1 00:00:00,960 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from dot Com. Hello, 2 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast I'm Trading and I'm Holly Fry. 3 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,520 Speaker 1: Today we're picking up where we left off in the 4 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:23,639 Speaker 1: story of Robert Smalls, so to very very briefly recap 5 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 1: part one. He was enslaved from birth in the McKee 6 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: household of Bufort, South Carolina, which is pronounced differently from Beaufort, 7 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,600 Speaker 1: North Carolina, even though they are both named after the 8 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 1: same person. During the Civil War, he made a dramatic 9 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 1: escape aboard a boat called the Planter, directly under the 10 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: noses of the Confederate military. His escape was a boost 11 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:47,440 Speaker 1: to morale and the Union and an embarrassment for the Confederacy, 12 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:50,480 Speaker 1: and it also served to rally other enslaved persons who 13 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 1: heard about it. He became something of a celebrity in 14 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 1: the North and a spokesperson for African Americans with the Union. 15 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: At the time of his escape, Robert Smalls was only 16 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: twenty three years old. He was hailed as a hero 17 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: and the Union newspapers, while the newspapers of the Confederacy 18 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: alternated between strongly denouncing what he'd done and then kind 19 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: of downplaying it, while simultaneously casting tons of blame on 20 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 1: the White soldiers then officers that had failed to stop him. 21 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 1: Those officers who had left the boat overnight were indeed 22 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: court martialed, although it was eventually thrown out on a technicality. 23 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: From the time they reached the Union blockade, aboard the Planter, 24 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: Robert Smalls and his family were free. They were considered 25 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:34,480 Speaker 1: to be contraband, which is a term that was used 26 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:38,560 Speaker 1: to describe formerly enslaved people who joined the Union. But 27 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: this was just the beginning of an impressive career as 28 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 1: a freeman. When he reached the Onward, which was one 29 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: of the ships in the Union blockade, Robert Smalls is 30 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 1: reported to have said to Lieutenant J. F. Nicholas, who 31 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 1: was in command, quote, I thought this ship might be 32 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:57,160 Speaker 1: of some use to Uncle Abe. I have some guns. 33 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:00,559 Speaker 1: The Confederates took away from Fort Sumter, and the Planter 34 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:04,440 Speaker 1: was in fact extremely useful. She was fast and she 35 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: rode very high in the water, so she was easy 36 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 1: to get in and out of shallow areas while still 37 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 1: carrying lots of men or cargo. But Smalls himself was 38 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: a huge asset to the Union as well. References to 39 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: his competence, intelligence, and resourcefulness are all over the letters 40 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:25,800 Speaker 1: and papers of the Union officers and soldiers who encountered him, 41 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: and the words of Admiral Samuel F. DuPont quote, this man, 42 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 1: Robert Smalls, is superior to any who has yet come 43 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: into lines, Intelligent as many of them have been. His 44 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:39,360 Speaker 1: information has been most interesting, and portions of it of 45 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: the utmost importance. I shall continue to employ Robert as 46 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: a pilot aboard the Planter for the Inland Waters, which 47 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: he appears to be very familiar pilot. By the way, 48 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: DuPont referring to him that way was a promotion because 49 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,120 Speaker 1: he was enslaved. The highest rank that Smalls could hold 50 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: under the Confederacy was wheelman. He would even actually become 51 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 1: the Planter's captain. The way that used the word wheelman 52 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: was also basically what we have to call pilots if 53 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: they're enslaved, like he was doing a pilot's job, but 54 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:16,080 Speaker 1: they wouldn't call him that because he was enslaved. His 55 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 1: familiarity with the Inland Waters was of huge, strate strategic 56 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:22,960 Speaker 1: importance to the Union. He knew where minds had been laid, 57 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,959 Speaker 1: He knew which spots were likely to be used as ambushes. 58 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,519 Speaker 1: He knew which roots were used by smugglers. He basically 59 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:32,799 Speaker 1: brought with him a mental atlas of the islands, rivers 60 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: and sounds, as well as Confederate fortifications in the area. 61 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 1: Robert Smalls was happy to lend all of this knowledge 62 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 1: to the Union. Doing so meant that he was working 63 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 1: against slavery rather than for it, as had been the 64 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: case when he was forced to work for the Confederacy. 