction known as half breeds. In some versions, Arthur had 119 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:01,200 Speaker 1: been born in his father's birthplace of Ireland, and in 120 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:04,480 Speaker 1: other versions he had been born in Canada. The Ireland 121 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: rumor was quickly dismissed as impossible, but that Canada rumor 122 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: hung on. According to Article to Section one of the 123 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:15,360 Speaker 1: U s Constitution, quote, no person except a natural born 124 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: citizen or a citizen of the United States at the 125 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 1: time of the adoption of this Constitution shall be eligible 126 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 1: to the office of President. And according to the Twelfth Amendment, 127 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,760 Speaker 1: which took effect in eighteen o four, quote, no person 128 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:32,840 Speaker 1: constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible 129 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: to that a Vice President of the United States. The 130 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 1: Constitution doesn't define exactly what natural born citizen means, but 131 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 1: it's generally defined as someone who was a citizen from 132 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 1: the time they were born without having to go through 133 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 1: a naturalization process. When Chester Arthur was born, it was 134 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:53,800 Speaker 1: generally agreed that free white people born in the United 135 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:57,840 Speaker 1: States were citizens from birth, although it wasn't formally part 136 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 1: of the law until later. The law also recognized that 137 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 1: a person might be born outside of the United States 138 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 1: to citizen parents and still be considered a citizen from birth, 139 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 1: but at that time the law considered this citizenship to 140 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:15,560 Speaker 1: pass through the father and not through the mother. Arthur's 141 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: father didn't become a U. S. Citizen until eighteen forty three, 142 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: way after he was born, so if Arthur had been 143 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:24,760 Speaker 1: born in Canada, he would not be considered a U. 144 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 1: S citizen even though his mother was a citizen. And 145 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:30,600 Speaker 1: we're gonna get to how all of this unfolded after 146 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:42,240 Speaker 1: we first take a little sponsor break. The eighteen eighty 147 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: Republican National Convention ran from June second to eighth of 148 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 1: that year, and then on June nine, the day after 149 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: it was over, the New York Times ran a profile 150 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:55,440 Speaker 1: of the party's new vice presidential nominee which stated, quote 151 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:59,440 Speaker 1: General Chester A. Arthur was born in Franklin County, Vermont, 152 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 1: October fifth, eighteen thirty. On jun eleventh, the St. Johnsbury 153 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 1: Caledonian of St. John's Bury, Vermont, wrote quote. The papers 154 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:11,320 Speaker 1: say Chester A. Arthur was born in Lansingburg, New York, 155 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 1: fifty years ago, but his father used to live in Vermont, 156 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 1: and some say the candidate was born in Fairfield. On 157 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:21,920 Speaker 1: June twelfth, the Carbon Advocate of Lee Heightened, Pennsylvania published 158 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 1: an article that said he had been born in Vermont. 159 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 1: In eighteen thirty one, The Abbeyville Press and Banner of Abbeyville, 160 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:31,839 Speaker 1: South Carolina published an article on the twenty three that 161 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:35,120 Speaker 1: said Arthur had been born in Albany in eighteen thirty one. 162 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 1: He was born seven times in various places. A little later, 163 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: in eighteen eighty, General James S. Brisbane published a biography 164 00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: for the campaign called From the Towpath to the White 165 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:51,640 Speaker 1: House The Early life and public Career of James A. Garfield, 166 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:55,400 Speaker 1: Major General USA. The record of a wonderful career which, 167 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:59,719 Speaker 1: like that of Abraham Lincoln, by native energy and untiring industry, 168 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:03,080 Speaker 1: led this man from obscurity to the foremost position in 169 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:06,160 Speaker 1: the councils of the Nation, including a sketch of the 170 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:10,520 Speaker 1: life of Honorable Chester A. Arthur Moment of silence for 171 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 1: these fabulous titles. The text follows the same pattern as 172 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 1: the title, spending more than five hundred pages on Garfield's 173 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:22,040 Speaker 1: biography and twenty three on Arthur's, with five of those 174 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:26,640 Speaker 1: being the text of Arthur's speech accepting the nomination. Brisbane 175 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: gives Arthur's date and place of birth as October five, 176 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:34,559 Speaker 1: eight thirty in Fairfield, Franklin County, Vermont. So it's clear 177 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:38,000 Speaker 1: from just these examples, which are just some of the 178 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: reporting around all of this, there was some confusion about 179 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:46,640 Speaker 1: exactly when and where Arthur was born. I found zero 180 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 1: references from eighteen eighty that said that he was born 181 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:54,440 Speaker 1: in Fairfield, Vermont, on October five, eighteen twenty nine, which 182 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 1: is what's considered correct today. By the late fall and 183 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:01,440 Speaker 1: early winter of eighteen eighty, this lack of clarity about 184 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:04,280 Speaker 1: where and when Arthur had been born had grown to 185 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:07,480 Speaker 1: include suspicion that wherever it was, it was not in 186 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:11,920 Speaker 1: the United States. An article published on December twenty, eighteen eighty, 187 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,480 Speaker 1: in the Sacramento Daily Record Union read quote, A lawyer 188 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:18,600 Speaker 1: of Brooklyn has been investigating in