WEBVTT - Classic Civil War Problem! What To Do With All The Prostitutes

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<v Speaker 1>School of Humans. Do you guys want to hear some

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<v Speaker 1>podcasts tea, So, well, you're gonna hear it whether or

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<v Speaker 1>not you want it. If you don't want to, fast

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<v Speaker 1>forward like a minute and a half and the episodes

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<v Speaker 1>will start. But we had to update the American Filth

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<v Speaker 1>Podcast description because it said things like fuck boy and

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<v Speaker 1>cox and anal And apparently I didn't realize this, but

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<v Speaker 1>the podcast auto populates on some news websites and so

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<v Speaker 1>they were getting we were getting complaints that they're just like,

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<v Speaker 1>oh god, we just just says fuck boy on our website. Whoopsies.

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<v Speaker 1>So we updated the description because the thing is, I

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<v Speaker 1>love I love filthy stuff, and I really appreciate all

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<v Speaker 1>of y'all who are listening who like filthy stuff. But

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<v Speaker 1>I also understand maybe it's not polite to just, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>assault unsuspecting website perusers with words like cocks. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe they're trying to enjoy their Wednesday or whatever. So

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<v Speaker 1>we updated the description, but don't worry, the spirit of

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<v Speaker 1>the podcast remains the same. And so this is episode six.

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<v Speaker 1>I think something that's fun about this is this is

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<v Speaker 1>another episode about boats, and for anyone who is perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit more historically rigorous than I am. There

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<v Speaker 1>might be some good fodder to look at this trend

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<v Speaker 1>of the the intersection of filthiness and boats, because it

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<v Speaker 1>seems like things are happening on boats, like what is

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<v Speaker 1>up with boats? Like maybe it's more of a psychological

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<v Speaker 1>study or something, but we got there's some there's something

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<v Speaker 1>up with boats. I think. Here's another historical theory that

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna pause. It that maybe if people with Wieners

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<v Speaker 1>had ever understood that they could, you know, control their horniness,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe fewer people would have been oppressed. This is that's

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<v Speaker 1>a huge theory, I know, but this is an episode

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<v Speaker 1>about how a lot of women got displaced because dudes

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<v Speaker 1>were too horny and they were like a gain, do

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<v Speaker 1>nothing about it anyway, Thanks for listening. Let's just get

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<v Speaker 1>into the episode. Imagine you're a bird flying over the

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<v Speaker 1>Ohio River in eighteen sixty three. Are you there? Are

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<v Speaker 1>you a bird? When you hear in the distance the

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<v Speaker 1>sound of a man complaining, I'm a man and I'm complaining. Complaint, complaint, complaint.

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<v Speaker 1>You love getting in other people's business, so you swoop

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<v Speaker 1>down closer and closer until you finally make out what

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<v Speaker 1>he's saying. He whinds, what are these motherfucking hoes doing

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<v Speaker 1>on this mother fucking boat. Yeah, it's not a direct quote,

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<v Speaker 1>but also it could have been. We don't know. The

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<v Speaker 1>entirety of human history is not recorded. But that is

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<v Speaker 1>exactly what Samuel L. Jackson would have said if he

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<v Speaker 1>was cast in a movie about the captain of a

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<v Speaker 1>ship called the Ida in eighteen sixty three. It's a

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<v Speaker 1>brand spanking new steamboat, captain by a man named John Newcombe.

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<v Speaker 1>This boat is supposed to help people travel down the

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<v Speaker 1>Ohio and Cumberland Rivers. It's supposed to make John Newcombe

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<v Speaker 1>so much money. It's supposed to be a good god

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<v Speaker 1>fearing vessel for good god fearing people. But unfortunately for

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<v Speaker 1>mister Newcomb, the Union Army had ordered him to put

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<v Speaker 1>on board his ship the most unwelcome of cargo. It's

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<v Speaker 1>his ships made in voyage, and on board are about

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred and ten sex workers from the streets of Nashville, Tennessee.

