WEBVTT - AF GREATEST HITS: Vicious White Women

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<v Speaker 1>School of Humans. Do you guys want to hear some podcasts? Tea? So, well,

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<v Speaker 1>you're gonna hear it whether or not you want it.

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<v Speaker 1>If you don't want to, fast forward like a minute

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<v Speaker 1>and a half and the episodes will start. But we

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<v Speaker 1>had to update the American Filth Podcast description because it

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<v Speaker 1>said things like fuck boy and cox and anal and

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<v Speaker 1>apparently I didn't realize this, but the podcast auto populates

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<v Speaker 1>on some news websites and so they were getting We're

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

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<v Speaker 1>just says fuck boy on our website. Whoopsies. So we

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>who are listening who like filthy stuff. But I also

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

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<v Speaker 1>unsuspecting website perusers with words like cooks. You know, maybe

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>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're a gain and do nothing

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<v Speaker 1>about it. Anyway, Thanks for listening. Let's just get into

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>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 Idea 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 ship's 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 stay 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

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<v Speaker 1>banging and lucky for the boys, there was an influx

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<v Speaker 1>of supply. To put it into perspective, before the Civil War,

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

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<v Speaker 1>Army 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, and even before the Civil War, this

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<v Speaker 1>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 ill repute, whatever

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>were also pemps. So then during the war, these streets

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<v Speaker 1>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 killed

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

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<v Speaker 1>but it did cause some serious problems. Like on the battlefield,

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<v Speaker 1>about seventeen percent of Union soldiers got injured, but in

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<v Speaker 1>the sheets eight percent of soldiers got syphilis and gonnrhea.

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<v Speaker 1>And yet it wouldn't always kill you, but it wasn't good,

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<v Speaker 1>you know. And at the time, really the only treatment

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<v Speaker 1>for these diseases was mercury, and that always put dudes

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<v Speaker 1>in retrograde, making them totally useless on the battlefield. That

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<v Speaker 1>gave rise to this fun expression, A night with venus

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<v Speaker 1>a lifetime with mercury. And now so many soldiers were

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<v Speaker 1>getting messed up with ScDs in Nashville that it was

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<v Speaker 1>becoming a state of emergency, and US Major General Rose

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<v Speaker 1>Kranz pissed. He was pissed about the STDs. He was

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<v Speaker 1>pissed about the lack of morality, and he was pissed

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<v Speaker 1>about losing soldiers on the battlefield to frivolity. And so

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<v Speaker 1>he got to thinking, and he was like, well, there

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<v Speaker 1>is literally no way I can get these horny boys

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<v Speaker 1>to stop visiting the ladies at houses of ill repute.

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<v Speaker 1>So I guess we gotta get rid of the ladies. Duh,

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<v Speaker 1>You can't do anything about a man's wien or can

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<v Speaker 1>you nothing? So yeah, he went about getting these ladies

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<v Speaker 1>of the night out of Nashville. The first big push

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<v Speaker 1>to get them out of the city was in the

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<v Speaker 1>winter of eighteen sixty two hundreds of the women on

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<v Speaker 1>Smokey Row were gathered up. As one Union captain wrote,

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<v Speaker 1>they were compelled to leave, and they were put on

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<v Speaker 1>a train and sent up to Louisville under guard so

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<v Speaker 1>they couldn't escape. But the thing is, this problem wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>unique to Nashville, so when they got to Louisville, the

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<v Speaker 1>officials there were like, what, we don't want your harlots.

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<v Speaker 1>We have plenty of them already. But because it was

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<v Speaker 1>under Old Rosie, they eventually came around to it. I

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<v Speaker 1>guess they were also compelled, and so very temporarily the

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<v Speaker 1>sex work problem in Nashville was solved. One Union captain wrote,

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<v Speaker 1>Nashville was afterward all the happier and better off for

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<v Speaker 1>their conspicuous absence. This guy sounds like a fun time

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<v Speaker 1>and Old Rosie I can imagine at the time he

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<v Speaker 1>was like, yes, go me, I did it. I got

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<v Speaker 1>the prostitutes out of Nashville. I am a genius. The

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<v Speaker 1>problem was that soon after these women were deported, they

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<v Speaker 1>all came hustling back. Because the thing about trains, they

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<v Speaker 1>go both ways, and the problem was just as bad

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<v Speaker 1>as before. So Old Rosie he enlisted Nashville Provost Marshall

