WEBVTT - AF GREATEST HITS: Bedfellows Headfellows

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<v Speaker 1>School of Humans. Did you guys know that back in

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<v Speaker 1>the day, boys used to share beds. Oh, but it's true.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, today sometimes the boys don't want to share beds.

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<v Speaker 1>Like I'm going on a trip soon and one of

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<v Speaker 1>my friends was like, I don't want to share the

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<v Speaker 1>bed with this other boy, and I said, fine, you

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<v Speaker 1>guys can have the room with the bunk beds.

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<v Speaker 2>So you know, if he was trying to not touch

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<v Speaker 2>the other boy.

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<v Speaker 1>Unfortunately, technically in the bunk beds, they're still going to

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<v Speaker 1>be on top of each other.

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<v Speaker 2>But actually, back in the.

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<v Speaker 1>Day, it was quite normal to be a man sharing

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<v Speaker 1>your bed with another man, and sometimes not even with

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<v Speaker 1>a man you knew, just like a random guy.

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<v Speaker 2>Like maybe you're going to.

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<v Speaker 1>A hostel, a motel, a hotel, and you're in one

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<v Speaker 1>of the cheaper rooms. You might be sharing your bed

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<v Speaker 1>with another guy, just a rando. Yeah, just like you

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<v Speaker 1>might be sleeping and then another man might be slipping

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<v Speaker 1>into your bed and then he might be slipping into

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<v Speaker 1>something else, if you know.

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<v Speaker 2>What I mean.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, sometimes men would sleep in beds with other men

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<v Speaker 1>just to be practical. But then sometimes they weren't just bedfellows.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh No, sometimes they became headfellows.

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<v Speaker 2>What a good joke.

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<v Speaker 1>As we all know, puns are the most sophisticated type

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<v Speaker 1>of humor. And sure, it's hard to like prove that,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, these men were sleeping together.

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<v Speaker 2>People weren't really.

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<v Speaker 1>Talking about sexuality that much, whether hetero or homo, but

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<v Speaker 1>there is plenty of conjecture and some evidence that some

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<v Speaker 1>notable politicians in fact were headfellows. Again, that's men who

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<v Speaker 1>share beds, who have sex. It's a term I just

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<v Speaker 1>made up, but I am going to submit it to

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<v Speaker 1>the official historical record as a new thing to say.

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<v Speaker 1>And so American Filth we're having our.

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<v Speaker 2>First mini series. That's right.

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<v Speaker 1>We're gonna be looking at several cases of headfellows. And

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<v Speaker 1>first we're gonna start with a pair of spicy, zesty

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<v Speaker 1>letters between two men who would go on to be

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<v Speaker 1>some Southern and Confederate politicians. And these letters, well, they

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<v Speaker 1>prove that some man on man hanky panky was occurring

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<v Speaker 1>during the early nineteenth century.

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<v Speaker 2>You know what to do?

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<v Speaker 1>Cue the theme song. This is American Filth. I'm your host,

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<v Speaker 1>Gabby Watts. Every week I tell you a filthy story

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<v Speaker 1>from American history. Today's episode Bedfellows Headfellows Part one. Let's

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<v Speaker 1>get into the meat of this episode and meet one

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<v Speaker 1>of the worst men in American history, James H. Hammond

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<v Speaker 1>ding ding ding Ding ding ding ding ding Ding introducing

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<v Speaker 1>our first headfellow. Yeah, this guy was a huge piece

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<v Speaker 1>of shit, if not maybe one of the worst. One

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<v Speaker 1>historian called him nothing less than a monster. So here's

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<v Speaker 1>some of the horrendous stuff that he did. Ps huge

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<v Speaker 1>trigger warning.

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<v Speaker 2>For sexual assault.

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<v Speaker 1>Hammond was born in South Carolina in the early nineteenth century,

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<v Speaker 1>and he wasn't born well off, but he managed to

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<v Speaker 1>snag himself a wealthy lady named Catherine Fitzsimmons, and through

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<v Speaker 1>her he was able to enter the planter aristocracy. Catherine

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<v Speaker 1>was a shy seventeen year old whose family was convinced

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<v Speaker 1>that Hammond was just after her money, which he probably was.

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<v Speaker 1>As her new husband, he got all her stuff, a

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<v Speaker 1>ten thousand acre plantation, and he had two hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>twenty enslaved people, and oh boy, did he love slavery.