Vermont to see if 189 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:21,760 Speaker 1: Chester A. Arthur was not really born on Canadian soil, 190 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:26,360 Speaker 1: and left apparently pleased with his discoveries. Old residents say 191 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:29,560 Speaker 1: there is no question of Arthur being a citizen. The 192 00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: Brooklyn lawyer being referenced was Arthur P. Henman, who in 193 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:36,440 Speaker 1: some accounts had been hired by the Democrats and in 194 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:39,920 Speaker 1: others was an anti stalwart Republican. He really could have 195 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 1: been both those things at the same time. At first, 196 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:46,680 Speaker 1: Henman believed that Arthur had been born in Ireland, but 197 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:49,160 Speaker 1: he gradually started focusing on the idea that he might 198 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:52,719 Speaker 1: really be Canadian. He traveled to the Vermont Quebec of 199 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 1: border area to interview people about what they remembered of 200 00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:59,680 Speaker 1: the Arthur family and their baby boy from fifty years 201 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:03,079 Speaker 1: before or later on. In eighteen eighty four, when Arthur 202 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:06,880 Speaker 1: was pursuing a nomination for re election, Henman published these 203 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:10,120 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty findings in a book titled How a British 204 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:14,120 Speaker 1: Subject Became President of the United States. Without really citing 205 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:18,600 Speaker 1: any sources, Hinman alleged that after being nominated for Vice President, 206 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:22,280 Speaker 1: Arthur couldn't say where he had been born. Henman also 207 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:25,360 Speaker 1: alleged that Arthur had gone to Montreal after the Republican 208 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:28,560 Speaker 1: National Convention to see if there was any evidence of 209 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:32,280 Speaker 1: his birth in records. There there is no evidence for 210 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:35,640 Speaker 1: either of these assertions, although the day after the convention ended, 211 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:39,000 Speaker 1: The New York Times did publish a column called Campaign 212 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:43,320 Speaker 1: Notes which paraphrased Roscoe Conkling as saying he might spend 213 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 1: some time that summer fishing with Arthur in Canada. Henman's 214 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:49,520 Speaker 1: contention was, this was not a fishing trip. It was 215 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:52,599 Speaker 1: a go see if you're found out, and if so, 216 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:56,800 Speaker 1: cover it up trip. Henman's key witness was a quote 217 00:12:57,120 --> 00:12:59,880 Speaker 1: Mrs Stevens, who had been a playmate and companion of 218 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:04,199 Speaker 1: Mrs Arthur went at school. According to Henman, Mrs Stephens 219 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,640 Speaker 1: said that Chester Arthur's mother, Malvina, had given birth to 220 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 1: her oldest boy on March sixteenth or eighteenth, eighteen twenty eight, 221 00:13:11,679 --> 00:13:15,840 Speaker 1: at her parents house in Dunham Flats in Quebec. Mrs 222 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:18,280 Speaker 1: Stevens remembered that it was one day off from St 223 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:21,280 Speaker 1: Patrick's Day, but she couldn't really remember in which direction 224 00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:24,400 Speaker 1: it was one day off of St Patrick's day. This baby, 225 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:28,640 Speaker 1: according to her, was named William Chester Alan Arthur. Henman 226 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 1: went on to say that in November of eighteen thirty, 227 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:35,760 Speaker 1: Melvina Arthur had delivered another son, Chester Abel Arthur. While 228 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 1: living in Fairfield, Vermont. Chester Abel had then died in 229 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:43,240 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty one while the family was visiting Burlington, Vermont. 230 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:47,400 Speaker 1: From there, Henman details more moves and more births for 231 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:50,680 Speaker 1: the Arthur family before arriving at the eighteen thirty four 232 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:55,560 Speaker 1: birth of William Arthur Jr. And Heinsburg, Vermont. At that time, 233 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:59,160 Speaker 1: Henman claimed the family decided to drop the William from 234 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:02,800 Speaker 1: their oldest guns name William Chester Alan Arthur, making him 235 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 1: just Chester Alan Arthur. Henman connected all these dots to 236 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:09,679 Speaker 1: conclude that the man the world knew as Chester Alan 237 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:13,720 Speaker 1: Arthur born in Vermont was really his eldest brother born 238 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:18,680 Speaker 1: in Quebec. So dramatic and weird. Not only that, Hinman 239 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:22,680 Speaker 1: contended that William Chester Alan Arthur had decided to adopt 240 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:26,520 Speaker 1: the birthdate and birthplace of his deceased baby brother, Chester 241 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: Able when he decided to run for president. There are 242 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:34,320 Speaker 1: some problems with Henman's account. It is cobbled together from 243 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:37,680 Speaker 1: a hodgepodge of interviews, many of them with people in 244 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:41,240 Speaker 1: their elder years who were recalling events and baby names 245 00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:44,880 Speaker 1: from about fifty years before. A lot of these accounts 246 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:47,840 Speaker 1: really contradict each other and while Heiman cherry picked the 247 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:51,880 Speaker 1: ones that supported his allegations when describing what he thought happened. 