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 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:17,079 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy Vie Wilson. So when 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,480 Speaker 1: I was researching our recent two parter on emergency medicine, 5 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: I stumbled across the line about the secret surgery that 6 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: Grover Cleveland had while he was in office, and I thought, well, 7 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 1: that goes on the list. As soon as you mentioned 8 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: it to me, I was like, that sounds amazing, and 9 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: I started just kind of side reading about it, even 10 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 1: while I was still working on that episode, because I 11 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: was so intrigued, and the more I learned about it, 12 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:44,479 Speaker 1: the more fascinated I became. So that is what we 13 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: were talking about today. A quick heads up for the 14 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: very squeamish. We're going to talk a little bit about 15 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: surgery here, and there will be some details just for 16 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: like to contextualize what an achievement this whole thing was. 17 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,280 Speaker 1: But we will not get super duper graphic, like I 18 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 1: would only say, worry about it if you are very, 19 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: very squeamish. So today we're going to talk about events 20 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:09,039 Speaker 1: that happened during Grover Cleveland's second term as president. He's 21 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:11,639 Speaker 1: the only president in the US who have served two terms, 22 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:15,759 Speaker 1: but not consecutively. He started his first term after being 23 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: sworn in on March fourth, five, and that first term 24 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:23,319 Speaker 1: was really busy. He vetoed four hundred fourteen bills during it, 25 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: including aid packages to farmers who needed literal seed money 26 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 1: after the drought had destroyed their crops and left them 27 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:34,320 Speaker 1: without seed for the next planting cycle. But Cleveland wrote 28 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 1: that bailing out the farmers would quote weaken the sturdiness 29 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 1: of our national character. He also got married in June 30 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:43,039 Speaker 1: of eighteen eighty six. That was to twenty one year 31 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: old Francis Fulsom. He had known Francis, who was twenty 32 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: eight years younger than he was, since she was a child. 33 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: He had been good friends with her father. Francis was 34 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:56,040 Speaker 1: the youngest first lady in US history, and she was 35 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 1: vastly different from her husband. She charmed virtually everyone because 36 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: she was very kind and witty. Uh Grover, on the 37 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:08,799 Speaker 1: other hand, could be brusque and prone to outrage. The 38 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 1: president became so frustrated by the constant press coverage that 39 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: he and his bride got his newlyweds. He started writing 40 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:21,120 Speaker 1: angry letters to various newspapers. Uh. Yeah, he was not 41 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: enthused with the President General for a variety of reasons. 42 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:28,640 Speaker 1: But Francis, I mean from the moment she arrived in 43 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: the Executive Mansion because it was not being called the 44 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:32,960 Speaker 1: White House yet at that point, like the entire staff 45 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: sort of fell in love with her and would do 46 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 1: anything for her. And part of that charm of hers 47 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:41,960 Speaker 1: was why reporters were constantly following them, because everyone was 48 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 1: really fascinated by her and adored her. When Cleveland ran 49 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 1: for re election in he lost to Benjamin Harrison, and 50 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: Cleveland actually won the popular vote but lost in the 51 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,920 Speaker 1: electoral college. And as the Cleveland's left the Executive Mansion, 52 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,959 Speaker 1: Francis reportedly told the staff members to take care of 53 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: the furniture and remember where everything was because they were 54 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 1: going to be back in four years. And that is 55 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: a mighty bold exit line, but she was not wrong. 56 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,079 Speaker 1: During the four years after he left office, Grover Cleveland 57 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: moved to New York City. He dabbled in law practice, 58 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: but slowly found himself being drawn back into politics. The 59 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:22,960 Speaker 1: ninety mid term elections had seen a lot of Democratic 60 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: victories and that made him think it would be worth 61 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:28,600 Speaker 1: running again, and he believed that the quote dangerous and 62 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: reckless experiment of shifting so much financial backing into silver 63 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 1: had opened up the door for a pro gold candidate 64 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:39,760 Speaker 1: like himself. We'll be talking more about that in just 65 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,480 Speaker 1: a bit. And this wasn't incidentally a position that everyone, 66 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 1: even within his party, was in agreement with. There was 67 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 1: a large chunk of the Democratic Party at the time 68 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: that favored the moves that had been made into favoring silver, 69 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: and there were plenty of predictions that, in being so 70 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: assertive of his stance on the matter, was probably gonna 71 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: cost Grover Cleveland the nomination, but it did not. The 72 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: campaign itself was actually quiet. Harrison's wife was ill with 73 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 1: tuberculosis and he did not want to be on the 74 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 1: campaign trail. Cleveland thought it would be odd to campaign 75 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 1: when everyone knew that the president couldn't because of a 76 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 1: family illness, and that ultimately ended with with Caroline Harrison's 77 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:23,480 Speaker 1: death in October. So she died not long before the election. 