1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,320 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to Podcast. I'm 3 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: Holly Fry and I'm Tracy me Wilson. So, the story 4 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 1: of Madeline Pollard's relationship with Congressman William C. P. Breckinridge 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 1: became a national story when it went from a romance 6 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:28,639 Speaker 1: to a bitter and quite dirty court battle. To some, 7 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: Madeline emerged as an icon of the women's movement, but 8 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:34,920 Speaker 1: to others, she became a cautionary tale. And we're going 9 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:38,000 Speaker 1: to talk about all of that on today's show. Yeah, 10 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: I had not heard of this before and now I'm 11 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:49,639 Speaker 1: mad about it. That should be our show's new tagline. So, 12 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: Madeline Valeria Pollard was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, in the 13 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: eighteen sixties. The exact year has reported differently from source 14 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 1: to source, usually sometime between eighteen sixty three and eighteen 15 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 1: sixty six. That variation her birth year is also going 16 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,920 Speaker 1: to be significant to her story later on. Her parents 17 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:14,399 Speaker 1: were Nancy Ellen Herin and John Dudley Pollard, and the 18 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:17,559 Speaker 1: family included six other children. They moved to a town 19 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: called crab Orchard in Lincoln County when Madeline was still 20 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:24,399 Speaker 1: quite small. Her father, John Dudley Pollard, served in the 21 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: Confederate Army as a saddler and then went on to 22 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:29,559 Speaker 1: open a store as well as to hold several different 23 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: public offices. But the family was not wealthy. They kind 24 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 1: of got by, and John, who was an avid reader, 25 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: shared his love of literature with his children, even though 26 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: he himself had not had a particularly robust formal education. Madeleine, 27 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:46,480 Speaker 1: who went by Maddie as a little girl, had the 28 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: same love of stories as her father, and they were 29 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: quite close. Madeline always described her childhood as very happy. 30 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 1: In terms of her education, most of it came from 31 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:59,640 Speaker 1: reading on her own or with her father, and this 32 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: was to deficient education. She learned Latin history the works 33 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: of Shakespeare. Most of this learning was through memorization, and 34 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:09,960 Speaker 1: that was something that Madeline was very good at. In 35 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:13,720 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy six, John Dudley Pollard died suddenly, and that 36 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 1: meant that his wife, Nancy, was left to care for 37 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: Madeline and her siblings without any money. Madeleine went to 38 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: live with her father's sister in Pittsburgh immediately after the funeral. 39 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,119 Speaker 1: The oldest and youngest Pollard children stayed with their mother, 40 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,800 Speaker 1: Nancy Pollard, and the three of them moved in with 41 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: Nancy's sister, but the rest of the kids went to 42 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 1: a Louisville home for orphans and widows. About a year 43 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 1: and a half after John's death, Madeline spent four years 44 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:44,920 Speaker 1: in Pittsburgh. She attended public school during that time, and 45 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 1: then returned to Kentucky. She lived with her mother and 46 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: aunt for a short period and then moved on to 47 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: the home of another aunt near Lexington. She helped around 48 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: the house and took music and language lessons, but she 49 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: really wanted more out of life than what most women 50 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 1: of the time had access to, specifically seeing how her 51 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: mother had struggled after her father's death, she did not 52 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: want to be in a position where her fate was 53 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 1: dependent on a man. There was a man in the 54 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,079 Speaker 1: mix that Madeline depended on to get the additional education 55 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:20,960 Speaker 1: that she felt she needed to achieve her goal of 56 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 1: ultimate independence, and that man was James Rhodes, who was 57 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 1: a farmer who was several decades older than Madeline and 58 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: was also quite taken with her. According to Pollard's account, 59 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: he had proposed marriage, and instead of accepting, Madelene worked 60 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 1: out kind of an unusual deal with Rhodes. If he 61 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: would pay for her further education, she would, upon completing 62 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:48,400 Speaker 1: that education, get a teaching job and repay him. Rhodes 63 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: agreed on the condition that if she did not repay him, 64 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: she would marry him. This was not just like a 65 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:57,720 Speaker 1: banter discussion deal that was struck up between a love 66 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 1: struggolder gentleman and a coquettish She knew this was actually 67 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: a written agreement. Madeline's mother served as witness to the 68 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 1: documents signing. Rhodes was of course hoping that Madeline wouldn't 69 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: stick with it, either she wouldn't finish her education or 70 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 1: that she would not be able to repay him back, 71 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:17,920 Speaker 1: and he actually believed that she was not going to 72 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 1: hold up her end of it. He basically just wanted 73 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 1: her to fall in love with him, and she knew that. 74 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 1: In three Madeleine enrolled at a convent school outside of 75 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:32,120 Speaker 1: Cincinnati's was the Mount Notre Dame Academy. She asked Rhodes 76 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:35,600 Speaker 1: to limit his contact so as not to dismay the nuns, 77 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 1: but he wrote to her all the time that had 78 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: the expected effect. The nuns were concerned, and it's believed 79 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,360 Speaker 1: they were planning to expel her from the school, but 80 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: Madeline got ahead of that by withdrawing. She was not 81 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:54,839 Speaker 1: giving up on her education, though. After discussion among Madeleine 82 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: Rhodes and Madeline's mother, Nancy, they made the decision that 83 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 1: Pollard would enroll at since Sinnattie Wesleyan College. This is 84 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:05,719 Speaker 1: one of those things where, um you will often see 85 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:08,360 Speaker 1: in write ups that she attended Wesleyan, and there are 86 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: of course other schools by that name, so no, any 87 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,839 Speaker 1: time it comes up in relation to her attendance, we're 88 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 1: talking about Cincinnati Wesleyan. Another older gentleman enters the story 89 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: here though, that is ranking our Russell and prospective students 90 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: at Cincinnati Wesleyan needed to be introduced to the president 91 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:32,599 Speaker 1: of the school formally. That was part of admission, and 92 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:35,080 Speaker 1: that needed to be done by a man of good standing. 