65 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: Robert Small's military service for the Union began pretty much immediately, 66 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:57,240 Speaker 1: but he couldn't actually join the Union Navy. To do that, 67 00:03:57,280 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 1: a person had to be literate. In spite of the 68 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 1: fact that the McKey family had been pretty lenient with 69 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: him during his enslavement, they hadn't allowed him to learn 70 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:09,080 Speaker 1: to read. So to work around this restriction regarding his literacy, 71 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: he was instead made essentially a civilian contractor for the 72 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:16,680 Speaker 1: army and then detailed back over to the Navy. During 73 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:21,160 Speaker 1: the Civil War, Smalls participated in seventeen different military engagements 74 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 1: aboard the Planter, aboard an iron clad ship called the 75 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,400 Speaker 1: Kia Kok, and other ships as well. But in addition 76 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:30,840 Speaker 1: to this time in combat, thanks to the fame that 77 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: followed in the wake of his escape. He also did 78 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,560 Speaker 1: a lot of diplomatic fundraising and a recruitment work for 79 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:40,880 Speaker 1: the Union. For example, after it took Port Royal South Carolina, 80 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 1: the Union wanted its residents to grow cotton. They needed 81 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:46,559 Speaker 1: cotton for the war effort, but most of the people 82 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,680 Speaker 1: living there had until the arrival of the Union been 83 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:54,480 Speaker 1: enslaved on a cotton plantation. Continuing to grow cotton felt 84 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: like doing the same thing for a different master, so 85 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: a lot of people had planted food crops instead. Smalls 86 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 1: was sent in to negotiate. He was familiar with the 87 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,240 Speaker 1: people in the area, and he was bilingual, able to 88 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:10,040 Speaker 1: speak both English and Gula. Gola is an English based 89 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:13,280 Speaker 1: creole that draws from several West African languages and is 90 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:16,160 Speaker 1: spoken to the Sea islands of South Carolina and Georgia. 91 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 1: Smalls was able to negotiate a temporary compromised that allowed 92 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:24,160 Speaker 1: the growing of both cotton and food crops. His powers 93 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:27,279 Speaker 1: of persuasion were directed at the Union government as well. 94 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 1: As we mentioned in the previous installment of this story, 95 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: General David Hunter had on a couple of occasions, tried 96 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:37,039 Speaker 1: to free all of the enslaved persons in places where 97 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: he was in command, and the federal government had on 98 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 1: both occasions shut this down, arguing that it was up 99 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: to Congress or the presidents and slavery, not a general 100 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: acting off on his own. In August eighteen sixty two, 101 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:53,200 Speaker 1: Hunter met with Smalls on the subject of recruiting African 102 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 1: Americans into the Union military. Although Hunter had been encouraging 103 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 1: the acceptance of enslaved persons who reached Union lines into 104 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:04,160 Speaker 1: military service in areas that were under his command, this 105 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:08,919 Speaker 1: was not official military policy. Hunter made arrangements for Smalls 106 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 1: to go to Washington, d c. Traveling with Reverend Mansfield French, 107 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:15,279 Speaker 1: to speak with the Secretary of War and when Stanton 108 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: and with other members of Lincoln's cabinet, Smalls met with 109 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 1: the Secretary of War in August twenty. Then he met 110 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:24,200 Speaker 1: with the Secretary of the Treasury, and after that he 111 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 1: and Reverend French met directly with Abraham Lincoln. Others, including 112 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,680 Speaker 1: Frederick Douglas, had already advised the President to encourage the 113 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: recruitment of black soldiers into the Union Army. Small's advised 114 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:39,800 Speaker 1: the same and said that he would recruit ten thousand 115 00:06:39,839 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: men himself if the President allowed it. Ultimately, the President 116 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,919 Speaker 1: and the Secretary of War authorized the enlistment of black 117 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:51,520 Speaker 1: troops into the Union Army on August sixty two. Robert 118 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 1: Smalls added recruiting black troops into the rest of his 119 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:58,040 Speaker 1: military work. He's reported to have recruited five thousand people, 120 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:02,240 Speaker 1: but I didn't really find documentation of how that number 121 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 1: was calculated. And he did all of this wartime work 122 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: while the South had placed a four thousand dollar bounty 123 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: on him, along with an eight hundred dollar bounty on 124 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: his wife or children. Smalls continued his military service after 125 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 1: the Civil War, becoming a major general of the South 126 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: Carolina Militia. He also moved into political service, which is 127 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: what we will talk about after a brief word from 128 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: a sponsor. Okay, so before we get into Robert Small's 129 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,760 Speaker 1: time in the South Carolina legislature, we need to set 130 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:35,880 Speaker 1: the stage a little bit with what happened after the 131 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: end of the Civil War, because his political career directly 132 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 1: parallels other events in US history. The two biggest, most 133 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:45,840 Speaker 1: obvious things that probably come to mind about the end 134 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: of the Civil War are that the states that had 135 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 1: succeeded rejoined the Union and slavery was abolished, but it 136 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: wasn't just as simple as the war is over, so 137 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,360 Speaker 1: we're one country again, and also there's no more slavery. 