78 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 1: Due largely to the issue of the national budget, Cleveland 79 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: one and Harrison seemed pretty relieved about that. And this 80 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: actually created a unique situation because Grover Cleveland then had 81 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: to discuss the presidential transition as he entered office, with 82 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: President Benjamin Harrison in an exact role reversal of what 83 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: had happened when Cleveland left office after his first term 84 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: four years prior, and it was Harrison who had to 85 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:52,479 Speaker 1: come to him to work out the details regarding the 86 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: handover of power. So to contextualize the situation that Grover 87 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:01,280 Speaker 1: Cleveland was facing during the second term, the nation was 88 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: in the middle of a financial crisis. There had been 89 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,039 Speaker 1: several banking panics in the decades leading up to the 90 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:10,240 Speaker 1: eighteen nineties, but the panic of eighteen ninety three was 91 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:14,280 Speaker 1: much larger in scope that caused deeper fears of instability 92 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 1: in the US than the previous two had done. Those 93 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:19,920 Speaker 1: earlier panics had taken place in eighteen eighty four and 94 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety Starting several years before eighteen ninety three, there 95 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: had been a severe dip in the gold reserves held 96 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,039 Speaker 1: by the U. S. Treasury. In eighteen ninety the U. S. 97 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 1: Treasury had a hundred and ninety million dollars in gold. 98 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:37,279 Speaker 1: In eighteen ninety three, that number had dwindled to one million, 99 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 1: and the cause of that dip is related to some 100 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:42,600 Speaker 1: of the story that we told in our previous episode 101 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:46,560 Speaker 1: about silver magnate James G. Fair. As Fair and his 102 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 1: fellow silver kings were amassing huge fortunes in silver, and 103 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:53,279 Speaker 1: as gold was getting harder to find, there was this 104 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: shift in thinking that silver might be a more worthwhile 105 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 1: monetary standard than gold. Also, in eighteen nine, to the 106 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: Sherman Silver Purchase Act was passed. This law called for 107 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 1: the US Treasury to start making more significant investments in 108 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:11,760 Speaker 1: silver acquisition. That led to fears that the United States 109 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:15,839 Speaker 1: would abandon the gold standard, the system by which treasury 110 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 1: notes were directly linked to gold value and could be 111 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 1: exchanged for that amount of gold. As a consequence, the 112 00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: demand for gold skyrocketed as people traded in their treasury 113 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 1: notes before the value could become unstable. This was almost 114 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:34,679 Speaker 1: like a rush on the bank, except with the Federal Treasury. Yes, 115 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: but there were also runs on the bank because this 116 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:41,800 Speaker 1: situation kind of folded in on itself. As the treasuries 117 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:44,360 Speaker 1: gold dwindled, there were concerns that there was going to 118 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: be a freeze put on the ability to exchange notes 119 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 1: for their value in gold, and that possibility only drove 120 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:53,480 Speaker 1: people to do it more and then there were runs 121 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 1: on banks throughout the country because nervous account holders, thinking 122 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 1: the economy was going to collapse, wanted to withdraw all 123 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:03,280 Speaker 1: their fun Additionally, in the eighteen eighties, a number of 124 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:06,840 Speaker 1: things happened that would impact US finances in the eighteen nineties. 125 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 1: For one, a drought started in the late eighteen eighties 126 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: that severely impacted the farming industry, especially in the Midwest. 127 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: Many farmers were unable to pay their debts because of 128 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 1: the losses that were incurred and the value of their 129 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: land dropped. And at the same time, the eighteen eighties 130 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: had been this period of really rapid economic expansion in 131 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: the US. Railroads and mining operations were big drivers to 132 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 1: this economic expansion. But as a consequence, both of these 133 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 1: industries grew really rapidly to the point that they were 134 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: beyond realistic financial sustainability. Was they were speculating on future 135 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: growth with way over inflated projections. On February twenty eight, 136 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 1: nine three, the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad declared bankruptcy, and 137 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 1: this signal to the entire nation if anybody was in 138 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:57,800 Speaker 1: doubt up to that point that the situation was really dire. 139 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:01,200 Speaker 1: Grover Cleveland was sworn in to office for his second 140 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: term just ten days later on March fourth. While the 141 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:08,680 Speaker 1: usual events associated with the inauguration day did take place, 142 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: that was the swearing in ceremony, the parade, which included 143 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:15,440 Speaker 1: women for the first time, and the inaugural ball. Attendance 144 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:17,360 Speaker 1: at all of this was really low. It was an 145 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 1: awful day weather wise. It was windy, with some sleep, 146 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 1: but more than anything, the country was just not in 147 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 1: the mood to party. Yeah, there are stories of like 148 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 1: all of these Grover Cleveland souvenirs stands being like all 149 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:32,920 Speaker 1: over Washington, d C. Which we've ever been to an 150 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:36,319 Speaker 1: inauguration day, that's very common, and like nobody was buying. 151 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:39,199 Speaker 1: They were just standing there, going, I guess we're gonna 152 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 1: have a lot of Grover Cleveland merchandise. Forever Cleveland's administration 153 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 1: set to work on the problems that it had inherited immediately, 154 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:49,720 Speaker 1: and this was of course a huge undertaking. As the 155 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:53,480 Speaker 1: finances of the nation teetered in uncertainty, the newly sworn 156 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:56,840 Speaker 1: in president was dealing with not just railroad closures, but 157 00:08:56,920 --> 00:09:01,320 Speaker 1: also banks failing. As we said, unemployment, really rocky, stock market, 158 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:04,760 Speaker 1: and foreign investors that were also becoming nervous and taking 159 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 1: their money out of US interests. On April, the President 160 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:12,959 Speaker 1: authorized the following statement, which circulated widely in papers around 161 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 1: the country. The statement is pretty long, So, Tracy, do 162 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:18,120 Speaker 1: you want to alternate on it? Oh, we can do that. 163 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:21,720 Speaker 1: I'll do this first bit quote. The inclination on the 164 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:25,000 Speaker 1: part of the public to accept newspaper reports concerning the 165 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,439 Speaker 1: intentions of those charged with the management of our national 166 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 1: finances seems to justify my emphatic contradiction of the statement 167 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:36,520 Speaker 1: that the redemption of any kind of treasury notes except 168 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 1: in gold, has at any time been determined upon or 169 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: contemplated by the Secretary of the Treasury or any other 170 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:48,120 Speaker 1: member of the present administration. The President