1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,519 Speaker 1: Hey, y'all, we're rerunning two episodes today. Enjoy the show. 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:08,640 Speaker 1: Greetings everyone, welcome to this day in History class, where 3 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:19,079 Speaker 1: we bring you a new tidbit from history every day. 4 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:25,800 Speaker 1: The day was February nineteen o two. A child by 5 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 1: the name of Ansel Adams was born to Olive Bray 6 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: and Charles Hitchcock Adams in San Francisco, California. Adams would 7 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:38,680 Speaker 1: turn out to be a renowned landscape photographer and a 8 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: crusader for wilderness conservation. Adams was born into a wealthy family, 9 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: as his grandfather was a successful timber baron, but his 10 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: family fortune took a hit in nineteen o seven after 11 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:57,800 Speaker 1: a financial crisis in the United States, and they struggled 12 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: trying to recoup what they had lost. As a child, 13 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 1: Ansel had a hard time at school. He was kicked 14 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: out of several schools for bad behavior, so he started 15 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:13,319 Speaker 1: taking lessons with private tutors and family members at age twelve, 16 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 1: and early on he was drawn to music. He taught 17 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:21,959 Speaker 1: himself to play the piano, started taking piano lessons and 18 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:25,560 Speaker 1: had no problem focusing his efforts on training to become 19 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 1: a professional musician. But playing the piano was not the 20 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: art form he would eventually become famous for. Adams was 21 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:39,559 Speaker 1: already smitten with nature as a child. He took long 22 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:43,200 Speaker 1: walks around Golden Gate, hiked the sand dunes, and went 23 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: to the beach, among other escapades and the outdoors. In 24 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: nineteen sixteen, Adams visited Yosemite National Park for the first time. 25 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 1: He had read the book In the Heart of the 26 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: Sierras by James Mason Hutchings and persuaded his parents to 27 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: take him to the park, and he was immediately taken 28 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 1: with the landscape. On that trip, he would take pictures 29 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 1: of the scenery with the Kodak number one box Brownie 30 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: his parents had given him, and from that point on 31 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 1: Ansel would only dive deeper into his love for nature 32 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 1: and photography. In nineteen nineteen, Adams joined the Sierra Club, 33 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:28,519 Speaker 1: an organization that promotes outdoor activities and advocates for environmental 34 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: protection and preservation. He became super active in the club, 35 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 1: and his first published photos and writings were released in 36 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty two in the club's bullets In. Adams soon 37 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:45,239 Speaker 1: became the trip photographer on high trips or wilderness excursions 38 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 1: that the Sierra Club hosted every summer, uniting his passions 39 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:53,359 Speaker 1: for the great outdoors and photography. In nineteen twenty seven, 40 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: Ansel climbed four thousand feet to get to the spot 41 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: where he would take a photo called Monolith the Face 42 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:05,359 Speaker 1: of Half Dome. Adams would call the photo his first visualization, 43 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 1: or the first time he attempted to convey his feelings 44 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:13,920 Speaker 1: and vision in a photograph. An Sol will right I 45 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: saw the photograph as a brooding form with deep shadows 46 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 1: in a distant, sharp white peak against a dark sky. 47 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 1: That photo would turn out to mark a seminal moment 48 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 1: in Adam's life and career. Adams still had an interest 49 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:33,919 Speaker 1: in music, but by the late nineteen twenties he began 50 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: to focus more heavily on his photography projects informed relationships 51 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 1: with people who influenced his artwork. Patron of the arts 52 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 1: Albert M. Bender encouraged Ansel to keep pursuing photography and 53 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: provided Ansel with the funds to do so. In ninety 54 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: Ansel married Virginia Best. That same year, Adams had his 55 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: first solo exhibition at the Sierra Club's headquarters. Anselill also 56 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: begin traveling to the American Southwest to work with writer 57 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: Mary Hunter. Austin, and they published the book Taos Pueblo 58 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty. Adams had been practicing pictorialism in his work, 59 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:23,479 Speaker 1: using soft focused techniques, filters, and heavy manipulation, but in 60 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:28,600 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty he met photographer Paul Strand, whose work influenced 61 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: him to pursue a style called straight photography, where the 62 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 1: focus is sharp and scenes do not appear manipulated. This 63 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: would be the style he would go on to champion 64 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:43,599 Speaker 1: in later