1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:14,319 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, everybody. Today's episode is our 3 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: East Coast show from our recent tour. This is one 4 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 1: that we recorded at the Arts at the Armory and Somerville, Massachusetts, 5 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: so let's hop right into it. Hello, and welcome to 6 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm Tracy new Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. 7 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:34,120 Speaker 1: Today we are going to talk about Anne Royal. And 8 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: while she was living and Newport, Royal was a very 9 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: well known, even notorious, public figure. She was a travel 10 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 1: writer and she was a muck raking journalist way before 11 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,199 Speaker 1: Theodore Roosevelt coined that term, at a time when there 12 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:50,839 Speaker 1: really were not a lot of women being travel writers 13 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:54,400 Speaker 1: or journalists at all. And she made such a name 14 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: for herself that by the time she was put on 15 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:03,040 Speaker 1: trial for being a common scold. So we're going to 16 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: talk about that today. Uh that was national news, the 17 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: common Scold trial of Anne Royal. At the same time, 18 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: she was really divisive and complicated and imperfect and just messy. 19 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 1: And the longer I worked on this podcast, the more 20 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: mess I found. So today we're going to do our 21 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 1: best to celebrate the things about her that were awesome, 22 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: which there are several, and also not shy away from 23 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 1: the parts that were not, which were mostly calling the 24 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: unfortunate racism portion of the program. It always lurks. But 25 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:44,600 Speaker 1: she was born in Newport on June eleven, seventeen sixty nine, 26 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 1: outside of Baltimore, Maryland, and her father, William, was actually 27 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: rumored to be an illegitimate descendant of the Calvert family, 28 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: as in George Calvert, first Baron Baltimore, whose son was 29 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:00,920 Speaker 1: the city's namesake. William moved the family to the frontier 30 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 1: of western Pennsylvania in seventeen seventy two, and before he 31 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:08,480 Speaker 1: died around seventeen seventy five, he taught and to read phonetically, 32 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 1: and this might be part of why later on she 33 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:15,240 Speaker 1: was really interested in documenting the accents and the dialects 34 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 1: of the people that she met in her travels and 35 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,640 Speaker 1: then writing them down, sort of rendering them phonetically in 36 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:24,840 Speaker 1: her books. And after William Newport died AND's mother, Mary, 37 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 1: remarried a man from Hannah'stown, Pennsylvania, and on July thirteenth, 38 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 1: seventeen eighty two, after the British surrendered at Yorktown, but 39 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:37,240 Speaker 1: before the Treaty of Paris formally ended the Revolutionary War. 40 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:40,360 Speaker 1: Hannah's town was attacked and it was burned by the 41 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: Seneca Nation and their British allies. And a stepfather also 42 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: died right around this time, and the surviving family fled 43 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:50,399 Speaker 1: to what is now West Virginia. But at the time 44 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 1: this happened, it was still just part of Virginia. An 45 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 1: even more dramatic version of this story got passed around 46 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: later on in Anne's life and after her death. It 47 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 1: was not true. It was also not something she said 48 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:05,520 Speaker 1: was true. People just sort of glommed onto it. This 49 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: was that Anne herself had been captured by the Native 50 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: force and was held prisoner until a very brave American 51 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: Army captain came and rescued her, and that they later 52 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: got married not true at all. On November eighteen seventy, 53 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: when Anne was twenty eight, she did get married. This 54 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: was to Captain William Royal. He was about twenty years 55 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:32,080 Speaker 1: her senior, and he was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. 56 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:36,160 Speaker 1: He had served under the Market Lafayette, and William was 57 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: part of the area's wealthier class. He had a large 58 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: estate and an enslaved workforce. Uh. And in a lot 59 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 1: of accounts, Ann and William actually met because Anne's mother 60 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:48,400 Speaker 1: was working as a domestic in his home, but that 61 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 1: is not entirely clear whether that's true or not. So 62 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: every time we've done this show so far, when you've 63 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: gotten to the end of the sentence about the market 64 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: a Lafayette, you've taken a little breath, And every time 65 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 1: I'm just expecting someone in the audience to spontaneously burst 66 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: into Hamilton's I'm giving them a moment. I'm like, here's 67 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: your shot, here's your shot. Yeah. So, it was not 68 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: clear whether Anne's mother really did work as a domestic 69 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:18,160 Speaker 1: in his household. But what was clear is that Anne 70 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:21,960 Speaker 1: and William cohabitated for quite some time before they got married, 71 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: like maybe a decade. This, of course, was scandalous. Neighbors 72 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 1: and William's family considered Anne to just be an indigent 73 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:37,520 Speaker 1: woman of very questionable morals. Uh. They spread some rumors 74 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 1: that William had just been keeping her as his concubine 75 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,359 Speaker 1: and that he hadn't ever intended to marry her. Some 76 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:45,960 Speaker 1: of them said that he had not married her at all. 77 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,760 Speaker 1: There was a marriage certificate. They definitely got married, but 78 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: they people had a vendetta against Anne Royal. So they 79 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: did get married, and they were married for the next 80 00:04:56,200 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: fifteen years. And during that time, William and and read 81 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:04,280 Speaker 1: together all the time, which is sort of romantic and charming, uh. 82 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: They especially read classic works of literature and the work 83 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 1: of Enlightenment thinkers. And this really bolstered Ann's education because 84 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:13,560 Speaker 1: prior to that, really she had just had a very 85 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:17,159 Speaker 1: brief time in a log cabin school in Pennsylvania in 86 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 1: terms of formal learning. And this also really influenced her 87 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: social and political attitudes because she and William would always 88 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: discuss whatever it was they were reading, and she tended 89 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:31,160 Speaker 1: to just pick up on his opinions. An assumed more 90 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 1: and more responsibility for managing their home and their farm 91 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:37,600 Speaker 1: as their marriage moved on, because William developed a problem 92 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,599 Speaker 1: with alcohol, and this didn't have the kind of stigma 93 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:43,600 Speaker 1: that it might today at the time because for an 94 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: affluent Southern man, drink was a part of life and 95 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 1: drunkenness was a sign of masculinity. But for for An 96 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: it made her life a lot harder. Number One, she 97 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: was having to do a lot of his work that 98 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 1: he could not do because he was intoxicated. But it 99 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:02,279 Speaker 1: was also harder because her neighbors would judge her for 100 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:04,880 Speaker 1: being too harsh with him when he was too drunk 101 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: to get his work done. Ah every time, William Royal 102 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 1: died in thirteen and with the exception of a small 103 