138 00:07:57,440 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: There needed to be a plan for the former Confederate 139 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: state to demonstrate their loyalty to the United States, and 140 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:06,040 Speaker 1: they're also needed to be a plan to address the social, political, 141 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: and economic inequality that stemmed from the institution of slavery, 142 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:11,800 Speaker 1: and to try to rebuild the damage to the nation 143 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 1: and its infrastructure that had been caused by the war itself. 144 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 1: These plans and the years through which they played out 145 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:23,480 Speaker 1: became known as Reconstruction. There is way too much reconstruction 146 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 1: history to cover in one episode or even ten episodes, 147 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 1: so this is an extremely basic overview. The grand idea 148 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 1: behind reconstruction was to rebuild and unify the nation and 149 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,959 Speaker 1: to offset the inherent disadvantages that African Americans faced because 150 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 1: of the institution of slavery. But a lot went wrong. First, 151 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:46,600 Speaker 1: there was significant back and forth between President Lincoln and 152 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: Congress about what the plan should be. Lincoln's plan boiled 153 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: down to the state's abolishing slavery and ten percent of 154 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:58,680 Speaker 1: their eligible voters swearing an oath of Allegiance. Congress felt 155 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:01,360 Speaker 1: like this was not enough, and has the Wade Davisville, 156 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: which set a significantly higher bar for readmission, one that 157 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 1: the president felt was too high, so he refused to 158 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:12,360 Speaker 1: sign it. A much bigger issue was that when Abraham Lincoln, 159 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:15,560 Speaker 1: a Republican, had run for re election in eighteen sixty four, 160 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 1: he had selected Democrat Andrew Johnson of Tennessee is his 161 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: running mate, and the hope that it would bring him 162 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:25,439 Speaker 1: the support of Democrats and perhaps voters with pro Confederate leanings, 163 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:28,240 Speaker 1: along with other strategies. This worked, and Lincoln was re 164 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:31,240 Speaker 1: elected by a landslide, but that meant that when Abraham 165 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 1: Lincoln was assassinated, Johnson became president. The same traits that 166 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:40,200 Speaker 1: had led some voters to support Johnson's vice presidency also 167 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 1: led him to undermine some of the most important elements 168 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:48,280 Speaker 1: of reconstruction. He granted an amnesty that affected numerous ex Confederates, 169 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:51,000 Speaker 1: many of whom were then elected to the new governments 170 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:54,439 Speaker 1: of the Southern States. He set standards for readmission to 171 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,280 Speaker 1: the Union that didn't do much to address the issues 172 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:01,600 Speaker 1: Congress was trying to fix. He's autoted civil rights legislation, 173 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 1: although Congress adopted it over his veto. He ultimately declared 174 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 1: that the Union was restored, even though many of the 175 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:11,439 Speaker 1: rebelling states hadn't actually done one or more of the 176 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 1: very basic things that they were expected to do to 177 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: be readmitted to the Union. As a side note, Johnson 178 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 1: was also the first president to be impeached for dismissing 179 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:23,400 Speaker 1: Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War, which violated the Tenure of 180 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: Office Act. And to be clear, there were strides made 181 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:29,600 Speaker 1: to try to bring about equality after the Civil War. 182 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:34,520 Speaker 1: Between eighteen sixty five and eighteen seventy fourteenth and fifteenth 183 00:10:34,559 --> 00:10:37,320 Speaker 1: amendments to the U s Constitution, which are known as 184 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: the Reconstruction Amendments, were ratified. The thirteenth abolished slavery. The fourteenth, 185 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:45,080 Speaker 1: which we have talked about in a lot of episodes 186 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:48,400 Speaker 1: on this show, gave all citizens due process and equal 187 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:51,600 Speaker 1: protection under the law. In the fifteenth gave all male 188 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:55,200 Speaker 1: citizens the right to vote, regardless of quote, race, color, 189 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 1: or previous condition of servitude. In eighteen sixty five, the 190 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:03,520 Speaker 1: Freedman's Bureau was also established with the hope of providing education, 191 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:09,320 Speaker 1: medical care, and assistance with labor contracts to previously enslaved persons, 192 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:12,360 Speaker 1: but none of this was as broad, far reaching, or 193 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:15,960 Speaker 1: effective as Congress had hoped at the conclusion of the war. 194 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 1: Sometimes people talk about the failure of Reconstruction, but really 195 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:24,480 