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<v Speaker 1>And on today's episode of American Filth, how all these

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<v Speaker 1>ladies got on that boat? This is American Filth, and

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<v Speaker 1>I'm your host, Gabby Watts. Every week I tell you

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<v Speaker 1>a filthy story from American history in today's episode, Vicious

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<v Speaker 1>White Women. Okay, guys, it's the nineteenth century, it's the

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<v Speaker 1>Civil War, it's America. We're going down to Tennessee. Now

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<v Speaker 1>Tennessee it was the last state to join the Confederacy,

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<v Speaker 1>but then Nashville. It was taken back by the Union

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<v Speaker 1>in February of eighteen sixty two. The man in charge

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<v Speaker 1>at the time of the army was General William Rosecrans,

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<v Speaker 1>or as he was called Old Rosie. He was one

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<v Speaker 1>of the most powerful men in the army and he

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<v Speaker 1>was a tough dude. Unlike other generals. He liked to

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<v Speaker 1>get up into the guts of the battle. And for him,

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<v Speaker 1>Nashville that's a great place to have the Union Army

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<v Speaker 1>as access to water, trains, infrastructure is a good place

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<v Speaker 1>to train troops on the Western Front. But he didn't

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<v Speaker 1>think about one issue. Most of the Union soldiers at

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<v Speaker 1>the time were like eighteen to twenty two years old.

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<v Speaker 1>They were away from their families for the first time,

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<v Speaker 1>ready to have some fun, doing some war, doing some drinking,

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<v Speaker 1>and doing some sex. There was a huge demand for banging,

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<v Speaker 1>and lucky for the boys, there was an influx of supply.

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<v Speaker 1>To put it into perspective, before the Civil War, Nashville

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<v Speaker 1>had about two hundred prostitutes, but once the Union Army

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<v Speaker 1>was there, there was more than fifteen hundred of them.

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<v Speaker 1>And part of the reason for that was that during

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<v Speaker 1>the Civil War a lot of women couldn't make enough

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<v Speaker 1>money to support themselves. Basic goods were getting super expensive,

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<v Speaker 1>and then their husbands and their dad's war salaries were

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<v Speaker 1>pretty low, so they had to take on jobs like sewing,

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<v Speaker 1>but then that wasn't bringing in enough cash, so some

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<v Speaker 1>of them, as a side hustle, took up prostitution. And

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of these women are coming to Nashville because

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<v Speaker 1>they know that's where the soldiers are, and then they're

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<v Speaker 1>all pouring into one small part of the city, Smokey Row.

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<v Speaker 1>Smokey Row was an area about two blocks wide and

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<v Speaker 1>four blocks long. I think even before the Civil War

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<v Speaker 1>this was a place to go and have a good time.

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<v Speaker 1>Most of the women who worked here were poor white women,

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<v Speaker 1>usually about thirty years old, usually widowed with kids, living

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<v Speaker 1>just above the poverty line in a small apartment. But

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<v Speaker 1>there were also some very fancy body houses or parlor

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<v Speaker 1>houses or houses of ill fame and the ill repute,

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<v Speaker 1>whatever you want to call them. One was run by

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<v Speaker 1>sisters Eliza and Rebecca Higgins. They had seventeen prostitutes working

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<v Speaker 1>for them in the house, which was worth a whopping

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<v Speaker 1>at twenty four thousand dollars. But the richest Madam of

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<v Speaker 1>Smokey Row was Martha Reader. She was actually one of

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<v Speaker 1>the richest people in Nashville before the war. She had

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<v Speaker 1>about fifteen thousand dollars in personal money. Strong independent women

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<v Speaker 1>who were also pems. So then during the war, these

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<v Speaker 1>streets of Smokey Row, they were packed out, ladies hanging loose,

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<v Speaker 1>and various states of undress, ready to make a real

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<v Speaker 1>Union soldier out of you. One Union soldier said, there

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<v Speaker 1>was an old saying that no man could be a

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<v Speaker 1>soldier unless he had gone through Smokey Row. Women had

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<v Speaker 1>no thought of dress or decency. They say Smokey Row

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<v Speaker 1>killed more soldiers than the war. I mean that's not

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<v Speaker 1>exactly true, but it did cause some serious problems. Like

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<v Speaker 1>on the battlefield, about seventeen percent of Union soldiers got injured,

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<v Speaker 1>but in the sheets eight percent of soldiers got syphilis

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<v Speaker 1>and gonnerrhea. And yet it wouldn't always kill you, but