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:18,160 Speaker 1: legacy that had been set aside for Anne's niece, he 104 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:21,599 Speaker 1: left and all of his property, and she ultimately became 105 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:24,360 Speaker 1: the sole executor of his estate, which meant that it 106 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:26,919 Speaker 1: was up to her to manage all of William's affairs 107 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:29,880 Speaker 1: after he had died, and this included running their home 108 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: and household and also managing that enslaved workforce that she 109 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:36,360 Speaker 1: had inherited. So this is a good time to take 110 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: a moment to note some of A's attitudes. In a 111 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 1: lot of ways, she was a woman who was way 112 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:44,360 Speaker 1: ahead of her time, but not when it really came 113 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:48,040 Speaker 1: to slavery or race. At the same time, her opinions 114 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:51,720 Speaker 1: on those subjects were really full of contradictions. She called 115 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:55,279 Speaker 1: slavery a curse, and she hated the idea of white 116 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 1: men fathering children with their enslaved with enslaved women who 117 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:02,560 Speaker 1: were living on their property, and then enslaving those children. 118 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:05,599 Speaker 1: She really hated that idea. She was also really horrified 119 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:09,800 Speaker 1: when she witnessed violence and brutality against enslaved people. But 120 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 1: to be clear, there is no flexibility that could allow 121 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: you to define her as an abolitionist. She thought slavery 122 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: should be up to the states, and she actually worried 123 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: that emancipation could really impact white workers in a negative way. 124 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: And she also very clearly knew that slavery was still 125 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:33,240 Speaker 1: slavery even if someone who enslaved people was considered a 126 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 1: good or kind slave owner. But even though she knew 127 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:39,560 Speaker 1: that didn't make it any less wrong, she would still 128 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,920 Speaker 1: make a point to mention how she thought several slave 129 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: owners were very kind in some of her writing. It's 130 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:49,520 Speaker 1: like you just said, you just said you knew it, 131 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,720 Speaker 1: didn't make it not slavery. So she wasn't a like 132 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:56,000 Speaker 1: actively advocating for slavery like a lot of people of 133 00:07:56,040 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 1: her background were. But that is a low bar that 134 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: I don't. That bar is like buried down in there um. 135 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:08,240 Speaker 1: She was similarly contradictory when it came to Native Americans 136 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:12,440 Speaker 1: as well. She tended to romanticize Native Americans as a group, 137 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 1: but then when she met individual Native people, she often 138 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 1: wrote about them in a really stereotypical and sometimes degrading way. 139 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: She didn't think it was possible for the native and 140 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: white populations to live together in the same place, and 141 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:28,320 Speaker 1: that was an argument that people were using for removal. 142 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: But at the same time, she railed against land companies 143 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:36,079 Speaker 1: that were defrauding the native population of their land. She 144 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: praised charitable charitable mission work with the indigenous tribes, but 145 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:45,559 Speaker 1: she really decried missionaries efforts to convert the native population 146 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 1: to Christianity, and she absolutely hated it if it seemed 147 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:53,960 Speaker 1: like missionaries were trying to extort conversions in exchange for 148 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:56,800 Speaker 1: food and supplies. So if you had a charitable mission 149 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:00,120 Speaker 1: where you were, you know, providing people with food and 150 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 1: and uh and supplies and things like that without expecting 151 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:05,760 Speaker 1: anything in return, that was fine. But if you were 152 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:07,800 Speaker 1: sort of like, if you come to church, we'll have 153 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:10,559 Speaker 1: food for you, she did not like that at all. 154 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: And after William's death, it became really apparent that he 155 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: had been carrying a lot of debt, and this was 156 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,000 Speaker 1: compounded by some of Anne's own decisions that she had 157 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 1: made while trying to figure out what she was doing 158 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:25,840 Speaker 1: with his estate. She ended up selling off parts of 159 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:29,520 Speaker 1: his property, including some of that enslaved workforce. But then 160 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:34,080 Speaker 1: William's family actually contested the will. They framed Anne and 161 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:37,400 Speaker 1: William's relationship as a complete sham and said that she 162 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:40,240 Speaker 1: had orchestrated the whole thing just to get William's fortune. 163 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: And then they said that she had in fact forged 164 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: the will. So this started a legal battle that went 165 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 1: on for six years, and in eighteen nineteen a jury 166 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:53,320 Speaker 1: annulled the will. Although she was still legally entitled to 167 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:56,720 Speaker 1: a much smaller financial portion of her late husband's estate, 168 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:00,320 Speaker 1: Ane's own debts and her expenses left her with really 169 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 1: almost nothing, and at that point she was fifty years old. 170 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:06,200 Speaker 1: This it was while all of this was going on 171 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: that she finally decided to leave Virginia and she started 172 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,559 Speaker 1: on the path to becoming a travel writer. And travel 173 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:15,880 Speaker 1: writing had become a popular genre as the United States 174 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 1: had become more established as a nation, with roads and 175 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:22,880 Speaker 1: steamboats and ways to make it possible for people to 176 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:26,559 Speaker 1: go out and travel. Uh So, most travel writers, though, 177 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:29,880 Speaker 1: were men, and sometimes they were women, but always traveling 178 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:33,400 Speaker 1: with a companion. And the big distinction above anything else 179 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:36,240 Speaker 1: is that those people actually had money to do that traveling, 180 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:38,920 Speaker 1: and on the other hand, was a woman with no 181 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:42,440 Speaker 1: fortune at all traveling alone. The annulment of the will 182 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:44,800 Speaker 1: meant that she didn't even have horses or a carriage 183 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:46,760 Speaker 1: of her own, so she had to take public modes 184 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:50,560 Speaker 1: of transportation like stage coaches and steamboats. She also had 185 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:52,680 Speaker 1: to stay in public houses, and she had to try 186 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 1: to fund her room and board through the sale of 187 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:58,040 Speaker 1: her books. This would be sort of like if you 188 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:00,280 Speaker 1: wanted to be a travel writer but you didn't have 189 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: a car or any money like it. It It was not 190 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:06,800 Speaker 1: a comfortable way to try to earn a living. Yeah, 191 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:11,280 Speaker 1: being a travel writer on spec is rough business. Um. 192 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:16,239 Speaker 1: But her approach to selling her books was really controversial 193 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 1: and is the reason I've been sitting here giggling for 194 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:20,840 Speaker 1: a couple of minutes. Uh. It was typical for writers 195 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:24,600 Speaker 1: of the day to sell their work by subscription. It was, however, 196 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: not typical for them to sell those subscriptions by going 197 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:31,480 Speaker 1: door to door and barging in on people's houses with 198 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:35,080 Speaker 1: an aggressive sales pitch. And it was especially not typical 199 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 1: for writers to sell these subscriptions by satirizing people who 200 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:43,319 