Speaker 1: Reconstruction was never given a chance to succeed. The election 196 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:28,080 Speaker 1: of former Confederate leaders to Southern state governments led to 197 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:34,320 Speaker 1: those governments actively working against reconstruction. Many passed explicitly discriminatory 198 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 1: laws and policies. Almost immediately, as early as no Member 199 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:41,360 Speaker 1: of eighteen sixty five, governments and former Confederate states were 200 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:46,079 Speaker 1: passing black codes, which eventually evolved into Jim Crow laws, 201 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:51,160 Speaker 1: which denied African Americans basic legal rights and protections. All 202 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 1: of this was playing out as Robert Smalls became a 203 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:58,000 Speaker 1: community and political leader, first in Beaufort and then in 204 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:01,600 Speaker 1: South Carolina. After of the war, Small as his wife 205 00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:04,520 Speaker 1: and their two surviving children returned to Buford. He had 206 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:07,440 Speaker 1: been awarded fifteen hundred dollars for the capture of the 207 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: planter for quote rescuing her from the enemies of the government. 208 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 1: He had also saved a lot of his pay, as 209 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:16,240 Speaker 1: well as other financial awards that he got from various 210 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:19,680 Speaker 1: aspects of his service. He used six hundred and fifty 211 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:22,680 Speaker 1: dollars of this money to buy the former McKee home 212 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:25,520 Speaker 1: which would which had since been sold to another family 213 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:29,280 Speaker 1: at a tax auction. From there, he used some of 214 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:32,400 Speaker 1: his money to help establish businesses and to help other 215 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:37,280 Speaker 1: black families established businesses of their own. He acquired land 216 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:40,520 Speaker 1: and property, and he helped build a black owned railroad 217 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 1: in Charleston. He also used some of his new found 218 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:46,880 Speaker 1: wealth to assist his former owners, who had been financially 219 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,120 Speaker 1: ruined by the war. He purchased a small house for 220 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:53,319 Speaker 1: the mckeys, and he helped their children find jobs. After 221 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 1: Henry McKee died, Small Small's had Mrs McKee cared for 222 00:12:57,200 --> 00:12:59,960 Speaker 1: in his own home. So I want to be clear here. 223 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:03,040 Speaker 1: This turnabout does not somehow negate the fact that the 224 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,760 Speaker 1: mckeys had owned Robert Smalls and his mother and other 225 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,840 Speaker 1: people as property, and it doesn't erase the institution of 226 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:13,280 Speaker 1: slavery as a whole. But Small's compassionate treatment of the 227 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:16,439 Speaker 1: McKees and the other white citizens of Bufort did wind 228 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:19,960 Speaker 1: up earning him the respect of many in the white community. 229 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:22,960 Speaker 1: Robert Smalls also did a lot of work in the 230 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:27,679 Speaker 1: area of education. He had begun educating himself through private tutors. 231 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:30,960 Speaker 1: During the war. Back in Bufort, he resumed the practice, 232 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:34,079 Speaker 1: hiring a tutor, waking up at five am every morning 233 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:36,240 Speaker 1: to study for two hours before the rest of his 234 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:40,160 Speaker 1: day began. This desire to educate himself carried over to 235 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:43,480 Speaker 1: a desire to educate his children and the black community 236 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:46,720 Speaker 1: of South Carolina as a whole. He helped form the 237 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:50,600 Speaker 1: Beaufort County School Board in February eighteen sixty seven and 238 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:54,720 Speaker 1: was immediately elected chair. The school board then purchased property 239 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:59,120 Speaker 1: and established a school. It's unsurprising given that after this 240 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:03,080 Speaker 1: much community involvement. After the war, Smalls also moved into 241 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:06,560 Speaker 1: political leadership. In eighteen sixty seven, he helped found the 242 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:09,440 Speaker 1: Republican Party in South Carolina, and he was a delegate 243 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:13,360 Speaker 1: at seven different Republican national conventions. Along with many other 244 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:16,680 Speaker 1: black civic leaders, he made huge strides in getting South 245 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:20,720 Speaker 1: Carolina's black citizens, which at this point outnumbered its white citizens, 246 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,960 Speaker 1: registered to vote. He was elected to be a delegate 247 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:28,840 Speaker 1: at South Carolina's Constitutional Convention in eighteen sixty seven. When 248 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:32,200 Speaker 1: the Constitutional Convention, which was one of the requirements for 249 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:36,240 Speaker 1: South Carolina to rejoin the Union, was convened in eighteen 250 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:39,800 Speaker 1: sixty eight. Seventy six of its one twenty four delegates 251 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 1: were black. Smalls was appointed to the Finance Committee, and 252 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:46,360 Speaker 1: he also proposed a resolution to set up free public 253 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:50,560 Speaker 1: schools that were available to everyone. This resolution ultimately led 254 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:54,520 Speaker 1: to the first public schools in South Carolina. That same year, 255 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 1: he was elected to a two year term in the 256 00:14:56,480 --> 00:15:00,040 Speaker 1: South Carolina House of Representatives. That year, the majar of 257 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:03,200 Speaker 1: representatives in the South Carolina General Assembly were black, and 258 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:05,600 Speaker 1: there were nine black and twenty four white senators in 259 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:10,080 Speaker 1: the state Senate. In fact, during reconstruction, South Carolina had 260 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 1: more black citizens holding public law office than any other state. 