248 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 1: He then included all of them in his book, whether 249 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:56,320 Speaker 1: they backed him up or not, So you can go 250 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 1: read all of like the totally disparate accounts of what 251 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: people I thought this baby's name was and when he 252 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:05,760 Speaker 1: was born in his explanation, so sort of the summary 253 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:08,800 Speaker 1: portion of this book. It is often not clear whose 254 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:12,080 Speaker 1: account Henman is referring to, and in some spots he 255 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:13,880 Speaker 1: doesn't seem to have a source for what he's saying 256 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:18,360 Speaker 1: at all. Maybe wouldn't pass muster in your journalism one 257 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:22,400 Speaker 1: oh one course. Now on top of that, his whole 258 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:25,720 Speaker 1: argument rests on the idea that Malvina Arthur gave birth 259 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:28,960 Speaker 1: to a boy named William Chester Alan Arthur on either 260 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:32,320 Speaker 1: March sixteenth or eighteenth of eighteen twenty eight. But we 261 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 1: know that she gave birth to a daughter, and Eliza Arthur, 262 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:39,520 Speaker 1: on January one, of eighty eight. The only way this 263 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:42,280 Speaker 1: could have happened would be for these two children to 264 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 1: have been fraternal twins born eleven weeks apart, or from 265 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:49,680 Speaker 1: Alvina Arthur to have had two wombs and been pregnant 266 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:53,359 Speaker 1: in both at the same time. Both of those scenarios 267 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:56,600 Speaker 1: are incredibly rare, and the first would have been virtually 268 00:15:56,640 --> 00:15:59,920 Speaker 1: impossible given the state of medicine in eighteen twenty eight. 269 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:03,400 Speaker 1: Is more likely to happen on Gray's anatomy than in 270 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:09,560 Speaker 1: the real world. Even so, though by February of a 271 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 1: teen eighty one, after the election but before the inauguration, 272 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:17,520 Speaker 1: papers were reporting on Hinman's speculations, sometimes mentioning him by 273 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:21,359 Speaker 1: name and other times not. For example, the Centered Democrat 274 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:25,920 Speaker 1: of bellefont Pennsylvania published an article on February third one 275 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:29,239 Speaker 1: that read, quote, it has been charged with great deliberation 276 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:33,080 Speaker 1: for several weeks that Chester A. Arthur, the Vice President elect, 277 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:36,440 Speaker 1: is not a native of the United States. These allegations 278 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 1: have taken form, and affidavit's have been procured by those 279 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,680 Speaker 1: investigating the matter, which go on to prove conclusively that 280 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:46,480 Speaker 1: Mr Arthur was born in Canada. Also on the third 281 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:50,680 Speaker 1: the Western Sentinel of Winston Salem, North Carolina published this 282 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:54,520 Speaker 1: statement quote. The latest sensation now is that Chester A. 283 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:57,720 Speaker 1: Arthur is not eligible to the position of vice president 284 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 1: to which he has been elected. In a probability that W. H. 285 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:05,439 Speaker 1: English will yet be vice president. Six days later, in 286 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:08,919 Speaker 1: the clear Field Republican of clear Field of Pennsylvania, quote, 287 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 1: where was he born? Is now agitating the public mind? 288 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,639 Speaker 1: The Vice President elect Chester A. Arthur claims that he 289 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:17,879 Speaker 1: was born in the state of Vermont, but a little 290 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,720 Speaker 1: investigation seems to show that he was born in Canada 291 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: and therefore as not eligible. It is queer that a 292 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:27,439 Speaker 1: sensible man cannot tell where he was born. And on 293 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:31,159 Speaker 1: February twenty three, in the Indiana States Sentinel, quote, it 294 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:34,760 Speaker 1: seems to be impossible to find out just where Chester A. Arthur, 295 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:39,000 Speaker 1: vice President elect, was born. Arthur does not know he 296 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:42,080 Speaker 1: was not born where, nor when he asserts he was born. 297 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 1: He has no proofs of his nativity. But the Senate 298 00:17:45,119 --> 00:17:48,359 Speaker 1: Committee on Privileges and Elections have come to the conclusion 299 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:51,200 Speaker 1: that he was born in three towns and all within 300 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:55,119 Speaker 1: the United States that will do so. I did not 301 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:58,480 Speaker 1: actually find evidence that the Senate Committee on Privileges and 302 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:01,439 Speaker 1: Elections had come to that conclu usian at all, and 303 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:04,879 Speaker 1: the National Republican called the report that the committee was 304 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:09,560 Speaker 1: looking into it an idiotic lie. Also, to be clear, 305 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:12,359 Speaker 1: these newspapers all had their own political slants, and some 306 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:15,120 Speaker 1: of them had initially been started to support a specific 307 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:17,520 Speaker 1: candidate or a specific party. So none of this should 308 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:22,520 Speaker 1: be interpreted as an impartial account of anything I did 309 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:24,399 Speaker 1: for a while ago on this rabbit hole of like 310 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:26,960 Speaker 1: trying to trace the political leanings of the editors of 311 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:28,640 Speaker 1: all of these papers, and then I was like, this 312 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 1: is like fifteen different papers were referring to. That's gonna 313 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:35,320 Speaker 1: take me a master's thesis and this is a thirty 314 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:38,240 Speaker 1: minute podcast as an assigned Am I the only one 315 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:40,199 Speaker 1: that doesn't think it would be that weird to not 316 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:43,360 Speaker 1: know where you're born? Oh No, I think that's totally 317 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:47,680 Speaker 1: like one you don't remember, right, And to his family 318 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:51,800 Speaker 1: was so nomadic they might not even remember with any 319 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: sort of clarity or consistency. Yeah, I I totally know 320 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:57,960 Speaker 1: where my where I was born because my parents told 321 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 1: me specifically, and we lived like near enough to the 322 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:02,720 Speaker 1: hospital I was born in that we would go past 323 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:04,119 Speaker 1: it and my mom would be like, that's where you 324 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:07,080 Speaker 1: were born. But well, and it was a recorded birth 325 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:10,960 Speaker 1: as well, right, Yeah, I have a birth certificate. But yeah, 326 