and his Cabinet 171 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 1: are absolutely harmonious, and the determination to exercise every power 172 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 1: conferred upon them to maintain the public credit, to keep 173 00:09:57,160 --> 00:10:00,200 Speaker 1: the public faith, and to preserve the parity. But sween 174 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: gold and silver, and between all financial obligations of the government, 175 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: it goes on. While the law of e. T. Ninety 176 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:11,319 Speaker 1: forcing the purchase of a fixed amount of silver every month, 177 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:14,359 Speaker 1: provides that the Secretary of the Treasury, in his discretion, 178 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:17,920 Speaker 1: may redeem in either gold or silver the treasury notes 179 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:21,520 Speaker 1: given in payment of silver purchases. Yet the declaration of 180 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:24,320 Speaker 1: the policy of the government to maintain the parity between 181 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:27,760 Speaker 1: the two medals seems so clearly to regulate this discretion 182 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:31,880 Speaker 1: as to dictate their redemption in gold, and it concludes quote, 183 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:35,719 Speaker 1: of course, perplexities and difficulties have grown out of an 184 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:40,600 Speaker 1: unfortunate financial policy which we found in vogue, and embarrassments 185 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:44,400 Speaker 1: have arisen from ill advised financial legislation confronting us at 186 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 1: every turn. But with cheerful confidence among the people and 187 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:53,000 Speaker 1: a patriotic disposition to cooperate, the threatened dangers will be averted, 188 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:57,400 Speaker 1: pending a legislative return to a better and sounder financial plan. 189 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:01,320 Speaker 1: The strong credit of the country is unimpaired, and the 190 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 1: good sense of our people, which has never failed in 191 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:07,520 Speaker 1: time of need, is at hand to save us from disaster. 192 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:12,040 Speaker 1: So with this whole statement, Cleveland was really pushing to 193 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:15,200 Speaker 1: usher in the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. 194 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:17,280 Speaker 1: That was a move that he was making in the 195 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:21,760 Speaker 1: hopes of regaining some stability during the crisis. So as 196 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:25,080 Speaker 1: this was happening, there was a whole other situation playing 197 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:28,920 Speaker 1: out in Grover Cleveland's wife outside of the political realm, 198 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:31,520 Speaker 1: and we will talk about that right after a quick 199 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:39,200 Speaker 1: sponsor break. So, as we said before the break, as 200 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 1: all of this was playing out with the panic, and 201 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:44,240 Speaker 1: as Cleveland was working to steer the nation through that 202 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:48,439 Speaker 1: financial panic, he had a more personal crisis brewing. He 203 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 1: was soon to be a father, although that was not 204 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 1: publicly known at the time uh and was not considered 205 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:56,160 Speaker 1: a crisis, but his wife, Francis, was two months pregnant 206 00:11:56,280 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 1: when President Cleveland took his second oath of office. But 207 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:01,960 Speaker 1: the thing that would become more pressing was something that 208 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:06,480 Speaker 1: the president discovered eleven days after that April statement about 209 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:11,440 Speaker 1: repealing the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. On May five, he 210 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:13,839 Speaker 1: noticed a rough spot on the roof of his mouth, 211 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:17,000 Speaker 1: but really deep in the midst of running a country 212 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 1: that was in a precarious state. He did not do 213 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:23,120 Speaker 1: anything about this initially, but over the next six weeks 214 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:27,360 Speaker 1: that rough spot turned into a lump that got bigger. Reportedly, 215 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 1: the president was often up at night because of it, 216 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,840 Speaker 1: although whether that was from pain or from simply worrying 217 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:35,280 Speaker 1: about the situation is a little bit of an issue 218 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:39,080 Speaker 1: of speculation. He actually had his wife, Francis, look at it, 219 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:41,920 Speaker 1: and she was, as she put it, alarmed when I 220 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:44,439 Speaker 1: saw it, and so she made the decision that they 221 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: had to get a doctor to look at it immediately. 222 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:51,199 Speaker 1: The doctor was their regular physician, Doctor Joseph Decatur Bryant. 223 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:54,959 Speaker 1: Dr Bryant was their family physician, but he also specialized 224 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:57,600 Speaker 1: in oral tumors, so it makes sense that Francis would 225 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:01,400 Speaker 1: reach outside the government's presidential reas horses and get him involved. 226 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:05,240 Speaker 1: Francis wrote to Dr Bryant on June to tell him 227 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:07,040 Speaker 1: that there was some sort of problem on the roof 228 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:09,400 Speaker 1: of her husband's mouth and that she would like to 229 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:12,800 Speaker 1: speak with the doctor the next day. Francis had errands 230 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 1: on the nineteenth that took her to Jersey City, and 231 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:18,920 Speaker 1: she asked for a meeting there and their brief visit, 232 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 1: she told Dr Bryant the details of this gross appearance 233 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:24,920 Speaker 1: and also that she was quite worried about it. The 234 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:28,400 Speaker 1: meeting ended with Bryant planning a trip to Washington, d C. 235 00:13:28,679 --> 00:13:32,680 Speaker 1: To examine the president. Yeah, there are actually some theories 236 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:36,800 Speaker 1: that probably um when Grover Cleveland took office that he 237 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,319 Speaker 1: would have asked Bryant because he was a trusted family 238 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:42,840 Speaker 1: friend and had been their family doctor to become the 239 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:45,600 Speaker 1: presidential doctor, but Bryant didn't want to leave his practice 240 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:49,960 Speaker 1: in New York. But there was even while Francis was 241 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 1: meeting with Dr Bryant, another doctor on the case, The 242 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:56,880 Speaker 1: president's dentist had seen the legion and so he contacted 243 00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:01,280 Speaker 1: the president's doctor about it. That physician was Dr Robert M. O'Reilly, 244 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:04,240 Speaker 1: and so he had examined the president's mouth and he 245 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 1: found that growth quite worrying as well. He wanted to 246 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:11,120 Speaker 1: have tissue from the growth tested, but without anyone knowing 247 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:14,280 Speaker 1: that the sample had come from the president's person, so 248 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 1: he took a scraping and he sent it as an 249 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:20,600 Speaker 1: anonymous sample to an army lab. While the President's name 250 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:23,600 Speaker 1: was not on the sample, it did