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<v Speaker 1>it wasn't good, you know. And at the time, really

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<v Speaker 1>the only treatment for these diseases was mercury, and that

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<v Speaker 1>always put dudes in retrograde, making them totally useless on

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<v Speaker 1>the battlefield. That gave rise to this fun expression, A

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<v Speaker 1>night with venus, a lifetime with mercury. And now so

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<v Speaker 1>many soldiers were getting messed up with ScDs in Nashville

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<v Speaker 1>that it was becoming a state of emergency in US

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<v Speaker 1>Major General Rose Kranz. He was pissed. He was pissed

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<v Speaker 1>about the STDs. He was pissed about the lack of morality,

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<v Speaker 1>and he was pissed about losing soldiers on the battlefield

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<v Speaker 1>to frivolity. And so he got to thinking, and he

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<v Speaker 1>was like, well, there is literally no way I can

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<v Speaker 1>get these horny boys to stop visiting the ladies at

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<v Speaker 1>houses of ill repute. So I guess we gotta get

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<v Speaker 1>rid of the ladies. Duh, You can't do anything about

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<v Speaker 1>a man's wien or can you nothing? Oh? So, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>he went about getting these ladies of the night out

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<v Speaker 1>of Nashville. The first big push to get them out

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<v Speaker 1>of the city was in the winter of eighteen sixty two,

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<v Speaker 1>hundreds of the women on Smokey Row were gathered up.

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<v Speaker 1>As one Union captain wrote, they were compelled to leave,

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<v Speaker 1>and they were put on a train and sent up

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<v Speaker 1>to Louisville under guard so they couldn't escape. But the

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<v Speaker 1>thing is this problem wasn't unique to Nashville, so when

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<v Speaker 1>they got to Louisville, the officials there were like, what,

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<v Speaker 1>we don't want your harlots. We have plenty of them already.

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<v Speaker 1>But because it was under Old Rosie, they eventually came

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<v Speaker 1>around to it. I guess they were also compelled, and

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<v Speaker 1>so very temporarily the sex work problem in Nashville was solved.

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<v Speaker 1>One Union captain wrote, Nashville was afterward all the happier

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<v Speaker 1>and better off for their conspicuous absence. This guy sounds

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<v Speaker 1>like a fun time and old Rosie I can imagine

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<v Speaker 1>at the time he was like, yes, go me, I

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<v Speaker 1>did it. I got the prostitutes out of Nashville. I

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<v Speaker 1>am a genius. The problem was that soon after these

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<v Speaker 1>women were deported, they all came hustling back. Because the

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<v Speaker 1>thing about trains, they go both ways, and the problem

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<v Speaker 1>was just as bad as bo So Old Rosie he

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<v Speaker 1>enlisted Nashville Provost Marshall George Spalding, a former school teacher,

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<v Speaker 1>a man filled with duty to deal with it. We'll

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<v Speaker 1>be right back after these soothing ads. Nashville Provost Marshall

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<v Speaker 1>George Spalding was a former school teacher, and he was

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<v Speaker 1>to become the great hope to General Rosecrans to deal

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<v Speaker 1>with all these dang prostitutes of Nashville. Rosecrans commanded him

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<v Speaker 1>to deal with the problem in July eighteen sixty three, writing,

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<v Speaker 1>without loss of time, sees and transport to Louisville all

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<v Speaker 1>prostitutes found in this city known to be here, because

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<v Speaker 1>you guys know what the solution to a problem is,

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<v Speaker 1>just do the same thing that you did before that failed.

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<v Speaker 1>So Spalding made a plan. He was like, well, we

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<v Speaker 1>already tried to get these gals out of town on

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<v Speaker 1>a train. Well what about this time we put them

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<v Speaker 1>on a boat. And the boat he intended to use

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<v Speaker 1>for this plan was a brand spanking new steamboat belonging

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<v Speaker 1>to John Newcombe, the Idaho. Faulding was like, Hey, as

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<v Speaker 1>ordered by General Rosecrans, We're going to commandeer your vessel

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<v Speaker 1>to get some of these hose out of Nashville. A

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<v Speaker 1>Newcomb was like, hey, that's a terrible idea for me,

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<v Speaker 1>because this is a new boat and if you put

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<v Speaker 1>some hose on it, no one will want to get

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<v Speaker 1>on my boat ever again, because it has very bad vibes.