261 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:17,280 Speaker 1: South Carolina also had more black representation in the United 262 00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 1: States Congress during reconstruction than any other state as well. 263 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:24,240 Speaker 1: At the end of his term in the House of Representatives, 264 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:27,600 Speaker 1: Smalls was elected to the South Carolina State Senate, where 265 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:32,359 Speaker 1: he served two terms, continuing to focus on education, economic opportunity, 266 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:37,640 Speaker 1: and investigation of alleged corruption in the Republican Party. From there, 267 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 1: Small's next stop was the United States federal government, which 268 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:44,520 Speaker 1: we will talk about after another brief sponsor break. In 269 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:47,840 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy four, Robert Smalls was elected to the United 270 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:51,640 Speaker 1: States House of Representatives representing a majority black district that 271 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:55,680 Speaker 1: included Beaufort County, South Carolina, between eighteen seventy five and 272 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:59,760 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty six. He served five non consecutive terms and 273 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 1: the House of Representatives. He continued to work towards the 274 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:06,359 Speaker 1: social and economic interests of South Carolina, especially it's black citizens. 275 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:08,800 Speaker 1: He advocated for a Navy base to be built in 276 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:11,840 Speaker 1: Port Royal, South Carolina, which wound up becoming a significant 277 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:15,680 Speaker 1: contributor to the state's economy. He also championed the bill 278 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 1: that required the federal government to return land that had 279 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 1: been confiscated for non payment of taxes, which allowed residents 280 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,360 Speaker 1: of South Carolina and many other states to buy the 281 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:28,400 Speaker 1: land at a low cost. This measure led to black 282 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:31,640 Speaker 1: citizens of Beaufort County owning most of the land there. 283 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:36,160 Speaker 1: In eighteen seventy six, one more time, eighteen seventy six, 284 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:40,240 Speaker 1: Robert Smalls proposed an amendment to an Army reorganization bill 285 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:44,400 Speaker 1: which would have integrated the United States Armed forces. Although 286 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 1: his efforts weren't successful, they did demonstrate that people were 287 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:51,480 Speaker 1: genuinely attempting to desegregate the United States armed forces, long 288 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:58,680 Speaker 1: long before President Truman signed executive order in ninety. However, 289 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: during these same years, an intense, violent backlash against reconstruction 290 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:07,280 Speaker 1: was growing more pronounced and severe in many Southern states. 291 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:10,919 Speaker 1: The white supremacist organization the ku Klux Klan, had been 292 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:14,679 Speaker 1: established in eighteen sixty six, and by eighteen seventy it 293 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:18,439 Speaker 1: had really spread throughout the South. In eighteen seventy six, 294 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:21,919 Speaker 1: armed white men killed several black members of the militia 295 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:26,040 Speaker 1: near Hamburg, South Carolina, and that same year elections in 296 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:30,359 Speaker 1: South Carolina were overrun with violence and voter intimidation in 297 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:35,280 Speaker 1: an effort to remove black officials from power. In eighteen 298 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:39,120 Speaker 1: seventy seven, Republican Rutherford be Hayes took office as President 299 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 1: of the United States after an incredibly long and controversial 300 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:47,680 Speaker 1: presidential election. His opponent, Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, had won 301 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:51,560 Speaker 1: the popular vote, but when it came to awarding electoral votes, 302 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:55,119 Speaker 1: the results reported by the Republican and Democratic parties and 303 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:59,080 Speaker 1: three different states did not match up. Consequently, it was 304 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:01,439 Speaker 1: up the Congress to decide how to a lot the 305 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:05,040 Speaker 1: electoral votes from these states. In the end, a compromise 306 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:09,440 Speaker 1: was reached Rutherford Behayes would become president, but as Commander 307 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:11,760 Speaker 1: in Chief of the Army, he would have to issue 308 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:14,280 Speaker 1: the order to withdraw federal troops, which had been part 309 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:18,199 Speaker 1: of the reconstruction effort from the South. By this point, 310 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:20,679 Speaker 1: a lot of the early strides towards equality that had 311 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:24,000 Speaker 1: been made during the earlier years of reconstruction had already 312 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:27,480 Speaker 1: been erased as states had passed black codes and other 313 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:31,520 Speaker 1: discriminatory laws. State and local governments that had briefly become 314 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:34,440 