have a note 251 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:26,920 Speaker 1: that it was an incredibly important specimen, and that led 252 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:29,760 Speaker 1: pathologist Dr William Welch to suspect that it was a 253 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 1: sample of Grover Cleveland's tissue. That probably made it a 254 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:36,040 Speaker 1: lot more unpleasant for him to come to the conclusion 255 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:38,560 Speaker 1: at the end of this examination that the sample was 256 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:42,200 Speaker 1: from a malignant tumor. And as that lab examination was 257 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:46,320 Speaker 1: happening of the tissue. Dr Bryant had arrived in Washington 258 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:50,440 Speaker 1: and had seen President Cleveland himself. He described the tumor 259 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:53,880 Speaker 1: to his patient as quote, a bad looking tenant, and 260 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: he told him that he should have it removed and 261 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:59,280 Speaker 1: very soon. So, of course this was terrible news, and 262 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:02,520 Speaker 1: not just because the president had a frightening cancerous growth 263 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:05,760 Speaker 1: that could jeopardize his health or maybe his life. Also 264 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:09,200 Speaker 1: because cancer was really a pr nightmare at this point. 265 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 1: People wouldn't even say the word cancer if they could 266 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:16,280 Speaker 1: avoid it in any way. They would use other euphemisms 267 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:19,240 Speaker 1: just to keep the name out of their mouths. This was, 268 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:22,160 Speaker 1: of course, almost a hundred and thirty years ago. The 269 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:25,720 Speaker 1: medical establishments understanding of cancer was a lot less robust 270 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 1: than it is today, and they were not nearly as 271 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:32,400 Speaker 1: many treatment options. Saying someone had cancer at the time 272 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:35,800 Speaker 1: was almost like saying they were already dead. Society was 273 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:39,160 Speaker 1: just downright phobic about it, and there was serious stigma 274 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:42,840 Speaker 1: around it. So for a president, and one only just 275 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 1: a few months into his term, to have cancer was 276 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 1: the kind of news that could cause a panic in 277 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:54,120 Speaker 1: the midst of an already existing financial panic, political adversaries 278 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:57,000 Speaker 1: and even those with whom the President had tentative ally 279 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,600 Speaker 1: ship could use that kind of information against him, and 280 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 1: his effort to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act could 281 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:05,800 Speaker 1: be completely ruined if people thought that he was in 282 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,840 Speaker 1: a weak in physical state. Dr Bryant thought the best 283 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 1: course of treatment for President Cleveland was surgery. He and 284 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:15,000 Speaker 1: Dr O'Reilly discussed the matter and then met with the 285 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 1: President and the President's Secretary of War and close friend 286 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:21,760 Speaker 1: that was Dan Lamont. This quartet of men agreed right 287 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:23,640 Speaker 1: off the bat that the whole matter had to be 288 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:27,880 Speaker 1: kept entirely under wraps. They were planning to do this surgery, though, 289 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,800 Speaker 1: so keeping its secret was a really complicated proposal. They 290 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: had to perform the procedure somewhere very very private. That 291 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:39,040 Speaker 1: automatically meant not a hospital, and it had to be 292 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:43,200 Speaker 1: done entirely with incisions inside the President's mouth so that 293 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:47,840 Speaker 1: no external scars would give the truth away. This also meant, 294 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:51,600 Speaker 1: and Grover Cleveland was apparently adamant about this, that they 295 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:56,320 Speaker 1: could not shave his mustache. Uh. And while Cleveland's summer 296 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:59,400 Speaker 1: home in Massachusetts was introduced as a possible location for 297 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:02,640 Speaker 1: the surgery. It was pretty quickly dismissed because the press 298 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:05,159 Speaker 1: was often lurking nearby, especially if they knew the President 299 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:10,280 Speaker 1: was there. Eventually, the President introduced a very novel possibility. 300 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:13,399 Speaker 1: He could have the surgery on board the Oneida, a 301 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:16,600 Speaker 1: yacht owned by his friend Elias Benedict and that the 302 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:19,840 Speaker 1: two had often taken out for fishing trips. The use 303 00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:22,160 Speaker 1: of a boat was of course super risky, but because 304 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:24,600 Speaker 1: Cleveland had been on that boat many times, it would 305 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:27,719 Speaker 1: arouse zero suspicions for him to take a trip aboard it. 306 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:31,280 Speaker 1: And while the doctors pressed for an immediate surgery, the 307 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:34,119 Speaker 1: President needed time to put some things in order before 308 00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:37,800 Speaker 1: he could do it. This meeting took place on June, 309 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:39,879 Speaker 1: and the President agreed that he would be ready on 310 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:44,080 Speaker 1: July one. In the meantime, Dr O'Reilly monitored his health 311 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:47,960 Speaker 1: and Dr Bryant put together a trustworthy surgical team. Dan 312 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:50,880 Speaker 1: Lamott made sure all the president's arrangements that Washington were 313 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:54,600 Speaker 1: taken care of, and Grover Cleveland, we should mention, was 314 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,520 Speaker 1: not a person who was in otherwise great health when 315 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:00,080 Speaker 1: this whole plan was forming. He had a taste for 316 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:03,159 Speaker 1: really rich food, which had caused him to develop gout, 317 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:06,159 Speaker 1: and he drank quite a bit and he smoked. That 318 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:08,560 Speaker 1: initial rough spot that he felt was in the place 319 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:11,119 Speaker 1: where the end of his cigar usually sat in his mouth. 320 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:15,320 Speaker 1: He also likely had high blood pressure, So anesthesia alone 321 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:18,040 Speaker 1: was a risk, let alone going through a surgery. And 322 00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:20,439 Speaker 1: at this point, remember like we're in the ether phase. 323 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:22,880 Speaker 1: We'll talk about that in a little bit. And there 324 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:26,160 Speaker 1: was this very real possibility that a more serious situation 325 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:29,280 Speaker 1: might reveal itself once that surgery was under way, if 326 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 1: the growth was more expansive than had been apparent upon examination. 