1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 2: I'm Tracy V. 4 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:16,640 Speaker 1: Wilson and I'm Holly Frye. 5 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 3: We've both talked about our short lists of episodes before, 6 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 3: which for both of us are really long, and for 7 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 3: a lot of the topics on mine, I remember what 8 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 3: it was that led me to shortlist them. That's not 9 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 3: the case today, which I think might also be our 10 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:40,839 Speaker 3: accidental theme for the week. George Washington Williams is who 11 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:43,839 Speaker 3: we are talking about, and I think I put him 12 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 3: on the list because he was one of the first people, 13 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 3: if not the first, to publicly describe the atrocities that 14 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:54,560 Speaker 3: were being carried out in the Congo Free State under 15 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 3: King Leopold of Belgium. But once I got into it, 16 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 3: there was so much other stuff that happened in his 17 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 3: life before that that could have been what led me 18 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 3: to put him on the list. Various sources have described 19 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:13,319 Speaker 3: George Washington Williams with terms like restless and complicated and 20 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 3: imperfect but also accomplished. He was one of the best 21 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:21,400 Speaker 3: known black men in the United States. When he died. W. E. B. 22 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 3: Du Bois described him as the greatest historian of the race, 23 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 3: but then he fell into obscurity almost immediately after his death, 24 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 3: and almost everything we know about him is thanks to 25 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 3: another historian, which is the late John Hope Franklin, who 26 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:42,199 Speaker 3: did this in an effort that spanned more than four decades. 27 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 1: George Washington Williams was born in Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania, on 28 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: October sixteenth, eighteen forty nine. His parents were Thomas and 29 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 1: Ellen Rouse Williams, and they were both biracial. He was 30 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: their second child. He had an older sister and three 31 00:01:58,760 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: younger brothers. 32 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 3: When George was still a baby, the family moved to 33 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:07,560 Speaker 3: the riverside town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and Thomas started working 34 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 3: as a boatman. In the mid nineteenth century, boatman in 35 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 3: a lot of areas had a reputation for just vulgarity 36 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,920 Speaker 3: and drunkenness, and that's the kind of crowd that Thomas 37 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 3: fell in with. Ellen eventually left because of this, and 38 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 3: she took the children to Newcastle, Pennsylvania. It seems like 39 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 3: this was really a wake up call for Thomas, and 40 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 3: eventually he stopped drinking, left Johnstown and rejoined his wife, 41 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:34,000 Speaker 3: becoming a barber and a preacher. 42 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: George also seems to have gotten into some kind of 43 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:40,239 Speaker 1: trouble as a kid, although the details are not clear. 44 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:44,080 Speaker 1: He described himself as wicked and wild, and he was 45 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: sent to a quote house of refuge for wayward boys 46 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 1: in his early teens. 47 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:49,920 Speaker 2: This was the kind of. 48 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,679 Speaker 1: Place that would have tried to rehabilitate its residents through 49 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:55,679 Speaker 1: scripture and teaching them a trade, and this was when 50 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: George started to develop an interest in religion. 51 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 3: The US Civil War had started when George was eleven, 52 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 3: and at the age of fourteen, after the US Army 53 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 3: started recruiting black soldiers, he ran away to join. He 54 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 3: was definitely not old enough to enlist, which he knew, 55 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:15,959 Speaker 3: so he went to another town, lied about his age, 56 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:20,240 Speaker 3: and used an uncle's name. It was obvious to the 57 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 3: military surgeon who was doing the physical exams that George 58 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 3: was not old enough to serve, but he begged to 59 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 3: be allowed to, and ultimately he was enlisting under a 60 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 3: false identity, though led to some trouble both for him 61 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 3: and for future historians. Later on, it kept his widow 62 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:41,840 Speaker 3: from being able to collect a pension, and it means 63 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:43,920 Speaker 3: that a lot of the details of this part of 64 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 3: his military service are really impossible to track down at 65 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 3: this point. 66 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: By his account, he was wounded twice in service and 67 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 1: was at the fall of Petersburg on April second, eighteen 68 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: sixty five. After the war ended, his unit was sent 69 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 1: to Texas to serve the remainder of their enlistments. He 70 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 1: may have been mustered out, but it's also possible that 71 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 1: he deserted, and after this he crossed the border to 72 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: join Mexican troops fighting against Habsburg Emperor Maximilian the First. 73 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:17,160 Speaker 1: In eighteen sixty seven, Williams returned to Pennsylvania and on 74 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:19,760 Speaker 1: August twenty ninth of that year, he joined the tenth 75 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:24,360 Speaker 1: Cavalry that was one of the segregated military units, also known. 76 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 3: As the Buffalo Soldiers. The legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers 77 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,279 Speaker 3: is complicated. Initially, these soldiers were under the command of 78 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 3: white officers, and they faced ongoing racism during their service. 79 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 3: One of the reasons the Buffalo Soldiers were stationed in 80 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 3: more remote areas of what's now Texas, Colorado, and New 81 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 3: Mexico is that white soldiers would not accept their presence 82 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 3: in other parts of the country. These men were also 83 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 3: fighting for a government that generally didn't view them as 84 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 3: equal to white people, but for a lot of them 85 00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 3: this was an opportunity for self sufficiency. In the e 86 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 3: writes in a chance to serve with valor. This was 87 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 3: particularly notable since a lot of them had previously been enslaved. 88 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 3: Added to that, the service of the Buffalo soldiers in 89 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 3: the nineteenth century is deeply intertwined with the United States 90 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 3: wars against indigenous nations. The nineteenth century book Men of 91 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 3: Mark Eminent, Progressive and Rising, which is a collection of 92 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 3: biographical sketches of black men by the Reverend William J. Simmons, 93 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:32,479 Speaker 3: describes Williams as quote serving in the Comanche campaign of 94 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:37,920 Speaker 3: eighteen sixty seven with conspicuous bravery. That same account describes 95 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,160 Speaker 3: him as later being convinced that quote as a Christian, 96 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 3: killing people in the time of peace was not the 97 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 3: noblest life a man could live. On May nineteenth, eighteen 98 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:53,960 Speaker 3: sixty eight, Williams was shot, and this gunshot badly damaged 99 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 3: the lower lobe of his left lung. There is some 100 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 3: mystery about this injury. According to military records, this did 101 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 3: not happen in the line of duty, but an investigation 102 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 3: into the matter doesn't seem to have led to any 103 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:12,880 Speaker 3: kind of discipline for anybody. As a side note, one 104 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 3: of the investigators into this was Richard Henry Pratt, who 105 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:19,760 Speaker 3: at the time was a first Lieutenant. He would later 106 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:23,880 Speaker 3: be the founder and superintendent of Carlisle Indian Industrial School. 