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<v Speaker 1>He's the one who coined the term cottones king. And

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<v Speaker 1>he was also really into states rights, and by the

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<v Speaker 1>mid eighteen thirties he was making political moves He eventually

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<v Speaker 1>went on to be the governor of South Carolina, a congressman,

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<v Speaker 1>and a senator, And if you guys can believe it,

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<v Speaker 1>he didn't have a great personality among the other planters.

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<v Speaker 2>He had a pretty bad reputation. They thought of him as.

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<v Speaker 1>Aloof and vain, willful, proud, moody, reactive, and he seemed

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<v Speaker 1>to have a pretty heavy streak of sadism. He himself

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<v Speaker 1>would frequently beat the enslaved people on his plantation, and

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<v Speaker 1>then he would sometimes send them into malaria infested swamps. So, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>this guy was absolutely horrendous. But the thing is, his

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<v Speaker 1>bad behavior came to bite him in the back, in

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<v Speaker 1>the leg, in the butt.

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<v Speaker 2>It bit him.

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<v Speaker 1>Somewhere, and his political career was interrupted for fourteen years. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>So what happened is he was eighteen forty six, he

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<v Speaker 1>was already well on his way into.

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<v Speaker 2>His political career.

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<v Speaker 1>He had served as the governor of South Carolina, and

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<v Speaker 1>at this point, one of South Carolina's senators was about

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<v Speaker 1>to step down and Hammond was going to take his place.

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<v Speaker 1>But suddenly Hammond withdrew from the seat because Hammond's brother

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<v Speaker 1>in law said to him, Hey, if you become Senator,

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<v Speaker 1>I am going to expose some revealing information about you.

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<v Speaker 1>At the time, there were rumors of a sexual scandal

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<v Speaker 1>going on at the Hammonds, but there is no documentation

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<v Speaker 1>of what exactly happened. But some sneaky, sneaky historians published

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<v Speaker 1>his diaries in the nineteen eighties and they revealed what

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<v Speaker 1>that incident was.

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<v Speaker 2>That his brother in law was referring to.

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<v Speaker 1>What had happened is that Hammond had repeatedly sexually abused

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<v Speaker 1>his four teenage nieces And oh, do you think he

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<v Speaker 1>was apologetic about it? Absolutely not. Then his diaries, Hammond

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<v Speaker 1>was like, I'm the victim. He's like, oh, goough, Why

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<v Speaker 1>am I being punished like this? All I did was

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<v Speaker 1>quote a little dalliance with the other sex. He also

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<v Speaker 1>just blamed the girls who he abused over two years.

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<v Speaker 1>He was like, oh, it's their fault. They were extremely

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<v Speaker 1>affectionate with me. They were the ones who permitted my

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<v Speaker 1>hands to stray unchecked, and they did not shrink from

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<v Speaker 1>my touch. I fucking hate this guy. And it was

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<v Speaker 1>even worse than that, because Hammond was also a frequent

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<v Speaker 1>sexual abuser to the enslaved women on his plantation.

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<v Speaker 2>He might have even.

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<v Speaker 1>Sexually assaulted a girl who was his own daughter. After

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<v Speaker 1>all of this sexual abuse, his wife left him and

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<v Speaker 1>took their children with her.

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<v Speaker 2>But as history has taught us again and again.

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<v Speaker 1>It is literally impossible to cancel a powerful white man.

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<v Speaker 1>So like thirteen fourteen years years later, his wife had

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<v Speaker 1>already come back to him, and then he won a

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<v Speaker 1>seat in the Senate in eighteen fifty seven. Yay, nothing

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<v Speaker 1>ever changes. So now that we really hate this guy,

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<v Speaker 1>let's get to the Bedfellows stuff. Also, I do think

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<v Speaker 1>this episode is slightly timely because Taylor Swift just put

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<v Speaker 1>out her album where she had a weird line where

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<v Speaker 1>she's like, I would live in the eighteen thirties without

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<v Speaker 1>all the racist or whatever. Well, this episode is mostly

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<v Speaker 1>set in the eighteen twenties with all sorts of racists,

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<v Speaker 1>so I guess Taylor watched out for the eighteen twenties

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<v Speaker 1>as well.

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<v Speaker 2>There were also racists.