Speaker 1: a lot closer to reflecting the racial makeup of their 315 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:39,840 Speaker 1: constituents didn't anymore. Voter intimidation and violenced against black citizens 316 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:42,680 Speaker 1: at the hand of white citizens were really on the rise. 317 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:46,720 Speaker 1: Governments all over the South returned to being mostly too 318 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:50,600 Speaker 1: entirely white, with many of the white government leaders having 319 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 1: ties to the former Confederacy. A lot of people feel 320 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:57,159 Speaker 1: like this withdrawal of the federal troops was really the 321 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:00,879 Speaker 1: final nail in the coffin of reconstruction, and it was 322 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:05,000 Speaker 1: against this backdrop that in eighteen seventy seven, Robert Smalls 323 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:09,600 Speaker 1: was accused, tried, and convicted of accepting a bribe. The 324 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:12,399 Speaker 1: case boiled down to a man named Joseph Woodriff, who 325 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:15,640 Speaker 1: claimed that he had bribed Smalls with five thousand dollars 326 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:19,800 Speaker 1: on January nineteenth, eighteen seventy three. A key piece of 327 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:22,760 Speaker 1: evidence was a check dated the nineteenth which was made 328 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:26,720 Speaker 1: out to quote cash or bearer and not to Robert Smalls. 329 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:31,440 Speaker 1: Another was a handwritten note written in pencil, dated the eighteenth, 330 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:34,480 Speaker 1: the day before the check, with no signatures on it. 331 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:37,040 Speaker 1: In spite of the fact that none of what we 332 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:39,479 Speaker 1: just said really adds up, and the fact that there 333 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:43,240 Speaker 1: were a lot of other inconsistencies and unreliable witness testimonies 334 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:46,720 Speaker 1: involved in this trial, Smalls was found guilty. The conviction 335 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,800 Speaker 1: was upheld on appeal, but he was later pardoned, although 336 00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:52,800 Speaker 1: the South Carolina press continued to use the issue against 337 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:55,320 Speaker 1: him for the next two years. At this point, most 338 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:57,880 Speaker 1: historians agree that this was really an effort to try 339 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:01,000 Speaker 1: to keep Smalls out of office, and not a crime 340 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:04,400 Speaker 1: that he had committed at any point, even though he 341 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:09,040 Speaker 1: was running in an overwhelmingly black Republican congressional district. Smalls 342 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:11,560 Speaker 1: lost in the race for the US House in eighteen 343 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:15,679 Speaker 1: seventy eight to white Democrat George Tillman. He continued to 344 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:18,400 Speaker 1: work within the Republican Party in the face of ongoing 345 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:22,680 Speaker 1: harassment and threats and intimidation. He lost to Tilban again 346 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:25,280 Speaker 1: in eighteen eighty. Although the results of the eighteen eighty 347 00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:29,480 Speaker 1: election were heavily contested, in the House of Representatives ultimately 348 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:33,400 Speaker 1: decided to seat Smalls instead. More than eighteen months into 349 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:37,160 Speaker 1: the two year term, in eighteen eighty two, Smalls withdrew 350 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:39,840 Speaker 1: from the race in favor of another Republican candidate, in 351 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:42,919 Speaker 1: part because his own political support from voters hadn't yet 352 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:47,399 Speaker 1: recovered from the bribery charge. Robert Small's wife, Hannah, died 353 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,800 Speaker 1: in eighteen eighty three. Smalls later married a woman named 354 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:53,159 Speaker 1: Annie Wigg and they had a son together, who they 355 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:57,160 Speaker 1: named William Robert. Annie died a few years into their marriage. 356 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:01,120 Speaker 1: In eighteen eighty four, Robert Smalls ran against white Confederate 357 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:05,600 Speaker 1: veteran William Elliott Senior and one. At this point, jerrymandering 358 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:09,360 Speaker 1: had guaranteed that all but one of South Carolina's districts 359 00:21:09,359 --> 00:21:12,919 Speaker 1: had a majority white population, so black representation in the 360 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:16,320 Speaker 1: South Carolina government and in South Carolina's representatives to the 361 00:21:16,359 --> 00:21:21,720 Speaker 1: federal government had dropped dramatically. In eighteen eighty six, Elliott 362 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:25,160 Speaker 1: defeated Smalls in the race for the House of Representatives. 363 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:28,520 Speaker 1: Although he was nominated in subsequent years, Smalls did not 364 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:32,640 Speaker 1: return to elected office after this point. In eighteen eighty nine, 365 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:35,800 Speaker 1: he was appointed collector of customs at the port of Bufort. 366 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:40,880 Speaker 1: In eighteen ninety five, South Carolina Governor Benjamin R. Tillman 367 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:45,080 Speaker 1: urged the state to convene another constitutional convention to revise 368 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:48,240 Speaker 1: the state constitution, and it did because of all the 369 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:51,280 Speaker 1: work that had been done to jerrymander the state intimidate 370 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:54,040 Speaker 1: black voters and get black people out of public office. 371 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:58,119 Speaker 1: Nearly all of the delegates to this constitutional convention were white. 