1 00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:05,920 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday listeners. Today we are finishing our two part 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:09,280 Speaker 1: Saturday classic on Robert Small's, who served in both the 3 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: South Carolina and US governments after escaping from enslavement during 4 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 1: the Civil War. This episode originally came out February sixteen, 5 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:25,160 Speaker 1: and Joy Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, 6 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to 7 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:39,319 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm Tracy and I'm Holly Fry. Today we're 8 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:41,839 Speaker 1: picking up where we left off in the story of 9 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: Robert Small's so to very very briefly recap part one. 10 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,640 Speaker 1: He was enslaved from birth in the McKee household of Beaufort, 11 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:53,480 Speaker 1: South Carolina, which is pronounced differently from Beaufort, North Carolina, 12 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: even though they are both named after the same person. 13 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 1: During the Civil War, he made a dramatic escape aboard 14 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: a boat called the Planter, directly under the noses of 15 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 1: the Confederate military. His escape was a boost to morale 16 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: and the Union and an embarrassment for the Confederacy, and 17 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: it also served to rally other enslaved persons who heard 18 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: about it. He became something of a celebrity in the 19 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: North and a spokesperson for African Americans with the Union. 20 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: At the time of his escape, Robert Smalls was only 21 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:25,839 Speaker 1: twenty three years old. He was hailed as a hero 22 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: and the Union newspapers, while the newspapers of the Confederacy 23 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: alternated between strongly denouncing what he'd done and then kind 24 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: of downplaying it while simultaneously casting tons of blame on 25 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: the White soldiers then officers that had failed to stop him. 26 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: Those officers who had left the boat overnight were indeed 27 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,679 Speaker 1: court martialed, although it was eventually thrown out on a technicality. 28 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 1: From the time they reached the Union blockade, aboard the Planter, 29 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: Robert Smalls and his family were free. They were considered 30 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 1: to be contraband, which is a term that was used 31 00:01:56,200 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: to describe formerly enslaved people who joined the Union. But 32 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: this was just the beginning of an impressive career as 33 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: a freeman. When he reached the Onward, which was one 34 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,240 Speaker 1: of the ships in the Union blockade, Robert Smalls is 35 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: reported to have said to Lieutenant J. F. Nicholas, who 36 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: was in command, quote, I thought this ship might be 37 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: of some use to Uncle Abe. I have some guns. 38 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: The Confederates took away from Fort Sumter and the Planter 39 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: was in fact extremely useful. She was fast, and she 40 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: rode very high in the water, so she was easy 41 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: to get in and out of shallow areas while still 42 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: carrying lots of men or cargo. But that Smalls himself 43 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 1: was a huge asset to the Union as well. References 44 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: to his competence, intelligence, and resourcefulness are all over the 45 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,240 Speaker 1: letters and papers of the Union officers and soldiers who 46 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:49,960 Speaker 1: encountered him, and the words of Admiral Samuel F. DuPont 47 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,639 Speaker 1: quote this man, Robert Smalls, is superior to any who 48 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:56,480 Speaker 1: has yet come into lines, intelligent as many of them 49 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:00,639 Speaker 1: have been. His information has been most interesting, and portions 50 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 1: of it of the utmost importance. I shall continue to 51 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: employ Robert as a pilot aboard the Planter for the 52 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:11,519 Speaker 1: inland Waters, which he appears to be very familiar pilot. 