107 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:28,040 Speaker 3: William's injury was disabling and he was in the hospital 108 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 3: for the rest of his service. He was discharged from 109 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,120 Speaker 3: the army on September fourth, eighteen sixty eight, at the 110 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:38,240 Speaker 3: age of eighteen. From there, Williams moved to Saint Louis, Missouri, 111 00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:42,000 Speaker 3: and started attending a Baptist church. Soon after, he got 112 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:46,560 Speaker 3: a license to preach. Then he heard about Howard University, 113 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:50,640 Speaker 3: which had been established the previous year, and decided to apply, 114 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 3: which he did not by following any typical application process, 115 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:59,320 Speaker 3: but by writing directly to its founder and namesake, General 116 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:02,919 Speaker 3: Oliver Oates Howard. He sent this letter on March eighth, 117 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:06,160 Speaker 3: eighteen sixty nine, and the letter did make its way 118 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:09,359 Speaker 3: to the appropriate people for admissions, with a note that 119 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 3: said answer favorably if qualified. Although Williams was apparently admitted 120 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 3: to Howard, his qualifications were questionable. He had almost no 121 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:22,680 Speaker 3: formal education at this point. He knew how to read 122 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 3: and write, but not very well. This letter is full 123 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:29,680 Speaker 3: of misspellings and unusual usage that go way beyond the 124 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:34,360 Speaker 3: typical nineteenth century idiosyncrasies. There's also no record of him 125 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 3: actually attending Howard during the eighteen sixty nine to eighteen 126 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 3: seventy academic year, and on September ninth, eighteen seventy, he 127 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:46,160 Speaker 3: was examined by the faculty for admission at a different institution, 128 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:51,720 Speaker 3: the Newton Theological Seminary in Newton, Massachusetts. At the Seminary, 129 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:56,160 Speaker 3: Williams was enrolled in a two year general course in English, 130 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:00,720 Speaker 3: which biographer John Hope Franklin describes as a uemism for 131 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 3: the remedial course. The seminary had established this program because 132 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:08,240 Speaker 3: there was a shortage of ministers, but there was also 133 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 3: a shortage of candidates who were academically ready to be enrolled. 134 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 3: After finishing the general English course, Williams moved on to 135 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:19,600 Speaker 3: the three year theological program, which he finished in two 136 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:22,720 Speaker 3: years and at the top of his class. He was 137 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:25,120 Speaker 3: also one of the people who delivered an address at 138 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:29,720 Speaker 3: commencement on June tenth, eighteen seventy four. This sounds like 139 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:33,679 Speaker 3: a very long commencement ceremony. There were twelve addresses from 140 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 3: the graduates. I don't know that I could sit through 141 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 3: twelve addresses. Williams's address was on early Christian missions in Africa. 142 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:44,720 Speaker 3: June of eighteen seventy four was a very busy month 143 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:48,959 Speaker 3: for George Washington Williams. About a week before his graduation, 144 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 3: he had gone to Chicago to marry Sarah A. 145 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:52,680 Speaker 2: Sterrett. 146 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 3: They would go on to have one child together in 147 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 3: eighteen seventy five, who was also named George. The day 148 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:04,319 Speaker 3: after graduate, he was ordained at Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts, 149 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:06,960 Speaker 3: which was one of the most influential Black churches in 150 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:11,680 Speaker 3: the Northeast. Williams had started working there as acting pastor 151 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:15,079 Speaker 3: in August of eighteen seventy three because the previous pastor, 152 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:19,319 Speaker 3: Leonard Grimes, had died. His position was made permanent on 153 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 3: June twenty fourth. Some of Williams's earliest work as a 154 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:26,640 Speaker 3: historian started while he was pastor at Twelfth Baptist Church. 155 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:31,960 Speaker 3: The congregation had outgrown its building and services were seriously overcrowded, 156 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:35,439 Speaker 3: so he researched and wrote a history of the church. 157 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 3: With proceeds from the sale of the book going to 158 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 3: raise money for improvements on the building. George Washington Williams 159 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:45,320 Speaker 3: did not remain pastor there for very long, though, and 160 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,080 Speaker 3: we will talk about his next career move. After a 161 00:09:48,120 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 3: sponsor break. While working as pastor twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts, 162 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 3: George Washington Williams started to see the need for a 163 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:10,560 Speaker 3: national newspaper for black readers, as he wrote in a 164 00:10:10,679 --> 00:10:14,240 Speaker 3: letter to poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, quote, the time has 165 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 3: come when the Negro must do something. He went on 166 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 3: to describe the United States as in a plastic time 167 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:26,080 Speaker 3: in which black Americans would be making history. A national 168 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 3: journal headquartered in Washington could act as their teacher, their friend, 169 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:35,080 Speaker 3: and their mirror, educating them about social problems, forming the 170 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:39,760 Speaker 3: foundations of enlightened citizenship, and reflecting the virtue, genius, and 171 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:44,360 Speaker 3: industry of the people. Longfellow supported this effort, as did 172 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:47,160 Speaker 3: people like Frederick Douglas and William Lloyd Garrison. 173 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: Garrison also cautioned Williams about the financial risks of trying 174 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:55,199 Speaker 1: to start a newspaper. A lot of periodicals for black 175 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:58,840 Speaker 1: readers had already been established, but had run only a 176 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,880 Speaker 1: few issues because they ran out of money. Hoping to 177 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:05,199 Speaker 1: reach a national audience was an even more ambitious goal, 178 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:09,800 Speaker 1: and Garrison's concerns were well founded. The newspaper, called The 179 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:14,000 Speaker 1: Commoner ultimately ran for only eight issues from September fourth 180 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:18,480 Speaker 1: to December eighteenth, eighteen seventy five. Williams had gotten a 181 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:21,720 Speaker 1: lot of high profile support, but he had not gotten 182 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:23,560 Speaker 1: a lot of actual subscribers. 