Speaker 1: refused to purchase them. Uh. But that is exactly how 201 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,240 Speaker 1: Anne played it. That was her business model. She stopped 202 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:48,600 Speaker 1: right in and say I'm gonna write nasty stuff about 203 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:52,199 Speaker 1: you buy a subscription um And who wouldn't be wooed 204 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: by that? I know she She was definitely not the 205 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:57,720 Speaker 1: only writer who was doing weird stuff to promote themselves 206 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:00,320 Speaker 1: around this time. I mean, while Whitman was writing views 207 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:03,240 Speaker 1: of his own books, I'm under fake names and publishing 208 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:06,080 Speaker 1: them to be like the great writer of the United 209 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:10,320 Speaker 1: States has arrived. But that was a lot less confrontational 210 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:14,600 Speaker 1: than at them. I see your eating dinner by my book. 211 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:17,480 Speaker 1: I was just gonna say the people I'm at the 212 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:23,080 Speaker 1: dinner table, now would you like to subscribe? Uh? Now, 213 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 1: whose turn is it? You're okay? I don't know why 214 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:29,000 Speaker 1: last track of this thing. It's like I've never done 215 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:32,040 Speaker 1: this before, so especially at first, this whole barging in 216 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:33,880 Speaker 1: on people in demanding the buy books like this is 217 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 1: a weird financial juggling act that was kind of difficult. 218 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 1: At various points. She made ends meet thanks to the 219 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:43,640 Speaker 1: charity of other people and the help of various Masons. 220 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: Her late husband had been a Mason and had told 221 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 1: her that if she needed help, she should go find 222 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 1: a Mason, and that advice served her extremely well. Um 223 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:55,560 Speaker 1: Mason's helped her out of a number of jams. And 224 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:58,560 Speaker 1: there was also a huge anti Masonic movement that was 225 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:00,840 Speaker 1: going on in the United States at this point, which 226 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,760 Speaker 1: was really a whole other story. But Anne Royal was 227 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:07,480 Speaker 1: very critical of people who criticized the Masons, and so 228 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:11,280 Speaker 1: that earned her even more of their support. Another early 229 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:14,160 Speaker 1: patron of hers was the Market Lafayette, thanks to her 230 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:18,600 Speaker 1: husband's military service under him. Anne's first book was titled 231 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:22,239 Speaker 1: Sketches of History, Life and Manners in the United States 232 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: by a Traveler, and it was published in New Haven 233 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:27,680 Speaker 1: in eighty six, and at that point she had just 234 00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:31,680 Speaker 1: turned fifty seven. She went on to publish numerous volumes 235 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:35,200 Speaker 1: of travel writing, and these included collections of letters to 236 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:38,560 Speaker 1: her friend and her lawyer, Matthew Dunbar from Alabama, and 237 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:41,319 Speaker 1: she had written those while her husband's will was in dispute. 238 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:44,520 Speaker 1: She also included what or she also wrote what she 239 00:13:44,559 --> 00:13:47,840 Speaker 1: called Penn portraits, and those were vignettes of noble and 240 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 1: semi noble or semi notable people. I don't know why 241 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:55,040 Speaker 1: I've now completely lost my ability to say words uh. 242 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 1: She also wrote a novel, so she started her writing 243 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:00,440 Speaker 1: career really late in life, but her hust was the 244 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,720 Speaker 1: real deal. She did a lot of work. She was prolific, 245 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:05,600 Speaker 1: and by the end of her career as a travel 246 00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:08,960 Speaker 1: writer and Royal had gone pretty much every place you 247 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,360 Speaker 1: could go in the United States by steamboat or stage coach. 248 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 1: She wrote about all the places that she went and 249 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:17,200 Speaker 1: the people that she met, and she often documented their 250 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:20,080 Speaker 1: accents and their dialects and their slang. She wrote about 251 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 1: what the travel was like getting there, what the roads 252 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:25,320 Speaker 1: were like, the weather, all the various things you would 253 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 1: expect out of a travel book, and she also wrote 254 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:32,640 Speaker 1: about her opinions of what she saw and who she 255 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:36,600 Speaker 1: saw and encountered, some of which could be very judge. 256 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:40,440 Speaker 1: She was especially critical of people who she didn't think 257 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 1: we're educated or and even worse sin in her eyes, 258 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:47,080 Speaker 1: who didn't care to improve their own level of education. 259 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:50,960 Speaker 1: And this also trickled down to communities that didn't try 260 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,120 Speaker 1: to educate their residents. So if she went into a 261 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:56,720 Speaker 1: place like a township that had no school, it was 262 00:14:56,760 --> 00:14:58,920 Speaker 1: pretty much a guarantee that that place was going to 263 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:01,920 Speaker 1: get a scathing up about it and This was really 264 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:04,560 Speaker 1: the start of her work as a political writer. She 265 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 1: increasingly commented on the social conditions and political issues that 266 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 1: she witnessed while she was out traveling, and Royal became 267 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 1: really widely known over these years as a travel writer. 268 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:18,200 Speaker 1: Sometimes when she arrived in town, she was greeted as 269 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:21,400 Speaker 1: a celebrity. She had fans who were eagerly awaiting the 270 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:25,920 Speaker 1: next installment of her book. Other times, especially if she 271 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:28,240 Speaker 1: had been really critical of that place the last time 272 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:32,160 Speaker 1: she was there, the reception would be just outright hostile. 273 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:38,480 Speaker 1: Please don't come to our houses anymore. I just sort 274 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 1: of imagined them, like, get the bitchforks. It's in Royal. Uh. 275 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:47,240 Speaker 1: When her second travel book came out in the Boston 276 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:51,360 Speaker 1: Commercial Gazette wrote, quote, her style is so highly seasoned, 277 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:55,040 Speaker 1: her love of country so predominant. She gives so much 278 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:58,360 Speaker 1: of local topics and applies the lash so unsparingly to 279 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 1: her enemies that her books, like her manners, are resistless. 280 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:07,680 Speaker 1: As she traveled back and forth all over the United States, 281 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 1: and Royal also went to Washington, d C. To try 282 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: to secure a widows pension, and she started spending more 283 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:16,000 Speaker 1: and more of her time there and that's where that 284 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:19,880 Speaker 1: unsparing lash that the Boston Commercial Gazette had noted got 285 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:31,480 Speaker 1: her in some real trouble. Because Anne Royle's late husband 286 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:34,000 Speaker 1: had been a veteran in the Revolutionary War, she was 287 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:37,400 Speaker 1: at least in theory, entitled to a widows pension, But 288 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:40,920 Speaker 1: because of the way the law was written, widows were 289 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:44,600 Speaker 1: not automatically granted pensions. They had to petition for them 290 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:50,960 Speaker 1: individually to Congress. It's a great use of Congress's time. 291 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:54,520 Speaker 1: She had to prove that the man in question was 292 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:56,600 Speaker 1: a veteran, and that she had been married to him, 293 00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:59,760 Speaker 1: and that he had died, and a royal started gathering 294 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:02,560 Speaker 1: all of this information in eighteen o eight, except for 295 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 1: the death part, because her husband was still alive then. Uh. 296 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: But it was towards the end of his life and 297 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:10,760 