53 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: By the way, DuPont referring to him that way was 54 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: a promotion because he was enslaved. The highest rank that 55 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: Smalls could hold under the Confederacy was wheelman. He would 56 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: eventually become the Planter's captain. The way that used the 57 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 1: word wheelman was also basically what we have to call 58 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: pilots if they're enslaved. Like he was doing a pilot's job, 59 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:36,160 Speaker 1: but they wouldn't call him that because he was enslaved. 60 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: His familiarity with the inland waters was of huge strate 61 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: strategic importance to the Union. He knew where mines had 62 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: been laid, he knew which spots were likely to be 63 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: used as ambushes, he knew which routes were used by smugglers. 64 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: He basically brought with him a mental atlas of the islands, 65 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 1: rivers and sounds, as well as Confederate fortifications in the area. 66 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 1: Robert Smalls was, how be to lend all of this 67 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 1: knowledge to the Union. Doing so meant that he was 68 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: working against slavery, rather than for it, as had been 69 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:10,720 Speaker 1: the case when he was forced to work for the Confederacy. 70 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: Robert Small's military service for the Union began pretty much immediately, 71 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: but he couldn't actually join the Union Navy. To do that, 72 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: a person had to be literate. In spite of the 73 00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: fact that the McKay family had been pretty lenient with 74 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:26,640 Speaker 1: him during his enslavement, they hadn't allowed him to learn 75 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: to read. So to work around this restriction regarding his literacy, 76 00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 1: he was instead made essentially a civilian contractor for the 77 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:38,359 Speaker 1: Army and then detailed back over to the Navy. During 78 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:42,840 Speaker 1: the Civil War, Smalls participated in seventeen different military engagements 79 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: aboard the Planter, aboard an iron clad ship called the 80 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:50,039 Speaker 1: Kia Kook, and other ships as well. But in addition 81 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 1: to this time in combat, thanks to the fame that 82 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 1: followed in the wake of his escape, he also did 83 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: a lot of diplomatic fundraising and a recruitment work for 84 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:01,679 Speaker 1: the Union. For a example, after it took port Royal 85 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:04,919 Speaker 1: South Carolina, the Union wanted its residents to grow cotton. 86 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:07,839 Speaker 1: They needed cotton for the war effort, but most of 87 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: the people living there had until the arrival of the 88 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:15,440 Speaker 1: Union been enslaved on a cotton plantation. Continuing to grow 89 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: cotton felt like doing the same thing for a different master, 90 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:21,120 Speaker 1: so a lot of people had planted food crops instead. 91 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:25,039 Speaker 1: Smalls was sent in to negotiate. He was familiar with 92 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:27,839 Speaker 1: the people in the area, and he was bilingual, able 93 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 1: to speak both English and Gula. Gola is an English 94 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:34,839 Speaker 1: based creole that draws from several West African languages and 95 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:37,840 Speaker 1: is spoken to the Sea islands of South Carolina and Georgia. 96 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:42,280 Speaker 1: Smalls was able to negotiate a temporary compromised that allowed 97 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:45,840 Speaker 1: the growing of both cotton and food crops. His powers 98 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:49,040 Speaker 1: of persuasion were directed at the Union government as well. 99 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: As we mentioned in the previous installment of this story, 100 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 1: General David Hunter had on a couple of occasions tried 101 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:58,719 Speaker 1: to free all of the enslaved persons in places where 102 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 1: he was in command, and the Federal government had on 103 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:04,480 Speaker 1: both occasions shut this down, arguing that it was up 104 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 1: to Congress or the President and slavery, not a general 105 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: acting off on his own. In August eighteen sixty two, 106 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:14,880 Speaker 1: Hunter met with Smalls on the subject of recruiting African 107 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 1: Americans into the Union military. Although Hunter had been encouraging 108 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,600 Speaker 1: the acceptance of enslaved persons who reached Union lines into 109 