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<v Speaker 1>And Spalding was like, well, no worry about it. We're

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<v Speaker 1>going to compensate you for your troubles, and I am

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<v Speaker 1>sure that the reputation shall not be tarnished. Spoiler Spalding

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<v Speaker 1>technically never pays him, and the boat's reputation was in

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<v Speaker 1>fact quite tarnished. So Spalding enacted his plan. He began

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<v Speaker 1>gathering up some of the most notorious sex workers and

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<v Speaker 1>putting them on the ship. They rounded up one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and ten people in total. We know that of the

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<v Speaker 1>women on board, all the ones they rounded up were white.

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<v Speaker 1>Some of them indeed had venereal diseases. There's even a

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<v Speaker 1>few children. Very neat I love war. Some of the

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<v Speaker 1>women did resist. The Nashville Daily Press reported that one

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<v Speaker 1>woman called it one of the most notorious cyprians. She

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<v Speaker 1>quickly married a dude to quote unquote some scamp, hoping

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<v Speaker 1>that this marriage would get her out of being boted away.

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<v Speaker 1>Unfortunately that didn't stop Spalding. His men still forced her

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<v Speaker 1>to get on that boat. As the article said, she

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<v Speaker 1>is on her way to banishment. On July eighth, eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>sixty three, Captain Newcomb got the notice that was time

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<v Speaker 1>for him to leave. It said to the captain of

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<v Speaker 1>the steamer Idaho, you are hereby directed to proceed to Louisville, Kentucky,

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<v Speaker 1>with the one hundred passengers put on board your steamer today,

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<v Speaker 1>allowing none to leave the boat before reaching Louisville. So

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<v Speaker 1>Captain John Newcomb and his crew of three set sail

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<v Speaker 1>as a bunch of Nashvillians waved it away, saying good

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<v Speaker 1>riddance to these ladies of ill repute. The Idaho cruised

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<v Speaker 1>up the Cumberland and Ohio Rivers to their destination. They

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<v Speaker 1>were supposed to reach Louisville in five days, and indeed,

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<v Speaker 1>just like he thought, havoc ensued. Newspaper articles described people

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<v Speaker 1>on the side of the river laughing at the boat,

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<v Speaker 1>and men swimming over to the boat to try to

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<v Speaker 1>get a piece of tail, and it didn't help, but

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<v Speaker 1>the women on board were encouraging it. But just like

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<v Speaker 1>last time, the thing about having a boat filled with

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<v Speaker 1>prostitutes who you intend to dump in another city. Is

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<v Speaker 1>that the other city will figure that out and be

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<v Speaker 1>like we don't want your prostitutes. We already have our own.

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<v Speaker 1>You already tried this once Nashville. We're not gonna let

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<v Speaker 1>it happen again. When the Idaho arrived in Louisville, none

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<v Speaker 1>of the women were allowed to get off the boat.

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<v Speaker 1>The Union Army officers stationed there were like, no, thank you,

0:15:32.565 --> 0:15:34.445
<v Speaker 1>and the general in charge of the army there was like,

0:15:34.525 --> 0:15:36.645
<v Speaker 1>get out of here. I will not take your cargo.

0:15:37.365 --> 0:15:39.685
<v Speaker 1>He placed some military guards on the boat and was

0:15:39.725 --> 0:15:43.165
<v Speaker 1>like go to Cincinnati, and Newcombe was probably like fuck.

0:15:44.285 --> 0:15:47.085
<v Speaker 1>The women on board were also pissed. A few of

0:15:47.125 --> 0:15:49.245
<v Speaker 1>them snuck off the boat and swam to the shore.

0:15:50.325 --> 0:15:52.325
<v Speaker 1>A lot of those women then ended up in jail

0:15:52.365 --> 0:15:55.445
<v Speaker 1>in Louisville, but they were allowed to leave and they

0:15:55.445 --> 0:16:01.045
<v Speaker 1>were given one free ticket on a train back to Nashville.