183 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:26,840 Speaker 3: Williams then worked for the Post Office for a bit 184 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 3: before being called to preach at Union Baptist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, 185 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:35,240 Speaker 3: starting there in February of eighteen seventy six. An article 186 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:38,720 Speaker 3: about him that ran in the Cincinnati Daily Express several 187 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:43,280 Speaker 3: months later overstated his background in a number of ways, 188 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 3: including saying that he had graduated from Harvard rather than 189 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:52,040 Speaker 3: saying that he had been enrolled at Howard. It is 190 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:56,240 Speaker 3: not really clear where this information came from or whether 191 00:11:56,360 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 3: these were simply errors, but Williams really does not seemed 192 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:04,440 Speaker 3: to have tried to correct them. Then he started studying 193 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:08,920 Speaker 3: law with Judge Alfonso Taft, former US Attorney General, and 194 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 3: he was called to the bar in Ohio in eighteen 195 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 3: seventy seven. He also became involved in politics, through the 196 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:19,239 Speaker 3: Taft family, joining the Republican Party and making an unsuccessful 197 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 3: run for a seat in the Ohio General Assembly. By 198 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 3: November of eighteen seventy eight, Williams was writing a regular 199 00:12:26,679 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 3: column for the Cincinnati Commercial Appeal under the pen name Aristites, 200 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:33,600 Speaker 3: making him the first black person known to have had 201 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:37,280 Speaker 3: a column in a white newspaper. He did an assortment 202 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 3: of other jobs. He took on various other projects, including 203 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:43,840 Speaker 3: buying a gym and hiring a manager and a pe 204 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:48,280 Speaker 3: instructor for a Columbus Ohio YMCA to benefit the black 205 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:51,880 Speaker 3: community there. There so much has already happened, and we're 206 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:53,360 Speaker 3: not even halfway through. 207 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:56,640 Speaker 1: He was a busy man. Williams ran for office again 208 00:12:56,760 --> 00:12:59,640 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy nine, this time winning a seat in 209 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 1: the Ohio Io House of Representatives, making him the first 210 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:07,040 Speaker 1: black member of the Ohio state Legislature. He only served 211 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:10,120 Speaker 1: for one term. At one point he campaigned for a 212 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:13,360 Speaker 1: bill that would have closed a cemetery in a black neighborhood, 213 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:17,320 Speaker 1: and that led to outrage from the community. In eighteen 214 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:20,320 Speaker 1: eighty one, he was appointed as Judge Advocate in the 215 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:24,200 Speaker 1: Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization for veterans 216 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:26,800 Speaker 1: of the US military who served in the Civil War 217 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:31,040 Speaker 1: with the rank of colonel. Andy also had his interest 218 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:35,200 Speaker 1: pulled in another direction. He wanted to write a history 219 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,920 Speaker 1: of black people in the United States. At this point, 220 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:42,000 Speaker 1: the field of history was shifting in the United States 221 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,760 Speaker 1: and Europe, moving from general histories that usually had very 222 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:50,600 Speaker 1: broad themes, often written to be patriotic or celebratory, to 223 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:54,920 Speaker 1: more detailed work that was grounded in the careful examination 224 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 1: of primary sources, not in repeating what other historians had 225 00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:04,680 Speaker 1: our already said. Nineteenth century German historian Leopold von Ranke, 226 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:09,000 Speaker 1: viewed as one of the founders of modern source based history, 227 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,960 Speaker 1: described this evolution this way quote, I see the time 228 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 1: approaching when we shall base modern history no longer on 229 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:21,200 Speaker 1: the reports even of contemporary historians, except insofar as they 230 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:25,080 Speaker 1: were in the possession of personal and immediate knowledge of facts, 231 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:29,360 Speaker 1: and still less on work yet more remote from the source, 232 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:34,359 Speaker 1: but rather on the narratives of eyewitnesses and on genuine 233 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:39,400 Speaker 1: and original documents. Colleges and universities in the United States 234 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:42,320 Speaker 1: were just starting to adopt this kind of focus when 235 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:45,840 Speaker 1: Williams started to work on this book, So Most historians 236 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:48,360 Speaker 1: in the US were not formally trained in these kinds 237 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 1: of methods, but Williams was teaching himself to do it 238 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:55,520 Speaker 1: without any formal training in history at all. He not 239 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:59,680 Speaker 1: only taught himself to look for, collect and document primary sources, 240 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:02,360 Speaker 1: but he also made use of sources that were way 241 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:07,000 Speaker 1: ahead of his time. This included newspaper reports, church records, 242 00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:11,000 Speaker 1: and oral histories, which many other historians weren't really incorporating 243 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:12,000 Speaker 1: until much later. 244 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:16,920 Speaker 3: William's use of primary sources was not just happenstance. He 245 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,480 Speaker 3: understood that because of his race, his work would face 246 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:23,960 Speaker 3: closer scrutiny than that of a white historian, so it 247 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 3: had to be meticulously documented and substantiated. Beyond that, most 248 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:32,280 Speaker 3: information about black people in the United States was being 249 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:35,360 Speaker 3: kept by other black people, which is why he was 250 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 3: turning to things like newspapers and church records and oral histories. 251 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 3: He traveled all over the United States to do this work, 252 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,600 Speaker 3: and it became his almost exclusive focus. 253 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 1: George Washington Williams's History of the Negro Race in America 254 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:56,239 Speaker 1: from sixteen nineteen to eighteen eighty Negroes as slaves, as soldiers, 255 00:15:56,240 --> 00:16:00,040 Speaker 1: and as citizens, together with a Preliminary Consideration of the 256 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,960 Speaker 1: Unity of the Human Family and Historical Sketch of Africa, 257 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:07,280 Speaker 1: and an Account of the Negro Government of Sierra Leone 258 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:12,160 Speaker 1: and Liberia. All one title was first published over two volumes, 259 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:16,520 Speaker 1: totally roughly one thousand pages, in eighteen eighty two. This 260 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,560 Speaker 1: was not the first ever work about black history to 261 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:22,320 Speaker 1: be published in the US, but it was the first 262 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:25,440 Speaker 1: that was intended to be comprehensive and to encompass the 263 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 1: nation's entire history. 