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<v Speaker 1>Then, so yeah, it's pretty relevant to the modern day. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>I do kind of consider myself the Taylor Swift of podcasting,

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<v Speaker 1>because sometimes I used too many words to describe a

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<v Speaker 1>simpler point and could have been more thoughtful about what

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<v Speaker 1>I said, but instead decided to do quantity words instead

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<v Speaker 1>of quality words?

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<v Speaker 2>Do you guys see what I'm saying? See I'm doing

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<v Speaker 2>it right now.

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<v Speaker 1>But anyway, let's get back to Hammond and start learning

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<v Speaker 1>about this bedfellow's headfellow's stuff. Before he was married, had

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<v Speaker 1>an established political career, and maybe before he was a

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<v Speaker 1>complete pile of shit, he was a young guy and

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<v Speaker 1>had a pretty interesting relationship with another young aspiring politician

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<v Speaker 1>slash lawyer named Thomas Jefferson Withers or just Jeffrey Withers

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<v Speaker 1>or just jeff. Around the time that Withers and Hammond

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<v Speaker 1>became friends, Withers was studying the law and he freaking

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<v Speaker 1>hated it. He was like the time one spends in

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<v Speaker 1>college's time murdered.

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<v Speaker 2>He's like, why do I have to learn all.

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<v Speaker 1>These stupid dead languages like Latin Ugh dumb? But Withers,

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<v Speaker 1>through his own education and education of himself, because school

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<v Speaker 1>is stupid, he was like, I love States rights, national

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<v Speaker 1>power boo. Like Hammond, Withers was pretty unlikable. Some people

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<v Speaker 1>described him as irritable and moody and reactive. And maybe

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<v Speaker 1>it's their general bad attitudes that drew these two South

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<v Speaker 1>Carolinians together and how they ended up being bedfellows. We

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<v Speaker 1>don't know exactly when they were in the same bed

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<v Speaker 1>when they were doing bedfellowing, but it seems that there

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<v Speaker 1>was an opportunity where they were doing that, and they

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<v Speaker 1>were doing a lot more than sleeping. Yeah, as they

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<v Speaker 1>were two ambitious men who were hustling and grinding, they

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<v Speaker 1>might have also brought that hustle and mostly that grind

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<v Speaker 1>to the bedchamber.

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<v Speaker 2>And how do we know this well.

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<v Speaker 1>Because those sneaky sneaky historians who love the hot goss

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<v Speaker 1>they found a couple letters that Withers wrote to Hammond,

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<v Speaker 1>and damn they are freakin' spicy as hell. And after

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<v Speaker 1>these soothing advertisements, I'm gonna.

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<v Speaker 2>Read those letters to you. Brb.

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<v Speaker 1>Are you guys ready for this spice? Not like from Dune,

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<v Speaker 1>but like from the Gossip? Okay, So this is one

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<v Speaker 1>of the letters. On May fifteenth, eighteen twenty six. It

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<v Speaker 1>was sent from one Jeff Withers, our second bedfellow, ding

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<v Speaker 1>ding Ding, to our first bedfellow, Jim Hammond.

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<v Speaker 2>Jeff and Jim how romantic.

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<v Speaker 1>Pammond at the time would have been like nineteen and

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<v Speaker 1>Withers was about twenty two.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, here's the letter.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to try to get into my best like

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<v Speaker 1>saucy Southern man voice.

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<v Speaker 2>Dear Jim.

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<v Speaker 1>No, I'm not gonna do that, Okay, Dear Jim.

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<v Speaker 2>I got your.

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<v Speaker 1>Letter this morning at about eight o'clock from the hands

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<v Speaker 1>of the bearer. I was sick as the devil when

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<v Speaker 1>the gentlemen entered the room, and have been so during

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<v Speaker 1>most of the day. At about one o'clock I swallowed

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<v Speaker 1>a huge mass of epsom salts, and it will not

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<v Speaker 1>be hard to imagine that I have been at dirty work.