0:16:01.165 --> 0:16:03.725
<v Speaker 1>Now they're headed to Cincinnati, and the supplies on the

0:16:03.725 --> 0:16:06.365
<v Speaker 1>boat had run out. Remember they were only supposed to

0:16:06.365 --> 0:16:08.525
<v Speaker 1>be on the boat for five days and now they're

0:16:08.525 --> 0:16:16.845
<v Speaker 1>just sailing to another city. Once Newcomb got the boat

0:16:16.925 --> 0:16:19.525
<v Speaker 1>over to Cincinnati, they were just like, you can't even

0:16:19.685 --> 0:16:23.525
<v Speaker 1>dock here, go across the river to Kentucky and just wait.

0:16:24.765 --> 0:16:28.805
<v Speaker 1>I hate being told I have to wait in Kentucky.

0:16:29.925 --> 0:16:33.645
<v Speaker 1>So Captain Newcombe his crew of three, the sex workers

0:16:33.685 --> 0:16:38.565
<v Speaker 1>who hadn't escaped, and then the guards from Louisville, they

0:16:38.645 --> 0:16:40.845
<v Speaker 1>just have to wait on that boat and they're there

0:16:41.085 --> 0:16:46.485
<v Speaker 1>for thirteen days. Thirteen days off the shore of Kentucky

0:16:46.565 --> 0:16:55.965
<v Speaker 1>sounds like the worst country song you've ever heard. At

0:16:55.965 --> 0:16:57.605
<v Speaker 1>this point, none of the women were able to get

0:16:57.605 --> 0:16:59.725
<v Speaker 1>off the ship, and some of them were just like

0:16:59.845 --> 0:17:03.445
<v Speaker 1>fed the fuck up. A newspaper called The Cleveland Morning

0:17:03.525 --> 0:17:07.325
<v Speaker 1>Leader wrote, the majority are a homely, forlorn set of

0:17:07.365 --> 0:17:10.765
<v Speaker 1>degraded creatures. Having been hurried on the boats by a

0:17:10.805 --> 0:17:14.725
<v Speaker 1>military guard. Many are without a change of wardrobe. They

0:17:14.805 --> 0:17:18.005
<v Speaker 1>managed to smuggle a little liquor on board. Several became

0:17:18.045 --> 0:17:22.085
<v Speaker 1>intoxicated and indulged in a free fight, which resulted without

0:17:22.125 --> 0:17:26.165
<v Speaker 1>material damage to any property, although knives were used freely.

0:17:27.165 --> 0:17:32.845
<v Speaker 1>What just knife fights on the ship. There's not enough food.

0:17:33.165 --> 0:17:35.565
<v Speaker 1>A lot of them need medication because of their diseases,

0:17:35.845 --> 0:17:38.205
<v Speaker 1>so now Captain Newcomb has to go out of pocket

0:17:38.285 --> 0:17:41.565
<v Speaker 1>to provide that for them, and some of them were

0:17:41.565 --> 0:17:45.005
<v Speaker 1>so frustrated that apparently some of them were yelling off

0:17:45.045 --> 0:17:46.845
<v Speaker 1>of the side of the boat to try to get

0:17:46.845 --> 0:17:57.085
<v Speaker 1>Confederate forces to help them escape. So again everyone's pissed.

0:17:57.525 --> 0:18:01.845
<v Speaker 1>It's also July, so it's probably hot as fuck. No Column,

0:18:01.885 --> 0:18:05.005
<v Speaker 1>his crew, the women, they've been on the worst carnival

0:18:05.045 --> 0:18:09.565
<v Speaker 1>cruise for stranded. They've run out of supplies. Ninety eight

0:18:09.565 --> 0:18:12.765
<v Speaker 1>women and six children remain on board, underguard from the

0:18:12.765 --> 0:18:15.045
<v Speaker 1>Louisville soldiers to make sure they don't get off the boat.