93 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 1: Since her father, John Dy Pollard was deceased and James 94 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:42,200 Speaker 1: Rhodes stepping into such a task would have been pretty 95 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:45,599 Speaker 1: problematic due to both his romantic interest and his fairly 96 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 1: humble social status. Madeline had to get a friend of 97 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: the family to serve in this regard, and Russell new 98 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:56,240 Speaker 1: Madeline's cousin, Nelly Oliver, So that was how it worked 99 00:05:56,279 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 1: out that he was going to be the one to 100 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:00,920 Speaker 1: introduce her to the college president and this sun association 101 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:04,039 Speaker 1: that would come back to bite her years later. So 102 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:08,280 Speaker 1: Madeleine was admitted to Cincinnati Wesleyan after having been determined 103 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: to be of good character by the college president's wife. 104 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 1: She started her classes in November three, and for Pollard, 105 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:18,719 Speaker 1: this really seems like she was living her dreams. She 106 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:22,920 Speaker 1: studied elocution, French and Latin, among other courses. She won 107 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 1: recognition for her essays. She was described later as an 108 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:31,960 Speaker 1: exemplary pupil. She participated in debate events and did very well. 109 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 1: Despite not having a primary school degree and dropping in 110 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 1: in the middle of the semester. It really seems like 111 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 1: Madeline Pollard fit right in with her classmates. She was 112 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:45,760 Speaker 1: popular with her peers and teachers alike. Six months into 113 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:48,839 Speaker 1: her time at college, Madeline took the train to visit 114 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 1: her mother and her sister, Rosalie, who was in very 115 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 1: poor health and expected to die at any time. And 116 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:57,799 Speaker 1: that train ride would prove pivotal to the young woman's 117 00:06:57,839 --> 00:07:00,920 Speaker 1: life because it was on that train to Frankfort Kentucky 118 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:05,279 Speaker 1: that she met William Breckinridge. So a bit on Breckinridge. 119 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:09,840 Speaker 1: William Campbell Preston Breckinridge was born in August eighteen thirty 120 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: seven in Baltimore, Maryland. During his childhood, his family had 121 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 1: moved from Maryland to Pennsylvania, and then Breckinridge attended school 122 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: in Kentucky, where his father was originally from. He attended 123 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 1: Center College in Danville, Kentucky, and then went to the 124 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: University of Louisville for law school. He graduated started a 125 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:32,680 Speaker 1: law career in eighteen fifty seven. During the U s 126 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 1: Civil War, Breckinridge served in the ninth Kentucky Calory for 127 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 1: the Confederate Army. He was one of Jefferson Davis's bodyguards. 128 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:43,040 Speaker 1: He also got married in eighteen sixty one to a 129 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 1: woman named is Adesha. After the war, we shouldn't Know, 130 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: Breckinridge made a pretty significant ideological about face and became 131 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: an advocate for racial equality. He represented black clients in court, 132 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: and he used his platform as the editor of the 133 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: paper Observer and Reporter to promote the idea that racial 134 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 1: equality was actually the key to the entire country moving forward. 135 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:08,240 Speaker 1: In four he ran for office as a Democrat and 136 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 1: one becoming a member of the House of Representatives. He 137 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:15,640 Speaker 1: was reelected four times, all during the time his life 138 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 1: was entwined with Madeline Pollard. We'll talk about that after 139 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 1: we take a quick break and hear from some of 140 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 1: our sponsors. When Madeline Pollard took her train to see 141 00:08:34,160 --> 00:08:37,720 Speaker 1: her family, Breckenridge was, as we said, also on that train. 142 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:43,920 Speaker 1: How the two became acquainted is not known. We have stories, 143 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:46,400 Speaker 1: but we have two different stories, each claimed to be 144 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:50,560 Speaker 1: entirely truthful by the person giving the account. According to 145 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:55,439 Speaker 1: William Breckenridge, Madeline approached him and introduced herself, and according 146 00:08:55,480 --> 00:09:00,200 Speaker 1: to Madeline Pollard, Breckenridge feigned to recognize her, acting as 147 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: though he thought that she was the daughter of a colleague, 148 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:06,679 Speaker 1: and he started a conversation. According to both their accounts, 149 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:09,560 Speaker 1: they only talked for a few minutes. At the time, 150 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:12,440 Speaker 1: breckon Ridge had just started a bid for Congress, so 151 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:15,839 Speaker 1: Madeline knew who he was. She told her friends about 152 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 1: having met the candidate often enough that they teased her 153 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:22,840 Speaker 1: about it. They started calling her Madeline Breckinridge Pollard. Soon 154 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:26,679 Speaker 1: she adopted that name herself, claiming her father had so 155 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:31,360 Speaker 1: admired John Breckinridge, that was William's grandfather, that he had 156 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: given her that middle name. Yeah, William's grandfather was also 157 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 1: a senator and and a person of note, particularly to Kentuckian's. 158 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:43,200 Speaker 1: That chance meeting between the two of them, though, happened 159 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:46,640 Speaker 1: in April of eighteen eighty four, just a few months later. 160 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:49,719 Speaker 1: James Rhodes, remember that is the man that Madeleine had 161 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 1: this contract with to pay for her education, and if 162 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: she didn't finish and pay him back, she would have 163 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:58,199 Speaker 1: to marry him. James Rhodes started to put some pressure 164 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: on Madeline that they should just go head and get married. 