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<v Speaker 1>George Spalding, a former school teacher, a man filled with

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<v Speaker 1>duty to deal with it. We'll be right back after

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<v Speaker 1>these soothing ads. Nashville Provost Marshall George Spalding was a

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<v Speaker 1>former school teacher, and he was to become the great

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<v Speaker 1>hope to General Rosecrans to deal with all these dang

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<v Speaker 1>prostitutes of Nashville. Rosecrans commanded him to deal with the

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<v Speaker 1>problem in July eighteen sixty three, writing, without loss of time,

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<v Speaker 1>sees and transport to Louisville all prostitutes found in the

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<v Speaker 1>city known to be here, because you guys, know what

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<v Speaker 1>the solution to a problem is, just do the same

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<v Speaker 1>thing that you did before that failed. So Spalding made

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<v Speaker 1>a plan. He was like, well, we already tried to

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<v Speaker 1>get these gals out of town on the train. Well

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<v Speaker 1>what about this time we put them on a boat.

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<v Speaker 1>And the boat he intended to use for this plan

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<v Speaker 1>was a brand spanking new steamboat belonging to John Newcombe,

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<v Speaker 1>the Idaho. Faulding was like, Hey, as ordered by General Rosecrans,

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<v Speaker 1>We're gonna commandeer your vessel to get some of these

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<v Speaker 1>hose out of Nashville and Newcomb was like, hey, that's

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<v Speaker 1>a terrible idea for me, because this is a new

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<v Speaker 1>boat and if you put some hose on it, no

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<v Speaker 1>one will want to get on my boat ever again,

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<v Speaker 1>because it has very bad vibes. And Spalding was like, well,

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<v Speaker 1>no worry about it. We're gonna compensate you for your troubles,

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<v Speaker 1>and I am sure that the reputation shall not be tarnished.

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

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<v Speaker 1>was in fact quite tarnished. So Spalding enacted his plan.

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<v Speaker 1>He began gathering up some of the most notorious sex

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<v Speaker 1>workers and putting them on the ship. They rounded up

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred and ten people in total. We know that

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<v Speaker 1>of the women on board, all the ones they rounded

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<v Speaker 1>up were white. Some of them indeed had venereal diseases.

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<v Speaker 1>There's even a few children. Very neat I love war.

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<v Speaker 1>Some of the women did resist. The Nashville Daily Press

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<v Speaker 1>reported that one woman called it one of the most

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<v Speaker 1>notorious Cyprians. She quickly married a dude to quote unquote

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<v Speaker 1>some scamp, hoping that this marriage would get her out

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<v Speaker 1>of being voted away. Unfortunately, that didn't stopped Spalding. His

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<v Speaker 1>men still forced her to get on that boat. As

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<v Speaker 1>the article said, she is on her way to banishment.

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<v Speaker 1>On July eighth, eighteen sixty three, Captain Newcomb got the

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<v Speaker 1>notice that it was time for him to leave. It

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<v Speaker 1>said to the captain of the steamer Idaho, you are

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<v Speaker 1>hereby directed to proceed to Louisville, Kentucky, with the one

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<v Speaker 1>hundred passengers put on board your steamer today, allowing none

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<v Speaker 1>to leave the boat before reaching Louisville. So Captain John

0:14:26.325 --> 0:14:29.765
<v Speaker 1>Newcomb and his crew of three set sail as a

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<v Speaker 1>bunch of Nashvillians waved it away, saying good riddance to

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<v Speaker 1>these ladies of ill repute. The Idaho cruised up the

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<v Speaker 1>Cumberland and Ohio Rivers to their destination. They were supposed

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<v Speaker 1>to reach Louisville in five days, and indeed, just like

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<v Speaker 1>he thought, havoc ensued. Newspaper articles described people on the

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

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<v Speaker 1>swimming over to the boat to try to get a

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

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<v Speaker 1>on board were encouraging it. But just like last time,

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<v Speaker 1>the thing about having a boat filled with prostitutes who

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<v Speaker 1>you intend to dump at another city. Is that the

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<v Speaker 1>other city will figure that out and be like, we

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

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

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

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

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

0:15:32.645 --> 0:15:34.525
<v Speaker 1>and the general in charge of the army there was like,

0:15:34.605 --> 0:15:36.645
<v Speaker 1>get out of here. I will not take your cargo.