0:18:19.205 --> 0:18:22.525
<v Speaker 1>But then finally newcomb gets in order, and it's really

0:18:22.565 --> 0:18:26.485
<v Speaker 1>annoying because basically it's like, hey, we've realized this was

0:18:26.525 --> 0:18:29.805
<v Speaker 1>a bad idea, so just come back to Nashville and

0:18:29.885 --> 0:18:33.205
<v Speaker 1>get back here quick because we got even bigger river

0:18:33.365 --> 0:18:36.805
<v Speaker 1>fish to fry. Because the thing is. Spaulding and his

0:18:36.965 --> 0:18:40.885
<v Speaker 1>crew had rounded up all these sex workers, but there

0:18:40.885 --> 0:18:44.725
<v Speaker 1>were plenty of other people to take their places, especially

0:18:44.765 --> 0:18:49.365
<v Speaker 1>black women, which the union army liked even less. Here's

0:18:49.405 --> 0:18:53.445
<v Speaker 1>what the Nashville Daily Union wrote, This sudden expatriation of

0:18:53.565 --> 0:18:56.325
<v Speaker 1>hundreds of vicious white women will only make room for

0:18:56.365 --> 0:19:01.725
<v Speaker 1>an equal number of black strumpets. Another Nashville newspaper said,

0:19:02.085 --> 0:19:05.565
<v Speaker 1>so bare face are these black prostitutes. They parade the

0:19:05.365 --> 0:19:11.525
<v Speaker 1>streets and even the public squares day and night. So

0:19:11.605 --> 0:19:14.685
<v Speaker 1>the Idaho sales back down the river, and by August

0:19:14.725 --> 0:19:18.085
<v Speaker 1>eighteen sixty three, twenty eight days after it had departed,

0:19:18.245 --> 0:19:22.645
<v Speaker 1>these vicious white women were back in Nashville, and Newcomb's

0:19:22.685 --> 0:19:25.605
<v Speaker 1>pissed because the journey whist for nothing and his boat

0:19:25.725 --> 0:19:30.485
<v Speaker 1>is messed up. When they dock, one of General Rosecran's

0:19:30.565 --> 0:19:34.005
<v Speaker 1>men did an inspection of the Idaho, and in his report,

0:19:34.045 --> 0:19:36.965
<v Speaker 1>what he said was that the ship had been badly damaged,

0:19:37.005 --> 0:19:41.885
<v Speaker 1>the mattresses badly soiled. To cover all the expenses, including

0:19:41.925 --> 0:19:44.205
<v Speaker 1>the medicine and food that Newcomb had to get out

0:19:44.205 --> 0:19:47.245
<v Speaker 1>of pocket, the guy recommended that he'd be paid fifty

0:19:47.285 --> 0:19:54.525
<v Speaker 1>three hundred dollars. But whatever, that's so boring. Who cares

0:19:54.525 --> 0:19:57.645
<v Speaker 1>about that in a time like this. George Balding was like,

0:19:57.685 --> 0:20:00.365
<v Speaker 1>this dude is so annoying. Who cares we had to

0:20:00.445 --> 0:20:03.365
<v Speaker 1>use your boat? I have bigger issues, like figuring out

0:20:03.365 --> 0:20:06.245
<v Speaker 1>what to do with these prostitutes, because now we have

0:20:06.325 --> 0:20:09.125
<v Speaker 1>even more than what we started with. Old Rosie is

0:20:09.125 --> 0:20:12.365
<v Speaker 1>gonna be so mad at me. So what did George

0:20:12.365 --> 0:20:17.725
<v Speaker 1>Spalding do an unprecedented action. He was like, our boys

0:20:17.765 --> 0:20:20.965
<v Speaker 1>won't stop visiting Smokey Row, and we can't get the

0:20:21.125 --> 0:20:26.725
<v Speaker 1>ladies out of Nashville, so instead, let's regulate it. That's right,

0:20:27.205 --> 0:20:35.005
<v Speaker 1>Spalding made prostitution legal in Nashville. Basically, how it worked

0:20:35.045 --> 0:20:37.205
<v Speaker 1>is that every sex worker had to have a license.

0:20:37.805 --> 0:20:40.525
<v Speaker 1>It costs five dollars, and to keep it, they had

0:20:40.525 --> 0:20:43.125
<v Speaker 1>to see a union doctor every couple of weeks to

0:20:43.125 --> 0:20:45.645
<v Speaker 1>make sure they didn't have any diseases, and then the

0:20:45.685 --> 0:20:48.525
<v Speaker 1>ladies would be charged in additional fifty cents for those visits.