165 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:03,959 Speaker 1: He had already spent more than he anticipated on her 166 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:06,680 Speaker 1: tuition for college, and he was frankly ready to have 167 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:09,560 Speaker 1: that money back or to have a wife. As the 168 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:13,600 Speaker 1: situation with Rhodes closed in on Madeline Pollard, she reached 169 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:16,080 Speaker 1: out to the most powerful man she knew, or at 170 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:20,840 Speaker 1: least sort of new. She wrote to William Breckinridge. Since 171 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: he was a lawyer, she thought he Breckinridge could maybe 172 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:26,320 Speaker 1: help her out of this contract that she had signed 173 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:30,200 Speaker 1: with Rhodes. She explained the situation she found herself in 174 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:33,560 Speaker 1: and justified it by telling him that she just wanted 175 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:37,160 Speaker 1: a good education and she took the only chance that 176 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:40,160 Speaker 1: she thought she would have to get it. She also 177 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: invited her new acquaintance to visit her if you should 178 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 1: ever find himself in Cincinnati. A couple of months later, 179 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:50,800 Speaker 1: on August first, four, he did just that. He visited Cincinnati, 180 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:53,079 Speaker 1: and the two were soon sitting together in the college 181 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:56,880 Speaker 1: parlor having a chat about her situation. They were not alone, 182 00:10:56,960 --> 00:10:59,400 Speaker 1: there were other students in the parlor as well, and 183 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:02,679 Speaker 1: a member of the school's faculty, but that level of 184 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:06,280 Speaker 1: propriety apparently did not last long. The pair left. They 185 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:10,800 Speaker 1: went out to a concert together. Apparently there was some 186 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:13,680 Speaker 1: kissing in the carriage, and then they started a sexual 187 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:17,319 Speaker 1: relationship within a few days of his arrival in Cincinnati. 188 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,320 Speaker 1: By the start of the fal semester, just a few 189 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:24,840 Speaker 1: weeks later, Madeline Pollard was no longer enrolled at Cincinnati Wesleyan. 190 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:30,000 Speaker 1: She was instead attending Sayer Female Institute in Lexington, Kentucky, 191 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 1: where Breckinridge lived. He was paying her way at the school, 192 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:36,800 Speaker 1: as well as her room and board at the home 193 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 1: of a Mrs m A. Catchum, and miss Mary Hoyt, 194 00:11:39,679 --> 00:11:44,920 Speaker 1: who were two aged sisters. But in early five Madeline's 195 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 1: education paused when she became pregnant. In February of that year, 196 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:53,080 Speaker 1: she withdrew from school and she returned to Cincinnati. She 197 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:56,160 Speaker 1: gave birth to a daughter at St. Joseph's Infant Asylum 198 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 1: in Norwood, Ohio, and she left the child there, although 199 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:03,520 Speaker 1: the baby died very soon thereafter. Throughout her pregnancy, she 200 00:12:03,679 --> 00:12:06,360 Speaker 1: was telling James Rhodes that she was visiting family in 201 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:08,839 Speaker 1: the South so that he would not try to visit. 202 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:12,320 Speaker 1: In the fall of eighteen eighty five, Madeline returned to 203 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:15,600 Speaker 1: say her Female Institute as a student, although she was 204 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:18,720 Speaker 1: never really able to be consistent in her attendance after that, 205 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:21,720 Speaker 1: and she did not earn a degree. She did stay 206 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:24,240 Speaker 1: in Lexington, though, and for a while she worked for 207 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:28,480 Speaker 1: a newspaper there as a typist. In late eighteen eighty seven, 208 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:32,280 Speaker 1: Madeline was once again pregnant. While she and Breckon Ridge 209 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:35,160 Speaker 1: had continued to see one another, he was often in Washington, 210 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:37,840 Speaker 1: d c. Instead of in Lexington, and she moved to 211 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:41,520 Speaker 1: the capitol to be closer to him. The Congressman paid 212 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:44,720 Speaker 1: for all of Pollard's medical expenses, including a doctor to 213 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 1: look after her throughout the pregnancy. A baby was born 214 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:52,040 Speaker 1: in February of eighty eight, and Madeleine again left it 215 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:56,040 Speaker 1: at an orphanage. This was something that breck and Ridge 216 00:12:56,080 --> 00:13:00,560 Speaker 1: had demanded. By her account, the second baby also died 217 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:04,720 Speaker 1: in infancy just two months later. Madeline stayed in Washington, 218 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:08,000 Speaker 1: d c. She worked briefly for the Department of Agriculture 219 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:11,200 Speaker 1: and then for the Census Bureau. Breckon Ranche had used 220 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 1: his influence to assist was securing both of those jobs, 221 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:17,320 Speaker 1: although she had to pass a civil service exam on 222 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:20,240 Speaker 1: her own to be eligible, which she did, although her 223 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:24,160 Speaker 1: grade was apparently kind of like you squeaked through. At 224 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 1: the Census Bureau, she worked first as a computer and 225 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:30,520 Speaker 1: then she was promoted to copyist. But just as with 226 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:33,160 Speaker 1: her time at Sayer, she missed a lot of days 227 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 1: of work, reported sixty two days in eighteen ninety and 228 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:40,520 Speaker 1: seventy one days in the first half of eighteen ninety 229 00:13:40,559 --> 00:13:43,840 Speaker 1: one alone. We only have numbers for the first half 230 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:46,400 Speaker 1: of one because she was let go from that job 231 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:50,720 Speaker 1: in June. At that point, the ninety census was completed 232 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:54,360 Speaker 1: and the workforce was being reduced, and the inconsistent record 233 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:57,559 Speaker 1: for Pollard surely made her an easy candidate to dismiss. 234 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 1: Throughout all of this, she was still receiving money from 235 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,960 Speaker 1: James Rhodes. He had continued to send her funds for 236 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,079 Speaker 1: her expenses. He had visited her from time to time, 237 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:12,600 Speaker 1: still believing he was investing in their future together. As always, 238 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:16,040 Speaker 1: Madeline promised him that she would repay him, but James 239 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:20,160 Speaker 1: Rhodes died in eighteen ninety. Madeline had never paid him back, 240 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:22,200 Speaker 1: but at this point she no longer had to be 241 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:27,200 Speaker 1: worried about that marriage clause. To be clear, Madeline Pollard 242 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:31,040 Speaker 1: was not some isolated other woman who was living only 243 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 1: to go to her job and then moreover to be 244 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:37,120 Speaker 1: with her paramore. She had a rich social life in Washington, 245 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 1: d c. Which was often completely separate from breckon Ridge, 246 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:43,720 Speaker 1: and she managed to make friends with some influential people 247 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 1: thanks to that charming personality that she had. She met 248 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:50,680 Speaker 1: people like novelist, essayist and friend of Mark Twain, Charles 249 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:54,440 Speaker 1: Dudley Warner. She also met an innkeeper named Joseph Battell, 250 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 1: Who's bread Loaf in famously hosted and still hosts Writer's retreats. 