Speaker 1: he was obviously getting older and ailing, and she had 298 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:13,600 Speaker 1: filed a petition for a pension on his behalf on 299 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:16,719 Speaker 1: November twenty nine of eighteen twelve, and she pointed out 300 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:18,760 Speaker 1: that he had served for the entirety of the war, 301 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:21,680 Speaker 1: he had received no pay, he had paid for all 302 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:24,720 Speaker 1: of his own expenses and supplies during the war, and 303 00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:28,120 Speaker 1: he had paid for things like troop transport, and now 304 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:30,280 Speaker 1: that he was elderly and he was in poor health, 305 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:32,879 Speaker 1: she really thought that a pension could ease his last 306 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:36,959 Speaker 1: year's And this claim was actually rejected on January one 307 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:41,400 Speaker 1: of eighteen thirteen, and then all of those records were 308 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:43,680 Speaker 1: lost in a fire, so she had to start from 309 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:46,720 Speaker 1: scratch and gather everything over again. I feel like this 310 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:48,840 Speaker 1: whole story about trying to get a pension for him 311 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:51,040 Speaker 1: in his old age really highlights the whole idea that 312 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:53,560 Speaker 1: this was a ragtag volunteer army in the universe shower 313 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:57,640 Speaker 1: with the rich people paying their own way. They're like, 314 00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:00,359 Speaker 1: it was not even something that was being fun did 315 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:04,400 Speaker 1: in a lot of ways by any kind of governmental effort. 316 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:07,320 Speaker 1: It was like, this guy that has this estate is 317 00:18:07,359 --> 00:18:10,800 Speaker 1: paying for the troops to move on his own. It's 318 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:16,600 Speaker 1: bizarre idea to me. Anyway. After William's death and the 319 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:19,199 Speaker 1: annulment of his will, and started petitioning to get a 320 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 1: widow's pension, and she ran into a problem. They had 321 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:27,200 Speaker 1: gotten married in sevent but the law only allowed pensions 322 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:32,040 Speaker 1: for marriages that had happened up until seventeen. This is 323 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,520 Speaker 1: where I suspect she really regretted that whole cohabitation decade. 324 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:38,680 Speaker 1: Probably I haven't been an issue before that except for 325 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:42,960 Speaker 1: the whole family squabble thing. And then she's like, uh, 326 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:46,080 Speaker 1: she did refile the petition over and over, and she 327 00:18:46,119 --> 00:18:49,320 Speaker 1: actually started making friends with influential members of the government, 328 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:51,720 Speaker 1: hoping that they could kind of speed things along and 329 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:54,800 Speaker 1: help her plead her case. And in particular there was 330 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:58,080 Speaker 1: John Quincy Adams, who was at the time Secretary of State, 331 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:00,840 Speaker 1: and he agreed to help her. He also took up 332 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:04,280 Speaker 1: the cause of pension reform. He subscribed to two of 333 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:09,880 Speaker 1: her books. Uh, and he then introduced her to his wife, Luisa, 334 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,840 Speaker 1: who gave her a shawl. And he also encouraged her 335 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:16,240 Speaker 1: to go to Massachusetts and visit his father, which she did. 336 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:20,639 Speaker 1: I can't imagine what the meeting of Anne Royal and 337 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:26,200 Speaker 1: Abigail Adams would have been like. Yeah, so this brings 338 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:30,200 Speaker 1: us to a favorite but also apocryphal story about Anne 339 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 1: Royal and John Quincy Adams after he became president in 340 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:37,120 Speaker 1: I don't know why I almost said seventeen because there's 341 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:39,960 Speaker 1: seventeens on the page. Uh. So, yeah, it's a very 342 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,399 Speaker 1: fun story, but don't get attached because it is not true. 343 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:46,520 Speaker 1: According to this story, though John Quincy Adams was known 344 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:49,280 Speaker 1: to bathe in a tributary of the Potomac River called 345 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:52,520 Speaker 1: Tiber Creek every morning, that is actually true. He was 346 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:58,080 Speaker 1: a skinny dipper. Uh. Legit Royal decided, according to this story, 347 00:19:58,119 --> 00:20:00,440 Speaker 1: that she wanted to be the first woman to interview 348 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:03,080 Speaker 1: a president in office, but she was turned away in 349 00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:07,480 Speaker 1: her requests, and then, having found out about his bathing habits, 350 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 1: she went down to the river one morning and she 351 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:12,600 Speaker 1: plopped herself down and sat on his clothes uh and 352 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:15,040 Speaker 1: refused to get off of them until he agreed to 353 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:17,480 Speaker 1: her terms that he would do an interview with her. 354 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:20,359 Speaker 1: And once he did agree to this, because he hadn't 355 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:23,800 Speaker 1: no pants, uh, she got off of all of his 356 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:26,399 Speaker 1: stuff and then politely turned away so he could get dressed. 357 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:28,679 Speaker 1: So my friend Amy, who was a history teacher, was 358 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:30,600 Speaker 1: that our Atlanta show and she said that one of 359 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:33,600 Speaker 1: her students had told her this story. And to paraphrase 360 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:38,520 Speaker 1: what Amy said, I think that's bull roar. It is. 361 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:41,840 Speaker 1: It is bull roar number one. Apart from raising some 362 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:45,320 Speaker 1: issues with privacy and consents to a modern year, this 363 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,000 Speaker 1: is a pretty delightful story about a woman's clever thinking 364 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:51,119 Speaker 1: and boldness and determination and sitting on John Quincy Adam's clothes. 365 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 1: But in the nineteenth century it was not any of 366 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,800 Speaker 1: those things. It was scandalous and disgraceful. And a number 367 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:00,800 Speaker 1: of retellings of it from the late nineteenth and early 368 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:03,960 Speaker 1: twentieth centuries, because it does go pretty far back, they 369 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:08,320 Speaker 1: add various details that make both and and John Quincy 370 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:11,959 Speaker 1: look worse. So one version of the story, dating back 371 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,879 Speaker 1: to nine made it so that it wasn't that that 372 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:18,119 Speaker 1: Anne Royle sat on his clothing until he agreed to 373 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,880 Speaker 1: do an interview. It was that she threatened to scream 374 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,720 Speaker 1: and attract the attention of some fishermen who were nearby, 375 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:30,959 Speaker 1: and imply that the president had assaulted her right. Total 376 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: smear campaign. Uh. And there are several reasons that we 377 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:37,400 Speaker 1: know that this story is apocryphal. So one is that 378 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:39,840 Speaker 1: neither of the two people involved in the story ever 379 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:43,320 Speaker 1: said anything about it. And another is that John Quincy 380 00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:46,600 Speaker 1: Adams and a royal already knew each other, and he 381 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:49,919 Speaker 1: was publicly polite to her, but privately he criticized her 382 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:53,800 Speaker 1: more divisive behavior. He actually called her a virago errant 383 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:57,639 Speaker 1: in enchanted armor and virago comes from the Latin word 384 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:00,320 Speaker 1: for women warriors, but it had come to have a 385 00:22:00,359 --> 00:22:05,040 Speaker 1: different meaning, which was a loud, overbearing, shrill, and obnoxious woman. 386 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:08,639 Speaker 1: And it also is defined as a woman who is 387 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:11,040 Speaker 1: courageous and strong. But it was really, at this point 388 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:13,919 Speaker 1: in time used in a pejorative sense as an insult, 389 00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 1: and not to be like, hey, you are very strong. 