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:25,840 Speaker 1: military service in areas that were under his command, this 110 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:30,599 Speaker 1: was not official military policy. Hunter made arrangements for Smalls 111 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:34,159 Speaker 1: to go to Washington, d c. Traveling with Reverend Mansfield French, 112 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: to speak with the Secretary of War and when Stanton 113 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,080 Speaker 1: and with other members of Lincoln's cabinet, Smalls met with 114 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 1: the Secretary of War in August twenty Then he met 115 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: with the Secretary of the Treasury and After that, he 116 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:50,839 Speaker 1: and Reverend French met directly with Abraham Lincoln. Others, including 117 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,359 Speaker 1: Frederick Douglas, had already advised the President to encourage the 118 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:58,560 Speaker 1: recruitment of black soldiers into the Union Army. Smalls advised 119 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,480 Speaker 1: the same and said that he would recruit ten thousand 120 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 1: men himself if the President allowed it. Ultimately, the President 121 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 1: and the Secretary of War authorized the enlistment of black 122 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: troops into the Union Army on August sixty two. Robert 123 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:16,000 Speaker 1: Smalls added recruiting black troops into the rest of his 124 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:19,679 Speaker 1: military work. He's reported to have recruited five thousand people, 125 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: but I didn't really find documentation of how that number 126 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:27,679 Speaker 1: was calculated. And he did all of this wartime work 127 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:30,679 Speaker 1: while the South had placed a four thousand dollar bounty 128 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,560 Speaker 1: on him, along with an eight hundred dollar bounty on 129 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:38,520 Speaker 1: his wife or children. Smalls continued his military service after 130 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: the Civil War, becoming a major general of the South 131 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: Carolina Militia. He also moved into political service, which is 132 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: what we will talk about after a brief word from 133 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:59,680 Speaker 1: a sponsor. So before we get into Robert Small's time 134 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 1: in the South Carolina legislature, we need to set the 135 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: stage a little bit with what happened after the end 136 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 1: of the Civil War, because his political career directly parallels 137 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:13,000 Speaker 1: other events in US history. The two biggest, most obvious 138 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: things that probably come to mind about the end of 139 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: the Civil War are that the states that had succeeded 140 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 1: rejoined the Union and slavery was abolished. But it wasn't 141 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:23,400 Speaker 1: just as simple as the war is over, so we're 142 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 1: one country again, and also there's no more slavery. There 143 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:29,119 Speaker 1: needed to be a plan for the former Confederate states 144 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 1: to demonstrate their loyalty to the United States, and they're 145 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:35,040 Speaker 1: also needed to be a plan to address the social, political, 146 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,600 Speaker 1: and economic inequality that stemmed from the institution of slavery, 147 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:40,800 Speaker 1: and to try to rebuild the damage to the nation 148 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:43,839 Speaker 1: and its infrastructure that had been caused by the war itself. 149 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:47,480 Speaker 1: These plans and the years through which they played out 150 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 1: became known as Reconstruction. There is way too much reconstruction 151 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:55,960 Speaker 1: history to cover in one episode or even ten episodes, 152 00:08:56,240 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 1: so this is an extremely basic overview. The grand idea 153 00:09:00,559 --> 00:09:04,000 Speaker 1: behind reconstruction was to rebuild and unify the nation and 154 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:07,960 Speaker 1: to offset the inherent disadvantages that African Americans faced because 155 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:12,199 Speaker 1: of the institution of slavery, but a lot went wrong. First, 156 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:15,600 Speaker 1: there was significant back and forth between President Lincoln and 157 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:19,800 Speaker 1: Congress about what the plan should be. Lincoln's plan boiled 158 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 1: down to the state's abolishing slavery and ten percent of 159 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 1: their eligible voters swearing an oath of allegiance. Congress felt 160 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:30,360 Speaker 1: like this was not enough and passed the