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:12,879 Speaker 1: these were all babies who are mostly being born at 327 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:16,159 Speaker 1: home or at a relative's house, like in families that 328 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:20,879 Speaker 1: were moving around a whole lot, and when babies weren't 329 00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:25,760 Speaker 1: viewed with quite the same Uh, there was not the 330 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:31,560 Speaker 1: level of preciousness like yeah, celebration. Yeah, so many babies 331 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:34,680 Speaker 1: died when they were really young that like sometimes people 332 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:37,560 Speaker 1: didn't even name their babies until later, Like it was 333 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:40,320 Speaker 1: not nearly as documented as is now, so that the 334 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,760 Speaker 1: fact that there was uncertainty is not really strange. No, 335 00:19:44,119 --> 00:19:47,640 Speaker 1: I don't think so either. Uh. James Garfield was inaugurated 336 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:51,359 Speaker 1: as president on March foe, and at that point the 337 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:54,639 Speaker 1: chatter about where Arthur was born seems to have quieted down, 338 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,480 Speaker 1: at least as far as what was being printed in newspapers. 339 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:01,199 Speaker 1: But after Garfield was shot by ARLs Jay Gato, the 340 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:04,159 Speaker 1: question took on a renewed urgency, and we're going to 341 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:14,520 Speaker 1: talk more about that after we have another little sponsor break. 342 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:19,720 Speaker 1: President Garfield survived for weeks after being shot in March 343 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:22,360 Speaker 1: of eighteen eighty one, and as his death seemed more 344 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:26,080 Speaker 1: and more likely, people once again started raising questions about 345 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:29,240 Speaker 1: his vice president and whether he was eligible to the presidency. 346 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:33,960 Speaker 1: On September eight one, the National Republican of Washington d c. 347 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,879 Speaker 1: Published this exchange as a letter to the editor. Quote 348 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,800 Speaker 1: to the editor of The Republican, will you please inform 349 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:44,320 Speaker 1: me where General Chester A. Arthur was born? C? J. 350 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:49,080 Speaker 1: Lemon The answer quote General Arthur was born in Fairfield, 351 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:53,400 Speaker 1: Franklin County, Vermont, on October thirty. There are some persons 352 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,000 Speaker 1: who do aver that he was born in Canada, but 353 00:20:56,040 --> 00:21:01,960 Speaker 1: they do not know what they're talking about. Surprisingly, the 354 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:06,320 Speaker 1: Republicans definitive statement did not settle this issue. They do 355 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:08,119 Speaker 1: not know what they were talking about. I love that 356 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:14,080 Speaker 1: Garfield died on September nine. On September twenty, the New 357 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 1: York Herald printed a report written before his death which 358 00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:21,760 Speaker 1: definitively stated that Arthur was born in Fairfield, Vermont. It 359 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:24,960 Speaker 1: based this conclusion on an interview with an anonymous source, 360 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:28,920 Speaker 1: who was described as an intimate friend. This friend said 361 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:31,879 Speaker 1: the whole story of a foreign birth came about because 362 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:35,600 Speaker 1: Arthur's old neighbors quote assumed too much when hearing that 363 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:39,199 Speaker 1: Chester Arthur had been named for Dr Chester Abel. The 364 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:42,920 Speaker 1: Herald's reporter interviewed A. P. Hinman and recapped his version 365 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:46,720 Speaker 1: of events as well. The Herald also interviewed New York 366 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:50,560 Speaker 1: lawyer and former US District Attorney George Bliss, who was 367 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:54,080 Speaker 1: a colleague of Arthur's, who said, in part quote, I 368 00:21:54,119 --> 00:21:56,520 Speaker 1: can only say that the whole thing is the most 369 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:59,760 Speaker 1: arrant nonsense. I might as well have been asked whether 370 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,720 Speaker 1: of sorrow as a citizen. The question of the American 371 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:06,080 Speaker 1: citizenship of Mr Arthur is so absurd that it would 372 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 1: be a waste to say anything about it. The Herald's 373 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:12,680 Speaker 1: report was picked up and republished in other newspapers, including 374 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 1: the Memphis Daily Appeal. On September twenty one, The New 375 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 1: York Sun published the findings of its own investigation into 376 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,720 Speaker 1: where Arthur had been born. The Sun's report ran under 377 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:26,480 Speaker 1: the headline General Arthur's birthplace. It is near the Canada 378 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:30,440 Speaker 1: line on the Vermont side, it began, quote, The Sun 379 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:33,399 Speaker 1: has received lately many letters of inquiry as to the 380 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:36,919 Speaker 1: birthplace of Chester Alan Arthur, as well as other letters 381 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:40,880 Speaker 1: professing doubt of General Arthur's citizenship, some of them alleging 382 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:43,480 Speaker 1: that he was born in the neighborhood of Dunham, Canada, 383 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:47,520 Speaker 1: and therefore not eligible to the Vice presidency to settle 384 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:51,159 Speaker 1: that question. Definitely, a reporter for The Sun visited Fairfield 385 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:54,680 Speaker 1: Franklin County, Vermont, which has generally been regarded as Mr 386 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:57,960 Speaker 1: Arthur's birthplace. The place in Canada where it has been 387 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:00,959 Speaker 1: alleged that he was born was also it did if 388 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: you're thinking right now, hey, Tracy and Holly, is that 389 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:06,320 Speaker 1: the same New York Sun that published the Great Moon 390 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:13,280 Speaker 1: Hoax and the Yes Virginia Letter. Yes, it is sure thing. Uh. 391 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:16,200 Speaker 1: It also seems to have at least in the like 392 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:20,120 Speaker 1: the Hodgepodge of articles from there from this particular year, 393 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:24,520 Speaker 1: because it's political leanings shifted over time. Uh. It really 394 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:28,800 Speaker 1: seems to be more critical of Republicans than Democrats in 395 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:34,960 Speaker 1: eight one. So, like Arthur Henman, this Son reporter had 396 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:37,560 Speaker 1: gone to the general area where Arthur had been born 397 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:40,960 Speaker 1: and had tried to find formal documentation about when and 398 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:45,120 Speaker 1: where that happened. But this reporter did not find anything conclusive. 