0:15:37.445 --> 0:15:39.765
<v Speaker 1>He placed some military guards on the boat and was

0:15:39.805 --> 0:15:43.245
<v Speaker 1>like go to Cincinnati, and Newcombe was probably like fuck.

0:15:44.365 --> 0:15:47.165
<v Speaker 1>The women on board were also pissed. A few of

0:15:47.205 --> 0:15:49.285
<v Speaker 1>them snuck off the boat and swam to the shore.

0:15:50.405 --> 0:15:52.405
<v Speaker 1>A lot of those women then ended up in jail

0:15:52.445 --> 0:15:55.485
<v Speaker 1>in Louisville, but they were allowed to leave and they

0:15:55.525 --> 0:16:01.125
<v Speaker 1>were given one free ticket on a train back to Nashville.

0:16:01.245 --> 0:16:03.805
<v Speaker 1>Now they're headed to Cincinnati, and the supplies on the

0:16:03.805 --> 0:16:06.445
<v Speaker 1>boat had run out. Remember they were only supposed to

0:16:06.445 --> 0:16:08.565
<v Speaker 1>be on the boat for five days and now they're

0:16:08.605 --> 0:16:16.925
<v Speaker 1>just sailing to another city. Once Newcomb got the boat

0:16:16.965 --> 0:16:19.605
<v Speaker 1>over to Cincinnati, they were just like, you can't even

0:16:19.765 --> 0:16:23.605
<v Speaker 1>dock here, go across the river to Kentucky and just wait.

0:16:24.845 --> 0:16:27.365
<v Speaker 1>I hate being told I have to wait in Kentucky.

0:16:30.005 --> 0:16:33.725
<v Speaker 1>So Captain Newcombe his crew of three, the sex workers

0:16:33.725 --> 0:16:38.605
<v Speaker 1>who hadn't escaped, and then the guards from Louisville, they

0:16:38.685 --> 0:16:41.005
<v Speaker 1>just have to wait on that boat and they're there

0:16:41.165 --> 0:16:46.525
<v Speaker 1>for thirteen days. Thirteen days off the shore of Kentucky

0:16:46.645 --> 0:16:56.045
<v Speaker 1>sounds like the worst country song you've ever heard. At

0:16:56.045 --> 0:16:57.685
<v Speaker 1>this point, none of the women were able to get

0:16:57.685 --> 0:16:59.805
<v Speaker 1>off the ship, and some of them were just like

0:16:59.925 --> 0:17:03.525
<v Speaker 1>fed the fuck up. A newspaper called The Cleveland Morning

0:17:03.605 --> 0:17:07.285
<v Speaker 1>Leader wrote the majority we are a homely, forlorn set

0:17:07.325 --> 0:17:10.765
<v Speaker 1>of degraded creatures, having been hurried on the boats by

0:17:10.765 --> 0:17:14.125
<v Speaker 1>a military guard. Many are without a change of wardrobe.

0:17:14.645 --> 0:17:17.725
<v Speaker 1>They managed to smuggle a little liquor on board. Several

0:17:17.845 --> 0:17:21.845
<v Speaker 1>became intoxicated and indulged in a free fight, which resulted

0:17:21.885 --> 0:17:26.205
<v Speaker 1>without material damage to any property, although knives were used freely.

0:17:27.205 --> 0:17:32.925
<v Speaker 1>What just knife fights on the ship. There's not enough food.

0:17:33.205 --> 0:17:35.645
<v Speaker 1>A lot of them need medication because of their diseases,

0:17:35.885 --> 0:17:38.285
<v Speaker 1>so now Captain Newcomb has to go out of pocket

0:17:38.365 --> 0:17:41.605
<v Speaker 1>to provide that for them, and some of them were

0:17:41.645 --> 0:17:45.085
<v Speaker 1>so frustrated that apparently some of them were yelling off

0:17:45.125 --> 0:17:46.885
<v Speaker 1>of the side of the boat to try to get

0:17:46.925 --> 0:17:57.165
<v Speaker 1>Confederate forces to help them escape. So again everyone's pissed.