251 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 1: Betel asked Madeline to be his guest at his expense 252 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 1: at the two summer retreat, and during that summer she 253 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,960 Speaker 1: captured the attention of many of the other guests, who 254 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,720 Speaker 1: really believed that she was super bright and that she 255 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:17,160 Speaker 1: was destined for greatness. That same summer, as Pollard was 256 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,760 Speaker 1: finally moving in the circle she had really always dreamed of, 257 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: and was accepted and even lauded for her talent in 258 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:30,440 Speaker 1: those circles. William Breckinridge's wife, is Adesha Breckinridge, died, so 259 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:33,040 Speaker 1: to Magdalene, this seemed like all the pieces of her 260 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,480 Speaker 1: life were falling into place. She was on her chosen 261 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:39,560 Speaker 1: career path. The man she had been with for years, 262 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:42,160 Speaker 1: even though he was married, would now be able to 263 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:46,840 Speaker 1: marry her after a suitable morning period. But as soon 264 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:50,400 Speaker 1: as Madeline started to push the congressman for a marriage plan, 265 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:55,360 Speaker 1: his affection for her cooled. She suggested that she attends 266 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,280 Speaker 1: school abroad for two years, after which she could return 267 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:00,640 Speaker 1: and they could get married. That way, she would be 268 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 1: more educated and worldly, and he would have, you know, 269 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:07,080 Speaker 1: done the appropriate time of of being a widower. And 270 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:09,720 Speaker 1: breckan Ridge was willing to pay for the additional education. 271 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 1: He actually wanted some distance from the relationship because he 272 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:16,680 Speaker 1: was afraid that if he publicly acknowledged his involvement with Pollard, 273 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:19,080 Speaker 1: it was all going to come out that they had 274 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:21,800 Speaker 1: actually been together for a long time while he was 275 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:25,160 Speaker 1: still married. But then when he refused to agree to 276 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:28,680 Speaker 1: an official engagement before Madeline went to Europe to study, 277 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:31,480 Speaker 1: she called the whole plan off and instead she stayed 278 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:35,680 Speaker 1: in Washington, d c. Madeline was pregnant again in the 279 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:39,320 Speaker 1: winner of two and ninety three, and this was something 280 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:43,200 Speaker 1: that breckon Ridge welcomed, not because he wanted a child 281 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:45,600 Speaker 1: with Madeleine, but because he saw it as a way 282 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:49,400 Speaker 1: to postpone any talk of marriage until after the baby came. 283 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 1: Madeleine had a pregnancy loss, and may of she went 284 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:57,800 Speaker 1: to Virginia after that to stay with friends. But then 285 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 1: she did something rather rash. In June, Madeline reached out 286 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:05,399 Speaker 1: to the Washington Post and had them run an engagement 287 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:09,800 Speaker 1: announcement for her and Congressman Breckinridge. This was actually not 288 00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:12,680 Speaker 1: the first time an engagement between them had been noted 289 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 1: in the papers. It had been rumored even before that. 290 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:19,600 Speaker 1: Uh and some historians have interpreted this to have been 291 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:22,919 Speaker 1: not a rash or sneaky act, but something Madeline simply 292 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:25,520 Speaker 1: thought it was time to do. There are also some 293 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:27,680 Speaker 1: accounts that make it seem like this was maybe more 294 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:29,640 Speaker 1: of a back and forth between the two of them, 295 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:32,120 Speaker 1: where she was pressuring him, like the rumors had come up. 296 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:34,879 Speaker 1: He had denied those rumors, and she had been like, 297 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:36,720 Speaker 1: I'm just gonna put it in the paper and make 298 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:39,520 Speaker 1: this a done deal. What she did not know, though, 299 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:42,160 Speaker 1: when all of this was happening, was that in April 300 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:48,080 Speaker 1: of eight, so before she lost her pregnancy, Breckinridge had 301 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:52,199 Speaker 1: already secretly remarried. His new wife was, of course, not 302 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:56,359 Speaker 1: Madeline Pollard, but instead a woman from Louisville, Kentucky named 303 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:59,959 Speaker 1: Louise Scott Wing. So when the Post ran this thing 304 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:05,320 Speaker 1: engagement notice, Breckenridge immediately denied any involvement with Madeline Pollard, 305 00:18:05,359 --> 00:18:07,520 Speaker 1: claiming that she was just some woman who had a 306 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:11,640 Speaker 1: crush on him, kind of suggesting that she was stalking him. 307 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 1: And then he announced his engagement to Louise Scott Wing 308 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:19,680 Speaker 1: in July, and they had a second public wedding right away. Yeah, 309 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 1: Louise Scott Wing had come up as a topic between 310 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:25,439 Speaker 1: the two of them because people had reported to Madeline like, oh, 311 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:28,239 Speaker 1: I saw Breckenridge at an event with this woman and 312 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:30,439 Speaker 1: she had questioned him about it. He was like, no, no, no, 313 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:34,720 Speaker 1: I'm not involved with her. Uh So, after all of 314 00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:40,560 Speaker 1: this came out publicly in August, Madeline Pollard sued William C. P. 315 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:44,200 Speaker 1: Breckenridge for breach of promise he had per the plaintiff 316 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:48,280 Speaker 1: promised to marry her and had not. Her filing read quote, 317 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:52,280 Speaker 1: the plaintiff averse that the defendant, by wiles and artifices, 318 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:56,520 Speaker 1: not only won her affections, but finally and fully dominated 319 00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 1: and controlled her and her life, and that the defense 320 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:03,560 Speaker 1: then about the month of August eighteen ninety two, promised 321 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:06,439 Speaker 1: plaintiff to marry her, and that the plaintiff confided in 322 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:11,240 Speaker 1: the defendants promise and remained single. Pollard was seeking fifty 323 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:15,520 Speaker 1: thousand dollars in damages. We will dig into the lawsuit 324 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,320 Speaker 1: and the trial after we hear from the sponsors who 325 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:30,639 Speaker 1: keep stuffy missed in history class going. So, the type 326 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:33,600 Speaker 1: of suit that Madeline filed was really not all that 327 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,880 Speaker 1: unusual at the time. This offered an opportunity for a woman, 328 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:40,920 Speaker 1: at least a white middle class woman, to recuperate her 329 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:44,479 Speaker 1: social standing after the embarrassment of having an engagement broken. 