Wade Davis Bill, 161 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:34,160 Speaker 1: which set a significantly higher bar for readmission, one that 162 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:37,040 Speaker 1: the President felt was too high, so he refused to 163 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:41,360 Speaker 1: sign it. A much bigger issue was that when Abraham Lincoln, 164 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 1: a Republican, had run for re election in eighteen sixty four, 165 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: he had selected Democrat Andrew Johnson of Tennessee is his 166 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:49,880 Speaker 1: running mate, and the hope that it would bring him 167 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:54,480 Speaker 1: the support of Democrats and perhaps voters with pro Confederate leanings, 168 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 1: along with other strategies. This worked, and Lincoln was re 169 00:09:57,320 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 1: elected by a landslide, but that meant that when a 170 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:05,280 Speaker 1: Braham Lincoln was assassinated, Johnson became president. The same traits 171 00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:08,520 Speaker 1: that had led some voters to support Johnson's vice presidency 172 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 1: also led him to undermine some of the most important 173 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 1: elements of reconstruction. He granted an amnesty that affected numerous 174 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 1: ex Confederates, many of whom were then elected to the 175 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 1: new governments of the Southern States. He set standards for 176 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: readmission to the Union that didn't do much to address 177 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 1: the issues Congress was trying to fix. He vetoed civil 178 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:34,000 Speaker 1: rights legislation, although Congress adopted it over his veto. He 179 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:37,440 Speaker 1: ultimately declared that the Union was restored, even though many 180 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:40,160 Speaker 1: of the rebelling states hadn't actually done one or more 181 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:42,560 Speaker 1: of the very basic things that they were expected to 182 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:45,560 Speaker 1: do to be readmitted to the Union. As a side note, 183 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,560 Speaker 1: Johnson was also the first president to be impeached for 184 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:52,280 Speaker 1: dismissing Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War, which violated the Tenure 185 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:55,840 Speaker 1: of Office Act. And to be clear, there were strides 186 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 1: made to try to bring about equality after the Civil 187 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:04,079 Speaker 1: War between eighteens. In eighteen seventy four and fifteenth amendments 188 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 1: to the U. S Constitution, which are known as the 189 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:11,839 Speaker 1: Reconstruction Amendments, were ratified. The thirteenth abolished slavery. The fourteenth, 190 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:14,080 Speaker 1: which we have talked about in a lot of episodes 191 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,400 Speaker 1: on this show, gave all citizens due process and equal 192 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 1: protection under the law. In the fifteenth gave all male 193 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:24,199 Speaker 1: citizens the right to vote, regardless of quote, race, color, 194 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:28,400 Speaker 1: or previous condition of servitude. In eighteen sixty five, the 195 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:32,520 Speaker 1: Freedman's Bureau was also established with the hope of providing education, 196 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:38,120 Speaker 1: medical care, and assistance with labor contracts to previously enslaved persons, 197 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:41,400 Speaker 1: but none of this was as broad, far reaching, or 198 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:44,960 Speaker 1: effective as Congress had hoped At the conclusion of the war. 199 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 1: Sometimes people talk about the failure of reconstruction, but really 200 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 1: reconstruction was never given a chance to succeed. The election 201 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:57,080 Speaker 1: of former Confederate leaders to Southern state governments led to 202 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: those governments actively working against recons struction. Many passed explicitly 203 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:06,840 Speaker 1: discriminatory laws and policies. Almost immediately, as early as no 204 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:10,240 Speaker 1: Member of eighteen sixty five, governments and former Confederate states 205 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 1: were passing black codes, which eventually evolved into Jim Crow 206 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:18,920 Speaker 1: laws which denied African Americans basic legal rights and protections. 207 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:22,920 Speaker 1: All of this was playing out as Robert Smalls became 208 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:26,840 Speaker 1: a community and political leader, first in Baufort and then 209 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:30,640 Speaker 1: in South Carolina after the war. Small as his wife 210 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:33,520 Speaker 1: and their two surviving children returned to Beaufort, he had 211 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:36,440 Speaker 1: been awarded fifteen hundred dollars for the capture of the 212 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:40,200 Speaker 1: planter for quote rescuing her from the enemies of the government. 