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<v Speaker 1>Since I feel partially relieved enough to write a hasty,

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<v Speaker 1>dull letter. Mmm. So yeah, y'all are probably like, Wow,

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<v Speaker 1>this isn't actually that spicy. I don't need to know

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<v Speaker 1>about what he does when he doesn't feel good. But

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<v Speaker 1>also Ebsen salts still using that shit. Okay, whatever, But

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<v Speaker 1>it's about to get very spicy because he's like, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>gonna write you a dull little letter, but actually he's

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<v Speaker 1>gonna write him a spicy little sex note. I feel

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<v Speaker 1>some inclination to learn whether you yet sleep in your

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<v Speaker 1>shirt tail and whether you yet have the extravagant delight

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<v Speaker 1>of poking and punching a writhing bedfellow with your long

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<v Speaker 1>flesh and pull the exquisite touches of which I have

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<v Speaker 1>often had the honor of feeling. Let me say unto

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<v Speaker 1>THEE that unless thou changest former habits in this particular,

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<v Speaker 1>thou wilt be represented by every future chum as a

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<v Speaker 1>news sense. And I pronounce it with good reason too. Sir,

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<v Speaker 1>you roughen the downy slumbers of your bedfellow by such hostile,

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<v Speaker 1>furious lunges as you are in the habit of making

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<v Speaker 1>at him when he is least prepared for defense against

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<v Speaker 1>the crushing force of.

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<v Speaker 2>A battering ram.

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<v Speaker 1>Without reformation, My imagination depicts some awful results for which

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<v Speaker 1>you will be held accountable, And therefore it is that

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<v Speaker 1>I earnestly recommend it.

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<v Speaker 2>Indeed, it is encouraging.

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<v Speaker 1>An assault and battery propensity which needs correction. An uncorrected

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<v Speaker 1>threatens devastation, horror, and bloodshed.

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<v Speaker 2>Did you guys get what he's saying.

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<v Speaker 1>He's basically being like, oh, my god, your flesh and

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<v Speaker 1>poll it's like a battering ram. And if you keep

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<v Speaker 1>ramming it, baby, awi aUI aUI, there's gonna be devastation

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<v Speaker 1>and bloodshed Daddy.

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<v Speaker 2>Like this is a real thing that they wrote in history.

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<v Speaker 1>Isn't this amazing? And the rest of the letter it's

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<v Speaker 1>not really that interesting, but they just have this very

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<v Speaker 1>vulgar paragraph. But it ends with Jeff Withers saying, with

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<v Speaker 1>great respect, I am the old stud Jeff. No warm regards,

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<v Speaker 1>no best wishes, just I am the old stud Jeff. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>what I'm getting from this letter is that mister Hammond

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<v Speaker 1>was the top to mister Jeff Withers, unless that battering

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<v Speaker 1>ram was a power bottom. Unfortunately, we do not know

0:15:52.245 --> 0:15:56.725
<v Speaker 1>what Hammond said back to Withers, but Withers wrote again

0:15:56.845 --> 0:16:00.525
<v Speaker 1>to Hammond a few months later, on September twenty fourth,

0:16:00.645 --> 0:16:02.045
<v Speaker 1>eighteen twenty six.

0:16:03.485 --> 0:16:05.885
<v Speaker 2>It reads, my.

0:16:05.925 --> 0:16:10.965
<v Speaker 1>Dear friend, your excellent letter of thirteen June arrived a

0:16:11.005 --> 0:16:15.245
<v Speaker 1>few weeks since, and it's up to our imagination to

0:16:15.365 --> 0:16:20.005
<v Speaker 1>imagine how excellent that letter was. But in this one

0:16:20.045 --> 0:16:22.605
<v Speaker 1>that Withers is writing, he gets pretty saucy.

0:16:22.725 --> 0:16:24.525
<v Speaker 2>Yet again, it.

0:16:24.485 --> 0:16:27.565
<v Speaker 1>Seems that Weathers is trying to warn Hammond that Hammond's

0:16:27.645 --> 0:16:32.325
<v Speaker 1>sexual appetite is maybe a little bit too much. I fancy,

0:16:32.445 --> 0:16:37.325
<v Speaker 1>Jim that your elongated protuberance, your flesh and pull your

0:16:38.005 --> 0:16:42.965
<v Speaker 1>two Latin words indecipherable has captured complete mastery over you,

0:16:43.485 --> 0:16:46.205
<v Speaker 1>and I really believe that you are charging over the

0:16:46.285 --> 0:16:51.045
<v Speaker 1>pine barrens of your locality, braying like an ass at

0:16:51.085 --> 0:16:53.365
<v Speaker 1>every she mail you can discover.

0:16:54.965 --> 0:16:57.525
<v Speaker 2>I should lament to hear of you, feeding upon.