372 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:01,359 Speaker 1: No black delegates were appointed to the Committee on the 373 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 1: Rights of Suffrage. It was this committee that set up 374 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:08,680 Speaker 1: as many barriers to black citizens voting as possible without 375 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:12,160 Speaker 1: directly contradicting the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. 376 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:17,320 Speaker 1: Over the strenuous objections and counter proposals of the six 377 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:22,240 Speaker 1: black Republican delegates to the Constitutional Convention, South Carolina adopted 378 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:26,480 Speaker 1: a new constitution, and under this constitution, in order to vote, 379 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:30,399 Speaker 1: people had to pass a literacy test, pay a poll tax, 380 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:33,680 Speaker 1: and own at least three hundred dollars worth of property. 381 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:37,879 Speaker 1: Being convicted of a number of crimes, including arson, burglary, 382 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:41,879 Speaker 1: and robbery also stripped people of the right to vote. Combined, 383 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:46,280 Speaker 1: these stipulations in the state constitution stripped most black citizens 384 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:48,480 Speaker 1: of the right to vote, which continued to be the 385 00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:50,840 Speaker 1: case until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 386 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:56,800 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty five. Also included in the constitution the establishment 387 00:22:56,840 --> 00:23:01,240 Speaker 1: of segregated schools. Robert Smalls cantinued to hold his customs 388 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:04,520 Speaker 1: post until nineteen twelve, when he was reappointed by William 389 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:08,119 Speaker 1: Howard Taffe, but not confirmed by the Senate. By this point, 390 00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:11,000 Speaker 1: his health was really poor, and the Beaufort Customs House 391 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:13,840 Speaker 1: closed after he left. He died at the age of 392 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:17,920 Speaker 1: seventy six in nineteen fifteen. In the nineteen forties, Camp 393 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:20,680 Speaker 1: Robert Smalls, which was part of the Great Lakes Naval 394 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:23,719 Speaker 1: Training Center and was created to train black Navy seamen 395 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:27,879 Speaker 1: while the Navy was segregated, was named after him. In 396 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:31,159 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy six, Robert Smalls Bufort Home was added to 397 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:34,800 Speaker 1: the National Register of Historic Places. He was awarded the 398 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:38,439 Speaker 1: Palmeadow Cross on May thirteenth, two thousand two. The one 399 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 1: forty anniversary of his capture of the Planter. In recognition 400 00:23:42,359 --> 00:23:45,680 Speaker 1: of his service to the South Carolina Militia, an army 401 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:48,760 Speaker 1: transport ship was christened the Major General Robert Smalls on 402 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:53,919 Speaker 1: April two thousand four. At various points, multiple schools in 403 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:58,159 Speaker 1: Beaufort County have born Robert Small's name. Robert Small's Middle School, 404 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:01,960 Speaker 1: which is now Robert Small's International Academy, still does in 405 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:06,080 Speaker 1: Some of its alumni protested that its logo, which featured 406 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:08,040 Speaker 1: a man with a face that was darker on one 407 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 1: side and lighter on the other, wearing what appeared to 408 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 1: be Revolutionary war Eric Garb, didn't accurately represent who Robert 409 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,159 Speaker 1: Smalls was. The logo was temporarily changed to a G 410 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:21,440 Speaker 1: for Generals, which was their school mascot, but the greater 411 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:24,000 Speaker 1: discussion was still ongoing at the time. We recorded this 412 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:27,760 Speaker 1: episode to end with a quote from the man himself, quote, 413 00:24:28,119 --> 00:24:31,200 Speaker 1: my race needs no special defense, for the past history 414 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:33,679 Speaker 1: of them in this country proves them to be equal 415 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:36,679 Speaker 1: of any people anywhere. All they need is an equal 416 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:41,280 Speaker 1: chance in the battle of life. That is Robert Smalls. 417 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:45,959 Speaker 1: I had a surprisingly difficult time researching this episode because 418 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:52,360 Speaker 1: you can find lots of children's books about Robert Small's 419 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:57,639 Speaker 1: in a typical public library. There are a lot of them. 420 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:03,119 Speaker 1: There are also numerous like rigorous academic works for adults 421 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:07,359 Speaker 1: about Robert Smalls, And to get any of them, I 422 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:10,640 Speaker 1: had to go to a university library, like the public 423 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:14,800 Speaker 1: library only had the children's book levels stuff. It's a 424 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:18,359 Speaker 1: trend that frustrates me. Like, I am glad that there 425 00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:21,959 Speaker 1: are children's books about all of these people in these stories. 