213 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:42,600 Speaker 1: He had also saved a lot of his pay, as 214 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 1: well as other financial awards that he got from various 215 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:48,680 Speaker 1: aspects of his service. He used six hundred and fifty 216 00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:51,680 Speaker 1: dollars of this money to buy the former McKee home 217 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:54,559 Speaker 1: which would which had since been sold to another family 218 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:58,320 Speaker 1: at a tax auction. From there, he used some of 219 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:01,160 Speaker 1: his money to help establish business his and to help 220 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 1: other black families established businesses of their own. He acquired 221 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:08,959 Speaker 1: land and property, and he helped build a black owned 222 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:12,600 Speaker 1: railroad in Charleston. He also used some of his new 223 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:15,240 Speaker 1: found wealth to assist his former owners, who had been 224 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 1: financially ruined by the war. He purchased a small house 225 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:21,600 Speaker 1: for the mckeys, and he helped their children find jobs. 226 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:25,920 Speaker 1: After Henry McKee died, Small Smalls had Mrs McKee cared 227 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:28,360 Speaker 1: for in his own home. So I want to be 228 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,880 Speaker 1: clear here. This turnabout does not somehow negate the fact 229 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:35,120 Speaker 1: that the mckeys had owned Robert Smalls and his mother 230 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,160 Speaker 1: and other people as property, and it doesn't erase the 231 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 1: institution of slavery as a whole, but Small's compassionate treatment 232 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:44,640 Speaker 1: of the mckeyes and the other white citizens of Baufort 233 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:47,439 Speaker 1: did wind up earning him the respect of many in 234 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 1: the white community. Robert Smalls also did a lot of 235 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:55,000 Speaker 1: work in the area of education. He had begun educating 236 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:58,840 Speaker 1: himself through private tutors during the war. Back in Bufort, 237 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:01,920 Speaker 1: he resumed the practice, hiring a tutor, waking up at 238 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:04,640 Speaker 1: five am every morning to study for two hours before 239 00:14:04,679 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 1: the rest of his day began. This desire to educate 240 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:11,080 Speaker 1: himself carried over to a desire to educate his children 241 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 1: and the black community of South Carolina as a whole. 242 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:18,000 Speaker 1: He helped form the Beaufort County School Board in February 243 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty seven, and was immediately elected chair. The school 244 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:27,120 Speaker 1: board then purchased property and established a school. It's unsurprising 245 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:30,240 Speaker 1: given that after this much community involvement. After the war, 246 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:34,840 Speaker 1: Smalls also moved into political leadership. In eighteen sixty seven, 247 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:37,520 Speaker 1: he helped found the Republican Party in South Carolina, and 248 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:41,040 Speaker 1: he was a delegate at seven different Republican national conventions. 249 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,360 Speaker 1: Along with many other black civic leaders, he made huge 250 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:47,640 Speaker 1: strides in getting South Carolina's black citizens, which at this 251 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:51,760 Speaker 1: point outnumbered its white citizens, registered to vote. He was 252 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:55,320 Speaker 1: elected to be a delegate at South Carolina's Constitutional Convention 253 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty seven. When the Constitutional Convention, which was 254 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:03,200 Speaker 1: one of the requirements for South Carolina to rejoin the Union, 255 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:07,200 Speaker 1: was convened in eighteen sixty eight, seventy six of its 256 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:11,200 Speaker 1: one twenty four delegates were black. Smalls was appointed to 257 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:14,320 Speaker 1: the Finance Committee, and he also proposed a resolution to 258 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:17,360 Speaker 1: set up free public schools that were available to everyone. 259 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:21,080 Speaker 1: This resolution ultimately led to the first public schools in 260 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:24,560 Speaker 1: South Carolina. That same year, he was elected to a 261 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:27,479 Speaker 1: two year term in the South Carolina House of Representatives. 