330 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:47,800 Speaker 1: It also gave a woman who had been sexually involved 331 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:51,480 Speaker 1: with their fiancee a way to possibly rehabilitate their reputation 332 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:54,639 Speaker 1: to a small degree by placing the responsibility for their 333 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:58,120 Speaker 1: relationship on the man. And since a woman in such 334 00:19:58,119 --> 00:20:01,840 Speaker 1: a circumstance was likely to find difficult to find another suitor, 335 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:06,640 Speaker 1: and since a recanted engagement, even without any sexual scandal attached, 336 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:09,400 Speaker 1: also meant that the woman in question was left without 337 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:12,639 Speaker 1: the financial support she had likely been counting on, it 338 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:15,040 Speaker 1: also offered a way to get a payout that might 339 00:20:15,119 --> 00:20:17,520 Speaker 1: cover her financial needs at least for a little while. 340 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:22,240 Speaker 1: But this case was, of course much different than most 341 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:26,119 Speaker 1: such filings. The man involved was a congressman, and the 342 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:29,960 Speaker 1: woman claimed they had been in a romantic relationship for years. 343 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:33,679 Speaker 1: The mechanism of breckon Ridge's defense went into action to 344 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:37,920 Speaker 1: defame Pollard quickly the same day that the suit became 345 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:41,840 Speaker 1: public knowledge. As this case heated up and the spotlight 346 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 1: was shown on Breckenridge, he turned from denying the relationship 347 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:51,000 Speaker 1: to acknowledging it. And smearing Pollard, particularly taking up the 348 00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:54,320 Speaker 1: idea that she was promiscuous as a way to discredit her. 349 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:59,080 Speaker 1: But Madeline took matters and her reputation into her own hands, 350 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:02,159 Speaker 1: and she wrote her life story up for publication in 351 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:06,040 Speaker 1: the tabloid New York World. She insisted in the article 352 00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:08,720 Speaker 1: that William Breckinridge was the only man she had ever 353 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 1: been sexually involved with. She also sought to establish that 354 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:15,440 Speaker 1: she was not some woman that the congressman merely sought 355 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:18,399 Speaker 1: out for a physical relationship, but that they had lived 356 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:21,320 Speaker 1: fully as a couple and in many ways his companions, 357 00:21:21,359 --> 00:21:24,480 Speaker 1: and that she had even worked on his speeches with him. 358 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:29,119 Speaker 1: Breckenridge decided to dig into his long time mistress's life 359 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:31,720 Speaker 1: as well as to see what could be found to 360 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:35,679 Speaker 1: use against her, and in this effort he hired a spy. 361 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 1: That spy's name was Jane Armstrong Tucker, those she presented 362 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:44,320 Speaker 1: herself to Madeleine as Agnes Parker. At the time, Madeline 363 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:46,879 Speaker 1: was staying at a convent in Washington, d C. To 364 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,840 Speaker 1: try to keep out of the public eye, and Jane 365 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 1: or Agnes appeared as a fallen woman in need at 366 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:56,520 Speaker 1: the same convent. She made friends with Pollard. Jane, who 367 00:21:56,560 --> 00:21:59,480 Speaker 1: went by Jenny, only stayed at the convent for a week. 368 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:02,800 Speaker 1: She fund it frankly awful, but she kept in touch 369 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:06,280 Speaker 1: with Madeleine. She realized that Pollard's life story was sort 370 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:10,440 Speaker 1: of a pastiche pieced together from other people's life stories. 371 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:14,200 Speaker 1: Jenny passed every scrap of information she could get to 372 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:18,119 Speaker 1: Breckenridge and his lawyers as the trial played out. She 373 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,840 Speaker 1: gave them heads up about upcoming plans from Pollard's legal 374 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 1: team and witnesses they expected to call things like that, Yeah, 375 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 1: Jenny's whole story is also interesting. We might touch on 376 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:32,760 Speaker 1: it a little bit. In the behind the scenes, Madeleine 377 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:36,239 Speaker 1: was represented by former Congressman Jerry Wilson and called her 378 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:41,680 Speaker 1: on Carlyle, a member of a powerful Kentucky family of lawyers. Breckenridge, 379 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:46,160 Speaker 1: unsurprisingly had a large team led by former Congressman Benjamin 380 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:50,640 Speaker 1: Butterworth and Philip B. Thompson Jr. Which also included Breckenridge's 381 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:53,439 Speaker 1: partner in his law firm. Remember, he would have been 382 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:57,159 Speaker 1: very lawyered up, and that was John Shelby and Short. 383 00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:00,960 Speaker 1: The defenses plan of attack was to smear Idle and Pollard. 384 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:04,480 Speaker 1: Her family's poverty was invoked as some kind of proof 385 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:08,640 Speaker 1: that she was morally corrupt. It was suggested that Breckinridge 386 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:11,600 Speaker 1: was one of many men she had been sexually involved with, 387 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:14,200 Speaker 1: and that her goal was always to get money from 388 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:18,400 Speaker 1: her romantic partners. The entire case was one that attacked 389 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:22,359 Speaker 1: Pollard specifically, but also made clear that women were either 390 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:26,720 Speaker 1: virtuous or adulterous, with no nuance in the matter. One 391 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:30,880 Speaker 1: of the congressman's defenders wrote, quote, every well informed physician 392 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,879 Speaker 1: who has had much experience with the treatment of diseases 393 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:37,520 Speaker 1: peculiar to women knows that a woman who will have 394 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:42,080 Speaker 1: illicit sexual intercourse with one man will with another. The 395 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:44,280 Speaker 1: steam that came out of my ears when I first 396 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:48,640 Speaker 1: read this a statement from the congressman's legal team about 397 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:52,399 Speaker 1: Pollard's character read quote, it is a natural evolution, a 398 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 1: gradual and symmetrical development. A forward girl, then free and 399 00:23:57,119 --> 00:24:01,560 Speaker 1: fast in her conduct, then permitting liberty, then selling herself, 400 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:06,919 Speaker 1: then living permanently and regularly on her unchastity, a life 401 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:10,439 Speaker 1: of merchandise in which she obtained support, et cetera for 402 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:14,359 Speaker 1: her favors, and always a life of deception and lying 403 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:20,360 Speaker 1: and finally a mere adventurous gloating in shameless notoriety. The 404 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:23,199 Speaker 1: entire case of the defense was built on the idea 405 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:25,760 Speaker 1: that Pollard had been in a sexual relationship with a 406 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:28,399 Speaker 1: lot of men before she met Breckinridge, and there were 407 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:31,480 Speaker 1: plenty of people who wrote testimonies to support that case. 