327 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:36,600 Speaker 1: So this whole thing was a significant risk, and the 328 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:40,560 Speaker 1: worst case scenario was that the president would die. Bryant 329 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:44,760 Speaker 1: immediately reached out to a colleague named Dr William Williams Keene, 330 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:47,399 Speaker 1: telling him that he wished to speak to him about 331 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:50,960 Speaker 1: a very important but private matter and a scene that 332 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:53,440 Speaker 1: would be right at home and a spy thriller. Keen 333 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:55,880 Speaker 1: and Bryant met a few days later on the deck 334 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 1: of an empty ferry. Bryant was totally straightforward and told 335 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:03,000 Speaker 1: Keen about the President's need for surgery, that the surgery 336 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:05,439 Speaker 1: had to happen in secret on a yacht and that 337 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 1: he wanted Keen to be on the surgical team. Keene 338 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:11,040 Speaker 1: was exactly the man you would want for this job, 339 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 1: a very well respected surgeon with an impeccable reputation who 340 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:17,520 Speaker 1: had been leading the medical field and the very new 341 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 1: concept of brain surgery. Keene didn't vote for Grover Cleveland, 342 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:23,840 Speaker 1: but he had a great respect for the office, and 343 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:26,280 Speaker 1: after a moment of thought on the matter, he agreed 344 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:30,119 Speaker 1: to participate. There was, as we said, just a huge 345 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:32,840 Speaker 1: risk for the president, but for a surgeon like Keen 346 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:35,040 Speaker 1: at the top of his profession, there was also a 347 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:39,080 Speaker 1: great deal of risk. If something went wrong, his reputation, 348 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:41,800 Speaker 1: which had been built over years of work and study, 349 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:46,520 Speaker 1: would probably just crumble around him. Briant recruited additional surgeons 350 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:49,920 Speaker 1: to be part of the secret presidential surgery team. Dr 351 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:52,919 Speaker 1: Edward Janeway, who was a professor of surgery at Bellevue 352 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:57,439 Speaker 1: Hospital Medical College, dentist Dr Ferdinand Hasbrooke, who had an 353 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:00,480 Speaker 1: advanced knowledge of anesthesia as it existed at the time, 354 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:04,919 Speaker 1: and then Bryant's assistant Dr. John Erdman. The plan was 355 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:07,280 Speaker 1: that Bryant would be the lead surgeon, with Keen and 356 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:11,600 Speaker 1: Erdman assisting. Dr Hasbrooke would handle any tooth extractions that 357 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:14,480 Speaker 1: would need to be performed and would also manage anesthesia 358 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:17,760 Speaker 1: along with Dr O'Reilly and Dr Jane Way would be 359 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:21,640 Speaker 1: in charge of monitoring the patient throughout. Bryant also made 360 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:25,000 Speaker 1: all preparations for the yacht to be ready for this mission. 361 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:28,480 Speaker 1: The yacht had a saloon, and it was decided that 362 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:32,080 Speaker 1: it would be transformed into an operating room. The furniture 363 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:35,199 Speaker 1: was removed and the space was disinfected. A chair was 364 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:38,119 Speaker 1: brought in for the President to sit in throughout the procedure. 365 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:42,359 Speaker 1: Special equipment and deliveries were explained away by Dr Bryant 366 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:44,919 Speaker 1: to the ship's crew. They were told the President was 367 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:47,960 Speaker 1: going to have a tooth extraction on board, and because 368 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:50,760 Speaker 1: the crew were accustomed to the President both being there 369 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:55,159 Speaker 1: and needing various special arrangements, they seem to accept this explanation. 370 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:58,080 Speaker 1: So coming up, we're going to talk about the surgery itself, 371 00:20:58,160 --> 00:20:59,919 Speaker 1: and we'll get into that after we first take a 372 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:02,240 Speaker 1: quick break and hear from the sponsors. That keep stuff 373 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 1: you missed in history class going. In the days leading 374 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:16,000 Speaker 1: up to the surgery, President Cleveland began to wonder more 375 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,480 Speaker 1: and more about the after effects of this whole plan. 376 00:21:19,359 --> 00:21:21,399 Speaker 1: It had already been explained to him that he was 377 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:23,639 Speaker 1: going to lose part of his jaw in the process, 378 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:26,600 Speaker 1: and he had Dan Lamont reach out to Dr Bryant 379 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:28,879 Speaker 1: to ask if his speaking voice was going to be 380 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:32,280 Speaker 1: impacted by the surgery. The President also wanted to know 381 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:35,200 Speaker 1: how soon he could resume his duties and begin meeting 382 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:37,800 Speaker 1: with politicians, because this whole silver issue was still in 383 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:40,360 Speaker 1: the mix, and what he was really asking was how 384 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:43,679 Speaker 1: soon he could do his job without anybody realizing that 385 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 1: the President had had surgery. So Bryant explained that initially 386 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:51,760 Speaker 1: the President's speech would be different, but that he was 387 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:55,000 Speaker 1: working with a prospidantist he would make an artificial jaw 388 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:58,159 Speaker 1: that could fix the problem, and as for meetings, it 389 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:00,600 Speaker 1: was going to take a month for the President to recover. 390 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:03,159 Speaker 1: He tried to be clear that this was an estimate, 391 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:07,720 Speaker 1: presuming everything went well. He did withhold some information, though, 392 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:11,760 Speaker 1: so that he didn't add stress to the situation. Specifically, 393 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 1: he did not bring up the possibility that they might 394 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:17,040 Speaker 1: need to remove a section of skull above the jaw 395 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:19,359 Speaker 1: if it turned out the cancer had spread farther than 396 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:22,520 Speaker 1: they realized. Yeah. His logic in that was like, if 397 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:25,120 Speaker 1: we have to do that, there's no covering this up anyway, 398 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:27,320 Speaker 1: So I may as well not even tell him because 399 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:30,200 Speaker 1: I can't give him any kind of assurance that we 400 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:32,640 Speaker 1: can keep a secret at that point. In the meantime, 401 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:35,960 Speaker 1: President Cleveland worked really furiously to handle as much of 402 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:37,959 Speaker 1: his work ahead of the trip on the Unita as 403 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:41,720 Speaker 1: he could. This is something he was known for having, 404 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:44,280 Speaker 1: was a very cluttered desk, and he was really trying 405 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:47,320 Speaker 1: to get it completely cleared off. And then late in 406 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 1: the afternoon on June thirty, he and Lamont traveled by 407 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:53,439 Speaker 1: train in a private car to Jersey City and from 408 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:55,959 Speaker 1: there they took a ferry to Manhattan, and then they 409 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,880 Speaker 1: made the final leg to peer A in a carriage, 410 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:01,880 Speaker 1: and then they are They boarded a small boat which 411 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:03,800 Speaker 1: took them to the Oneida, which was waiting in the 412 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:07,840 Speaker 1: East River. When a reporter approached him during the ferry ride, 413 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:10,280 Speaker 1: the President said that he was just going to his 414 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:13,879 Speaker 1: summer house for a rest. The doctors were already on board. 