0:20:49.485 --> 0:20:51.805
<v Speaker 1>If a sex worker did have a disease, she was

0:20:51.845 --> 0:20:54.725
<v Speaker 1>then sent to a military hospital to be treated. And

0:20:54.765 --> 0:20:59.125
<v Speaker 1>these hospitals were nice. They had a living room, they

0:20:59.165 --> 0:21:01.485
<v Speaker 1>had nice beds, they had a cook, and a woman

0:21:01.525 --> 0:21:04.965
<v Speaker 1>couldn't leave until she was perfectly cured. One doctor described

0:21:05.005 --> 0:21:07.765
<v Speaker 1>one of these hospitals as a house in a secluded

0:21:07.765 --> 0:21:11.685
<v Speaker 1>part of town with upper rooms obtaining good light. The

0:21:11.725 --> 0:21:14.565
<v Speaker 1>women to be examined enter a reception room which is

0:21:14.605 --> 0:21:18.965
<v Speaker 1>comfortably furnished and in cold or disagreeable weather, well heated.

0:21:19.685 --> 0:21:22.165
<v Speaker 1>They pass in time from this apartment to an adjoining

0:21:22.245 --> 0:21:24.285
<v Speaker 1>room in which there is a bed, a table, and

0:21:24.365 --> 0:21:28.285
<v Speaker 1>all the necessary appliances for examining them. Some of these

0:21:28.285 --> 0:21:31.805
<v Speaker 1>hospitals even treated black sex workers, which is one of

0:21:31.845 --> 0:21:34.805
<v Speaker 1>the first times in the US that medical care was desegregated.

0:21:37.885 --> 0:21:40.525
<v Speaker 1>Don't worry, the soldiers would also get punished, like if

0:21:40.565 --> 0:21:43.965
<v Speaker 1>they visited an unlicensed sex worker, it was thirty days

0:21:43.965 --> 0:21:46.365
<v Speaker 1>in jail, but then the sex worker would also have

0:21:46.445 --> 0:21:51.725
<v Speaker 1>to spend thirty days in jail. Whatever. And basically through

0:21:51.765 --> 0:21:54.485
<v Speaker 1>this program it took like six thousand dollars to operate,

0:21:54.485 --> 0:21:56.325
<v Speaker 1>and that's how much money they made off of the

0:21:56.365 --> 0:21:59.605
<v Speaker 1>sex workers for the licenses. So just like paying for itself.

0:22:00.205 --> 0:22:03.085
<v Speaker 1>What is this? Is this like public healthcare? That's crazy?

0:22:03.765 --> 0:22:07.885
<v Speaker 1>It works. No, it's better for everyone. No, stop it.

0:22:10.085 --> 0:22:12.605
<v Speaker 1>And less than a year after this licensing program started,

0:22:12.885 --> 0:22:16.525
<v Speaker 1>the number of STD cases dropped dramatically. The Surgeon General

0:22:16.605 --> 0:22:19.725
<v Speaker 1>was like, yeah, this is doing pretty good. He said.

0:22:19.805 --> 0:22:23.125
<v Speaker 1>Under these regulations, a marked improvement was speedily noticed in

0:22:23.165 --> 0:22:26.405
<v Speaker 1>the manner and appearance of the women. When the inspections

0:22:26.405 --> 0:22:29.285
<v Speaker 1>were first in forced. Many were exceedingly filthy in their

0:22:29.325 --> 0:22:32.325
<v Speaker 1>person in apparel and obscene in their language, but This

0:22:32.445 --> 0:22:36.325
<v Speaker 1>soon gave way to cleanliness and propriety that it was a

0:22:36.325 --> 0:22:40.765
<v Speaker 1>great success. But unfortunately for Spalding it this did lead

0:22:40.845 --> 0:22:44.285
<v Speaker 1>to an influx of sex workers in Nashville because they're like, damn,

0:22:44.325 --> 0:22:46.005
<v Speaker 1>they really treat you well in Nashville, and I can

0:22:46.045 --> 0:22:49.885
<v Speaker 1>go see a doctor. But then the thing is the

0:22:49.925 --> 0:22:53.045
<v Speaker 1>war ended, and they're just like, hey, even though this

0:22:53.125 --> 0:22:56.765
<v Speaker 1>program works really well and keeps everyone safe, let's just