262 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:30,800 Speaker 1: That year, the majority of representatives in the South Carolina 263 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:33,280 Speaker 1: General Assembly were black, and there were nine black and 264 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:36,520 Speaker 1: twenty four white senators in the state Senate. In fact, 265 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:40,760 Speaker 1: during reconstruction, South Carolina had more black citizens holding public 266 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:44,480 Speaker 1: law office than any other state. South Carolina also had 267 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:48,040 Speaker 1: more black representation in the United States Congress during reconstruction 268 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:51,280 Speaker 1: than any other state as well. At the end of 269 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:54,400 Speaker 1: his term in the House of Representatives, Smalls was elected 270 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:57,840 Speaker 1: to the South Carolina State Senate, where he served two terms, 271 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:03,080 Speaker 1: continuing to focus on education, economic opportunity, and investigation of 272 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:07,480 Speaker 1: alleged corruption in the Republican Party. From there, Small's next 273 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:10,320 Speaker 1: stop with the United States federal government, which we will 274 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:22,440 Speaker 1: talk about after another brief sponsor break. In eighteen seventy four, 275 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:26,080 Speaker 1: Robert Smalls was elected to the United States House of Representatives, 276 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:30,800 Speaker 1: representing a majority black district that included Beaufort County, South Carolina. 277 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:33,880 Speaker 1: Between eighteen seventy five and eighteen eighty six, he served 278 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 1: five non consecutive terms in the House of Representatives. He 279 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:40,600 Speaker 1: continued to work towards the social and economic interests of 280 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:44,280 Speaker 1: South Carolina, especially it's black citizens. He advocated for a 281 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:46,880 Speaker 1: Navy base to be built in Port Royal, South Carolina, 282 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:50,240 Speaker 1: which wound up becoming a significant contributor to the state's economy. 283 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:54,000 Speaker 1: He also championed a bill that required the federal government 284 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,640 Speaker 1: to return land that had been confiscated for nonpayment of taxes, 285 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:01,520 Speaker 1: which allowed residents of South Carolina and many other states 286 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:04,439 Speaker 1: to buy the land at a low cost. This measure 287 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,600 Speaker 1: led to black citizens of Beaufort County owning most of 288 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:11,280 Speaker 1: the land there in eighteen seventy six, one more time, 289 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:15,480 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy six, Robert Smalls proposed an amendment to an 290 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:19,240 Speaker 1: army reorganization bill which would have integrated the United States 291 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:23,440 Speaker 1: Armed Forces. Although his efforts weren't successful, they did demonstrate 292 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:26,960 Speaker 1: that people were genuinely attempting to desegregate the United States 293 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:31,200 Speaker 1: Armed Forces long long before President Truman signed Executive Order 294 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:37,080 Speaker 1: one in nineteen forty eight. However, during these same years, 295 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:41,600 Speaker 1: an intense, violent backlash against reconstruction was growing more pronounced 296 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:46,159 Speaker 1: and severe in many Southern states. The white supremacist organization 297 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:49,520 Speaker 1: the Ku Klux Klan, had been established in eighteen sixty six, 298 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 1: and by eighteen seventy it had really spread throughout the South. 299 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:57,399 Speaker 1: In eighteen seventy six, armed white men killed several black 300 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,040 Speaker 1: members of the militia near Hamburg, South carol Lineup, and 301 00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:04,680 Speaker 1: that same year elections in South Carolina were overrun with 302 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:08,359 Speaker 1: violence and voter intimidation in an effort to remove black 303 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:14,080 Speaker 1: officials from power. In eighteen seventy seven, Republican Rutherford be 304 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:17,160 Speaker 1: Hayes took office as President of the United States after 305 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:22,639 Speaker 1: an incredibly long and controversial presidential election. His opponent, Democrat 306 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:25,760 Speaker 1: Samuel J. Tilden, had won the popular vote, but when 307 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:29,720 Speaker 1: it came to awarding electoral votes, the results reported by 308 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 1: the Republican and Democratic parties and three different states did 309 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:36,639 Speaker 1: not match up. Consequently, it was up to Congress to 310 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:39,960 Speaker 1: decide how to allot the electoral votes from these states. 