408 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:36,399 Speaker 1: Some were merely repeating gossip that they had heard about 409 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,520 Speaker 1: or claimed to know about Pollard having been involved with 410 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,760 Speaker 1: other men, but some were written by men claiming that 411 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:45,320 Speaker 1: they themselves had been involved with her at one time 412 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:48,840 Speaker 1: or another. Some of this testimony was described in the 413 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:53,200 Speaker 1: papers as quote very vulgar, even indecent. In the language 414 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:56,960 Speaker 1: used by the opponents. Many of the men who gave 415 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:00,320 Speaker 1: depositions described her as quote a woman of the town. 416 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:04,080 Speaker 1: That was a euphemism for a sex worker. One man, 417 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,919 Speaker 1: an alderman from Lexington named W. T. Jones, deposed that 418 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:11,120 Speaker 1: he had met Pollard at Cincinnati wesley In College while 419 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 1: she was there. Jones was a friend of the college's president, 420 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:17,960 Speaker 1: and he said in his deposition that Pollard had told 421 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:21,560 Speaker 1: him about James Rhodes, and that Rhodes was quote an 422 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:25,040 Speaker 1: ignorant old farmer. That she did not intend to marry him, 423 00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:29,120 Speaker 1: although she did, even, per his testimony, intend to pay 424 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:32,480 Speaker 1: him back for her school tuition. During the trial, the 425 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:36,000 Speaker 1: question of Madeline's age was brought up. Breckinridge said that 426 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:38,960 Speaker 1: Pollard was several years older than she claimed, in her 427 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:41,960 Speaker 1: twenties when they met, and that she was not an 428 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 1: innocent schoolgirl, but an experienced woman who was using him 429 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:51,280 Speaker 1: for money. She was described as a quote disappointed, vindictive, adventurous. 430 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:56,440 Speaker 1: Breckinridge himself, of course, was characterized by his defense as 431 00:25:56,480 --> 00:26:00,520 Speaker 1: a noble gentleman who had just made a mistake. For 432 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:03,800 Speaker 1: nine years, his defense made him out to be this 433 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:06,480 Speaker 1: man who had caved into the seductions of a woman 434 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:09,840 Speaker 1: who was then held hostage by that secret and her 435 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:12,960 Speaker 1: threats to reveal it. She was described by his legal 436 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,000 Speaker 1: team again in many ways, but also as quote utterly 437 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:20,640 Speaker 1: depraved where morality is concerned. As Pollard became the subject 438 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:24,399 Speaker 1: of countless articles covering the trial, she was characterized in 439 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:27,359 Speaker 1: two ways in the press. To some, she was a 440 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:30,400 Speaker 1: woman who had been an immature student when Breckenridge, who 441 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:33,160 Speaker 1: was a man in his late forties, had lured her 442 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:37,680 Speaker 1: into a romantic relationship. To others, she was as Breckinridge's 443 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:40,560 Speaker 1: defense had cast her a schemer and a social climber 444 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:43,040 Speaker 1: who was trying to use a man well above her 445 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:47,440 Speaker 1: station to advance her own position in life. And Madeline 446 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:50,640 Speaker 1: Pollard had wanted to move upward in society, but her 447 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:54,280 Speaker 1: version of the story focused on her desire well before 448 00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:57,439 Speaker 1: she met Breckenridge to have a career. What she wanted 449 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:01,000 Speaker 1: was to be a teacher or a writer. But while 450 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:04,640 Speaker 1: that is a perfectly reasonable thing to want, it came 451 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:07,520 Speaker 1: with its own baggage in the courtroom because she was 452 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:11,359 Speaker 1: seen as wanting to be an independent woman versus being 453 00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:13,680 Speaker 1: put in a position where she had to support herself, 454 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:16,480 Speaker 1: and so that was cast in a negative light by 455 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:19,520 Speaker 1: a large portion of society. It just didn't fit the 456 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:22,480 Speaker 1: widely held ideal of a woman who wanted to be 457 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:26,119 Speaker 1: a mother and a wife. Breckon Ridge's defense, of course, 458 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:30,160 Speaker 1: exploited this social moray in their case, using Pollard's independence 459 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:33,119 Speaker 1: against her as some sort of moral failing all on 460 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:36,800 Speaker 1: its own. Pollard was characterized as a woman who had 461 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:40,640 Speaker 1: no real literary ambitions, but who had merely claimed that 462 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:43,600 Speaker 1: to be the case as part of her scam. As 463 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:47,720 Speaker 1: part of this depiction attorney Charles Stull, who represented Breckinridge, 464 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:51,600 Speaker 1: read some of Pollard's writing allowed to the court to 465 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:55,680 Speaker 1: show that she was a talentless dilettante, just feigning literary 466 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:58,320 Speaker 1: interest as part of the fake person as she used 467 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:01,800 Speaker 1: to trick men and get them to give her money. Yeah, 468 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:05,040 Speaker 1: there's some interesting talk about that writing that was read 469 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:09,760 Speaker 1: because her legal team is like, she was very young 470 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:13,280 Speaker 1: and had not had like the same degree of education 471 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:16,959 Speaker 1: as other people that you know would write things like 472 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:18,720 Speaker 1: this at the time, so of course it is not 473 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:22,880 Speaker 1: as refined and beautiful as someone who does have that benefit. 474 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:24,880 Speaker 1: But they were like, no, she was just faking it. 475 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:29,240 Speaker 1: The testimony in this trial went on for almost six weeks, 476 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:32,959 Speaker 1: and there were legitimately plenty of instances that were truly 477 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:36,080 Speaker 1: damning for Pollard. Uh. If you'll remember that friend of 478 00:28:36,119 --> 00:28:39,200 Speaker 1: the family who introduced her to the Cincinnati Wesleyan president 479 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:42,480 Speaker 1: so she could be admitted to the college. Uh. It 480 00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:45,239 Speaker 1: turns out that Rank and Russell and Madeline did have 481 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:48,440 Speaker 1: some sort of romantic relationship after they met, and that 482 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:51,000 Speaker 1: relationship was brought up in the breck and Ridge trial 483 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:53,680 Speaker 1: to establish that she was no innocent girl when she 484 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:57,640 Speaker 1: met the congressman. Russell had made frequent visits to the 485 00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:01,320 Speaker 1: school to see Madeleine. They had discut traveling together, although 486 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:03,800 Speaker 1: it doesn't appear that such a trip ever took place. 