264 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:31,480 Speaker 3: For the most part, Williamson's work was well reviewed, although 265 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:35,240 Speaker 3: it did face some criticisms. Its first chapter was not 266 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:39,080 Speaker 3: actually rooted in US history, but in theology. It was 267 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 3: building a counter argument to the use of scripture to 268 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 3: dehumanize black people and defend the institution of slavery. Since 269 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:51,040 Speaker 3: Williams's formal education was in seminary, parts of the book, 270 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:54,520 Speaker 3: especially this chapter, were written in a style that was 271 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:58,240 Speaker 3: more dramatic and oratorial than was really expected from a 272 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:02,800 Speaker 3: historical work. He could also be really critical when it 273 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:06,680 Speaker 3: came to correcting errors that had appeared in other people's work, 274 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:11,720 Speaker 3: including other black historians work. It wasn't enough to sort 275 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:14,600 Speaker 3: of say sources said this happened in this year, but 276 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:16,680 Speaker 3: it really happened in this year. Like then there would 277 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:21,080 Speaker 3: need to be commentary about the quality of the intellect 278 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 3: of the person who made that mistake. 279 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 2: Yeah. 280 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:26,720 Speaker 1: But even though there were people who found fault with 281 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:30,520 Speaker 1: Williams's style or tone, this was still a scholarship by 282 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: a black person that white journalists and scholars found worthy 283 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:37,320 Speaker 1: of this kind of analysis and criticism, rather than just 284 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:40,520 Speaker 1: dismissing or ignoring it, And that was notable on its own. 285 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,960 Speaker 1: After this book was published, Williams hired a booking agent 286 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:48,640 Speaker 1: and started lecturing widely. In eighteen eighty three, he moved 287 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:52,440 Speaker 1: to Boston and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar. There 288 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:55,160 Speaker 1: seems to have been some fudging of his credentials here. 289 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:57,520 Speaker 1: He said he had passed the bar in Ohio in 290 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:00,240 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy nine, when really it had been late later 291 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:04,280 Speaker 1: than that and had required more than one attempt. By 292 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:07,720 Speaker 1: this point, he had been estranged from his wife, Sarah. 293 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:10,879 Speaker 1: By eighteen eighty four, they were no longer living together. 294 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:13,880 Speaker 1: She claimed that he was negligent as both a father 295 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:16,439 Speaker 1: and a spouse, and it does seem like he had 296 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:19,200 Speaker 1: been focused on research for his book to the exclusion 297 00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:23,840 Speaker 1: of everything else. There's no documentation of a legal separation 298 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:27,119 Speaker 1: or divorce, and later on she was considered his legal 299 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:29,919 Speaker 1: next of kin, but they really were not living as 300 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:34,199 Speaker 1: a couple. That summer, Williams went to Europe with a 301 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:39,520 Speaker 1: letter of introduction from the State Department. He traveled to Switzerland, Germany, France. 302 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:39,800 Speaker 2: And the UK. 303 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:44,440 Speaker 3: Word later reached the State Department that he had borrowed 304 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:48,679 Speaker 3: money from various people on this trip, including government officials, 305 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,359 Speaker 3: and had not repaid it somehow, though this did not 306 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:56,399 Speaker 3: stop President Chester A. Arthur from appointing Williams to be 307 00:18:56,520 --> 00:19:00,280 Speaker 3: Minister to Haiti on March second, eighteen eighty five, and 308 00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:02,199 Speaker 3: it did not get in the way of the Senate 309 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 3: confirming that appointment. Williams never assumed his post, though he 310 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:09,600 Speaker 3: was sworn in at about ten in the morning on 311 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:14,119 Speaker 3: March fourth, and inauguration ceremonies for President Grover Cleveland started 312 00:19:14,119 --> 00:19:18,080 Speaker 3: about one thirty that afternoon. The Secretary of State had 313 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 3: not issued William's credentials by the time Thomas Francis Bayard 314 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:25,760 Speaker 3: was appointed to that role on March sixth. Then Cleveland 315 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,480 Speaker 3: made his own appointment for Minister to Haiti. That was 316 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:31,960 Speaker 3: John Edward Wes Thompson, and he began his service on 317 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:37,240 Speaker 3: June thirtieth, so much about this is weird. Williams was 318 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:42,200 Speaker 3: appointed to replace John Mercer Langston, who had resigned. Langston 319 00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:45,760 Speaker 3: had served under a series of Republican presidents, and newly 320 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:50,080 Speaker 3: elected Grover Cleveland was a Democrat, so Langston's resignation was 321 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:56,119 Speaker 3: basically expected in light of this changing presidential administration. Arthur 322 00:19:56,280 --> 00:20:00,240 Speaker 3: was not expected to appoint somebody to replace this, you know, 323 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:05,119 Speaker 3: former minister just two days before the inauguration. It's also 324 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,720 Speaker 3: not clear why the State Department didn't raise any objections, 325 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:12,639 Speaker 3: considering that Williams had borrowed money on the strength of 326 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:16,680 Speaker 3: their letter of introduction. Plus, Williams had a lot of critics, 327 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:20,720 Speaker 3: including among other black people. There were several black newspapers 328 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:25,560 Speaker 3: that published editorials describing him as arrogant and unqualified for 329 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:28,960 Speaker 3: this role, and having abandoned a wife and a child 330 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:33,479 Speaker 3: and at least one church congregation. Williams doesn't seem to 331 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:36,359 Speaker 3: have known he was being considered for this appointment until 332 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:39,760 Speaker 3: it happened, but having it taken away like this was 333 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:44,399 Speaker 3: also deeply upsetting. In addition to any political aspirations, he 334 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:48,040 Speaker 3: may have had. He was dealing with ongoing respiratory issues, 335 00:20:48,119 --> 00:20:51,119 Speaker 3: possibly connected to being shot through the lung, and he 336 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:54,399 Speaker 3: was hoping that Haiti's warm climate would help his health. 337 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 3: He filed suit against the government to try to get 338 00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,880 Speaker 3: the appointment restored and to collect his pay for it. 339 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:04,000 Speaker 3: He finally lost that suit on January third, eighteen eighty two. 340 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:07,520 Speaker 3: In the midst of all this, on May seventeenth, eighteen 341 00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:10,880 Speaker 3: eighty seven, he was awarded an honorary law degree by 342 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:14,960 Speaker 3: the State University of Louisville, Kentucky. He also published another 343 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:18,159 Speaker 3: work of history that year. That was a history of 344 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:20,800 Speaker 3: the Negro troops in the War of the Rebellion eighteen 345 00:21:20,840 --> 00:21:24,399 Speaker 3: sixty one to eighteen sixty five. He had used the 346 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:27,239 Speaker 3: same methodology for this work as he had for his 347 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:32,080 Speaker 3: earlier work on black history. After this book was published, W. E. B. 348 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:35,440 Speaker 3: Du Bois, who was nineteen years old, wrote about him 349 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:38,439 Speaker 3: in the Fifth Herald, saying quote, at last we have 350 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:42,880 Speaker 3: a historian, not merely a Negro historian, but a man who, 351 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:46,720 Speaker 3: judged by his merits alone, has written a splendid narrative. 