415 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:17,560 Speaker 1: They had all arrived that afternoon, all leaving Manhattan from 416 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:21,280 Speaker 1: different peers, so that they did not draw attention. All 417 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:24,960 Speaker 1: the men spent a cordial evening together before retiring to bed. 418 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:28,800 Speaker 1: The next morning started with a physical exam of the President, 419 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:31,720 Speaker 1: which Dr Jane Way conducted. He was happy with the 420 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:35,480 Speaker 1: President's finals, so Jane Way gave him a mouth disinfectant 421 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:38,080 Speaker 1: to prep him for the surgery. There had been a 422 00:23:38,119 --> 00:23:40,360 Speaker 1: brief hope that the doctors would be able to use 423 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:43,680 Speaker 1: nitrous oxide for the surgery rather than resorting to ether 424 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:47,000 Speaker 1: due to the more dangerous nature of ether and possible 425 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:50,320 Speaker 1: poor reactions to it, but they realized that the tumor 426 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:52,760 Speaker 1: was bad enough that that was simply not going to work, 427 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:54,800 Speaker 1: so the decision was made that they would start with 428 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:57,760 Speaker 1: nitrous and then they would transition to ether if they 429 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:01,240 Speaker 1: needed to. After the pre surgery checks and a little 430 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:04,920 Speaker 1: bit of breakfast, the Oneida started its journey, and once 431 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:07,680 Speaker 1: the yacht passed into the Long Island Sound, they all 432 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:10,879 Speaker 1: made their way to the saloon turned surgical suite. Just 433 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:15,400 Speaker 1: after noon, the doctors, along with the ship's steward, Charles Peterson, 434 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:19,000 Speaker 1: who was assisting in a non medical capacity, started an 435 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:23,440 Speaker 1: unprecedented operation on the President. The patient did not respond 436 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:26,119 Speaker 1: well to the nitrous oxide. It took a double dose 437 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:29,160 Speaker 1: to get him unconscious, which meant that ether was going 438 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:32,560 Speaker 1: to have to be used Eventually. The procedure began with 439 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:35,359 Speaker 1: two teeth being removed. Those are the bicuspids on his 440 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:38,479 Speaker 1: upper left jaw. Once those teeth had been pulled by 441 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:41,399 Speaker 1: the dentist, the removal of the tumor began, although it 442 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:43,800 Speaker 1: appeared for a brief moment that the President was actually 443 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:46,240 Speaker 1: waking up, so that meant that they all had to 444 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:49,360 Speaker 1: stop what they were doing while additional gas was administered 445 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:52,240 Speaker 1: and then resume once the patient was fully under again. 446 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:56,240 Speaker 1: Once the cutting of the soft palate was complete, the 447 00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:59,639 Speaker 1: President was given ether before the damaged bone and surrounding 448 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 1: tissue were removed. The cancer had spread more than had 449 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:06,359 Speaker 1: been expected, but it did not affect one of the 450 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:08,679 Speaker 1: areas they had been most concerned about, which was the 451 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:13,040 Speaker 1: eye socket. Ultimately, a section of the upper jaw, several 452 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:16,560 Speaker 1: more teeth and a section of hard palate were also removed. 453 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:21,080 Speaker 1: It was over roughly ninety minutes after it started. President 454 00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:24,879 Speaker 1: Cleveland started waking up just before three pm. Obviously and 455 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:29,000 Speaker 1: unsurprisingly in pain. He was given morphine and then taken 456 00:25:29,119 --> 00:25:31,600 Speaker 1: with great effort. Because he was a large man to 457 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:33,920 Speaker 1: his cabin and the rest of the day, one of 458 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:36,840 Speaker 1: the doctors was always with him, checking his vitals and 459 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:40,760 Speaker 1: standing by should he awaken. His mouth was packed with gauze, 460 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:42,840 Speaker 1: so even when he did try to speak a little bit, 461 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:45,919 Speaker 1: it was pretty rough going trying to understand him. But 462 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,600 Speaker 1: by evening he was deemed to be in stable condition, 463 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:51,359 Speaker 1: which was a huge releaf to everyone. And then the 464 00:25:51,359 --> 00:25:53,560 Speaker 1: next day he was even better. He was actually able 465 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:57,159 Speaker 1: to walk around the ship a bit. So you recall 466 00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:59,119 Speaker 1: earlier they had told a reporter he was on the 467 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:02,240 Speaker 1: way to his summer home, and when the Oneida had 468 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:05,399 Speaker 1: not docked in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, which was where that 469 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:09,280 Speaker 1: summer home was, by Independence day, press started to wonder 470 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:12,080 Speaker 1: where he really was. But he had said he was 471 00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:14,600 Speaker 1: getting some rest, and they had not seen anything of him. 472 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:17,800 Speaker 1: So while there were rumors among the reporters that something 473 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:20,480 Speaker 1: might be up, they just really didn't have anything to report. 474 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:24,240 Speaker 1: A few papers did run articles that speculated that something 475 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:27,520 Speaker 1: might be wrong with the president. Mrs Cleveland phoned the 476 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:30,280 Speaker 1: papers tell them that her husband was fishing, and then 477 00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:33,239 Speaker 1: all was well, yeah, she kind of very politely was like, 478 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:38,920 Speaker 1: please stop printing things suggesting there's something wrong with my husband. Um. Meanwhile, 479 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:42,679 Speaker 1: Dr Hasbrooke, the dentist, had left the yacht on July second, 480 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:46,480 Speaker 1: for another appointment. Late on July four, like late in 481 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:48,800 Speaker 1: the evening, the rest of the surgical team was let 482 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:52,240 Speaker 1: off at sag Harbor, although Bryant just went ashore at 483 00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:54,760 Speaker 1: Sag Harbor briefly and then returned to the yacht after 484 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:58,520 Speaker 1: a quick supply run, and then he and Cleveland traveled 485 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:00,800 Speaker 1: on to Buzzard's Bay, where the lady, who at this 486 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:04,000 Speaker 1: point was seven months pregnant, was waiting at Gray Gables, 487 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,760 Speaker 1: which is the name of their summer home. The President, 488 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:10,560 Speaker 1: Dr Bryant, and Dan Lamont finally arrived there on late 489 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:14,119 Speaker 1: July five. Lamont issued a statement to the press that 490 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:16,760 Speaker 1: they had simply been pretty leisurely about their travel and 491 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:18,760 Speaker 1: that they had stayed out on the water longer than 492 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:21,600 Speaker 1: they had initially planned because the fishing was so good 493 00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:24,000 Speaker 1: that they didn't want to come in. And to address 494 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:27,040 Speaker 1: the health rumors, he said that the President had been 495 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:30,920 Speaker 1: dealing with about of rheumatism, but nothing more. But rumors 496 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:33,800 Speaker 1: had already started spreading in New York that the President 497 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:36,960 Speaker 1: had a growth in his mouth, The reporter managed to 498 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 1: get Dr Bryant when he was outside the house, but 499 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:43,280 Speaker 1: the doctor just corroborated the whole rheumatism story and ended 500 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:46,840 Speaker 1: the interview and questions about a tumor and surgery started. 