311 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:43,560 Speaker 1: In the end, a compromise was reached. Rutherford B. Hayes 312 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:47,080 Speaker 1: would become president, but as Commander in chief of the Army, 313 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:50,240 Speaker 1: he would have to issue the order to withdraw federal troops, 314 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:53,240 Speaker 1: which had been part of the reconstruction effort from the South. 315 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,480 Speaker 1: By this point, a lot of the early strides towards 316 00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:59,240 Speaker 1: equality that had been made during the earlier years of 317 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:03,359 Speaker 1: reconstruction had already been erased, as states had passed black 318 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:07,159 Speaker 1: codes and other discriminatory laws. State and local governments that 319 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:10,399 Speaker 1: had briefly become a lot closer to reflecting the racial 320 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:15,360 Speaker 1: makeup of their constituents didn't anymore. Voter intimidation and violence 321 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:18,240 Speaker 1: against black citizens at the hand of white citizens were 322 00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:22,160 Speaker 1: really on the rise. Governments all over the South returned 323 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:25,480 Speaker 1: to being mostly too entirely white, with many of the 324 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:29,879 Speaker 1: white government leaders having ties to the former Confederacy. A 325 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:32,840 Speaker 1: lot of people feel like this withdrawal of the federal 326 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:36,240 Speaker 1: troops was really the final nail in the coffin of reconstruction, 327 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:40,639 Speaker 1: and it was against this backdrop that in eighteen seventy seven, 328 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:45,919 Speaker 1: Robert Smalls was accused, tried, and convicted of accepting a bribe. 329 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:48,879 Speaker 1: The case boiled down to a man named Joseph Woodriff, 330 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:51,800 Speaker 1: who claimed that he had bribed Smalls with five thousand 331 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:56,359 Speaker 1: dollars on January nineteenth, eighteen seventy three. A key piece 332 00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:59,159 Speaker 1: of evidence was a check dated the nineteenth which was 333 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:02,320 Speaker 1: made out to quote cash or bearer and not to 334 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 1: Robert Smalls. Another was a handwritten note written in pencil, 335 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:10,080 Speaker 1: dated the eighteenth, the day before the check, with no 336 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:13,400 Speaker 1: signatures on it. In spite of the fact that none 337 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:15,679 Speaker 1: of what we just said really adds up, and the 338 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:18,080 Speaker 1: fact that there were a lot of other inconsistencies and 339 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:22,640 Speaker 1: unreliable witness testimonies involved in this trial, Smalls was found guilty. 340 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:25,960 Speaker 1: The conviction was upheld on appeal, but he was later pardoned, 341 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:29,160 Speaker 1: although the South Carolina press continued to use the issue 342 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:31,720 Speaker 1: against him for the next two years. At this point, 343 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:34,240 Speaker 1: most historians agree that this was really an effort to 344 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,240 Speaker 1: try to keep Smalls out of office and not a 345 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:40,880 Speaker 1: crime that he had committed at any point, even though 346 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:45,080 Speaker 1: he was running in an overwhelmingly black Republican congressional district. 347 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:47,680 Speaker 1: Smalls lost in the race for d u s House 348 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:51,760 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy eight to white Democrat George Tillman. He 349 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:54,399 Speaker 1: continued to work within the Republican Party in the face 350 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:58,679 Speaker 1: of ongoing harassment and threats and intimidation. He lost to 351 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:01,359 Speaker 1: Tilban again in eighteen eighty. Although the results of the 352 00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty election were heavily contested, in the House of 353 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:09,400 Speaker 1: Representatives ultimately decided to seat Smalls instead. More than eighteen 354 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:12,960 Speaker 1: months into the two year term, in eighteen eighty two, 355 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,360 Speaker 1: Smalls withdrew from the race in favor of another Republican candidate, 356 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,399 Speaker 