years. Adams said the following in his essay 65 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:48,800 Speaker 1: a personal Credo. A great photograph is a full expression 66 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: of what one feels about what is being photographed in 67 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:55,920 Speaker 1: the deepest sense, and is thereby a true expression of 68 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:59,479 Speaker 1: what one feels about life and its entirety. And the 69 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:02,720 Speaker 1: expression of what one feels should be set forth in 70 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:06,359 Speaker 1: terms of simple devotion to the medium, A statement of 71 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: the utmost clarity and perfection possible under the conditions of 72 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: creation and production. That will explain why I have no 73 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:22,600 Speaker 1: patience with unnecessary complications of technique or presentation. Over the years, 74 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 1: Ansel and his work gained more popularity and he collaborated 75 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: with more artists. He joined a group called F sixty 76 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 1: four with other noted photographers, and though it was short lived, 77 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:38,160 Speaker 1: the group brought straight photography to the art world's attention. 78 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:43,160 Speaker 1: Adams had his first New York show in nineteen thirty three, 79 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:47,159 Speaker 1: published his first series of technical articles in nineteen thirty four, 80 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 1: and launched his first widely distributed book in nineteen thirty five. 81 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:57,040 Speaker 1: He worked long hours and has been described as a 82 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:01,640 Speaker 1: party man, But as the story goes, for so many artists, 83 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: just because he was so popular didn't mean he was 84 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 1: making the money to match that. He took commercial photography 85 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:13,600 Speaker 1: jobs Throughout his life. Adams technical mastery and artistry were 86 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:18,239 Speaker 1: set in stone. He went on to develop the zone system, 87 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: a photographic technique to get proper exposure in development, and 88 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: produced many technical manuals on photography. But he also fought 89 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 1: for environmental conservation. He advocated for new parks, pushed back 90 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 1: against unnecessary highways, and wrote letters in support of conservation 91 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:43,359 Speaker 1: to editors and politicians. His photos influenced public awareness on 92 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 1: issues of natural landscape preservation. He even documented life at 93 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 1: a Japanese American internment camp. Ansel Adams died in nineteen 94 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:58,839 Speaker 1: eighty four in California, but his advocacy and artwork left 95 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:02,800 Speaker 1: an imprint for la your generations of artists and environmentalists. 96 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,479 Speaker 1: I'm Eaves, Jeff Cote and hopefully you know a little 97 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:12,640 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. And if 98 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 1: you're so inclined, you can follow us at T D 99 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:22,559 Speaker 1: I h C Podcast on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Thanks 100 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 1: again for listening, and I hope you come back tomorrow 101 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 1: for more delicious morsels of history. Hi, I'm Eves and 102 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:46,560 Speaker 1: you're listening to This Day in History Class, a show 103 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:56,560 Speaker 1: that makes time travel a little bit easier. The day 104 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 1: was February oh five American abolitionist Angelina grim Key was born. 105 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 1: She's not to be confused with her great niece, Angelina 106 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 1: Wild grim Key, who was born in eighteen eighty and 107 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:13,880 Speaker 1: was a writer who gained popularity during the Harlem Renaissance. 108 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: The Angelina grim Key were talking about today was a 109 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 1: white Southern woman who was an activist and women's rights advocate. 110 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:24,680 Speaker 1: Grim Key was born in Charleston, South Carolina to a 111 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:28,400 Speaker 1: slave owning family. She was the fourteenth and last child 112 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:32,559 Speaker 1: born to John Fochhole grim Key and Mary Smith grim Key. 113 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:37,040 Speaker 1: Her father was a Revolutionary War veteran and a prominent 114 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 1: politician and judge in South Carolina. Her mother came from 115 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 1: a wealthy family that included Governor grim Key's family had 116 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:48,920 Speaker 1: a home in Charleston and a plantation in the country. 117 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 1: Enslaved people worked the land producing rice and cotton. They 118 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:57,320 Speaker 1: also worked as household servants. Grim Key's parents were fully 119 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:00,760 Speaker 1: invested in following the dictates of white upper class society 120 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:04,440 Speaker 1: in the South. Her father prohibited Angelina and her sisters 121 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:08,440 Speaker 1: from getting an education. Angelina was very close to her 122 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 1: older sister Sarah, as they witnessed the atrocities of slavery 123 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:15,680 Speaker 1: that their parents were complicit in their opposition to the 124 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: institution group. In eighteen nineteen, Sarah went to Philadelphia and 125 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:23,880 Speaker 1: New Jersey with their father, who was sick and seeking 126 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:28,400 Speaker 1: medical assistance. Their father died in New Jersey, but Sarah 127 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:32,559 Speaker 1: stayed in Philadelphia for a while and was introduced to Quakerism. 