0:16:57.405 --> 0:17:00.805
<v Speaker 1>The dross of the pasture and alarming the country with

0:17:00.885 --> 0:17:02.485
<v Speaker 1>your vociferations.

0:17:03.725 --> 0:17:04.245
<v Speaker 2>The day of.

0:17:04.245 --> 0:17:07.405
<v Speaker 1>Miracles may not be pass and the flaming excess of

0:17:07.445 --> 0:17:13.165
<v Speaker 1>your lustful appetite may drag down the vengeance of supernal power.

0:17:14.005 --> 0:17:19.005
<v Speaker 1>And you'll be damned if you don't marry.

0:17:21.245 --> 0:17:23.285
<v Speaker 2>These horny guys Jesus.

0:17:25.725 --> 0:17:29.765
<v Speaker 1>The historian who found these letters is Martin Duberman, and

0:17:29.845 --> 0:17:32.765
<v Speaker 1>apparently the archivists didn't want to give him these letters

0:17:32.805 --> 0:17:36.085
<v Speaker 1>because they didn't want him to see how gay these

0:17:36.125 --> 0:17:39.965
<v Speaker 1>guys were. He wrote a really excellent essay about these

0:17:40.045 --> 0:17:46.645
<v Speaker 1>letters that he called Writhing Bedfellows. What Duberman was trying

0:17:46.685 --> 0:17:52.445
<v Speaker 1>to understand was are these letters representative of the cultural

0:17:52.565 --> 0:17:57.125
<v Speaker 1>context and attitudes around homosexuality at the time, or was

0:17:57.205 --> 0:18:03.205
<v Speaker 1>this just one specific case of homosexuality that occurred. So

0:18:03.405 --> 0:18:06.405
<v Speaker 1>here's the tea. Back when these were written in the

0:18:06.445 --> 0:18:10.965
<v Speaker 1>eighteen twenties, there was a more relaxed attitude towards sex.

0:18:11.685 --> 0:18:14.925
<v Speaker 1>This was before the second grade Awakening, This was before

0:18:15.045 --> 0:18:18.365
<v Speaker 1>there was a lot of evangelical sentiment in the South.

0:18:19.125 --> 0:18:22.405
<v Speaker 1>I mean, it wasn't completely relaxed or anything, but it

0:18:22.525 --> 0:18:27.045
<v Speaker 1>was pretty common that men, especially planters, were having lots

0:18:27.045 --> 0:18:32.125
<v Speaker 1>of sex outside of marriage. Durroim was also like, well,

0:18:32.165 --> 0:18:34.165
<v Speaker 1>if you look at the tone of these letters, it's

0:18:34.285 --> 0:18:39.005
<v Speaker 1>very casual. It's very flirtatious. You know, Withers isn't ashamed

0:18:39.045 --> 0:18:43.525
<v Speaker 1>of his behavior. He's like, murmurmur, your flesh and poll

0:18:43.725 --> 0:18:48.005
<v Speaker 1>or whatever. And so Duberman's guy of suggesting, like, well,

0:18:48.685 --> 0:18:51.725
<v Speaker 1>they're not trying to hide it. So maybe it was

0:18:51.765 --> 0:18:56.485
<v Speaker 1>actually more common than we think that men would have

0:18:56.605 --> 0:19:02.485
<v Speaker 1>homosexual relationships when they shared a bed when they were bedfellows.

0:19:03.605 --> 0:19:07.965
<v Speaker 1>He's like, yeah, maybe homosexuality and that kind of behavior

0:19:08.245 --> 0:19:13.085
<v Speaker 1>was casually tolerated at the time, meaning there might have

0:19:13.165 --> 0:19:20.005
<v Speaker 1>been a lot more headfellow bedfellows out there. But the

0:19:20.085 --> 0:19:23.245
<v Speaker 1>great thing about this is there's no real conclusion because

0:19:23.285 --> 0:19:27.685
<v Speaker 1>there's just not enough evidence out there. But whether or

0:19:27.765 --> 0:19:30.405
<v Speaker 1>not this was a larger trend or whether this was

0:19:30.445 --> 0:19:35.205
<v Speaker 1>an isolated incident Withers and Hammond went on to have

0:19:35.245 --> 0:19:43.285
<v Speaker 1>successful political careers despite their jaunt into homosexuality. Yeah, they