487 00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:06,880 Speaker 1: It came out that the two had been engaged, which 488 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:10,720 Speaker 1: was especially bad for Pollard's image, that she was contractually 489 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:14,080 Speaker 1: bound in sort of a pseudo engagement to Rhodes at 490 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:18,320 Speaker 1: the time. Russell testified that when he visited Madeleine at school, 491 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:21,440 Speaker 1: she would sit in his lap in the parlor, sometimes 492 00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:23,920 Speaker 1: for as long as an hour and a half. This 493 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:27,520 Speaker 1: particular point was greeted with some incredulity by the judge. 494 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:30,040 Speaker 1: He thought it odd that nobody at the school would 495 00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:33,880 Speaker 1: have interrupted them, but Russell was adamant that he told 496 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:37,840 Speaker 1: the truth. When Pollard was questioned about being with Breckinridge 497 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:41,200 Speaker 1: and entangled with Roads and engaged to Russell at the 498 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:45,240 Speaker 1: same time, she acknowledged quote, yes, as bad as it sounds, 499 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:49,040 Speaker 1: that was the condition. Madeline had appeared in court for 500 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:53,440 Speaker 1: her testimony, accompanied by a nun. She was very aggressively 501 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:56,280 Speaker 1: questioned by the defense, of course, but she was always 502 00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:59,760 Speaker 1: consistent in her accounts of events. When she spoke of 503 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 1: of her children. At Breckinridge's insistence, she said she did 504 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:05,720 Speaker 1: it because she loved him and she wanted to be 505 00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:09,080 Speaker 1: with him, but that it also deeply hurt her. She 506 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:11,480 Speaker 1: believed that the babies had died because she was not 507 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:14,280 Speaker 1: there to care for them, and while talking about her 508 00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 1: to see son, the second child, she fainted on the stand. 509 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 1: Things really did not look great for Madeline Pollard in 510 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:25,240 Speaker 1: terms of her reputation. Unlike breck and Ridge, she had 511 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:28,960 Speaker 1: witnesses who corroborated her story, but the real strength of 512 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:33,960 Speaker 1: Pollard's case rested on the testimony of one woman, Julia Blackburn. 513 00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:37,960 Speaker 1: Mrs Blackburn was one of the influential friends that Madeline 514 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:42,240 Speaker 1: had made during her relationship with Breckenridge. Julia Blackburn was 515 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:45,320 Speaker 1: the widow of Luke Prior Blackburn, who had served as 516 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:49,480 Speaker 1: a representative and as governor of Kentucky. She was well 517 00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:53,120 Speaker 1: connected and well respected in Washington, d c. Society, and 518 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:56,040 Speaker 1: she told the court that breck and Ridge had indeed 519 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:59,720 Speaker 1: said to her that he intended to marry Miss Pollard. 520 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:04,400 Speaker 1: This was something that breckon Ridge initially denied. He told 521 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:07,200 Speaker 1: the court under questioning that he believed that Mrs Blackburn 522 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:11,120 Speaker 1: had confused some dates and some events, and that she 523 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:14,400 Speaker 1: was attributing things to him that had actually been said 524 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:19,080 Speaker 1: by Madeline Pollard. But he shifted that confident assertion under 525 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:22,240 Speaker 1: further questioning and later said that he had, in a 526 00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:25,080 Speaker 1: moment of excitement, told Pollard that he would marry her, 527 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:28,200 Speaker 1: but he insisted that that was not a promise and 528 00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:30,520 Speaker 1: thus could not be something that he was held to. 529 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:34,440 Speaker 1: The salacious nature of this case had drawn a lot 530 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:38,959 Speaker 1: of attention, and the courtroom was continually packed with spectators 531 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:43,040 Speaker 1: waiting to hear the next juicy piece of information. Women 532 00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:46,840 Speaker 1: were not allowed by Judge Bradley when evidence was anticipated 533 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:49,840 Speaker 1: that might not be appropriate in the judge's opinion for 534 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:52,800 Speaker 1: ladies to hear, but the men who showed up to 535 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:56,520 Speaker 1: watch were often rowdy. This really irritated the judge to 536 00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:59,920 Speaker 1: the point that he chastised them in early April, as 537 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:03,480 Speaker 1: reported in the Los Angeles Harold quote, Judge Bradley has 538 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:08,480 Speaker 1: meantime been smothering a growing feeling of disgust. Tonight, his 539 00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:11,280 Speaker 1: emotions past the safety gauge, and he gave some of 540 00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:15,160 Speaker 1: these people such a pointed tongue lashing as has rarely 541 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:20,320 Speaker 1: been heard in a courtroom in April of the trial ended, 542 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:24,120 Speaker 1: and despite the avalanche of depositions and testimonies given to 543 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:28,520 Speaker 1: discredit Madeline Pollard, the jury found in her favor. They 544 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:31,280 Speaker 1: may have even believed every single one of the accusations 545 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:33,880 Speaker 1: against her character, although in a lot of them she 546 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:38,080 Speaker 1: did have uh people who were like that couldn't have happened. 547 00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:40,680 Speaker 1: She wasn't involved with that man. I knew her at 548 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:42,640 Speaker 1: this place, at a different at the exact same time. 549 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:46,560 Speaker 1: So even so, none of that mattered because the testimony 550 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:49,800 Speaker 1: of Julia blackburne, a woman whose integrity was believed to 551 00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:52,760 Speaker 1: be above reproach, had been all that was needed to 552 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:57,360 Speaker 1: establish that William Breckinridge had acknowledged and understanding that marriage 553 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:01,160 Speaker 1: was in the future for him and Madeline. Breckon Ridge 554 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:04,520 Speaker 1: placed the blame for the outcome squarely on Julia Blackburn, 555 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,520 Speaker 1: later saying quote, there would have been no scandal but 556 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:12,520 Speaker 1: for Mrs b Madeleine was awarded fifteen thousand dollars, but 557 00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:15,760 Speaker 1: her life after the trial was not all rosy. She 558 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:18,800 Speaker 1: had won the suit and had garnered a following and 559 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:22,480 Speaker 1: offers for lecture circuit bookings. She had also gained a 560 00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:26,720 Speaker 1: number of gentlemen admirers who wrote her poetic letters. But 561 00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:29,760 Speaker 1: though to some she represented a moment in time where 562 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:32,480 Speaker 1: the role of women was changing, there was still a 563 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:36,000 Speaker 1: big portion of society who just saw her as damaged goods. 