1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,640 Speaker 1: Hey, y'all, Eve's here. Today's episode contains not just one, 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: but two nuggets of history. These are coming from the 3 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:09,200 Speaker 1: T D I h C Vault, so you'll also here 4 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: two hosts. Consider it a double feature. Enjoy the show. 5 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to this Day in History class from how Stuff 6 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 1: Works dot com and from the desk of Stuff you 7 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: missed in History Class. It's the show where we explore 8 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 1: the past, one day at a time with a quick 9 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:30,080 Speaker 1: look at what happened today in history. Hello, and welcome 10 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson and it's Deceper nineteen. 11 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:37,600 Speaker 1: A Christmas Carol was published by Chapman and Hall on 12 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:41,560 Speaker 1: this day in eighteen forty three. It's really likely that 13 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:45,240 Speaker 1: you have heard this story. Benees are Scrooge, a cruel 14 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 1: and stingy man is mean to his employees and everyone 15 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 1: else around him, and on Christmas Eve he's visited by 16 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,800 Speaker 1: the ghost of his former partner Jacob Marley, followed by 17 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: the spirits of Christmas past, present and future. It was written, 18 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: of course by chart Earls Dickens, and it's become a 19 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 1: Christmas classic, and right from the beginning when it was 20 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 1: published it was an instant blockbuster. Dickens got the idea 21 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: for this in the spring of that year after he 22 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:16,120 Speaker 1: read a report on child labor. At this point, child 23 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:20,960 Speaker 1: labor was extremely common. Increased urbanization and industrialization in the 24 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: nineteenth century had led to children working in factories, often 25 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:29,679 Speaker 1: working incredibly long hours and dangerous and inhumane conditions, often 26 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 1: with things like rules that seemed draconian and just truel. 27 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 1: There were assembly lines hauling cole dipping matches. A lot 28 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: of these working children were even housed above the factory 29 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: and dormitories, so their work was basically their whole lives. 30 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: And for people who were poor and could not find work, 31 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 1: there were workhouses and they had appalling conditions. Going to 32 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: a workhouse was actually required by law under the Poor 33 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 1: Law of eighteen thirty four. If you were poor and 34 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:02,600 Speaker 1: had no work and couldn't support yourself, you had to 35 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:06,400 Speaker 1: go to the poorhouse. But intentionally the poor houses were 36 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,519 Speaker 1: so awful no one wanted to go there. At first, 37 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 1: Dickens had planned to write a pamphlet that was going 38 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: to be called an Appeal to the People of England 39 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: on Behalf of the poor Man's Child, and, like its 40 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 1: name suggests, this is going to be a pamphlet about 41 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:25,400 Speaker 1: the horrors of poverty and child labor. But soon he 42 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 1: decided that a work of fiction might be more effective, 43 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 1: and he wrote that work of fiction over just a 44 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: couple of months in the fall of eighteen forty three. 45 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: The big moral of this story was that it was 46 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:40,519 Speaker 1: up to employers to treat and pay their employees will 47 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,800 Speaker 1: on a more practical level than this benevolent goal of 48 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: encouraging people to be more generous towards the poor. Dickens 49 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,080 Speaker 1: also needed to pay his own bills, particularly after spending 50 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:54,919 Speaker 1: a lot of money on a tour of the United 51 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 1: States the year before, so he wrote a story that 52 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 1: he thought would sell, and that they did. The first 53 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:05,239 Speaker 1: print run of A Christmas Carol was six thousand copies, 54 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 1: and it was sold out in a week. By the 55 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 1: next year, there were fifteen thousand copies in print. Although 56 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:15,520 Speaker 1: Dickens didn't actually earn as much money off of it 57 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 1: as he wanted to, a lot of this was really 58 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 1: of his own making. It was at his request that 59 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:25,360 Speaker 1: they had used very fancy gilded bindings, with the book 60 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,640 Speaker 1: itself full of etchings and woodcuts, which were very expensive. 61 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: He wanted this book to be beautiful, and it was, 62 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: but it was also expensive, and he even ordered last 63 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: minute changes to the title page and the end pages 64 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: because the first ones didn't measure up to what he wanted. 65 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: He had hoped to make a thousand pounds half of 66 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: this book, and instead his first payment was for a 67 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: hundred and thirty seven pounds. Even though he didn't make 68 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: nearly as much money as he wanted, though, he was 69 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: really really happy with how well this book sold and 70 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:01,839 Speaker 1: with how much of an impact it seemed to make 71 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:06,200 Speaker 1: in people's humanitarian perspective on the issue of poverty and 72 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: child labor. Today. There are so many adaptations of this 73 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: work and that started pretty much immediately. People were writing 74 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: plays that were based on a Christmas carol right from 75 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,920 Speaker 1: the very beginning. Today, their plays and movies and TV 76 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:21,840 Speaker 1: shows and the musical Scrooge, it goes on and on 77 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:25,799 Speaker 1: and on. It's hard to get through a Christmas season 78 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:29,720 Speaker 1: without being reminded of it somewhere. Thanks very much to 79 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 1: Christopher Hasciotis for his research work on today's show. Thanks 80 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,000 Speaker 1: to Casey Pegram and Chandler Mays for their audio work 81 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: on this show, and to Casey for being so gracious 82 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,279 Speaker 1: that he never corrected me when I pronounced his name 83 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 1: the way my high school health teacher did instead of 84 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: the way he does. You can subscribe to the Stay 85 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 1: in History Class on Apple Podcasts, Google podcast, i Heeart 86 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:51,840 Speaker 1: Radio app, and wherever you get your podcasts, and tune 87 00:04:51,880 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: in tomorrow for the first in a series of exits. Yeah, 88 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: Hi everyone, I'm Eves, and welcome to This Day and 89 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: History Class, a podcast where we dust off a little 90 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,360 Speaker 1: piece of history and placed it ever so gently on 91 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 1: your brainshelf every day. The day was December nineteenth, nineteen. 