352 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:51,080 Speaker 3: In eighteen eighty eight, Williams also became a published novelist 353 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:54,439 Speaker 3: with The Autocracy of Love coming out serially in a 354 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:57,879 Speaker 3: newspaper called The World. I think this might have actually 355 00:21:57,960 --> 00:21:59,840 Speaker 3: stopped before he got to the end of the story, 356 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:04,280 Speaker 3: but a significant amount did come out. Around this time, 357 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:07,800 Speaker 3: Williams also started focusing his attention on Africa, which we 358 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:19,960 Speaker 3: will get to after a sponsor break. Before we talk 359 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,359 Speaker 3: about George Washington Williams work involving the Congo Free State, 360 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:27,600 Speaker 3: we need to lay out some context. Over the course 361 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:32,320 Speaker 3: of the nineteenth century, multiple European powers aggressively took control 362 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:35,320 Speaker 3: of territory in Africa and in other parts of the 363 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:39,160 Speaker 3: world too, but Africa is our focus here. This came 364 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:42,720 Speaker 3: to be known as the Scramble for Africa. In eighteen 365 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:46,520 Speaker 3: eighty five, nations assembled at the West African Conference, also 366 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:50,919 Speaker 3: known as the Congo Conference, to formalize these claims and 367 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:54,639 Speaker 3: to agree on borders for some of this territory. This 368 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:57,880 Speaker 3: conference took place in Berlin over a series of sessions 369 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 3: from November of eighteen eighty four to February eighteen eighty five. Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, 370 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:12,880 Speaker 3: the Netherlands, the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Norway, 371 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:17,639 Speaker 3: and the United States participated. There were no delegations to 372 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:21,320 Speaker 3: represent the peoples and nations and kingdoms of Africa at 373 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:25,679 Speaker 3: this conference. And at this conference, King Leopold the Second 374 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:28,159 Speaker 3: was recognized as sovereign. 375 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:31,399 Speaker 1: Of the Congo Free State. This made the Congo Free 376 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:36,959 Speaker 1: State his personal territory, not a Belgian colony. Leopold had 377 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:41,800 Speaker 1: established the Association Internacionale du Congo in eighteen seventy eight, 378 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:45,600 Speaker 1: following Henry Morton Stanley's expedition through the region. About two 379 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:49,760 Speaker 1: years prior. Stanley had returned to the region and convinced 380 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:53,359 Speaker 1: more than four hundred African chiefs to give the Association 381 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:58,879 Speaker 1: and gen Nacionale Ducongo sovereignty over their territory, sovereignty that 382 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:02,680 Speaker 1: then passed to Leepold. The United States was the first 383 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,439 Speaker 1: nation to recognize Leopold's claim to the Congo, something that 384 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:11,639 Speaker 1: George Washington Williams had encouraged. If you know anything about 385 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:15,960 Speaker 1: the truly horrific conditions in the Congo Free State under 386 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:21,560 Speaker 1: King Leopold the second, Williams's encouragement of this recognition probably 387 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:26,399 Speaker 1: sounds shocking, but Leopold had framed himself as a philanthropist, 388 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,320 Speaker 1: somebody who was working for the best interest of the 389 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:32,320 Speaker 1: people of the Congo. He talked about all the good 390 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:35,479 Speaker 1: that a railroad and free trade would bring to the region, 391 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:38,959 Speaker 1: and he claimed that his involvement would help end slavery 392 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:44,040 Speaker 1: within Africa. Williams was also a devout Christian and he 393 00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:49,880 Speaker 1: believed in the idea of Christianizing and quote civilizing Africa. 394 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,280 Speaker 1: To be clear, Christian religious practices in this region go 395 00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:56,439 Speaker 1: back at least to the fifteenth century, so well before this, 396 00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:01,760 Speaker 1: but this would be a massive expansion of Christian missionary efforts. 397 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:06,280 Speaker 1: So when Leopold was talking about things like schools and 398 00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:13,240 Speaker 1: hospitals and missions, Williams believed him. Williams even interviewed Leopold 399 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:16,879 Speaker 1: directly and advocated for a program that would bring black 400 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 1: Americans to the Congo to teach and work. When Williams 401 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:24,199 Speaker 1: started talking to Leopold about visiting the Congo so that 402 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:27,800 Speaker 1: he could see the king's success in person, Leopold, of 403 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:31,520 Speaker 1: course did not want him to go, and Leopold eventually 404 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:36,280 Speaker 1: told him explicitly not to go. So William's arranged transport 405 00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:39,400 Speaker 1: on his own, accepting a commission from S. S. McClure 406 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:43,360 Speaker 1: on behalf of the Associated Literary Press. He had been 407 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:46,400 Speaker 1: traveling back and forth between Europe and the United States, 408 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:49,520 Speaker 1: including a research trip to Europe and attendance at the 409 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:53,480 Speaker 1: Centenary Conference of Protestant Missions in eighteen eighty eight and 410 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:56,760 Speaker 1: the Anti Slavery Conference in Brussels in eighteen eighty nine. 411 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:00,720 Speaker 1: He departed for the Congo Free State from liver on 412 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:02,920 Speaker 1: January thirtieth, eighteen ninety. 413 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:09,200 Speaker 3: On July eighteenth, eighteen ninety, in Stanley Falls, Williams wrote 414 00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:12,800 Speaker 3: an open letter to his Serene Majesty Leopold, the second 415 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,080 Speaker 3: King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State 416 00:26:16,119 --> 00:26:20,639 Speaker 3: of Congo, by Colonel the Honorable George W. Williams of 417 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:24,359 Speaker 3: the United States of America. This letter was based on 418 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:28,520 Speaker 3: his observations and investigations. 419 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:29,199 Speaker 2: Over the prior few weeks. 420 00:26:30,119 --> 00:26:32,879 Speaker 3: This was both an open letter and a work of 421 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:36,280 Speaker 3: investigative journalism, and it was the first published work to 422 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:39,199 Speaker 3: really call attention to what was happening in the Congo 423 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:39,800 Speaker 3: Free State. 424 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:43,600 Speaker 1: This letter began quote, good and great friend, I have 425 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:47,880 Speaker 1: the honor to submit for your Majesty's consideration, some reflections 426 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:51,840 Speaker 1: respecting the independent State of Congo, based upon a careful 427 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:54,960 Speaker 1: study and inspection of the country and character of the 428 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:59,359 Speaker 1: personal government you have established upon the African continent. It 429 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:02,680 Speaker 1: afforded me great pleasure to avail myself of the opportunity 430 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:05,960 Speaker 1: afforded me last year of visiting your state in Africa, 431 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:11,400 Speaker 1: and how thoroughly I have been disenchanted, disappointed, and disheartened. 432 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:14,240 Speaker 1: It is now my painful duty to make known to 433 00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:20,119 Speaker 1: Your Majesty in plain but respectful language. Williams described Henry 434 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:24,479 Speaker 1: Morton Stanley's use of deception and very stage crafty slide 435 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:28,440 Speaker 1: of hand tricks quote too silly and disgusting to mention 436 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:33,479 Speaker 1: to deceive indigenous chiefs into signing away their land. He 437 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:36,879 Speaker 1: also said he had found no hospitals for Europeans and 438 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:41,080 Speaker 1: only three shacks for treating sick Africans. There were no 439 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:44,679 Speaker 1: Belgian chaplains to console the sick or bury the dead, 440 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,560 Speaker 1: and Europeans who died along the road were going unburied. 