128 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 1: Quakers are members of a religious group with Christian roots 129 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 1: in mid seventeenth century England. They were largely concerned with 130 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:44,080 Speaker 1: human rights and often held anti slavery views. Sarah soon 131 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,840 Speaker 1: joined the Quakers, returning to South Carolina briefly before she 132 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:52,160 Speaker 1: moved to Philadelphia Following Sarah's lead. Angelina also became a 133 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 1: Quaker in eighteen twenty nine after having difficulty advocating for 134 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:00,560 Speaker 1: the anti slavery cause in the South. She also moved 135 00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:05,840 Speaker 1: to Philadelphia. There, she joined the Philadelphia Female Anti Slavery Society. 136 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 1: In eighty five, grim Key wrote a letter to William 137 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:14,079 Speaker 1: Lloyd Garrison, a founder of the American Anti Slavery Society 138 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:18,560 Speaker 1: and publisher of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator. In the letter, 139 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: she praised Garrison and wrote about slavery and abolitionism. Garrison 140 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:27,319 Speaker 1: published it without her consent, and it got a lot 141 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:30,640 Speaker 1: of pushback from the Quaker community, who did not approve 142 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:35,320 Speaker 1: of her radical support of abolitionism. Despite this disapproval and 143 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 1: the fact that she had not asked for her letter 144 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:41,559 Speaker 1: to be printed, the letter gained national attention and Angelina 145 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 1: became more involved with the abolitionist movement. She read more 146 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:51,120 Speaker 1: anti slavery texts and went to lectures. In eighteen thirty six, 147 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 1: she published the pamphlet and appealed to Christian women of 148 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:59,000 Speaker 1: the South, condemning slavery and urging Southern women to free 149 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:03,080 Speaker 1: enslaved people and pay them wages. She continued to write 150 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 1: abolitionist pamphlets and speak out against slavery. Angelina and Sarah 151 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:13,400 Speaker 1: began giving anti slavery lectures and organizing women's anti slavery 152 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:17,200 Speaker 1: groups around the Northeast. They toured in New York, New Jersey, 153 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:21,360 Speaker 1: and Massachusetts. Though many of their lectures were attended by 154 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 1: women only, some of their lectures were attended by men 155 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:29,080 Speaker 1: and women. Their lectures were already controversial, since they said 156 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:33,320 Speaker 1: slavery was anti Christian, exposed the horrors of slavery and 157 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:38,600 Speaker 1: criticized slaveholding Southerners and Northerners who were complicit in a system, 158 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:41,959 Speaker 1: but their lectures in front of so called mixed audiences 159 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:46,840 Speaker 1: also fueled accusations of unwomanly behavior. The sisters began to 160 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:50,240 Speaker 1: link the anti slavery cause to the issue of women's rights. 161 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:54,400 Speaker 1: They continued writing and spoke at the Anti Slavery Convention 162 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:58,200 Speaker 1: of American Women, even as their role as outspoken women 163 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:03,200 Speaker 1: in the movement was heavily criticized. Angelina married Thomas Weld, 164 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:06,960 Speaker 1: another abolitionist, in eighteen thirty eight, and the next year 165 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 1: the sisters published the book American Slavery As It Is 166 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:16,360 Speaker 1: Testimony from a thousand witnesses They also continued circulating anti 167 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:21,160 Speaker 1: slavery petitions and attending meetings, but they stopped giving public 168 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:24,120 Speaker 1: lectures on the cause and retreated from the forefront of 169 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 1: abolitionist activism. Angelina supported Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War 170 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:33,040 Speaker 1: and advocated for women's rights in suffrage. After the war. 171 00:12:33,679 --> 00:12:36,880 Speaker 1: She also helped run a couple of schools with Sarah. 172 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:41,080 Speaker 1: She died in Boston in eighteen seventy nine. I'm Eve 173 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:43,880 Speaker 1: Jeffcote and hopefully you know a little more about history 174 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:47,640 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. Have a hard time staying 175 00:12:47,679 --> 00:12:51,160 Speaker 1: present as you mindlessly scrolled through social media. Lucky for 176 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:54,800 Speaker 1: you were stuck in the past at t d I 177 00:12:55,320 --> 00:13:00,760 Speaker 1: h C podcast on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Our email 178 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:06,000 Speaker 1: address is this day at I heeartmedia dot com. Thanks 179 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:09,040 Speaker 1: for tuning in and we'll catch you tomorrow same place. 180 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:19,160 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the iHeart 181 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:21,680 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 182 00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:22,360 Speaker 1: favorite shows.