92 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:28,039 Speaker 1: The First Indochina War began. By the late nineteenth century, 93 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:32,839 Speaker 1: France controlled Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The grouping was collectively 94 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:38,360 Speaker 1: known as French Indochina. French imperialism at the time spanned Asia, Africa, 95 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 1: the Caribbean, and the Pacific. As with other French colonial territories, 96 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:47,719 Speaker 1: French Indochina involved the heavy exploitation of people and resources 97 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:52,920 Speaker 1: to France's benefit. In Vietnam, the French administration imposed all 98 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 1: sorts of social and political changes on people. Trade in 99 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:01,240 Speaker 1: products like opium, salt, rice, wine and were lucrative, but 100 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,880 Speaker 1: economic progress only benefited the French and a small group 101 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:09,360 Speaker 1: of wealthy elites. The French also instituted a new, extensive 102 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:13,360 Speaker 1: taxation system, and while there were some improvements in education 103 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:17,040 Speaker 1: in Vietnamese cities, the children of peasant farmers did not 104 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:20,160 Speaker 1: see that benefit, and much of the population remained a 105 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:24,560 Speaker 1: literate plus. The French often pushed propaganda about its culture 106 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 1: in schools. Traditional buildings were destroyed, landownership was concentrated in 107 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:32,919 Speaker 1: the hands of a small class of landlords, while a 108 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 1: landowning middle class of indigenous Vietnamese people was not existent, 109 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 1: and the Vietnamese bureaucracy lacked real power while French authorities 110 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 1: exercise extensive power. Those are just some of the ways 111 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:52,159 Speaker 1: French rule disadvantage and harmed locals. But the Vietnamese did 112 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 1: resist France's tyrannical rule. Anti colonial and nationalist resistance movements 113 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: popped up in Vietnam. Leaders and supports of these movements 114 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:06,159 Speaker 1: called for Vietnamese independence. Ideas of resistance morphed over time, 115 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 1: with sentiment geared towards the old imperial order at first, 116 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 1: and later toward new ideas that embraced Western values. After 117 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: World War One, resistance kicked into high gear, but revolutionary 118 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: efforts to out the French were unsuccessful. Then came World 119 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:27,440 Speaker 1: War Two. In nineteen forty the Japanese invaded French Indochina 120 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: and collaborated with officials who were loyal to Frances Vichy regime, 121 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 1: but resistance leader and communist Ho Chi Men and the 122 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:40,080 Speaker 1: Indo Chinese Communist Party had succeeded in uniting Vietnamese folks 123 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 1: in the fight against French authority before Ho Chi Minh 124 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:47,640 Speaker 1: and the Communist Party organized the Vietnam a Nationalist alliance 125 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:51,120 Speaker 1: that called for an end to Japanese occupation and for 126 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 1: Vietnam's independence from France. After the Japanese formally surrendered to 127 00:07:56,240 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 1: the Allies in September of nineteen the vietnmain pro claimed 128 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 1: Vietnam's independence as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and Ho 129 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: Chi Minh assumed power. The French and Ho Chi Men 130 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,800 Speaker 1: reached in agreement in March of nineteen forty six, but 131 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: negotiations weren't practical and fighting escalated as Chinese and British 132 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: troops supported the re establishment of French colonial rule. French 133 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:26,520 Speaker 1: forces took southern Vietnam, and in November, French naval vessels 134 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 1: bombarded the northern port city of Hifang and killed thousands 135 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 1: of people. The Vietmin responded by attacking the French in 136 00:08:34,920 --> 00:08:39,640 Speaker 1: Hifog and Hannoi. The Vietnam's attack against the French at 137 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: Hannoi marked the start of the First Into China War. 138 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:46,400 Speaker 1: For the next eight years, the Vietmain remained engaged in 139 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 1: guerrilla war against the French. Finally, in May of nineteen 140 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 1: fifty four, the war ended when the French suffered a 141 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: major defeat at d N B and Foot. At the 142 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty four Geneva Conference, Vietnam was split into the 143 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:05,199 Speaker 1: v at Men controlled North Vietnam and France's South Vietnam. 144 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:08,320 Speaker 1: Though that conflict had come to an end, political struggles 145 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:12,959 Speaker 1: in Vietnam continued as the Vietnam War ensued. I'm Eve 146 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 1: Jeffco and hopefully you know a little more about history 147 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:19,360 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. If there's something I missed 148 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 1: in the show today, you can let us know at 149 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:29,199 Speaker 1: T D I HC Podcast on Twitter, Facebook, for Instagram. 150 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:32,199 Speaker 1: You can also shoot us an email at this Day 151 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 1: at I heart media dot com. Thank you for listening 152 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 1: to today's episode. We'll see you again tomorrow with another one. 153 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart 154 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:51,400 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 155 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 1: favorite shows.