0:22:56.805 --> 0:22:58.925
<v Speaker 1>not do it anymore. That was just like a silly

0:22:58.965 --> 0:23:02.285
<v Speaker 1>war thing. We're not gonna license sex workers. We're not

0:23:02.325 --> 0:23:04.525
<v Speaker 1>gonna care about people's welfare, we're not gonna care about

0:23:04.525 --> 0:23:09.045
<v Speaker 1>the public bi So they abolish it. No more licenses,

0:23:09.165 --> 0:23:12.125
<v Speaker 1>no more regulation, and that was the end of legal

0:23:12.165 --> 0:23:17.605
<v Speaker 1>prostitution in Nashville. And now this whole time while prostitution

0:23:17.685 --> 0:23:20.445
<v Speaker 1>was legal in Nashville, Captain Newcombe of the Idaho is

0:23:20.685 --> 0:23:24.365
<v Speaker 1>in a big old tizzy because this whole time he

0:23:24.445 --> 0:23:27.245
<v Speaker 1>hasn't been reimbursed. It had been two years since he

0:23:27.285 --> 0:23:29.725
<v Speaker 1>had had those hundred vicious white women on his boat,

0:23:29.765 --> 0:23:34.445
<v Speaker 1>and still nothing. He was so frustrated that eventually he

0:23:34.525 --> 0:23:37.285
<v Speaker 1>went over the head of Spalding an old rosy directly

0:23:37.325 --> 0:23:40.245
<v Speaker 1>to the Secretary of War. He was finally like, oh, yeah,

0:23:40.325 --> 0:23:45.165
<v Speaker 1>we should probably reimburse you. Newcomb got six thousand dollars.

0:23:45.765 --> 0:23:47.925
<v Speaker 1>But even with that, sure it could pay for the

0:23:47.965 --> 0:23:50.365
<v Speaker 1>damage down on his boat, but it could never repay

0:23:50.405 --> 0:23:53.485
<v Speaker 1>the damage that had been done to its reputation. It

0:23:53.525 --> 0:23:57.205
<v Speaker 1>never again cruised down the rivers of the southeastern United States.

0:23:58.325 --> 0:24:01.765
<v Speaker 1>Newcombe said, I told them it would forever ruin her

0:24:01.765 --> 0:24:05.725
<v Speaker 1>reputation as a passenger boat. It was done, so she

0:24:05.765 --> 0:24:15.885
<v Speaker 1>has now and since known as the floating Whorehouse. Every

0:24:15.925 --> 0:24:18.245
<v Speaker 1>episode on American Filth we learn a lesson, and I

0:24:18.285 --> 0:24:20.685
<v Speaker 1>think the lesson that we learn here is that you

0:24:20.725 --> 0:24:23.205
<v Speaker 1>should never get a boat that can fit a lot

0:24:23.245 --> 0:24:26.245
<v Speaker 1>of people on it. Otherwise people are going to ask

0:24:26.285 --> 0:24:28.645
<v Speaker 1>you to borrow it and you'll never be able to

0:24:28.765 --> 0:24:36.885
<v Speaker 1>use your boat again. American Filth is a production of

0:24:36.885 --> 0:24:40.885
<v Speaker 1>School of Humans and iHeart Podcasts. This episode was hosted, written,

0:24:40.885 --> 0:24:44.605
<v Speaker 1>and scored by Me Gabby Watts. Our theme song is

0:24:44.645 --> 0:24:48.605
<v Speaker 1>by Jesse Niswanger and Me. Our senior producer is Amelia Brock,

0:24:48.805 --> 0:24:52.725
<v Speaker 1>and our executive producers are Elsie Crowley, Virginia Prescott, and

0:24:52.765 --> 0:24:57.005
<v Speaker 1>Brandon Bark. Thanks so much for listening. Please like, subscribe, review, etc.

0:24:57.365 --> 0:24:59.885
<v Speaker 1>The pod wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also

0:24:59.965 --> 0:25:04.285
<v Speaker 1>follow along with the show on Instagram at American Filth Pod.

0:25:04.765 --> 0:25:07.605
<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much for listening. Talk at you next time.

0:25:20.885 --> 0:25:21.805
<v Speaker 1>School of Humans