390 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,840 Speaker 1: It's like, hey, you're painting my neck. Uh. So, the 391 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:22,520 Speaker 1: whole setup of her being this unknown, scrappy reporter who 392 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:25,239 Speaker 1: wanted to seek an audience with the president really just 393 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:28,320 Speaker 1: does not reflect what we know their actual relationship to 394 00:22:28,359 --> 00:22:31,040 Speaker 1: each other was. So the last reason that we know 395 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:34,600 Speaker 1: this is apocryphal is that right after it supposedly happened, 396 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 1: and Royal was put on trial for being a common scold. 397 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,639 Speaker 1: And if she had literally sat on the president of 398 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:45,680 Speaker 1: the United States close to force him to interview her, 399 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:49,760 Speaker 1: it probably would have come up as evidence. It didn't, 400 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:53,960 Speaker 1: So here's what really happened. Uh And Royal had a 401 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:57,680 Speaker 1: lot of opinions. She liked to express them very loudly 402 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:00,680 Speaker 1: and very stridently and not necessary really in a way 403 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:04,040 Speaker 1: that anyone would categorize as ladylike and We're going to 404 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,920 Speaker 1: get into the breadth of and Royal's strong opinions later. 405 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:10,760 Speaker 1: We've already mentioned some, but there are more. But the 406 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:14,760 Speaker 1: opinion related to this trial was that Royal was a 407 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:18,399 Speaker 1: huge proponent of the separation of church and state. So 408 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:21,280 Speaker 1: this was happening during a religious revival known as the 409 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:23,960 Speaker 1: Second Grade Awakening, and there was a growing movement of 410 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:28,880 Speaker 1: evangelism and of trying to elect explicitly Christian candidates to office, 411 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:32,240 Speaker 1: to try to reform the law to be more specifically Christians. So, 412 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:36,199 Speaker 1: for example, there was a General Union for Promoting the 413 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:40,960 Speaker 1: Observance of the Christian Sabbath that was established in It 414 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:45,320 Speaker 1: was focused on, among other things, ending Sunday mail delivery, 415 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 1: and and Royal objected. And her issue was not with 416 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:53,879 Speaker 1: religion itself, it was with evangelism and religious hypocrisy. She 417 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:57,560 Speaker 1: recognized that the United States was a country of many, 418 00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:00,480 Speaker 1: many religions and thought that the idea of crafting a 419 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:04,320 Speaker 1: government just around one of them was tyranny. She also 420 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:08,000 Speaker 1: wrote favorably about the idea of Christian charity, but was 421 00:24:08,119 --> 00:24:11,240 Speaker 1: really really angry about the fact that there was, for example, 422 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:15,160 Speaker 1: an entire organization, as Tracy just mentioned that was focused 423 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:18,480 Speaker 1: on things like ending Sunday mail delivery when it really 424 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:21,440 Speaker 1: should have been focused on things like feeding or sheltering 425 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:25,000 Speaker 1: the needy, or reforming in humane prisons or making sure 426 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:28,400 Speaker 1: that sick people were cared for. She had she did 427 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:30,040 Speaker 1: not like she was like, this is really what you 428 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:32,480 Speaker 1: need to be spending your time on. Also, maybe she 429 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:36,920 Speaker 1: liked getting packages every day of the week. There were also, 430 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:40,480 Speaker 1: uh there were cities where the churches were allowed to 431 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: put chains across the roads in front of their buildings 432 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:46,920 Speaker 1: on Sundays, which in a lot of places completely shut 433 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:49,399 Speaker 1: down traffic. Like you just couldn't go down main Street 434 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:51,560 Speaker 1: because all the churches had chained off the thing. And 435 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:54,800 Speaker 1: and like there was a big reform movement to make 436 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:58,440 Speaker 1: that stop stop being obstructing all the traffic for everyone 437 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:01,760 Speaker 1: because it's Sunday Ah. And that was another thing that 438 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:04,000 Speaker 1: Anne Royal was very much. She was in favor of 439 00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:06,440 Speaker 1: not chaining off the street in front of the church 440 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:12,359 Speaker 1: every Sunday. Um Royal she also made enemies with a 441 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:15,919 Speaker 1: number of people within this movement. In Burlington, Vermont, she 442 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:18,760 Speaker 1: had an incident with a missionary that, in her account, 443 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:22,639 Speaker 1: led to his shoving her down his steps so forcefully 444 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 1: that she dislocated an ankle and couldn't walk for six weeks. 445 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:28,720 Speaker 1: She had been trying to sell him a book when 446 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:37,480 Speaker 1: that happened. She also had a running dispute with Presbyterian 447 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:41,119 Speaker 1: minister Ezra styles Eli, who had been advocating for the 448 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:45,080 Speaker 1: creation of a Christian party in politics. And then there 449 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:47,560 Speaker 1: was the matter of her neighbors in Washington, d c. 450 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:51,200 Speaker 1: There was a fire engine house near where she lived 451 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:53,520 Speaker 1: that had been built with federal money, and it was 452 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:57,120 Speaker 1: being used as a Presbyterian meeting house, and royal thought 453 00:25:57,160 --> 00:26:00,000 Speaker 1: that a building that had been built with federal dollars 454 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,199 Speaker 1: should absolutely not be used for a religious purpose, and 455 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:07,560 Speaker 1: she made really, really, really really sure that everybody knew 456 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:11,439 Speaker 1: how she felt about it. The congregation claimed that she 457 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:16,760 Speaker 1: shouted things at them from her windows, sometimes using swear words. 458 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,960 Speaker 1: She claimed that the congregation's children threw rocks at her house, 459 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:25,560 Speaker 1: and that some of the adults sat under her windows 460 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:28,199 Speaker 1: and prayed for her salvation, which she did not appreciate. 461 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:34,480 Speaker 1: And the congregation took this matter to the U. S. 462 00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:37,600 Speaker 1: Circuit Court of the District of Columbia, and after a 463 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:42,800 Speaker 1: grand jury returned an indictment. On June one, Royal was 464 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:47,320 Speaker 1: charged with three offenses, number one being quote an evil 465 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:52,800 Speaker 1: disposed person and a common slanderer, number two being a 466 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:57,120 Speaker 1: common scold, and number three being quote a common brawler 467 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:00,560 Speaker 1: and sower of discord, and all three of the charges 468 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:03,480 Speaker 1: also nodded to the idea that she was doing all 469 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:08,040 Speaker 1: of this bad stuff among quote her quiet and honest neighbors. 470 00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:13,480 Speaker 1: It's still having now done this show is the third time. 471 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:15,600 Speaker 1: It still is so bizarre to me that you could 472 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:19,520 Speaker 1: just charge somebody with being an evil disposed person like 473 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:22,520 Speaker 1: that was. I'm so glad you can't do that anything. 474 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:26,639 Speaker 1: I would be so arrested. I do not have the 475 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 1: money for lawyers. So Royal pleaded not guilty to being 476 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:36,160 Speaker 1: a common scold. She demured on the other two charges. 