0:17:57.605 --> 0:18:01.885
<v Speaker 1>It's also July, so it's probably hot as fuck. No Column,

0:18:01.965 --> 0:18:05.045
<v Speaker 1>his crew, the women, they've been on the worst carnival

0:18:05.085 --> 0:18:09.445
<v Speaker 1>cruise for days, stranded, they've run out of supplies. Ninety

0:18:09.445 --> 0:18:12.725
<v Speaker 1>eight women and six children remain on board, underguard from

0:18:12.765 --> 0:18:14.765
<v Speaker 1>the Louisville soldiers to make sure they don't get off

0:18:14.765 --> 0:18:21.885
<v Speaker 1>the boat. But then finally newcomb gets in order, and

0:18:22.045 --> 0:18:26.045
<v Speaker 1>it's really annoying because basically it's like, hey, we've realized

0:18:26.245 --> 0:18:28.925
<v Speaker 1>this was a bad idea, so just come back to

0:18:29.005 --> 0:18:32.565
<v Speaker 1>Nashville and get back here quick because we got even

0:18:32.605 --> 0:18:36.605
<v Speaker 1>bigger river fish to fry. Because the thing is. Spaulding

0:18:36.685 --> 0:18:39.285
<v Speaker 1>and his crew had rounded up all these sex workers,

0:18:40.405 --> 0:18:43.525
<v Speaker 1>but there were plenty of other people to take their places,

0:18:44.245 --> 0:18:48.285
<v Speaker 1>especially black women, which the Union army liked even less.

0:18:49.165 --> 0:18:53.325
<v Speaker 1>Here's what the Nashville Daily Union wrote, This sudden expatriation

0:18:53.445 --> 0:18:56.285
<v Speaker 1>of hundreds of vicious white women will only make room

0:18:56.325 --> 0:19:01.805
<v Speaker 1>for an equal number of black strumpets. Another Nashville newspaper said,

0:19:02.165 --> 0:19:05.445
<v Speaker 1>so bare face are these black prostitutes. They parade the

0:19:05.645 --> 0:19:11.605
<v Speaker 1>streets and even the public squares day and night. So

0:19:11.645 --> 0:19:14.765
<v Speaker 1>the Idaho sales back down the river, and by August

0:19:14.765 --> 0:19:18.165
<v Speaker 1>eighteen sixty three, twenty eight days after it had departed,

0:19:18.325 --> 0:19:22.725
<v Speaker 1>these vicious white women were back in Nashville, and Newcomb's

0:19:22.725 --> 0:19:25.685
<v Speaker 1>pissed because the journey whis for nothing and his boat

0:19:25.765 --> 0:19:30.605
<v Speaker 1>is messed up. When they dock, one of General Rosecran's

0:19:30.645 --> 0:19:34.005
<v Speaker 1>men did an inspection of the Idaho, and in his report,

0:19:34.085 --> 0:19:36.925
<v Speaker 1>what he said was that the ship had been badly damaged,

0:19:37.045 --> 0:19:41.965
<v Speaker 1>the mattresses badly soiled. To cover all the expenses, including

0:19:42.005 --> 0:19:44.245
<v Speaker 1>the medicine and food that Newcomb had to get out

0:19:44.285 --> 0:19:47.325
<v Speaker 1>of pocket, the guy recommended that he'd be paid fifty

0:19:47.325 --> 0:19:54.605
<v Speaker 1>three hundred dollars. But whatever, that's so boring. Who cares

0:19:54.605 --> 0:19:57.725
<v Speaker 1>about that in a time like this. George Balding was like,

0:19:57.765 --> 0:20:00.405
<v Speaker 1>this dude is so annoying. Who cares we had to

0:20:00.525 --> 0:20:03.445
<v Speaker 1>use your boat? I have bigger issues, like figuring out

0:20:03.445 --> 0:20:06.285
<v Speaker 1>what to do with these prostitutes, because now we have

0:20:06.405 --> 0:20:09.205
<v Speaker 1>even more than what we started with. Old Rosie is

0:20:09.205 --> 0:20:12.405
<v Speaker 1>gonna be so mad at me. So what did George

0:20:12.445 --> 0:20:17.805
<v Speaker 1>Spalding do an unprecedented action. He was like, our boys

0:20:17.805 --> 0:20:21.005
<v Speaker 1>won't stop visiting Smokey Rowe, and we can't get the

0:20:21.165 --> 0:20:26.805
<v Speaker 1>ladies out of Nashville, so instead let's regulate it. That's right,

0:20:27.285 --> 0:20:35.045
<v Speaker 1>Spalding made prostitution legal in Nashville. Basically, how it worked

0:20:35.085 --> 0:20:37.285
<v Speaker 1>is that every sex worker had to have a license.