441 00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:51,600 Speaker 1: He went on to write, quote, I was anxious to 442 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:55,440 Speaker 1: see what extent the natives had adopted the fostering care 443 00:27:55,600 --> 00:28:00,320 Speaker 1: of Your Majesty's benevolent enterprise question mark. And I was 444 00:28:00,359 --> 00:28:03,840 Speaker 1: doomed to bitter disappointment. Instead of the natives of the 445 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:07,600 Speaker 1: Congo adopting the fostering care of your Majesty's government, they 446 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:11,040 Speaker 1: everywhere complained that their land has been taken from them 447 00:28:11,119 --> 00:28:15,040 Speaker 1: by force, that the government is cruel and arbitrary, and 448 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:18,000 Speaker 1: declared that they neither love nor respect the government and 449 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:23,280 Speaker 1: its flag. Your Majesty's government has sequestered their land, burned 450 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:27,760 Speaker 1: their towns, stolen their property, enslaved their women and children, 451 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:31,720 Speaker 1: and committed other crimes too numerous to mention in detail. 452 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:36,480 Speaker 1: It is natural that they everywhere shrink from the fostering 453 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:42,560 Speaker 1: care your Majesty's government so eagerly proffers them. After describing 454 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:47,640 Speaker 1: ongoing corruption, negligence, and death, he lay out a series 455 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:51,240 Speaker 1: of charges. To briefly summarize most of them. They were 456 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:55,200 Speaker 1: that Leopold's government did not have the moral or financial 457 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:59,080 Speaker 1: strength to govern the territory that the government had established 458 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:04,240 Speaker 1: nearly fifty staffed by mercenary slave soldiers under the command 459 00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:08,840 Speaker 1: of soldiers from Zanzibar who were expected to sustain themselves, 460 00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:13,720 Speaker 1: and nearby garrisons of white soldiers through raiding and piracy. 461 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:18,880 Speaker 1: That the government had violated its contracts with soldiers, mechanics, 462 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:24,000 Speaker 1: and workers. That its courts were quote abortive, unjust, partial, 463 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:27,960 Speaker 1: and delinquent, and the government was cruel to prisoners. That 464 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:32,040 Speaker 1: women were being brought into the colony for immoral purposes, 465 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:37,240 Speaker 1: including by falsely accusing native women of crimes and sentencing 466 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:40,920 Speaker 1: them to seven years of servitude. That the Congo Free 467 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:45,000 Speaker 1: State was taxing other nations trading companies while exempting its 468 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,640 Speaker 1: own goods from export duties. And that the government was 469 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:53,400 Speaker 1: waging unjust and cruel wars against the natives and was 470 00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:56,960 Speaker 1: engaged in the slave trade. He had this to say 471 00:29:57,040 --> 00:29:59,960 Speaker 1: about Henry Morton Stanley, who got a brief mention in 472 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,560 Speaker 1: in our recent episodes on Natalie Clifford Barney, that, in 473 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:08,400 Speaker 1: addition to his grossly misrepresenting the character of the country, quote, 474 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:12,560 Speaker 1: Henry M. Stanley's name produces a shudder among this simple 475 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:18,320 Speaker 1: folk when mentioned. They remember his broken promises, his copious profanity, 476 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:22,960 Speaker 1: his hot temper, his heavy blows, his severe and rigorous 477 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:26,560 Speaker 1: measures by which they were mulkeded of their lands. His 478 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:30,720 Speaker 1: last appearance in the Congo produced a profound sensation among them, 479 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:34,880 Speaker 1: when he led five hundred Zanzibar soldiers with three hundred 480 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:38,960 Speaker 1: camp followers on his way to relieve a mean pasha. 481 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:42,880 Speaker 1: They thought it meant complete subjugation, and they fled in confusion. 482 00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:45,320 Speaker 1: But the only thing they found in the wake of 483 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:49,960 Speaker 1: his march was misery. No white man commanded his rear column, 484 00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:53,480 Speaker 1: and his troops were allowed to straggle, sicken, and die, 485 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:56,400 Speaker 1: and their bones were scattered over more than two hundred 486 00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:59,720 Speaker 1: miles of territory. We have a two parter on a 487 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:04,400 Speaker 1: Means that came out in September of twenty seventeen. Williams 488 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:07,800 Speaker 1: ended with a series of appeals to the powers that 489 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:11,560 Speaker 1: had entrusted Leopold with this territory at the Berlin Conference, 490 00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:14,360 Speaker 1: to the terms of the General Act of the Conference 491 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,960 Speaker 1: of Berlin, to the Belgian people and government, to the 492 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:22,480 Speaker 1: world's anti slavery societies, and to God, to quote hasten 493 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:27,240 Speaker 1: the close of the tragedy, your Majesty's unlimited monarchy is 494 00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:31,480 Speaker 1: enacting in the Congo. Williams also attached a report on 495 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:34,560 Speaker 1: the proposed Congo Railway, and he wrote a letter to 496 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:36,760 Speaker 1: the President of the United States on the state of 497 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:41,239 Speaker 1: the Congo and his encounters with Leopold. After leaving the 498 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:44,920 Speaker 1: Congo Free State, George Washington Williams toured through other parts 499 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:49,280 Speaker 1: of Africa, arriving in Cairo in January of eighteen ninety one. 500 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:52,880 Speaker 1: He departed for England that May, and aboard the ship 501 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:56,280 Speaker 1: met Alice Fryar, who was returning from India, where she 502 00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:59,240 Speaker 1: had been working as a governess. By the time the 503 00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:02,080 Speaker 1: ship arrived in England, the two of them were engaged. 504 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:06,520 Speaker 1: Williams was trying to get people to pay attention to 505 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:09,600 Speaker 1: what was happening in the Congo Free State, but he 506 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:12,040 Speaker 1: had also been sick for a lot of his time 507 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:16,800 Speaker 1: in Africa. It's likely that he contracted tuberculosis, which did 508 00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:19,600 Speaker 1: not have an effective cure at this point and would 509 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:23,760 Speaker 1: have been particularly dangerous for somebody with serious lung damage 510 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:28,240 Speaker 1: like he had. He may have also developed pleurisy. Alison, 511 00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:31,520 Speaker 1: her mother, eventually took him to Blackpool, England, hoping that 512 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:35,280 Speaker 1: the sea air would help him recover. He died there 513 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:38,200 Speaker 1: on August second, eighteen ninety one, at the age of 514 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:43,080 Speaker 1: forty one, and was buried in Blackpool's Layton Cemetery. At 515 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:45,800 Speaker 1: the time of his death, George Washington Williams was one 516 00:32:45,840 --> 00:32:49,560 Speaker 1: of the best known Black Americans. For example, in eighteen 517 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:53,320 Speaker 1: ninety the Indianapolis Friedman had polled its readership about the 518 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:56,480 Speaker 1: ten greatest Black people ever to live, and he was 519 00:32:56,520 --> 00:32:59,880 Speaker 1: one of them, along with Frederick Douglas and Toussaint lu Vertire. 