477 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:42,240 Speaker 1: So demor basically means that the defendant doesn't dispute the charge, 478 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:46,600 Speaker 1: but also it's not enough to warrant some kind of 479 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:49,840 Speaker 1: legal response, so it's sort of like entering a plea 480 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:55,560 Speaker 1: of so what's your point. So those charges of being 481 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:58,639 Speaker 1: an evil disposed person and a common slanderer and a 482 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:02,520 Speaker 1: common brawler and so of discord were dropped, and that 483 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:05,960 Speaker 1: left and Royal on trial for being a common scold 484 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:11,320 Speaker 1: in the highly publicized and sometimes very gleefully reported United 485 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:15,440 Speaker 1: States Versus Royal. So the idea of being a common 486 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:18,840 Speaker 1: scold has a very long history in English common law, 487 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:22,720 Speaker 1: and several former British colonies still had laws about it 488 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:25,240 Speaker 1: on the books after the Revolutionary War that had been 489 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:28,680 Speaker 1: there since before the war. But it hadn't been widely 490 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:32,240 Speaker 1: prosecuted in Britain since the seventeen seventies, and only a 491 00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:35,399 Speaker 1: handful of people had ever been put on trial for 492 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:39,440 Speaker 1: it in North America, including in New York, Pennsylvania, and 493 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:45,480 Speaker 1: as should surprise none of you, Massachusetts. This was a 494 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:51,080 Speaker 1: crime that was apparently only committed by women, um because 495 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:54,479 Speaker 1: only women were ever charged and tried for it, uh, 496 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:58,680 Speaker 1: And the only punishment that was outlined for it was ducking, 497 00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:01,360 Speaker 1: which was being put into a chair that was kind 498 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:04,000 Speaker 1: of like a see saw or a balance and being 499 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:08,880 Speaker 1: dunked into a nearby lake or river. So like being 500 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:11,800 Speaker 1: a scold, which was a crime, that's not how only 501 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:16,720 Speaker 1: women committed. Ducking as a punishment was only administered to 502 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:19,840 Speaker 1: women because it was only used in cases of scolding 503 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:25,560 Speaker 1: or a select few other women. Only crimes. This probably 504 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:29,840 Speaker 1: sounds yes, like which is this probably sounds like something 505 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:34,360 Speaker 1: really archaic. And it was even in eighteen twenty nine. Uh, 506 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:37,240 Speaker 1: this whole idea of being a common scold was so 507 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:40,960 Speaker 1: obsolete and so completely rarely prosecuted, at the point that 508 00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:44,000 Speaker 1: the attorneys at the trial were not even completely sure 509 00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:48,200 Speaker 1: of what exactly constituted being a common scold. And there 510 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:50,400 Speaker 1: was also a line of thought about how if you 511 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 1: had been found to be scold a scold at one time, 512 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:57,400 Speaker 1: you were a scold forever, which had a little bit 513 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:00,200 Speaker 1: of an upside because once you had been punished, could 514 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 1: then scold with impunity for the rest of your life. 515 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:08,520 Speaker 1: It's like, we can't try her for being a scold 516 00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:10,960 Speaker 1: again if we already found her to be a scold. 517 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:14,600 Speaker 1: How would that work? Uh, Like you're being charged as 518 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:18,680 Speaker 1: a scold. Huh again, so what's your point? She's got 519 00:30:18,680 --> 00:30:25,320 Speaker 1: the scarlet as um. Also, nobody had a ducking stool, 520 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:32,280 Speaker 1: although according to some accounts, one was commissioned to be 521 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:35,440 Speaker 1: built at the Washington Navy Yard for this purpose. Uh. 522 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:38,840 Speaker 1: Later on, when you are texting somebody about this show, 523 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:46,800 Speaker 1: you really did mean ducking this time. There was also 524 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,600 Speaker 1: the slightly more serious question of whether ducking, which was 525 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:53,920 Speaker 1: the only punishment for scolding under the law, ran a 526 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:57,880 Speaker 1: foul of the Eighth Amendment prohibition of cruel and Unusual punishment. 527 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:01,480 Speaker 1: That seems kind of obvious since number one, back when 528 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:04,320 Speaker 1: ducking had been used as a punishment more often, it 529 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:07,520 Speaker 1: was not uncommon for the women who were being administered 530 00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:11,280 Speaker 1: that punishment to drown or just die of shock. And 531 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:14,520 Speaker 1: number two, there was no ducking stool anywhere in the 532 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:17,880 Speaker 1: United States, So that pretty much fits the unusual category 533 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:22,240 Speaker 1: pretty cleanly. We're gonna have to build the contraption required 534 00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:26,800 Speaker 1: to dole out this punishment that does seem unusual. Throughout 535 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:29,520 Speaker 1: this trial, though Anne Royal's behavior was described as very 536 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:34,000 Speaker 1: respectable and lady like. Witnesses for the prosecution talked about 537 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:38,200 Speaker 1: her shouting at them and using profanity and generally making 538 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:43,000 Speaker 1: them feel bad. I know she heard it their feelings. 539 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:48,480 Speaker 1: Witnesses for the defense talked about how she had always 540 00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:53,520 Speaker 1: been perfectly cordial to them. Uh and the defense witnesses 541 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:57,560 Speaker 1: included John Eaton, Secretary of War for the newly inaugurated 542 00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:02,760 Speaker 1: President Andrew Jackson. Jackson himself had also been invited to testify, 543 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:07,840 Speaker 1: but he declined in spite of her perfect princess behavior 544 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:11,280 Speaker 1: in court and the witnesses on her behalf. Royal was 545 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:15,200 Speaker 1: found guilty and before sentencing, John Coyle, who was one 546 00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:19,200 Speaker 1: of the original complainants, came forward with another complaint that 547 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:22,240 Speaker 1: a few days earlier and Royal had called him quote 548 00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:28,600 Speaker 1: a hypocritical old scoundrel the very idea um and he 549 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:31,400 Speaker 1: brought this up as evidence that Royal needed to face 550 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:34,920 Speaker 1: a harsh sentence, but Royal claimed that he had come 551 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:37,760 Speaker 1: at her first, saying that her time was short, which 552 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:40,800 Speaker 1: is obviously a threat, and the judge concluded that these 553 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:44,360 Speaker 1: two offenses just canceled each other out um, and then 554 00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:47,160 Speaker 1: he sentenced and Royal to a fine of ten dollars 555 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:50,640 Speaker 1: in lieu of ducking because nobody had the darn stool. Uh. 556 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:52,720 Speaker 1: Plus she had to pay a two d and fifty 557 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:59,520 Speaker 1: dollar deposit to secure her good behavior for a year. Yeah, 558 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:02,680 Speaker 1: it's like this is sort of like being on probation, 559 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:05,920 Speaker 1: but not really. It's like the ultimate swear jar in 560 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:12,680 Speaker 1: escrow might kind of. Her fine was paid by two 561 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:16,760 Speaker 1: reporters from the Daily National Intelligencer, which is usually framed 562 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:20,560 Speaker 1: as solidarity among members of the press, because it was 563 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:24,280 Speaker 1: absolutely clear to everyone that this whole trial was not 564 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:27,360 Speaker 1: just about the Presbyterian congregation that was meeting at the 565 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:31,240 Speaker 1: fire engine house. It was about and Royal's poison pen 566 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:34,120 Speaker 1: and her many extremely strong opinions that she had been 567 00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:37,800 Speaker 1: stridently writing about for most of the eighteen twenties. It 568 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:41,440 Speaker 1: was a trial that was basically about making and Royal 569 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:45,960 Speaker 1: shut up, and after being convicted of being a common scold, 570 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:48,760 Speaker 1: and Royal thought it might be a smart idea to 571 00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:51,360 Speaker 1: get out of Washington, d c. But she did not 572 00:33:51,480 --> 00:34:02,800 Speaker 1: stay gone for very long. It does not appear that 573 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:05,440 Speaker 1: Anne Royal did anything to cause her to forfeit that 574 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:08,759 Speaker 1: two and fifty dollars for good behavior that she was 575 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:11,520 Speaker 1: fined after her conviction for being a common skulled. But 576 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:14,960 Speaker 1: on December thirty one, she published the first issue of 577 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:18,799 Speaker 1: her new newspaper. It was The Paul Pry, and she 578 00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:21,680 Speaker 1: published that in Washington, d C. And, in addition to 579 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:27,200 Speaker 1: publishing other material, The