0:19:43.365 --> 0:19:47.325
<v Speaker 1>got to be those eighteen thirties racists that Taylor Swift

0:19:47.405 --> 0:19:51.125
<v Speaker 1>didn't want to have anything to do with. Hammond, as

0:19:51.165 --> 0:19:54.325
<v Speaker 1>we said, was a huge piece of shit. He got

0:19:54.365 --> 0:19:57.045
<v Speaker 1>canceled for like ten years, but then came back because

0:19:57.085 --> 0:20:01.565
<v Speaker 1>again cancelation doesn't work. And his four nieces who he

0:20:01.765 --> 0:20:05.405
<v Speaker 1>sexually abused, they were ruined and they never went on

0:20:05.605 --> 0:20:09.885
<v Speaker 1>to marry. Hammond died shortly before the Civil War, while

0:20:09.925 --> 0:20:13.445
<v Speaker 1>Weathers went on to be part of the Confederate government.

0:20:14.645 --> 0:20:17.605
<v Speaker 1>But don't worry Whethers died shortly after the end of

0:20:17.645 --> 0:20:20.245
<v Speaker 1>the Civil War as a big old loser.

0:20:22.885 --> 0:20:24.045
<v Speaker 2>As always, we learn.

0:20:23.965 --> 0:20:27.325
<v Speaker 1>A lesson from American filth, and I think today's lesson is.

0:20:27.285 --> 0:20:30.565
<v Speaker 2>That you can call your we we a flesh and poll.

0:20:31.765 --> 0:20:34.445
<v Speaker 1>Also, I guess it just reiterates that no one can

0:20:34.445 --> 0:20:36.765
<v Speaker 1>ever be canceled, and we are all alone and there's

0:20:36.765 --> 0:20:41.445
<v Speaker 1>nothing we can do. I know, I know that's not

0:20:41.485 --> 0:20:43.885
<v Speaker 1>a good attitude. I am trying to work on my nihilism,

0:20:43.925 --> 0:20:46.845
<v Speaker 1>I promise. But we are going to have another episode

0:20:46.885 --> 0:20:48.485
<v Speaker 1>about Bedfellows next week.

0:20:48.565 --> 0:20:51.005
<v Speaker 2>And this time it's about none other than.

0:20:51.525 --> 0:20:59.565
<v Speaker 1>Drum roll, drum Roll, Abraham Lincoln. We cue the credits.

0:21:05.925 --> 0:21:08.125
<v Speaker 1>American Field is a production of School of Humans and

0:21:08.165 --> 0:21:12.645
<v Speaker 1>iHeart Podcast. It is produced, hosted, written by me Gabby Watts.

0:21:12.685 --> 0:21:15.645
<v Speaker 1>I also sound designed this episode. Our theme song is

0:21:15.685 --> 0:21:20.085
<v Speaker 1>by me and Jesse Niswanger. Our executive producers are Virginia Prescott,

0:21:20.085 --> 0:21:23.845
<v Speaker 1>Elsie Crowley, and Brandon Barr. Please leave the show a

0:21:23.965 --> 0:21:27.685
<v Speaker 1>review some stars you know, love it, hate it?

0:21:27.765 --> 0:21:29.525
<v Speaker 2>Do whatever help the algorithm.

0:21:29.965 --> 0:21:32.725
<v Speaker 1>Also, you can follow along with the show on Instagram

0:21:32.845 --> 0:21:37.365
<v Speaker 1>at American filth Pod. And just as a special little treat,

0:21:37.525 --> 0:21:39.845
<v Speaker 1>I am going to write a song that's gonna be

0:21:39.885 --> 0:21:42.685
<v Speaker 1>like a parody's Taylor Swift song, but the lyrics are

0:21:42.725 --> 0:21:46.325
<v Speaker 1>going to be the words that we're in Wither's Letter

0:21:46.405 --> 0:21:51.045
<v Speaker 1>to Hammond. Okay, so it's gonna be called Writhing Bedfellow

0:21:51.245 --> 0:21:54.605
<v Speaker 1>or Flesh and Poll or something. But yeah, go to Instagram,

0:21:54.645 --> 0:21:57.165
<v Speaker 1>go see it. Talk at you next time.

0:22:05.965 --> 0:22:06.885
<v Speaker 2>School of Humans