426 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,560 Speaker 1: That's great. And I'm glad that they're available for free 427 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:28,960 Speaker 1: at the public library. That's great. But it kind of sucks, 428 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:33,080 Speaker 1: slash really sucks when a lot of these stories are 429 00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:37,680 Speaker 1: looked at as like inspirational stories for children rather than 430 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:42,919 Speaker 1: things for adults to study seriously. Also, so if you 431 00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:45,720 Speaker 1: are interested in learning more about Robert Smalls. The two 432 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:47,800 Speaker 1: books that I had to go to a university library 433 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:51,440 Speaker 1: to get our gulla Statesman Robert Smalls from Slavery to 434 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:55,200 Speaker 1: Congress by Edward A. Miller and Yearning to Breathe Free 435 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:57,840 Speaker 1: Robert Smalls of South Carolina and his Family is by 436 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:01,679 Speaker 1: Andrew Billingsley, and they are both really good it. Do 437 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:04,440 Speaker 1: you also have some listener mail for us? Yeah? I 438 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:10,040 Speaker 1: do yeah from Aaron. Aaron says, Hi, ladies, thanks so 439 00:26:10,119 --> 00:26:12,440 Speaker 1: much for keeping the podcast interesting. I listen at work 440 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:14,440 Speaker 1: and it helps keep me focused when I get overwhelmed 441 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:17,120 Speaker 1: and stressed. Thanks for giving me something else to think 442 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:20,440 Speaker 1: about when everything else gets too crazy. I just listened 443 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:23,120 Speaker 1: to the podcast on the Schoolhouse Blizzard, and your little 444 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:26,480 Speaker 1: side discussion into relative comfort and cold weather hit very 445 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:29,479 Speaker 1: close to home. I recently moved to Madison, Wisconsin, from 446 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:32,520 Speaker 1: New York City, and while n YC. Isn't necessarily warm, 447 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:36,119 Speaker 1: it certainly isn't as cold as as Wisconsin. Now, just 448 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:39,000 Speaker 1: my second winter here in Wisconsin, I'm finding that I 449 00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:41,359 Speaker 1: treat most winter temperatures the same as I used to 450 00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:45,160 Speaker 1: treat temperatures thirty degrees warmer. For instance, I'll go out 451 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:47,520 Speaker 1: in twenty degree weather the same way I used to 452 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:50,480 Speaker 1: prepare for fifty degree weather. And this change in behavior 453 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:52,919 Speaker 1: was so drastic that even my husband took notice and 454 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,719 Speaker 1: got worried. He did some research and learned that this 455 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:58,960 Speaker 1: is not an unexpected and an unexplained phenomenon. People that 456 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,480 Speaker 1: spend more time in cold weather, we'll have the structure 457 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:05,280 Speaker 1: of their body fat change, becoming more insulative. When summer comes, 458 00:27:05,359 --> 00:27:08,000 Speaker 1: the fat structure changes back, and the following winter your 459 00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:10,840 Speaker 1: body has to prepare all over again. This explains why 460 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:12,679 Speaker 1: I am now more comfortable in cold weather than I 461 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:15,280 Speaker 1: other ever was before, and my people in northern climates 462 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:17,679 Speaker 1: were shorts in the winter simply because their bodies are 463 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:20,080 Speaker 1: more prepared to deal with the cold. This could also 464 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:22,760 Speaker 1: explain why years ago, after spending two weeks in Cambodia 465 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:27,360 Speaker 1: working outside in degree temperatures and nearly humidity, I returned 466 00:27:27,359 --> 00:27:29,280 Speaker 1: home to the hottest summer in New York City on 467 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:32,639 Speaker 1: record and found myself cold wearing a light summer a 468 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:35,919 Speaker 1: light sweater all summer long. Thanks for the podcast. I 469 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:37,520 Speaker 1: hope that I was able to teach you ladies something 470 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:40,439 Speaker 1: in exchange for everything you've taught me. Aaron, thank you 471 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:44,320 Speaker 1: so much, Aaron. I looked into this. That is indeed 472 00:27:44,359 --> 00:27:48,800 Speaker 1: the case, And of course most newspapers reported on this 473 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:51,120 Speaker 1: research as being like, did you know being cold might 474 00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:55,960 Speaker 1: help you lose weight? Thanks newspapers for that not the 475 00:27:56,040 --> 00:28:00,320 Speaker 1: point at all interpretation of the scientific study. That's the 476 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:03,840 Speaker 1: clickable version, right. Yeah. Well, and I do you find 477 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:08,560 Speaker 1: any studies on my winter rage disorder? Because I never badly, badly. 478 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:11,760 Speaker 1: Maybe I'll research that after we're done recording. I have 479 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:15,439 Speaker 1: the exact same experience as Aaron, like I will go 480 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:18,760 Speaker 1: outside and it's thirty degrees and I don't have gloves on, 481 00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:22,159 Speaker 1: and that I usually regret that after about fifteen minutes. 482 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,760 Speaker 1: But the fact that I will even walk out of 483 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:28,359 Speaker 1: my house without a hat and gloves on when it 484 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:33,560 Speaker 1: is in the thirties is still continues to baffle me 485 00:28:34,359 --> 00:28:38,680 Speaker 1: because that used to be the freezingest temperature possible. It's 486 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:41,760 Speaker 1: pretty cold, yep. Anyway, you would like to write to us, 487 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,280 Speaker 1: We're at history Podcasts at how stuff works dot com. 488 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:46,920 Speaker 1: We're also on Facebook at facebook dot com slash miss 489 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:49,239 Speaker 1: in history and on Twitter at miss in History. Our 490 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:51,800 Speaker 1: tumbler is missing history dot tumble dot com. We're also 491 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:54,920 Speaker 1: on Panterriest at pentrist dot com slash miss in History. 492 00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:58,160 Speaker 1: You have an Instagram. Our name on Instagram is also 493 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:01,320 Speaker 1: missed in History. You can come to our parent company's website, 494 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:03,680 Speaker 1: which is how stuff works dot com and all kinds 495 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,520 Speaker 1: of information about all kinds of fascinating subject. 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