Paul Pry loudly and stridently published 580 00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:30,600 Speaker 1: and Royal's opinions on the political topics of the day, 581 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:34,480 Speaker 1: as well as her own reporting about the goings on 582 00:34:34,640 --> 00:34:37,759 Speaker 1: in the halls of government, especially when it came to 583 00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:43,120 Speaker 1: exposing corruption and the Paul Prize opening editorial began quote, 584 00:34:43,640 --> 00:34:47,279 Speaker 1: our course will be a straightforward one, as Heretofore, the 585 00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:50,360 Speaker 1: same firmness which has ever maintained our pen will be 586 00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:53,680 Speaker 1: continued to this end. Let it be understood that we 587 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:57,520 Speaker 1: are of no party. We will neither oppose nor advocate 588 00:34:57,560 --> 00:35:01,200 Speaker 1: any man for the presidency. The well, fair and happiness 589 00:35:01,239 --> 00:35:04,560 Speaker 1: of our country is our politics. To promote this, we 590 00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:08,440 Speaker 1: shall oppose and expose all and every species of political 591 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:12,840 Speaker 1: evil and religious fraud, without fear, favor or affection. We 592 00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:17,480 Speaker 1: shall patronize merit of whatsoever, country, sect, or politics. We 593 00:35:17,520 --> 00:35:20,920 Speaker 1: shall advocate the liberty of the press, the liberty of speech, 594 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:24,759 Speaker 1: and the liberty of conscience. The enemies of these bulwarks 595 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:27,640 Speaker 1: of our common safety, as they have shown none, shall 596 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:31,240 Speaker 1: receive no mercy at our hands. So that all sounds 597 00:35:31,239 --> 00:35:34,200 Speaker 1: pretty great, But we should make it clearer that even 598 00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:36,319 Speaker 1: though it said right there that the paper had no 599 00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:40,840 Speaker 1: official political parties, stance royal zone political opinions very clear 600 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:43,839 Speaker 1: in its and a lot of people thought that the 601 00:35:44,160 --> 00:35:47,800 Speaker 1: that the Paul Pry and its successor were jackson Ian papers, 602 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:51,640 Speaker 1: even when and Royal strongly criticized things that President Andrew 603 00:35:51,719 --> 00:35:54,480 Speaker 1: Jackson was doing when she didn't agree with him. And 604 00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:59,919 Speaker 1: the Paul Prize quality was variable, to be very kind 605 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:02,880 Speaker 1: about it, she was printing it at home on an 606 00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:05,399 Speaker 1: antique press, and she was using a hand me down 607 00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:07,960 Speaker 1: type face. And when we say hand me down, that 608 00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:10,520 Speaker 1: is not in any way a joke, and it really 609 00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:14,600 Speaker 1: doesn't cover how intensely hand me down. The situation was 610 00:36:15,160 --> 00:36:18,000 Speaker 1: um Duff Green, who worked at the United States Telegraph, 611 00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:21,240 Speaker 1: which was another paper, not the Telegraph Office, had asked 612 00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:24,200 Speaker 1: his staff to gather up all of their discarded letters 613 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:26,680 Speaker 1: to give to her, and that is what she was using. 614 00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:30,160 Speaker 1: So she was basically printing things that looked like the 615 00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:33,799 Speaker 1: cutout ransom notes that you would get, except she was 616 00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:36,719 Speaker 1: just cranking them out on her home press. And on 617 00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:39,480 Speaker 1: top of this highly erratic quality of the print, the 618 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:43,080 Speaker 1: writing was not especially polished either. But she got about 619 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:46,839 Speaker 1: a hundred subscribers with two orphans that we're helping her 620 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:51,919 Speaker 1: make the deliveries. Maybe not surprisingly considering this whole thing, 621 00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:55,840 Speaker 1: with like the not very polished prose and the serial 622 00:36:55,920 --> 00:37:02,440 Speaker 1: killer writing and the orphans, she couldn't really get the 623 00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:05,000 Speaker 1: Paul prior to turn a profit, and the name was 624 00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:08,120 Speaker 1: part of the problem because Paul pry made it sound 625 00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:10,440 Speaker 1: like it was a gossip rag instead of something that 626 00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:14,200 Speaker 1: offered some serious journalism. So she shut it down on 627 00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:18,160 Speaker 1: November thirty six, and on December two, just a couple 628 00:37:18,160 --> 00:37:20,839 Speaker 1: of weeks later, she published the first issue of her 629 00:37:20,920 --> 00:37:25,640 Speaker 1: new newspaper, The Huntress, which she chose. Yes, she chose 630 00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:29,480 Speaker 1: the name to more clearly reflect a connection to the 631 00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:33,040 Speaker 1: editor of the paper, which was in Royal, and since 632 00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:35,960 Speaker 1: at this point she had five years of experience under 633 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:38,719 Speaker 1: her belt, she was no longer like just deciding she 634 00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:42,040 Speaker 1: was going to have a political newspaper. Uh The Huntress 635 00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:45,000 Speaker 1: was a much stronger paper than the Paul Prye had been. 636 00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:47,680 Speaker 1: And as she had done with The Paul Prye, while 637 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:51,120 Speaker 1: she was publishing The Huntress and Royal, personally walked the 638 00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:55,000 Speaker 1: halls of government, meeting with legislators and interrogating them about 639 00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:57,919 Speaker 1: their positions and what they were doing. And she met 640 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:00,680 Speaker 1: and spoke with every president who sir during her time 641 00:38:00,719 --> 00:38:03,399 Speaker 1: as a journalist in the Capitol. And she made such 642 00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:06,200 Speaker 1: a name for herself with her dogged pursuit of stories 643 00:38:06,239 --> 00:38:08,560 Speaker 1: that when she entered a room. A lot of the time, 644 00:38:08,600 --> 00:38:10,920 Speaker 1: men who had been targets of her criticism would just 645 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:17,160 Speaker 1: get up and roll out Audio sma Um, the Senate doorkeeper, 646 00:38:17,200 --> 00:38:20,880 Speaker 1: who was named Isaac Bassett, described her as quote homely 647 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:25,680 Speaker 1: in person, careless in dress, poor in purse, and vulgar 648 00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:30,560 Speaker 1: in manners. But he also said she had much shrewdness 649 00:38:30,719 --> 00:38:36,399 Speaker 1: and respectable talents. Royal published The Huntress until July fifty four. 650 00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:39,399 Speaker 1: She kept it up after Congress passed the new law 651 00:38:39,480 --> 00:38:42,799 Speaker 1: in eighteen forty eight that gave Revolutionary war widows who 652 00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:46,600 Speaker 1: were married before January second, eight hundred access to a 653 00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:51,239 Speaker 1: lifetime pension. Although her husband's same relatives that had contested 654 00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:55,399 Speaker 1: the will laid claim to that too, they did not 655 00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:58,120 Speaker 1: like her, uh so she only got part of it. 656 00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:01,799 Speaker 1: But for twenty three years she was publishing her own 657 00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:05,440 Speaker 1: newspaper in Washington, d c. And between The Paul Prye 658 00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:08,520 Speaker 1: and The Huntress, she published more than twelve hundred issues 659 00:39:08,600 --> 00:39:11,120 Speaker 1: with the help of her friends Sally Stack and those 660 00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:14,560 Speaker 1: two orphans who were helping both with deliveries and errands. 661 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:18,239 Speaker 1: And to quote Sarah Harvey Porter, writing for the Historical 662 00:39:18,280 --> 00:39:21,480 Speaker 1: Society of Washington, d c. In nineteen o seven. Quote 663 00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:24,240 Speaker 1: from the first number of Paul Prye to the last 664 00:39:24,320 --> 00:39:27,239 Speaker 1: issue of The Huntress, almost a quarter of a century afterward. 