0:20:37.885 --> 0:20:40.605
<v Speaker 1>It costs five dollars, and to keep it, they had

0:20:40.605 --> 0:20:43.205
<v Speaker 1>to see a union doctor every couple of weeks to

0:20:43.205 --> 0:20:45.685
<v Speaker 1>make sure they didn't have any diseases, and then the

0:20:45.765 --> 0:20:48.605
<v Speaker 1>ladies would be charged in additional fifty cents for those visits.

0:20:49.565 --> 0:20:51.885
<v Speaker 1>If a sex worker did have a disease, she was

0:20:51.885 --> 0:20:54.765
<v Speaker 1>then sent to a military hospital to be treated. And

0:20:54.805 --> 0:20:59.205
<v Speaker 1>these hospitals were nice. They had a living room, they

0:20:59.205 --> 0:21:01.565
<v Speaker 1>had nice beds, they had a cook, and a woman

0:21:01.565 --> 0:21:05.045
<v Speaker 1>couldn't leave until she was perfectly cured. One doctor described

0:21:05.085 --> 0:21:07.805
<v Speaker 1>one of these hospitals as a house in a secluded

0:21:07.845 --> 0:21:11.765
<v Speaker 1>part of town with upper rooms obtaining good light. The

0:21:11.805 --> 0:21:14.605
<v Speaker 1>women to be examined enter a reception room which is

0:21:14.685 --> 0:21:19.005
<v Speaker 1>comfortably furnished and in cold or disagreeable weather, well heated.

0:21:19.725 --> 0:21:22.245
<v Speaker 1>They pass in time from this apartment to an adjoining

0:21:22.285 --> 0:21:24.325
<v Speaker 1>room in which there is a bed, a table, and

0:21:24.405 --> 0:21:28.365
<v Speaker 1>all the necessary appliances for examining them. Some of these

0:21:28.365 --> 0:21:31.925
<v Speaker 1>hospitals even treated black sex workers, which is one of

0:21:31.925 --> 0:21:34.845
<v Speaker 1>the first times in the US that medical care was desegregated.

0:21:37.925 --> 0:21:40.605
<v Speaker 1>Don't worry, the soldiers would also get punished, like if

0:21:40.645 --> 0:21:44.045
<v Speaker 1>they visited an unlicensed sex worker, it was thirty days

0:21:44.045 --> 0:21:46.445
<v Speaker 1>in jail, but then the sex worker would also have

0:21:46.525 --> 0:21:51.805
<v Speaker 1>to spend thirty days in jail. Whatever. And basically through

0:21:51.845 --> 0:21:54.565
<v Speaker 1>this program it took like six thousand dollars to operate,

0:21:54.565 --> 0:21:56.405
<v Speaker 1>and that's how much money they made off of the

0:21:56.445 --> 0:21:59.685
<v Speaker 1>sex workers for the licenses. So just like paying for itself.

0:22:00.285 --> 0:22:03.165
<v Speaker 1>What is this? Is this like public health care? That's crazy?

0:22:03.845 --> 0:22:07.925
<v Speaker 1>It works. No, it's better for everyone. No, stop it.

0:22:10.165 --> 0:22:12.685
<v Speaker 1>And less than a year after this licensing program started,

0:22:12.965 --> 0:22:16.565
<v Speaker 1>the number of STD cases dropped dramatically. The Surgeon General

0:22:16.645 --> 0:22:19.805
<v Speaker 1>was like, yeah, this is doing pretty good. He said.

0:22:19.885 --> 0:22:23.205
<v Speaker 1>Under these regulations, a marked improvement was speedily noticed in

0:22:23.245 --> 0:22:26.485
<v Speaker 1>the manner and appearance of the women. When the inspections

0:22:26.485 --> 0:22:29.365
<v Speaker 1>were first in forced, many were exceedingly filthy in their

0:22:29.405 --> 0:22:32.405
<v Speaker 1>person in apparel and obscene in their language, but this

0:22:32.525 --> 0:22:36.365
<v Speaker 1>soon gave way to cleanliness and propriety, so it was a

0:22:36.365 --> 0:22:40.845
<v Speaker 1>great success. But unfortunately for Spalding it this did lead

0:22:40.925 --> 0:22:44.405
<v Speaker 1>to an influx of sex workers in Nashville because they're like, damn,

0:22:44.405 --> 0:22:46.045
<v Speaker 1>they really treat you well in Nashville, and I can

0:22:46.085 --> 0:22:49.965
<v Speaker 1>go see a doctor. But then the thing is the