501 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:51,640 Speaker 1: The reporter published the entire conversation, but as time wore 502 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:54,600 Speaker 1: on and Bryant and Lamont stuck to their stories, the 503 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:57,840 Speaker 1: press eventually bought it, and by July eight started reporting 504 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:01,160 Speaker 1: that the President was recovering from some minor tooth malady 505 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:04,720 Speaker 1: and nothing more ominous than that. Yeah, they let the 506 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:06,919 Speaker 1: two things slip in a little bit, since they had 507 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:10,160 Speaker 1: already told the ship's crew that. I was like, Oh, 508 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:12,119 Speaker 1: he just had to get some teeth pulled, it's no big. 509 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:15,359 Speaker 1: On July tenth, the President was recovered enough to go 510 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:18,280 Speaker 1: out fishing with Lamont and Bryant on his sailboat, which 511 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:21,359 Speaker 1: was named the Ruth, presumably for his toddler daughter. They 512 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:23,560 Speaker 1: had a child already while they were pregnant with their second, 513 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:28,240 Speaker 1: and during his stay at Grey Gables, Prosidantis Cassine Gibson 514 00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:30,280 Speaker 1: had set up a little lab at the house, and 515 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:32,639 Speaker 1: he was able to cast the president's mouth and make 516 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:35,639 Speaker 1: a vulcanized plate that plugged the hole that had been 517 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:39,160 Speaker 1: left by the surgery, and this plate also made Cleveland's 518 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:41,960 Speaker 1: cheek and face looked normal, and all of this helped 519 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:44,840 Speaker 1: sell the ruse that he had never been seriously ill. 520 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 1: Sometime in mid July, Bryant noticed during an examination of 521 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:52,000 Speaker 1: Cleveland's mouth that there was another growth at the edge 522 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:55,280 Speaker 1: of the surgical wound. The entire team was brought back, 523 00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:58,640 Speaker 1: except for Dr Hasbrook, who had leaked the story in 524 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:02,200 Speaker 1: New York once again that used the operating room on 525 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 1: the Oneida on July sevent The procedure seems to have 526 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:09,360 Speaker 1: been short and uncomplicated, and to the outside world it 527 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:11,240 Speaker 1: had appeared that the President had just gone on a 528 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:13,880 Speaker 1: day trip with his friend Benedict Yeah. That one was 529 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:16,400 Speaker 1: so quick that it was like a normal overnight trip. 530 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:19,080 Speaker 1: He was back the next morning. But as the president's 531 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:21,680 Speaker 1: life was returning to something that looked like normal and 532 00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:24,640 Speaker 1: he was starting to take meetings again, a New York 533 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:28,480 Speaker 1: reporter named E. J. Edwards was on the case. It 534 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:31,000 Speaker 1: turned out that when Dr Hasbrooke had taken the job, 535 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:33,120 Speaker 1: he had done so with the understanding that he was 536 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:35,840 Speaker 1: going to be able to leave the Oneida right after 537 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:38,800 Speaker 1: the surgery and make another appointment where he had promised 538 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:42,240 Speaker 1: to handle anesthesia. But because he was dropped off on 539 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:45,200 Speaker 1: July two instead of July one, which is what he 540 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:48,000 Speaker 1: had initially asked for, he was so late to the 541 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:51,480 Speaker 1: procedure that it was canceled, and to explain his absence, 542 00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:55,040 Speaker 1: he spilled the beans on the President's secret surgery, and 543 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:57,840 Speaker 1: in turn, the man that he told shared that information 544 00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:00,440 Speaker 1: and it made its way to the reporter. At Words. 545 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:04,000 Speaker 1: Edwards carefully checked out this story and it did not 546 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:08,400 Speaker 1: run until August when it appeared in the Philadelphia Press 547 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:11,640 Speaker 1: under the headline quote the President a very sick man. 548 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:15,520 Speaker 1: An operation performed on him on Mr Bennedict's yacht. Part 549 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:19,400 Speaker 1: of the jaw removed. Yeah, he had a lot of 550 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:23,480 Speaker 1: the details right. There were a few things that weren't 551 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:27,560 Speaker 1: quite accurate, and the dentist had only named himself and 552 00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:30,600 Speaker 1: Dr Bryant, so the other doctor's names were at least 553 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:33,040 Speaker 1: left out of it. But in going to press with 554 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:38,360 Speaker 1: this story, Edwards was gambling and ultimately he lost. Although 555 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:41,280 Speaker 1: his story was picked up by the wire and newspapers everywhere, 556 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:44,800 Speaker 1: the President, of course, flatly denied it, and because there 557 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:47,440 Speaker 1: was a lot of competition amongst papers. There were other 558 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:50,720 Speaker 1: outlets perfectly willing to defend the story that the President 559 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:54,080 Speaker 1: was fine and flat out accused E. J. Edwards of 560 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:58,600 Speaker 1: lying and just making this entire thing up. Alexander McClure, 561 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:01,960 Speaker 1: editor of rival paper, The Philadelphia Times, was friends with 562 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:05,800 Speaker 1: Grover Cleveland, and he helped to discredit Edwards to help 563 00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:08,040 Speaker 1: with his version of the story, which was that he 564 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:11,240 Speaker 1: was in perfect health. The president, who had been kind 565 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:14,960 Speaker 1: of reclusive despite the raging war going on over silver 566 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:18,440 Speaker 1: in Washington, d C. Had started making some really obvious 567 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:22,120 Speaker 1: public outings. He would even take Francis, who was due 568 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:24,680 