520 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,120 Speaker 1: While he did have critics, especially when it came to 521 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:06,920 Speaker 1: his personal life and his time in politics, newspaper coverage 522 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:11,080 Speaker 1: of his death praised him for his brilliance, but almost 523 00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:17,280 Speaker 1: immediately Williams fell into almost total obscurity. That nineteenth century 524 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:20,240 Speaker 1: account that we read from earlier on was, I think 525 00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:24,040 Speaker 1: while he was still living, was not afterward. The same 526 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:27,720 Speaker 1: pattern of racism that had led to black people's histories 527 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:30,520 Speaker 1: being kept mainly in the records of things like black 528 00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:34,120 Speaker 1: newspapers and churches and their own oral histories meant that 529 00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:38,440 Speaker 1: his work quickly fell out of view of white journalists 530 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:43,000 Speaker 1: and historians. So when other people started writing about the 531 00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:46,840 Speaker 1: atrocities in the Congo almost a decade later, they didn't 532 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:50,920 Speaker 1: reference him. Not Joseph Conrad, who had followed the same 533 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:54,480 Speaker 1: route as Williams a month later, whose Heart of Darkness 534 00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:58,800 Speaker 1: was published serially in eighteen ninety nine, and not Roger Casement, 535 00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:02,000 Speaker 1: who's nineteen oh four report commissioned by the British government 536 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:05,480 Speaker 1: helped lead to the end of Leopold's sovereignty over the 537 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:09,560 Speaker 1: Congo Free State. In the words of John Hope Franklin quote, 538 00:34:09,719 --> 00:34:13,759 Speaker 1: when the world at long last became concerned with Leopold's 539 00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:17,239 Speaker 1: atrocities in the Congo, not one of them referred to 540 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:20,920 Speaker 1: William's pioneer efforts. As we said at the top of 541 00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:23,440 Speaker 1: the show, it is thanks to John Hope Franklin that 542 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:26,840 Speaker 1: we know what we do about George Washington Williams. In 543 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:29,439 Speaker 1: nineteen forty six he had gotten a contract to write 544 00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:32,439 Speaker 1: a book on black history. That book would be From 545 00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:36,040 Speaker 1: Slavery to Freedom, A History of African Americans, and it 546 00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:39,280 Speaker 1: was first published in nineteen forty seven, and it's probably 547 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:42,960 Speaker 1: his best known work. Franklin was reading the shelves at 548 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:46,120 Speaker 1: what is now North Carolina Central University when he found 549 00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:49,880 Speaker 1: Williams's two volume History of the Negro Race in America, 550 00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:53,520 Speaker 1: and at that point Franklin had never heard of Williams. 551 00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:58,160 Speaker 1: Franklin's efforts to piece together the details of William's life 552 00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:03,160 Speaker 1: took four decades and banned three continents. His biography of 553 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:07,680 Speaker 1: Williams simply titled George Washington Williams, a biography, was first 554 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:11,160 Speaker 1: published in nineteen eighty five, and it's been reprinted several 555 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:14,960 Speaker 1: times since then. It is also thanks to him that 556 00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:19,319 Speaker 1: William's gravesite in Blackpool is now marked. He arranged for 557 00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:21,959 Speaker 1: a marker to be placed there in nineteen seventy five. 558 00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:26,200 Speaker 1: John Hope Franklin died in two thousand and nine. During 559 00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:29,279 Speaker 1: his career, he wrote numerous works, many of them about 560 00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:32,319 Speaker 1: the US Civil War. He worked with Thurgood Marshall on 561 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:36,160 Speaker 1: the legal case of Lyman T. Johnson, challenging segregation at 562 00:35:36,160 --> 00:35:39,600 Speaker 1: the University of Kentucky, and he acted as an expert witness, 563 00:35:39,760 --> 00:35:43,120 Speaker 1: and he helped Marshall prepare arguments in Brown versus Board 564 00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:46,760 Speaker 1: of Education. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom 565 00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:48,040 Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety five. 566 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:52,600 Speaker 3: Belgium took control of the Congo Free State in nineteen 567 00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:55,560 Speaker 3: oh eight, and the region became independent from Belgium in 568 00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:59,880 Speaker 3: nineteen sixty. Today it's the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 569 00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:04,279 Speaker 3: but there are still ongoing human rights violations there, with 570 00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:09,960 Speaker 3: multiple governments and international organizations describing the situation as dire. 571 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:14,640 Speaker 3: Among other things, there is ongoing conflict between the Congolese 572 00:36:14,719 --> 00:36:19,120 Speaker 3: government and at least fifteen different significant armed groups. This 573 00:36:19,239 --> 00:36:22,640 Speaker 3: is especially in the eastern provinces, and there are massive 574 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:27,440 Speaker 3: issues with child labor. In the mining industry, Congo is 575 00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:31,759 Speaker 3: extremely wealthy in terms of natural resources like diamonds and cobalt, 576 00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:35,440 Speaker 3: as well as a mineral called cultan, which is refined 577 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:38,920 Speaker 3: into tantalum and used to make electrical components. It's in 578 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:42,600 Speaker 3: huge demand for the manufacture of cell phones and other 579 00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:49,280 Speaker 3: electronic devices. Also as an odd coda, George Washington Williams 580 00:36:49,400 --> 00:36:53,160 Speaker 3: was a character in the twenty sixteen Legend of Tarzan. 581 00:36:53,760 --> 00:36:55,640 Speaker 3: It's pretty odd, and we're going to talk about that 582 00:36:55,760 --> 00:37:01,440 Speaker 3: on Friday. Yeah, we sure are. Before listener mail, we 583 00:37:01,560 --> 00:37:02,760 Speaker 3: have a trip to announce. 584 00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:03,439 Speaker 1: We sure do. 585 00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:05,920 Speaker 2: We're gonna go to Iceland. 586 00:37:06,160 --> 00:37:11,200 Speaker 3: Yay. We are both very excited about going to Iceland. 587 00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:13,960 Speaker 3: Unlike our previous trips, this is somewhere we have each 588 00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:16,400 Speaker 3: been before. Well, I have been to the places of 589 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:17,240 Speaker 3: our previous trips. 590 00:37:17,239 --> 00:37:19,440 Speaker 1: It was just so long ago. I don't remember right, right, 591 00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:23,000 Speaker 1: but we have both been to Iceland fairly recently. I 592 00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:24,000 Speaker 1: went last year. 593 00:37:25,040 --> 00:37:27,239 Speaker 3: Yeah, I went to Iceland in twenty sixteen. And you 594 00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:29,879 Speaker 3: went to Iceland last year and we were both very 595 00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:33,279 Speaker 3: excited about the idea of returning to Iceland. I don't 596 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:35,480 Speaker 3: know about you, but we're going to some places I've 597 00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:39,560 Speaker 3: been before, some places I've not been before. Same, so 598 00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:44,160 Speaker 3: very excited about that. This trip is happening November two 599 00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:49,560 Speaker 3: through eighth, which means if the solar system and the 600 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:54,319 Speaker 3: weather cooperate, we could see the Northern Lights, which is 601 00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:57,640 Speaker 3: very exciting for me. They were actually out when I 602 00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:01,480 Speaker 3: was there in the very off season, but we were 603 00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:03,399 Speaker 3: in a place that was too cloudy and we did 604 00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:05,680 Speaker 3: not even know it was happening until the next day 605 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:07,440 Speaker 3: when we heard about it in a place that had 606 00:38:07,480 --> 00:38:10,920 Speaker 3: not been cloudy. Some of the things we're gonna do 607 00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:13,880 Speaker 3: we are going to see some things in Reykivic. We 608 00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:16,319 Speaker 3: have a couple of nights in Reykievic, so we are 609 00:38:16,320 --> 00:38:18,759 Speaker 3: going to see some of the local sites there. We 610 00:38:18,960 --> 00:38:21,960 Speaker 3: are going to do some of the places on the 611 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:28,160 Speaker 3: Golden Circle, including Thingvalier National Park, a lot of waterfalls. 