399 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:48,040 Speaker 1: The church where Elder Arthur had been preaching at the 400 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 1: time in Fairfield was no longer standing, and the Greater 401 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:54,239 Speaker 1: Free Baptist Organization had really dwindled. It no longer had 402 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:57,119 Speaker 1: any records. So the only record that he found of 403 00:23:57,160 --> 00:24:00,040 Speaker 1: the Arthur's in Dunham, Canada, which is where p but 404 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:03,199 Speaker 1: we're alleging Chester Arthur had been born was a record 405 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:06,840 Speaker 1: of the birth of William Arthur's eldest daughter. From there, 406 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:09,840 Speaker 1: the reporter interviewed locals who were between the ages of 407 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:14,520 Speaker 1: sixty and eighty seven. The article contained such testimonies as well, 408 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:18,240 Speaker 1: I reckon I recollect Elder Arthur. He came here to preach. 409 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:20,800 Speaker 1: When they were building the new meetinghouse. There was a 410 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:24,400 Speaker 1: kind of a fish shaped vein with eight painted on it. 411 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:26,719 Speaker 1: It was painted so bad that the feller has painted 412 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:34,240 Speaker 1: it was ashamed of it. I like how this local 413 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:38,040 Speaker 1: person from Vermont is written as though he talked like 414 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:45,119 Speaker 1: a cowhand. Yeah Texas, Yeah, um so those That quote 415 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:48,919 Speaker 1: was purportedly the words of Leonard D. Greer, who also 416 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:53,000 Speaker 1: remembered the Arthur's and specifically remembered that Dr chester Able 417 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:56,800 Speaker 1: had delivered their son. Greer was really certain that they 418 00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:00,800 Speaker 1: had named this baby chester Able after the doctor. Other 419 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,360 Speaker 1: people that were interviewed around Fairfield had the same recollection, 420 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:08,840 Speaker 1: and that included dr Abel's brother, Calvin. The doctor himself, 421 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:11,920 Speaker 1: by this point had passed on. Calvin answered a question 422 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:15,160 Speaker 1: about this baby's name with quote, well, I guess having 423 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:19,040 Speaker 1: been named after my brother, it's Chester Abele Arthur. The 424 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:22,480 Speaker 1: overall consensus of the people interviewed in Fairfield was that 425 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:25,040 Speaker 1: the Arthur's had a son while living there, that they 426 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:28,240 Speaker 1: named him Chester Abel, after the doctor who delivered him, 427 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:30,840 Speaker 1: and that he was the same person as the Chester 428 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:34,720 Speaker 1: Arthur who had been elected vice president. Although several people 429 00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:37,639 Speaker 1: who thought about it were surprised his middle name was 430 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:41,160 Speaker 1: given as Alan rather than Able, other people had given 431 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:46,080 Speaker 1: that no thought whatsoever. The son's reporter, though, also talked 432 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:48,679 Speaker 1: to some people who maintained that this was not the 433 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:52,320 Speaker 1: same person. Their argument was that Chester Abele Arthur had 434 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:55,800 Speaker 1: died in Burlington, Vermont, while still a baby, and that 435 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 1: elder Arthur had given his body to doctors quote to 436 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:04,040 Speaker 1: dissected for scientific purposes. Then, while elder Arthur was working 437 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:08,119 Speaker 1: in East Standbridge, according to this account, his wife and 438 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:11,000 Speaker 1: the rest of the children were living with her parents 439 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:15,440 Speaker 1: in Meg's Corners, Canada. And then while there these people 440 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:19,199 Speaker 1: alleged she had another baby, and this other baby is 441 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:22,760 Speaker 1: the one who became president, taking his brother's identity to 442 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:25,760 Speaker 1: do it. So it's really similar to the story that 443 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:29,480 Speaker 1: Henman had reported about Arthur taking a deceased baby brother's name, 444 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:31,960 Speaker 1: but in this case it was an older brother and 445 00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:35,480 Speaker 1: not a younger brother. The residence of East Stanbridge, Quebec, 446 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:39,160 Speaker 1: on the other hand, remembered things differently. Seventy year old 447 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:42,160 Speaker 1: Lyndall Corey reported that Elder Arthur had come to town 448 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:45,240 Speaker 1: with his daughter Regina in the autumn of eighteen thirty 449 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:49,119 Speaker 1: and taught there for eighteen months. Neither Corey nor anyone 450 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:51,800 Speaker 1: else interviewed in East Stanbridge recalled the rest of the 451 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:55,960 Speaker 1: family being present. Corey had heard this rumor about donating 452 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:59,680 Speaker 1: a baby's body two doctors, but didn't have any recollection 453 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,840 Speaker 1: of a bee being born to the Arthur's in East Stanbridge, 454 00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:05,800 Speaker 1: or of any of the Arthur's living there besides Elder 455 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:09,720 Speaker 1: Arthur and his daughter Regina. So as had happened with 456 00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:12,440 Speaker 1: Henman's report, the Sun got a whole lot of contradictory 457 00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:15,680 Speaker 1: accounts from locals, and again these were people being asked 458 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:20,480 Speaker 1: about a baby name from fifty years before. The son, however, 459 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:24,080 Speaker 1: drew the opposite conclusion in its report to what Henman did, 460 00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:27,840 Speaker 1: citing an anonymous gentleman quote intimately connected with the president's 461 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:31,439 Speaker 1: life and family. This anonymous source said that Arthur was 462 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:35,480 Speaker 1: named after both Dr Chester Able and his own paternal grandfather. 