564 00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:39,160 Speaker 1: Her name became a sort of a shorthand for women 565 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:42,480 Speaker 1: who had been ruined by men and discarded. It was 566 00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:47,160 Speaker 1: not exactly a legacy anyone would want. She made families 567 00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,720 Speaker 1: reconsider the idea of sending their daughters away to school 568 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:53,240 Speaker 1: for fear that they might similarly fall in love with 569 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:57,040 Speaker 1: an older man. It made women keenly aware of how 570 00:33:57,200 --> 00:34:01,240 Speaker 1: easily they could be deemed unsuitable for marriage or society 571 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:05,640 Speaker 1: through their romantic associations. And for many that's where her 572 00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:08,880 Speaker 1: story just sort of freezes in time. But she actually 573 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:12,680 Speaker 1: lived a long time after the trial. Yeah. Madeline traveled 574 00:34:12,719 --> 00:34:15,680 Speaker 1: to Europe after the trial concluded. Although she had not 575 00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:18,920 Speaker 1: and would not ever receive her money from brecon Ridge, 576 00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:23,960 Speaker 1: she was living in London by Pollard actually built a 577 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:27,239 Speaker 1: life for herself that sounds honestly delightful. She shared an 578 00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:30,480 Speaker 1: apartment in Chelsea with a wealthy widow named Violet Haszard, 579 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:34,320 Speaker 1: and she traveled with Violet throughout Europe. She also returned 580 00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:37,400 Speaker 1: to the US to visit on several occasions. She always 581 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:40,839 Speaker 1: identified herself as a student or a writer on her passport. 582 00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:44,320 Speaker 1: She enjoyed a healthy social life. She had interesting friends, 583 00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:47,439 Speaker 1: and while she didn't ever publish anything herself, she did 584 00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:50,400 Speaker 1: continue to be friends with a lot of artists and writers. 585 00:34:51,239 --> 00:34:54,280 Speaker 1: And the aftermath of the trial, Breckinridge became a target 586 00:34:54,320 --> 00:34:58,200 Speaker 1: of women's groups. His cavalier attitude and how he spoke 587 00:34:58,239 --> 00:35:01,320 Speaker 1: about Pollard during the trial, as though he were somehow 588 00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:04,440 Speaker 1: entitled to her companionship and that she was causing his 589 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:07,400 Speaker 1: trouble when she should have accepted her lot in life. 590 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:11,160 Speaker 1: I really did not help him. There were protests against 591 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:14,520 Speaker 1: the obvious moral double standard that was revealed in the 592 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:18,880 Speaker 1: court proceedings. Some wanted Breckinridge to lose his congressional seat 593 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:21,840 Speaker 1: on the grounds of immorality, and people reached out to 594 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:25,800 Speaker 1: his voter base to campaign against him. Some groups pressured 595 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:30,160 Speaker 1: Breckinridge's new wife to leave him. She certainly had the grounds, 596 00:35:30,239 --> 00:35:33,000 Speaker 1: given that he was still involved with Pollard, who was 597 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:37,200 Speaker 1: pregnant at the time that they married. Breckinridge lost his 598 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:40,960 Speaker 1: next election to Congress in eighteen six. A number of 599 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:44,680 Speaker 1: different women's groups had campaigned heavily for his opponent. He 600 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:47,839 Speaker 1: died on November nineteenth of nineteen o four after having 601 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:52,280 Speaker 1: two strokes. Madeleine's dear friend Violet died in the summer 602 00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:55,520 Speaker 1: of nineteen forty five, and Madeline died in Devon six 603 00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:58,839 Speaker 1: months later on December nine. She maintained that her year 604 00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:01,319 Speaker 1: of birth had been eighteen sixty six and that would 605 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:04,440 Speaker 1: have made her seventy nine when she died. I have 606 00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:09,080 Speaker 1: so much anger to discuss during behind the scenes, but 607 00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:12,680 Speaker 1: I have um a fun and a very sweet and 608 00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:15,640 Speaker 1: brief Listener mail which I wanted a feature because it 609 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:18,759 Speaker 1: involves pictures of animals and not just kiddies. It is 610 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,480 Speaker 1: from our listener Colleen, who writes Deer, Holly and Tracy. 611 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:23,120 Speaker 1: I have written to you in the past, and I 612 00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:24,840 Speaker 1: was featured in Listener Mail, but I just wanted to 613 00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:27,400 Speaker 1: thank you again for all that you do. Like many others, 614 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:30,760 Speaker 1: I have struggled during the pandemic. The constant worrying, vigilance 615 00:36:30,760 --> 00:36:33,239 Speaker 1: and frustration has not been easy for me, as I 616 00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:35,800 Speaker 1: know it has not been for literally millions of others. 617 00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:38,280 Speaker 1: Stuff you missed in history class has been a lifeline 618 00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:40,920 Speaker 1: for me. Especially recently is the spread of Oh Macron 619 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:44,640 Speaker 1: makes it feel more like two. I always learned so 620 00:36:44,719 --> 00:36:46,520 Speaker 1: much from the podcast, and I have really enjoyed the 621 00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:49,640 Speaker 1: behind the scenes episodes as well. They're so fun and dishy, 622 00:36:49,719 --> 00:36:51,960 Speaker 1: and I love hearing your different perspectives and stories. So 623 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,720 Speaker 1: thank you again for teaching me, inspiring me, and keeping 624 00:36:54,719 --> 00:36:58,080 Speaker 1: me and many others company during these difficult times. I've 625 00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:01,360 Speaker 1: attached a couple of pet photos of my cat, adorable 626 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:05,040 Speaker 1: and horse that I hope will brighten your days. Naru 627 00:37:05,239 --> 00:37:08,000 Speaker 1: is my dear old lady cat who we called Tutor 628 00:37:08,080 --> 00:37:11,600 Speaker 1: because she is truly full of musical fruit. Duchess is 629 00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:13,799 Speaker 1: the pony I always wanted, and while she makes you 630 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:17,000 Speaker 1: earn her love, it is so worth it. Um okay, 631 00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:21,439 Speaker 1: I love listen I have. I'm running a geriatric cat home. 632 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:28,160 Speaker 1: I understand her her cats gas issues. Um and uh. 633 00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:31,280 Speaker 1: Duchess is absolutely beautiful. So thank you so much Colleen 634 00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:35,160 Speaker 1: for sharing these pictures. They are absolutely lovely and I 635 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:38,759 Speaker 1: always love a delightful little pet interlude. And we don't 636 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:42,640 Speaker 1: often get horses, so that's always a fun one to add. 637 00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:45,160 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can 638 00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:48,000 Speaker 1: do so at History podcast at i heart radio dot com. 639 00:37:48,239 --> 00:37:50,400 Speaker 1: You can also find us on social media as Missed 640 00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:52,640 Speaker 1: in History, and you can subscribe to the show on 641 00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:55,680 Speaker 1: the I heart Radio app or wherever you listen to podcasts. 642 00:38:01,040 --> 00:38:03,239 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of 643 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:06,480 Speaker 1: I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, 644 00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:09,680 Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 645 00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:11,240 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.