Speaker 1: to deliver a baby at any day, on a train 569 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:28,320 Speaker 1: trip from Buzzard's Bay to Washington. So as the Sherman 570 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:32,560 Speaker 1: Silver Purchase Act was facing repeal, which eventually happened, and 571 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:35,680 Speaker 1: he was making a good recovery and welcoming his second 572 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:39,560 Speaker 1: daughter into the world. Grover Cleveland found that the press 573 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:41,560 Speaker 1: was more willing to give him the benefit of the 574 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:45,400 Speaker 1: doubt than this reporter E J. Edwards, and the controversy 575 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:49,520 Speaker 1: over the story deeply damaged the reporter's reputation, although he 576 00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:53,360 Speaker 1: did continue to work in reporting Grover Cleveland died on 577 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:58,280 Speaker 1: June and the secret keepers regarding the events on the 578 00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:03,480 Speaker 1: Oneida In were also aging and dying. When Dr Bryant 579 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:06,760 Speaker 1: died in nineteen fourteen, that left only three living men 580 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:10,800 Speaker 1: who knew the entire truth. They were John Erdman, Elias Benedict, 581 00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:15,360 Speaker 1: and Dr William Keane. Finally, in nineteen seventeen, with permission 582 00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:19,040 Speaker 1: from Grover Cleveland's widow, who by then had remarried, Keane 583 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:22,000 Speaker 1: published the true account of what happened in the September 584 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:26,320 Speaker 1: twenty two Saturday Evening Post. It was a sensation because 585 00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:29,200 Speaker 1: it cleared up so many mysteries that journalists had just 586 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:32,560 Speaker 1: accepted and moved on from back in eighteen nine, and 587 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:36,080 Speaker 1: also because it vindicated Edwards. Yeah, it was like, oh, 588 00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:40,000 Speaker 1: that does make more sense. We totally accepted that rheumatism thing. 589 00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:42,840 Speaker 1: But he really was gone for like four days when 590 00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:47,320 Speaker 1: nobody knew where he was um. That tomor incidentally, that 591 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:50,400 Speaker 1: was removed from President Cleveland's jaw is now in the 592 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:55,040 Speaker 1: collection of the Motor Museum, which is just a lovely 593 00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:57,840 Speaker 1: piece of this story that makes me smile because I 594 00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:02,920 Speaker 1: don't know, I'm sick. Um, I like a little medical 595 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:07,000 Speaker 1: oddity in a jar. Y Uh, Yeah, it's really fascinating. 596 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:10,880 Speaker 1: There are lots of other, um medical theories about the 597 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:15,520 Speaker 1: nature of this cancer and you know, it's causes and 598 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:18,080 Speaker 1: whatnot that I didn't get into, but those are pretty fascinating. 599 00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:21,840 Speaker 1: And um, there is a really marvelous book which was 600 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:25,000 Speaker 1: one of my sources for this, by a journalist named 601 00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:27,680 Speaker 1: Matthew al I think it's l g O, called The 602 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:30,400 Speaker 1: President Is a Sick Man, came out in and it 603 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:32,800 Speaker 1: tells this whole story and also the backstories of every 604 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:35,360 Speaker 1: person involved and and how it all played out in 605 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:37,200 Speaker 1: a whole lot of details. So if you're interested in 606 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:39,320 Speaker 1: the deeper version of this story, I highly recommend it 607 00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:42,000 Speaker 1: because his writing style is really really lovely. It's a 608 00:33:42,080 --> 00:33:46,800 Speaker 1: quick read but very thorough. I super enjoyed it. But yeah, 609 00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:48,760 Speaker 1: one thing we should point out, which also does come 610 00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:52,320 Speaker 1: up in in Algo's book, is that this is certainly 611 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:54,840 Speaker 1: not the only time, neither the first nor the last, 612 00:33:54,880 --> 00:33:58,280 Speaker 1: that a president hit a sickness, but it is so 613 00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:06,880 Speaker 1: spectacularly weird, um that I just found it completely captivating. Um. 614 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:10,080 Speaker 1: Do you have some listener mail for us? I do, Uh, 615 00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:13,200 Speaker 1: this is from our listeners Selena, and she is writing 616 00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:16,680 Speaker 1: about um our Brief History of the Pieta, which we 617 00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:19,960 Speaker 1: rereleased recently as part of our host Fhaves playlist for 618 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:23,279 Speaker 1: Pandemic Entertainment, and she wrote, I loved hearing the re 619 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:26,399 Speaker 1: airing of this podcast as always your informative as well 620 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:28,640 Speaker 1: as aware of religious background with your subjects, and I 621 00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:31,399 Speaker 1: appreciate it. I wanted to add that the Vatican does 622 00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:34,319 Speaker 1: have a replica of the Pieta that visited Toronto in 623 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:37,160 Speaker 1: two thousand two for World Youth Day. I got to 624 00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:39,839 Speaker 1: see it along with many other Vatican art pieces at 625 00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:42,360 Speaker 1: the Royal Ontario Museum and it was blocked from the 626 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:45,000 Speaker 1: public with only a rope. I had to remind myself 627 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:48,319 Speaker 1: not to touch while seeing now Saint Pope John Paul 628 00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:51,319 Speaker 1: the Second was the highlight of my week. The unexpected, 629 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:54,760 Speaker 1: breathtaking pleasure of seeing this masterpiece close enough to touch 630 00:34:55,040 --> 00:34:57,280 Speaker 1: was a close second. You can actually see the chisel 631 00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:02,000 Speaker 1: marks and Michelangelo's not so subtle signature. It was amazing. Um. Yeah, 632 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:04,160 Speaker 1: I don't know very much about that replica cast, but 633 00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:05,959 Speaker 1: I think that's a cool way to share this piece 634 00:35:05,960 --> 00:35:08,400 Speaker 1: of art in a way that's not quite as dangerous 635 00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:12,160 Speaker 1: as trying to move it again with the original, So 636 00:35:12,239 --> 00:35:16,560 Speaker 1: thank you for that information, Selena. I kind of want 637 00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:19,160 Speaker 1: to look up where that thing is now and if 638 00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:21,600 Speaker 1: it continues to tour, but I have not done so yet. 639 00:35:22,080 --> 00:35:23,480 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can 640 00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:26,120 Speaker 1: do so at History Podcast at iHeart radio dot com. 641 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:28,799 Speaker 1: You can also find us everywhere on social media as 642 00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:31,360 Speaker 1: Missed in History, and we would love it if you 643 00:35:31,360 --> 00:35:33,160 Speaker 1: would subscribe to the show. You can do that on 644 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:35,960 Speaker 1: the I heart Radio app, at Apple podcast or wherever 645 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:43,280 Speaker 1: it is you listen. Stuff you Missed in History Class 646 00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:46,400 Speaker 1: is a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts 647 00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:48,839 Speaker 1: from I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, 648 00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:52,120 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.