463 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:39,879 Speaker 1: The son reported that this unnamed source had personally seen 464 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:43,200 Speaker 1: the Arthur family Bible and that the entry for Chester's 465 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:47,399 Speaker 1: birth read Chester Alan Arthur born in Fairfield, Franklin County, Vermont, 466 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:52,760 Speaker 1: October five, eighteen thirty. Speculation continued in the months that followed, 467 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,800 Speaker 1: and as we noted earlier, Henman published his book when 468 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:59,399 Speaker 1: Arthur was seeking re election in eighteen eighty four, but 469 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:02,639 Speaker 1: when Arthur didn't earn the Republican nomination for president, the 470 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:06,119 Speaker 1: question faded away, and then he died in eighteen six. 471 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:10,479 Speaker 1: Arthur never directly addressed this controversy, but according to an 472 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:13,480 Speaker 1: article published in The New York Times on February twelfth, 473 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:16,840 Speaker 1: eighty one, he did give a speech at a celebratory 474 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:21,000 Speaker 1: dinner at Delmonico's in New York City. About two hundred 475 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:25,399 Speaker 1: people were there, including politicians and high profile supporters. In 476 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:28,119 Speaker 1: his speech, Arthur said quote, I don't think we had 477 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:31,200 Speaker 1: better go into the minute secrets of the campaign so 478 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:33,879 Speaker 1: far as I know them, because I see reporters present 479 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:36,240 Speaker 1: who were taking it all down. And while there is 480 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:39,520 Speaker 1: no harm in talking about some things after the election, 481 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:41,840 Speaker 1: is over you cannot tell what they may make of 482 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:45,120 Speaker 1: it because the inauguration has not yet taken place. And 483 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:47,720 Speaker 1: while I don't mean to say anything about my birthplace, 484 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:50,920 Speaker 1: whether it was in Canada or elsewhere, still, if I 485 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:53,240 Speaker 1: should get to going about the secrets of the campaign, 486 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:55,880 Speaker 1: there is no saying what I might say to make 487 00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:59,200 Speaker 1: trouble between now and the fourth of March. So, after 488 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 1: all of that, when and where was Chester A. Arthur born? 489 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:06,880 Speaker 1: We actually have more information on that than you might 490 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:11,440 Speaker 1: think from the quality of all of those nineteenth century reports. Yeah, 491 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:14,160 Speaker 1: there's more to go on than oral testimony from people 492 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:17,840 Speaker 1: living fifty years later. Not that oral testimony is without value, 493 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:20,600 Speaker 1: but seriously, who really remembers the middle name of the 494 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:22,720 Speaker 1: baby that was born in your neighborhood to a family 495 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:25,200 Speaker 1: that lived there for a couple of years fifty years before. 496 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:29,440 Speaker 1: I imagine there are people here and there that might 497 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:32,840 Speaker 1: but overall, I would not put a whole lot of 498 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:36,400 Speaker 1: stock in those accounts. Now now, So, three different members 499 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:40,080 Speaker 1: of the Arthur family compiled genealogies, all of them started 500 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:44,960 Speaker 1: decades before Chester became a vice presidential nominee. William Arthur Sr. 501 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,280 Speaker 1: Started compiling one about the time he converted to Free Baptist. 502 00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 1: Chester Arthur compiled one in eighteen fifty nine, and Chester's sister, 503 00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:56,960 Speaker 1: Malvina Arthur Haynesworth wrote one in her diary. All three 504 00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,920 Speaker 1: of them give Chester's state of birth as October five, 505 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:05,320 Speaker 1: eighteen twenty nine. We also have two different Arthur family bibles, 506 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:08,160 Speaker 1: one belonged to William Arthur, Sr. And the other TOI. 507 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:12,120 Speaker 1: Chester Arthur. Both of those list his birthplace and date 508 00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:17,000 Speaker 1: as October five, eighty nine in Fairfield, Vermont. If you're 509 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:19,600 Speaker 1: not familiar with the tradition of keeping a family Bible, 510 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:22,000 Speaker 1: these are bibles that are passed down through families that 511 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:26,920 Speaker 1: have designated pages for keeping family records. Family members write 512 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:31,280 Speaker 1: down important dates like births, baptisms, and marriages on these pages, 513 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:34,880 Speaker 1: and that might seem like an informal document, but family 514 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:38,720 Speaker 1: Bibles are or have been used to substantiate people's births 515 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:43,680 Speaker 1: for things like school enrollment, driver's licenses, and even passports. Yeah, 516 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:46,520 Speaker 1: you can't really just show up at the passport office 517 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:49,160 Speaker 1: with your family Bible and get a passport, but it's 518 00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:53,640 Speaker 1: like part of the substantiating documentation and a lot of contexts. 