0:22:50.005 --> 0:22:53.125
<v Speaker 1>war ended, and they're just like, hey, even though this

0:22:53.205 --> 0:22:56.845
<v Speaker 1>program works really well and keeps everyone safe, let's just

0:22:56.885 --> 0:22:58.965
<v Speaker 1>not do it anymore. That was just like a silly

0:22:59.045 --> 0:23:02.365
<v Speaker 1>war thing. We're not gonna license sex workers. We're not

0:23:02.365 --> 0:23:04.605
<v Speaker 1>gonna care about people's welfare, we're not gonna care about

0:23:04.605 --> 0:23:09.325
<v Speaker 1>the public. So they abolish it. No more licenses, no

0:23:09.405 --> 0:23:12.885
<v Speaker 1>more regulation, and that was the end of legal prostitution

0:23:13.085 --> 0:23:17.805
<v Speaker 1>in Nashville. And now, this whole time while prostitution was

0:23:17.885 --> 0:23:20.965
<v Speaker 1>legal in Nashville, Captain Newcombe of the Idaho is in

0:23:21.165 --> 0:23:24.885
<v Speaker 1>a big old tizzy because this whole time he hasn't

0:23:24.925 --> 0:23:27.485
<v Speaker 1>been reimbursed. It had been two years since he had

0:23:27.525 --> 0:23:29.965
<v Speaker 1>had those hundred vicious white women on his boat, and

0:23:30.125 --> 0:23:34.685
<v Speaker 1>still nothing. He was so frustrated that eventually he went

0:23:34.765 --> 0:23:37.485
<v Speaker 1>over the head of Spalding an old rosy directly to

0:23:37.525 --> 0:23:40.365
<v Speaker 1>the Secretary of War. He was finally like, oh, yeah,

0:23:40.365 --> 0:23:45.245
<v Speaker 1>we should probably reimburse you. Newcomb got six thousand dollars.

0:23:45.805 --> 0:23:47.965
<v Speaker 1>But even with that, sure it could pay for the

0:23:48.005 --> 0:23:50.525
<v Speaker 1>damage on his boat, but it could never repay the

0:23:50.605 --> 0:23:53.805
<v Speaker 1>damage that had been done to its reputation. It never

0:23:53.845 --> 0:23:57.245
<v Speaker 1>again cruised down the rivers of the southeastern United States.

0:23:58.405 --> 0:24:01.805
<v Speaker 1>Newcombe said, I told them it would forever ruin her

0:24:01.845 --> 0:24:05.765
<v Speaker 1>reputation as a passenger boat. It was done, so she

0:24:05.845 --> 0:24:15.965
<v Speaker 1>has now when since known as the floating Whorehouse. Every

0:24:15.965 --> 0:24:18.325
<v Speaker 1>episode on American Filth we learn a lesson, and I

0:24:18.325 --> 0:24:20.765
<v Speaker 1>think the lesson that we learn here is that you

0:24:20.765 --> 0:24:23.285
<v Speaker 1>should never get a boat that can fit a lot

0:24:23.325 --> 0:24:26.325
<v Speaker 1>of people on it. Otherwise people are going to ask

0:24:26.365 --> 0:24:28.725
<v Speaker 1>you to borrow it and you'll never be able to

0:24:28.845 --> 0:24:36.925
<v Speaker 1>use your boat again. American Filth is a production of

0:24:36.965 --> 0:24:40.965
<v Speaker 1>School of Humans and iHeart Podcasts. This episode was hosted, written,

0:24:40.965 --> 0:24:44.685
<v Speaker 1>and scored by Me Gabby Watts. Our theme song is

0:24:44.725 --> 0:24:48.645
<v Speaker 1>by Jesse Niswanger and Me. Our senior producer is Amelia Brock,

0:24:48.885 --> 0:24:52.765
<v Speaker 1>and our executive producers are Elsie Crowley, Virginia Prescott, and

0:24:52.805 --> 0:24:57.085
<v Speaker 1>Brandon Barr. Thanks so much for listening. Please like subscribe, review, etc.

0:24:57.405 --> 0:25:00.005
<v Speaker 1>The pod wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also

0:25:00.045 --> 0:25:04.365
<v Speaker 1>follow along with the show on Instagram at American Filth Pod.

0:25:04.805 --> 0:25:07.645
<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, thanks for listening. Talk at you next time.

0:25:21.005 --> 0:25:21.925
<v Speaker 1>School of Humans