665 00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:30,719 Speaker 1: There was not a single political battle fought in Washington 666 00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:34,440 Speaker 1: about and about which and Royal did not have or 667 00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:39,400 Speaker 1: rather fling her say, she hit two with uncommon frequency, 668 00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:43,160 Speaker 1: and always near the bull's eye. Her pages contain much 669 00:39:43,200 --> 00:39:46,960 Speaker 1: to offend a critical literary taste, much that her her 670 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:51,080 Speaker 1: admirers could wish had never been printed, but liked or 671 00:39:51,160 --> 00:39:55,480 Speaker 1: disliked her bitterest enemies must admit that her editorial and 672 00:39:55,560 --> 00:39:59,879 Speaker 1: other utterances never lacked point. Royal died just a couple 673 00:39:59,880 --> 00:40:02,680 Speaker 1: of months after publishing her last issue of The Huntress 674 00:40:02,719 --> 00:40:05,239 Speaker 1: on October one, eighteen fifty four, at the age of 675 00:40:05,280 --> 00:40:09,840 Speaker 1: eighty five. She was virtually penniless, having barely sustained herself 676 00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:13,400 Speaker 1: with these newspapers. She was buried in Congressional Cemetery in 677 00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:16,399 Speaker 1: an unmarked grave, and then a stone was erected by 678 00:40:16,520 --> 00:40:21,160 Speaker 1: Mason's in nineteen eleven which read and Royal, Pioneer Woman 679 00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:24,880 Speaker 1: Journalist seventeen sixty nine to eighteen fifty four, pray that 680 00:40:24,920 --> 00:40:28,920 Speaker 1: the Union of these States maybe Eternal erected an appreciative 681 00:40:29,080 --> 00:40:32,680 Speaker 1: recognition by a few men from Philadelphia and Washington May twelfth, 682 00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:36,920 Speaker 1: nineteen eleven. And Royal's reputation really endured for a long 683 00:40:37,040 --> 00:40:41,040 Speaker 1: time after her death. Almost forty years later, on February 684 00:40:41,120 --> 00:40:44,839 Speaker 1: twenty second, eighteen ninety one, the Washington Post ran an 685 00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:48,479 Speaker 1: article about her under the following headline, which is long, 686 00:40:48,520 --> 00:40:50,000 Speaker 1: so you're gonna think it's done, and I'm going to 687 00:40:50,120 --> 00:40:55,520 Speaker 1: keep going. Um. She was a holy terror. Her pen 688 00:40:55,880 --> 00:41:00,840 Speaker 1: was as venomous as a rattlesnake's fangs. Former Washington editress 689 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:03,720 Speaker 1: how and Royal made life a burden to the public 690 00:41:03,760 --> 00:41:07,680 Speaker 1: men of her day. Please let me have a headline 691 00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:10,640 Speaker 1: that good after I die. Please please, Plazness, please please 692 00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:15,719 Speaker 1: another fifty years after that, President Harry S. Truman, who 693 00:41:15,760 --> 00:41:19,560 Speaker 1: loved to tell that false skinny dipping story, called her 694 00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:24,360 Speaker 1: a shrew of a newspaper woman. Yeah. Most of the 695 00:41:24,440 --> 00:41:27,120 Speaker 1: write ups about and Royal today focus on one of 696 00:41:27,239 --> 00:41:31,040 Speaker 1: three things. There's that apocryphal story about John Quincy Adams, 697 00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:35,040 Speaker 1: the trial for being a scold, and the extremely opinionated 698 00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:39,320 Speaker 1: and strident political reporting that was dedicated to exposing corruption 699 00:41:39,360 --> 00:41:42,280 Speaker 1: and hypocrisy that she did for almost twenty five years. 700 00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:45,160 Speaker 1: But there's one more thing that's really important to note 701 00:41:45,200 --> 00:41:48,360 Speaker 1: about her, and that's that although she was mostly able 702 00:41:48,440 --> 00:41:51,640 Speaker 1: to support herself through writing and reporting, often she really 703 00:41:51,680 --> 00:41:55,400 Speaker 1: had very little. Especially when she was running her own newspapers. 704 00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:59,319 Speaker 1: People described her as shabby because she only had that 705 00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:02,560 Speaker 1: one dress, but she was constantly doing everything that she 706 00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:05,120 Speaker 1: could for people who had less than she did. She 707 00:42:05,280 --> 00:42:08,400 Speaker 1: donated as much money as she possibly could to charitable 708 00:42:08,440 --> 00:42:12,640 Speaker 1: causes rather than buying more dresses. She visited the sick 709 00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:16,440 Speaker 1: and imprisoned. She took so called fallen women into her 710 00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:18,920 Speaker 1: home because she was really mindful of the fact that 711 00:42:18,920 --> 00:42:21,320 Speaker 1: that could have been her in that exact same position. 712 00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:24,319 Speaker 1: And one of the reasons that she hated political and 713 00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:27,680 Speaker 1: religious corruptions so very deeply was that it was so 714 00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:31,279 Speaker 1: often taking funds away from people who really desperately needed it. 715 00:42:31,719 --> 00:42:34,839 Speaker 1: It's also tricky to try to sum up royals very 716 00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:39,400 Speaker 1: complicated and sometimes contradictory opinions. So to quote Sarah Harvey 717 00:42:39,440 --> 00:42:44,520 Speaker 1: Porter again, here's a rundown quote. Entire separation of church 718 00:42:44,560 --> 00:42:48,759 Speaker 1: and state in spirit and letter, Exposure and punishment of 719 00:42:48,880 --> 00:42:53,680 Speaker 1: corrupt officials, sound money, public schools in all parts of 720 00:42:53,680 --> 00:43:00,960 Speaker 1: the country, free from sectarian bias or control masonry, justice 721 00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:07,600 Speaker 1: to the Indians, liberal immigration laws, transportation of mails on Sunday, 722 00:43:08,280 --> 00:43:16,120 Speaker 1: internal improvements, territorial expansion, liberal appropriations for scientific investigation, equal 723 00:43:16,239 --> 00:43:21,640 Speaker 1: and just terra laws, no nullification States rights. In regards 724 00:43:21,680 --> 00:43:25,759 Speaker 1: to the slavery question, she had a mostly good list 725 00:43:25,840 --> 00:43:29,920 Speaker 1: until that point, except for the maybe the territorial expansion 726 00:43:29,960 --> 00:43:34,400 Speaker 1: part also had problems, but anyway, betterments of conditions of 727 00:43:34,520 --> 00:43:39,080 Speaker 1: wage earners, free thought, free speech, and a free press. 728 00:43:39,920 --> 00:43:43,880 Speaker 1: And then my favorite good works instead of long prayers. 729 00:43:46,320 --> 00:43:52,240 Speaker 1: On May, the Society of Professional Journalists unveiled a plaque 730 00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:54,880 Speaker 1: to be hung in the Senate Daily Press Gallery, and 731 00:43:54,960 --> 00:43:58,880 Speaker 1: it reads and and Royal, who published newspapers from eighteen 732 00:43:58,920 --> 00:44:01,960 Speaker 1: thirty one to eighteen fifty four in Washington, d C. 733 00:44:02,800 --> 00:44:06,560 Speaker 1: A fearless champion of freedom of the press, and Royal 734 00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:09,840 Speaker 1: walked the halls of the capital gathering firsthand reports on 735 00:44:09,960 --> 00:44:13,719 Speaker 1: legislation and politics. She bears the distinction of being the 736 00:44:13,760 --> 00:44:17,640 Speaker 1: first woman to cover the US Congress. She advocated the 737 00:44:17,680 --> 00:44:20,880 Speaker 1: separation of church and state and the preservation of the Union, 738 00:44:21,239 --> 00:44:26,000 Speaker 1: making a notable contribution to political journalism and that is 739 00:44:26,040 --> 00:44:31,840 Speaker 1: in Royal. Before we close out today's show, we have 740 00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:34,680 Speaker 1: a bunch of thank you's. First, thanks to the staff 741 00:44:34,719 --> 00:44:38,279 Speaker 1: at all of our venues across the board. Everyone in 742 00:44:38,400 --> 00:44:41,279 Speaker 1: every city was great to work with. Thanks to our 743 00:44:41,320 --> 00:44:43,839 Speaker 1: marketing staff in our Atlanta office for handling a lot 744 00:44:43,840 --> 00:44:46,400 Speaker 1: of the wrangling with the venues and with our booking agent, 745 00:44:46,719 --> 00:44:49,440 Speaker 1: answer our colleague Tamika who handled making most of our 746 00:44:49,480 --> 00:44:53,280 Speaker 1: travel arrangements for us. And then I want to thank Holly. Holly, 747 00:44:53,360 --> 00:44:56,040 Speaker 1: you did all the legwork on figuring out where we 748 00:44:56,080 --> 00:44:59,080 Speaker 1: should stay and I just copied off your paper. It's 749 00:44:59,160 --> 00:45:01,279 Speaker 1: fine by me. I love to pick a hotel. Thank 750 00:45:01,320 --> 00:45:04,520 Speaker 1: you for doing all the research for this episode. We 751 00:45:04,560 --> 00:45:06,839 Speaker 1: also need to thank everyone who came out to the show, 752 00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:09,560 Speaker 1: especially the many people who stayed behind to talk to 753 00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:12,880 Speaker 1: us afterward. In particular thanks to Colleen who brought us 754 00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:16,200 Speaker 1: some chocolates and some handmade cowls, and Maria who brought 755 00:45:16,239 --> 00:45:19,360 Speaker 1: us some goodies from historic St. Mary's City, and Sophie 756 00:45:19,400 --> 00:45:21,960 Speaker 1: who brought us some really beautiful art. And if you 757 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:23,880 Speaker 1: brought us a treat and we haven't mentioned you, we 758 00:45:23,920 --> 00:45:27,640 Speaker 1: sincerely apologize that we got really blurry a little while, 759 00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:29,759 Speaker 1: to the point that sometimes I did not know what 760 00:45:29,800 --> 00:45:33,160 Speaker 1: airport I was in. That happened to me also, and 761 00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:36,080 Speaker 1: I just remembered that that we uh, somebody brought us 762 00:45:36,120 --> 00:45:38,240 Speaker 1: some peanut butter because they did a peanut butter taste 763 00:45:38,239 --> 00:45:40,160 Speaker 1: test and we had the peanut butter episode that was 764 00:45:40,160 --> 00:45:42,799 Speaker 1: in Raleigh, and I didn't write down that person's name. 765 00:45:43,040 --> 00:45:45,000 Speaker 1: I also want to give us special thank you to 766 00:45:45,160 --> 00:45:49,120 Speaker 1: Corinne for dashing up onto the stage during our last 767 00:45:49,160 --> 00:45:52,399 Speaker 1: show in Washington, d C. With some cough drops when 768 00:45:52,440 --> 00:45:55,239 Speaker 1: the cold that I had started fighting off in Summerville 769 00:45:55,320 --> 00:45:58,600 Speaker 1: finally caught up with me and I could not stop 770 00:45:58,640 --> 00:46:02,120 Speaker 1: coughing on stage. And lastly, massive thanks to head count 771 00:46:02,160 --> 00:46:05,240 Speaker 1: dot org UH they were on site to register people 772 00:46:05,280 --> 00:46:07,359 Speaker 1: to vote at most of the shows on this tour. 773 00:46:07,480 --> 00:46:10,600 Speaker 1: They will also be on our West Coast tour. Very 774 00:46:10,600 --> 00:46:12,880 Speaker 1: exciting and I feel like it's so important that they 775 00:46:12,880 --> 00:46:14,839 Speaker 1: are there and I really appreciate the effort of all 776 00:46:14,880 --> 00:46:17,640 Speaker 1: of those volunteers. And our next tour is coming up 777 00:46:17,680 --> 00:46:21,080 Speaker 1: in October. We will be in Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, 778 00:46:21,160 --> 00:46:24,560 Speaker 1: and Los Angeles and San Francisco. California. You can find 779 00:46:24,600 --> 00:46:27,200 Speaker 1: more information and links to buy tickets at missed in 780 00:46:27,360 --> 00:46:31,279 Speaker 1: History dot com slash tour. We are hopeful that we'll 781 00:46:31,280 --> 00:46:33,920 Speaker 1: be able to have some more stops in other cities 782 00:46:34,120 --> 00:46:37,440 Speaker 1: on other tours in the future. Uh And since that 783 00:46:37,520 --> 00:46:38,920 Speaker 1: was kind of a long episode and we had a 784 00:46:38,960 --> 00:46:41,560 Speaker 1: lot of thank yous, we have no listener mail today, 785 00:46:41,640 --> 00:46:50,200 Speaker 1: just the blanket. Thank you again to everyone. For more 786 00:46:50,200 --> 00:46:52,840 Speaker 1: on this and thousands of other topics, is how staff 787 00:46:52,840 --> 00:46:59,480 Speaker 1: works dot com.