519 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:57,640 Speaker 1: And then we also have census records. The Arthur family 520 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:00,760 Speaker 1: was enumerated in the eighteen fifties census us on August 521 00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:04,120 Speaker 1: eight of eighteen fifty Chester Arthur is listed as a 522 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:08,520 Speaker 1: student born in Vermont, age twenty. Since they were counted 523 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:11,200 Speaker 1: in August and he was born in October, that would 524 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:15,280 Speaker 1: put his birth year at eighteen twenty nine. Arthur was 525 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:18,960 Speaker 1: counted in the eighteen sixties census on July, and he's 526 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,000 Speaker 1: listed as thirty years old and born in Vermont. In 527 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,600 Speaker 1: the eighteen seventy census, he was counted in December, after 528 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:27,880 Speaker 1: his birthday, and in that year's record says age is 529 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:31,520 Speaker 1: listed as forty one, which follows the same mathematical pattern, 530 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:34,920 Speaker 1: but his birthplace is listed as a pair of ditto 531 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:37,800 Speaker 1: marks like same as the line above, But the line 532 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:42,000 Speaker 1: above is the last entry from another household that person 533 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:45,600 Speaker 1: was born in New York. That discrepancy is a mystery 534 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:48,840 Speaker 1: in our theme of bad uses for time machines. I 535 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:51,080 Speaker 1: would go back in time and ask that census taker, Hey, 536 00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:54,000 Speaker 1: what's up with this? And is this an error? Like 537 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:56,320 Speaker 1: what happened? And they would say, oh, I don't know, 538 00:31:56,360 --> 00:32:01,280 Speaker 1: I was tired probably, And then there's the eighteen eighties 539 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:04,520 Speaker 1: senses taken in June, which lists Arthur's place of birth 540 00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:08,280 Speaker 1: as Vermont and his age is forty nine. Following the 541 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:12,600 Speaker 1: pattern of all this other documentation, it really should be fifty. 542 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:15,960 Speaker 1: So it seems as though between eighteen seventy and eighteen eighty, 543 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:19,360 Speaker 1: when Arthur was between the ages of forty one and fifty, 544 00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:23,000 Speaker 1: he maybe started fudging his age by a year. Thomas 545 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:26,280 Speaker 1: c Reeves chalked it up to quote simple vanity, calling 546 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:29,440 Speaker 1: Arthur quote one of the most vainglorious men of the 547 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:32,760 Speaker 1: Gilded Age. And the fact that he was lying about 548 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:36,239 Speaker 1: his age apparently intentionally, like that year is even on 549 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:39,360 Speaker 1: his tombstone. Uh, made people sort of go, well, what 550 00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:41,680 Speaker 1: else was he lying about? He was lying about when 551 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:44,720 Speaker 1: he was born? Was he lying about where? Maybe his weight? 552 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:50,840 Speaker 1: Like we said at the top of the show, The 553 00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:54,520 Speaker 1: story that Arthur was really Canadian has kind of stuck around. 554 00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:58,360 Speaker 1: Canada's History magazine published an article on this subject in 555 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:01,760 Speaker 1: two thousand and At time, the magazine was called The Beaver. 556 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:05,840 Speaker 1: This article kicks off with quote, Presidents of the United 557 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:08,480 Speaker 1: States must be born on US soil, so says the 558 00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:12,520 Speaker 1: American Constitution. But evidence suggests that Chester Arthur, the twenty 559 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:16,160 Speaker 1: first president, was born in a foreign land, Canada. Perhaps 560 00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:20,760 Speaker 1: don't tell the Americans. Later on this article says quote 561 00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:23,960 Speaker 1: Chester Arthur was most likely a citizen of Lower Canada, 562 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:27,080 Speaker 1: a British subject born in Dunham Flats, Quebec, near the 563 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:30,800 Speaker 1: Vermont border. So, among other things, this article kind of 564 00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:34,720 Speaker 1: misrepresents what natural born citizen really means, and at least 565 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:37,440 Speaker 1: in the online version, it does not cite any sources 566 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:40,680 Speaker 1: for where its information came from, but it does seem 567 00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:43,000 Speaker 1: like a lot of it is from a p Headman's 568 00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:45,959 Speaker 1: how a British subject became President of the United States, 569 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:49,560 Speaker 1: which we noted lots of problems with earlier in the episode. 570 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:53,760 Speaker 1: CBS Sunday Morning produced a segment inve that takes more 571 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:57,440 Speaker 1: of a both sides approach, interviewing a museum curator in 572 00:33:57,520 --> 00:34:00,440 Speaker 1: Quebec who says she's pretty convinced he was born in Canada, 573 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:03,760 Speaker 1: along with Fairfield, Vermont locals who say he was not. 574 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:08,640 Speaker 1: They also talked to John Dumbville, Vermont's Historic Sites Operations chief, 575 00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:11,720 Speaker 1: who says, of the Canadian question, there is a chance, 576 00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:14,920 Speaker 1: but I doubt it. This debate has also come up 577 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:17,719 Speaker 1: over the last decade or so in the context of 578 00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:20,800 Speaker 1: Ted cruise is eligibility for the presidency because he was 579 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:23,879 Speaker 1: born in Canada, as well as the birther Or conspiracy 580 00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:28,080 Speaker 1: theory about President Barack Obama's citizenship. For all three of 581 00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:31,719 Speaker 1: these men, these questions were definitely attempts to discredit them 582 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:33,960 Speaker 1: and suggest that they were not fit for office. But 583 00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:37,640 Speaker 1: in a lot of other ways, these controversies don't really 584 00:34:37,680 --> 00:34:41,839 Speaker 1: compare because Ted Cruise and Barack Obama both released their 585 00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:45,520 Speaker 1: birth certificates showing where they had been born. Arthur, on 586 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:48,400 Speaker 1: the other hand, was not at all forthcoming. He released 587 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:51,919 Speaker 1: no documentation of where he had been born, and this 588 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:55,600 Speaker 1: was really totally in line with how secretive he always 589 00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:59,840 Speaker 1: was with the press about everything. And really, who know 590 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:02,279 Speaker 1: whether if he had brought out his family Bible and 591 00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:05,400 Speaker 1: was like right here, it says whether people would have 592 00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:08,960 Speaker 1: moved on to insisting that that family Bible was fake. Really, 593 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:12,759 Speaker 1: it's not impossible that chester A. Arthur's mother visited her 594 