612 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:33,120 Speaker 3: There's one day when we have like a more excitement 613 00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:39,640 Speaker 3: less excitement option, more excitement option, snowmobiling, Yeah, less excitement option, 614 00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:47,000 Speaker 3: geothermal bakery. I will say, having watched videos of the snowmobiling, 615 00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:47,920 Speaker 3: it's pretty tame. 616 00:38:48,040 --> 00:38:49,920 Speaker 2: It's very it's not fast. 617 00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:52,759 Speaker 1: You're like single files, so the speed is controlled and 618 00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:55,680 Speaker 1: everybody's in the same tracks. Yeah, So if you're not 619 00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:58,279 Speaker 1: a thrill seeker, but that sounds cool, it still might 620 00:38:58,320 --> 00:39:02,840 Speaker 1: be within your parameter of acceptability, right, And if you 621 00:39:02,880 --> 00:39:06,719 Speaker 1: would rather not geothermal bakery, which also sounds very cool 622 00:39:06,719 --> 00:39:10,440 Speaker 1: to me, uh huh. And at the end of the trip, 623 00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:15,680 Speaker 1: a trip to the Blue Lagoon, which as a geothermal 624 00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:18,799 Speaker 1: mineral pool where I went the last time I was 625 00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:22,200 Speaker 1: in Iceland, had a great time. See, I did not 626 00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:24,120 Speaker 1: do any of those when I was in Iceland because 627 00:39:24,120 --> 00:39:27,160 Speaker 1: I'm not like a spawn water baby, right, So we'll 628 00:39:27,160 --> 00:39:28,560 Speaker 1: see what happens this time. 629 00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:31,000 Speaker 2: And if you're not into those things that Blue Lagoon. 630 00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:33,880 Speaker 3: Blue Lagoon also has a collection of like restaurants and 631 00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:36,080 Speaker 3: cafes and stuff, so there are some other things to 632 00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:41,120 Speaker 3: do if that's not what you're really up for. So again, 633 00:39:41,719 --> 00:39:47,160 Speaker 3: this is Iceland, November two through eighth, twenty twenty four. 634 00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:53,080 Speaker 3: We know that Tuesday, November fifth is election day in 635 00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:58,840 Speaker 3: the United States, so make your absentee voting plans ahead 636 00:39:58,840 --> 00:40:02,120 Speaker 3: of time. If you you are a US voter and 637 00:40:02,200 --> 00:40:06,600 Speaker 3: want to come on this trip with US Defined Destinations 638 00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:10,640 Speaker 3: dot com slash Iceland twenty twenty four, You can also 639 00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:15,000 Speaker 3: just go to Defineddestinations dot com and click on where 640 00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:18,560 Speaker 3: it says Iceland. If you have questions about, like specific 641 00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:21,759 Speaker 3: arrangements about the trip, whether it would be fun for you, 642 00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:26,640 Speaker 3: whether you know if you just want more details about things, 643 00:40:26,760 --> 00:40:31,600 Speaker 3: Defined Destinations is who to contact about that? Because while 644 00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:34,799 Speaker 3: Holly and I go on this trip and we pick 645 00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:38,560 Speaker 3: the general destination and make feedback on the itinerary, we're 646 00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:42,000 Speaker 3: not the ones making the actual day to day arrangements. 647 00:40:43,040 --> 00:40:48,480 Speaker 3: So actual day to day arrangements questions Defined Destinations as 648 00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:52,360 Speaker 3: who can answer that? And now we will move on 649 00:40:52,680 --> 00:40:57,279 Speaker 3: to an equally fun listener mail, which is actually a 650 00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:00,840 Speaker 3: Facebook comment that I copied and pasted into the email 651 00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:05,280 Speaker 3: so I wouldn't lose it. This is from Sarah, who says, Hey, 652 00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:09,200 Speaker 3: I'm the owner of that eighteen eighties dress with the 653 00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:12,920 Speaker 3: codes in the pocket. We talked about this in our unearthed. 654 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:17,080 Speaker 3: Sarah continues, I thought i'd weigh in on the speculation 655 00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:20,200 Speaker 3: about it being for a woman who was eight months pregnant. 656 00:41:20,520 --> 00:41:23,160 Speaker 3: The photos you see everywhere are the ones I took 657 00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:26,000 Speaker 3: after buttoning on on the only dress form I have, 658 00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:29,000 Speaker 3: so it's not the right hourglass shape for the era. 659 00:41:29,760 --> 00:41:33,359 Speaker 3: Even still, the bodice has a maximum waste measurement of 660 00:41:33,400 --> 00:41:35,880 Speaker 3: twenty four inches. I can barely get it buttoned on 661 00:41:36,080 --> 00:41:40,240 Speaker 3: the form. When you account for a chemise, pantaloons, corset 662 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:43,560 Speaker 3: and corset cover going under the bodice, a woman would 663 00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:47,080 Speaker 3: need a waistline not much above twenty three inches to 664 00:41:47,160 --> 00:41:49,520 Speaker 3: wear this. I would really love this to be a 665 00:41:49,560 --> 00:41:52,480 Speaker 3: maternity dress, but I just can't see it working even 666 00:41:52,520 --> 00:41:56,160 Speaker 3: with the right structural undergarments for a woman carrying low. 667 00:41:56,920 --> 00:42:00,759 Speaker 3: The skirt construction has some give, but the bodice has 668 00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:03,160 Speaker 3: been led out as much as possible to get that 669 00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:06,400 Speaker 3: twenty four inch waste. There is no extra fabric there 670 00:42:06,480 --> 00:42:10,880 Speaker 3: to allow more room to expand that being said, I 671 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:13,720 Speaker 3: don't really rule out the DC Bennetts as a source 672 00:42:13,800 --> 00:42:17,319 Speaker 3: of the dress and code sheets. The theory I keep 673 00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:22,200 Speaker 3: coming back to is reuse of the papers. Soft paper 674 00:42:22,440 --> 00:42:25,560 Speaker 3: that has served its purpose in the code office might 675 00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:27,840 Speaker 3: be the kind of thing you'd bring home to a 676 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:31,560 Speaker 3: house with a newborn in an age before baby wipes 677 00:42:32,040 --> 00:42:35,120 Speaker 3: people were using paper for hygiene by then, and these 678 00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:38,320 Speaker 3: sheets are much softer than pages from a farmer's almanac. 679 00:42:38,719 --> 00:42:41,319 Speaker 3: I also wonder if part of the reason so few 680 00:42:41,440 --> 00:42:45,520 Speaker 3: telegraph code sheets survive is that they enjoyed a second 681 00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:49,799 Speaker 3: life as toilet paper. My dress would then be kind 682 00:42:49,840 --> 00:42:52,600 Speaker 3: of the equivalent of leaving a tissue in your pocket 683 00:42:52,640 --> 00:42:55,600 Speaker 3: and forgetting it was there. The pocket wouldn't be something 684 00:42:55,640 --> 00:42:58,400 Speaker 3: you'd access in public, but the wearer would know it 685 00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:01,160 Speaker 3: was there. Seems like a good spot for an emergency 686 00:43:01,280 --> 00:43:05,160 Speaker 3: baby wipe or toilet tissue. To me, Holly has made 687 00:43:05,200 --> 00:43:08,240 Speaker 3: the worst face. I'm sorry that we talked about baby poops, Holleen. 688 00:43:09,719 --> 00:43:13,480 Speaker 3: I'm gonna need therapy after this. Thank you so much, 689 00:43:13,520 --> 00:43:17,840 Speaker 3: Sarah for this comment. I felt very silly after reading 690 00:43:17,880 --> 00:43:20,880 Speaker 3: it because I was like I could have literally asked, 691 00:43:21,600 --> 00:43:25,120 Speaker 3: like I could have said, hey, you have this dress, 692 00:43:25,280 --> 00:43:28,080 Speaker 3: what do you think about this speculation? And first, I 693 00:43:28,120 --> 00:43:31,880 Speaker 3: don't know. Asking for help is hard and sometimes I 694 00:43:31,960 --> 00:43:32,760 Speaker 3: forget that's. 695 00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:34,640 Speaker 2: A thing that can even be done. 696 00:43:34,680 --> 00:43:37,080 Speaker 3: So thank you so much Sarah for finding this post 697 00:43:37,120 --> 00:43:38,480 Speaker 3: on our Facebook. 698 00:43:37,960 --> 00:43:41,839 Speaker 2: And leaving this comment. I loved it so much, And. 699 00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:43,520 Speaker 3: If you would like to write to us, about this 700 00:43:43,680 --> 00:43:47,520 Speaker 3: or any other podcasts. We're at History podcast at iHeartRadio 701 00:43:47,600 --> 00:43:48,280 Speaker 3: dot com. 702 00:43:48,640 --> 00:43:50,520 Speaker 2: We're also on some social. 703 00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:54,560 Speaker 3: Media, including that Facebook, and you can subscribe to our 704 00:43:54,640 --> 00:43:58,080 Speaker 3: show on the iHeartRadio app and wherever else you like 705 00:43:58,160 --> 00:44:06,040 Speaker 3: to get your podcasts. Stuff you missed in History Class 706 00:44:06,080 --> 00:44:10,120 Speaker 3: is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 707 00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:13,840 Speaker 3: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 708 00:44:13,920 --> 00:44:14,880 Speaker 3: to your favorite shows.