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:16,000 Speaker 1: parents or his father in Canada while she was pregnant 595 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:18,399 Speaker 1: with him and gave birth to him there. But there's 596 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:21,799 Speaker 1: no evidence whatsoever that Arthur assumed the identity of a 597 00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:25,680 Speaker 1: deceased brother, and there are multiple family and census records 598 00:35:25,719 --> 00:35:29,600 Speaker 1: listing his birthplace as Vermont. Most of them date back 599 00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:32,440 Speaker 1: to before the Civil War, long before Arthur became the 600 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:35,920 Speaker 1: vice presidential nominee, and long before he had any reason 601 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:39,799 Speaker 1: to prove that he was in natural born citizen. Yeah, 602 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:42,680 Speaker 1: why would he have started lying about it in eighteen 603 00:35:42,719 --> 00:35:46,080 Speaker 1: fifty We call that the long con the super long count, 604 00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:48,880 Speaker 1: especially because he personally might not have been the person 605 00:35:48,960 --> 00:35:53,960 Speaker 1: talking to the census taker that day, right. Uh So, anyway, 606 00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:59,000 Speaker 1: that is the cookie story of Chester A. Arthur. Uh 607 00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:01,919 Speaker 1: When the first little reference to it that I read 608 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:04,279 Speaker 1: was like and then people asked whether he was born 609 00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:06,319 Speaker 1: in Canada, and I said, Okay, that's weird. And then 610 00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:07,960 Speaker 1: I got to the part of people saying he had 611 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:10,160 Speaker 1: assumed the identity of a dead baby brother, and I 612 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:14,120 Speaker 1: was like, Okay, now this is just strange. We are 613 00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:17,120 Speaker 1: going to talk about it a little more. Yeah, do 614 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:19,759 Speaker 1: you have listener meal to talk about I do. It's 615 00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:23,200 Speaker 1: for Megan, and I wanted to read this because it's 616 00:36:23,239 --> 00:36:28,480 Speaker 1: just funny to me. Megan first of all, has the 617 00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:31,319 Speaker 1: subject line in the email of You're in luck. You 618 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:35,320 Speaker 1: are I and and it says Dear Tracy and Holly. 619 00:36:35,400 --> 00:36:37,960 Speaker 1: I hope that pun didn't send this note straight to 620 00:36:38,040 --> 00:36:40,839 Speaker 1: your spam folder. I just wanted to write a quick 621 00:36:40,840 --> 00:36:43,319 Speaker 1: note to say thank you for your recent episode on 622 00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:46,520 Speaker 1: Hennig and Phosphorus. I was having a very bad day 623 00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:48,920 Speaker 1: and I was cracking up listening to this episode. I 624 00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:50,919 Speaker 1: felt like I could hear you guys trying so hard 625 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:53,520 Speaker 1: not to laugh, and that made me laugh harder. So 626 00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:56,160 Speaker 1: thanks for that. It is right up there in my 627 00:36:56,200 --> 00:37:01,560 Speaker 1: favor episodes with Hessian's Marjory Camp and the boy Jones. Also, Holly, 628 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:03,560 Speaker 1: I know you don't like musicals, but I really think 629 00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:05,560 Speaker 1: you should check out the music for the show You're 630 00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:07,759 Speaker 1: in Town. I was thinking about it the whole time 631 00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:11,680 Speaker 1: you were talking about p Barrels. I know nothing about 632 00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:15,839 Speaker 1: this show. Just for the record, f y, I for clarification, 633 00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:18,760 Speaker 1: I feel like I am forever defending this. I don't 634 00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:21,160 Speaker 1: mind musicals. I don't want to watch them because I 635 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:23,959 Speaker 1: don't want to watch people. I love music, I don't 636 00:37:23,960 --> 00:37:29,680 Speaker 1: want to watch people singing. Uh. This is sort of 637 00:37:29,760 --> 00:37:32,319 Speaker 1: like how I said something in an episode one time 638 00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:35,359 Speaker 1: about not enjoying Sonheim and we got a number of 639 00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:41,040 Speaker 1: emails explaining to me how how like, gifted and brilliant 640 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:45,120 Speaker 1: Sonheim was, and I was like, I'm not arguing the 641 00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:49,960 Speaker 1: mastery of Sondheim. I'm talking about my personal enjoyment listening 642 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:54,440 Speaker 1: to it right anyway. Uh. Megan goes on to thank 643 00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:56,920 Speaker 1: us and says that she runs on Mondays and Wednesdays 644 00:37:56,960 --> 00:37:58,560 Speaker 1: because she has the show to listen to you on 645 00:37:58,600 --> 00:38:01,600 Speaker 1: those days. Thank you so much, Megan for sending this note. 646 00:38:01,640 --> 00:38:05,200 Speaker 1: It made me laugh. Just now made Holly laugh. I'm 647 00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:07,600 Speaker 1: really excited when we get to do episodes that make 648 00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:11,600 Speaker 1: people laugh sometimes because not all of them new. If 649 00:38:11,640 --> 00:38:13,440 Speaker 1: you would like to write to us about this or 650 00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:16,359 Speaker 1: any other podcast, we are at History Podcast at how 651 00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:18,640 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com, and then we're all over social 652 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:22,080 Speaker 1: media at miss in History. That's where you'll find our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, 653 00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:25,080 Speaker 1: and Instagram. You can come to our website, which is 654 00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:27,080 Speaker 1: missed in history dot com, where you will find show 655 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:29,360 Speaker 1: notes of all the episodes that Holly and I have 656 00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:32,040 Speaker 1: worked on together. In the show notes for today include 657 00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:36,080 Speaker 1: links to scans of a whole lot of nineteenth century newspapers, 658 00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:38,680 Speaker 1: and you can also find a searchable archive of all 659 00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:41,400 Speaker 1: our episodes ever, and you can subscribe to our show 660 00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:44,800 Speaker 1: on Apple podcast the I heart Radio app, and wherever 661 00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:52,800 Speaker 1: else you get podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History Class 662 00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:55,480 Speaker 1: is a production of I heart Radio's How Stuff Works. 663 00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:58,200 Speaker 1: For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the iHeart 664 00:38:58,280 --> 00:39:01,279 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 665 00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:05,080 Speaker 1: favorite shows. H