1: in part because his own political support from voters hadn't 357 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:23,720 Speaker 1: yet recovered from the bribery charge. Robert Small's wife, Hannah, 358 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:27,160 Speaker 1: died in eighteen eighty three. Smalls later married a woman 359 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:29,639 Speaker 1: named Annie Wigg, and they had a son together, who 360 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:32,880 Speaker 1: they named William Robert. Annie died a few years into 361 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:37,000 Speaker 1: their marriage. In eighteen eighty four, Robert Smalls ran against 362 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:41,480 Speaker 1: white Confederate veteran William Elliott senior and one. At this point, 363 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:44,920 Speaker 1: jerry mandering had guaranteed that all but one of South 364 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:49,360 Speaker 1: Carolina's districts had a majority white population, so black representation 365 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 1: in the South Carolina government and in South Carolina's representatives 366 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:57,680 Speaker 1: to the federal government had dropped dramatically. In eighteen eighty six, 367 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:01,400 Speaker 1: Elliott defeated Smalls in the race of the House of Representatives. 368 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:05,119 Speaker 1: Although he was nominated in subsequent years, Smalls did not 369 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:09,320 Speaker 1: return to elected office after this point. In eighteen eighty nine, 370 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:12,480 Speaker 1: he was appointed collector of customs at the port of Bufort. 371 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:18,040 Speaker 1: In eighteen nine, South Carolina Governor Benjamin R. Tilman urged 372 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:21,919 Speaker 1: the state to convene another constitutional convention to revise the 373 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:25,120 Speaker 1: state constitution, and it did because of all the work 374 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,160 Speaker 1: that had been done to gerrymander the state intimidate black 375 00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:31,520 Speaker 1: voters and get black people out of public office. Nearly 376 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:34,800 Speaker 1: all of the delegates to this constitutional convention were white. 377 00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:38,040 Speaker 1: No black delegates were appointed to the Committee on the 378 00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:41,239 Speaker 1: Rights of Suffrage. It was this committee that set up 379 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:45,280 Speaker 1: as many barriers to black citizens voting as possible without 380 00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 1: directly contradicting the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. 381 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:54,000 Speaker 1: Over the strenuous objections and counter proposals of the six 382 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:58,880 Speaker 1: Black Republican delegates to the Constitutional Convention, South Carolina adopted 383 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:03,159 Speaker 1: a new constitution, and under this constitution, in order to vote, 384 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:07,080 Speaker 1: people had to pass a literacy test, pay a poll tax, 385 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:10,679 Speaker 1: and own at least three hundred dollars worth of property. 386 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 1: Being convicted of a number of crimes, including arson, burglary, 387 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:18,480 Speaker 1: and robbery also stripped people of the right to vote. Combined, 388 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:22,960 Speaker 1: these stipulations in the state constitution stripped most black citizens 389 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:25,119 Speaker 1: of the right to vote, which continued to be the 390 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:27,520 Speaker 1: case until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 391 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:33,480 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty five. Also included in the constitution the establishment 392 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:37,920 Speaker 1: of segregated schools. Robert Smiles continued to hold his customs 393 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:41,159 Speaker 1: post until nineteen twelve, when he was reappointed by William 394 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,800 Speaker 1: Howard Taffe, but not confirmed by the Senate. By this point, 395 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:47,640 Speaker 1: his health was really poor, and the Beaufort Customs House 396 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:50,520 Speaker 1: closed after he left. He died at the age of 397 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:54,600 Speaker 1: seventy six in nineteen fifteen. In the nineteen forties, Camp 398 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:57,399 Speaker 1: Robert Smalls, which was part of the Great Lakes Naval 399 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:00,399 Speaker 1: Training Center and was created to train black Navy seamen 400 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:04,520 Speaker 1: while the Navy was segregated, was named after him. In 401 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:07,879 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy six, Robert Smalls Bufort Home was added to 402 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:11,480 Speaker 1: the National Register of Historic Places. He was awarded the 403 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:16,640 Speaker 1: Palmeadow Cross on May thirteenth, two thousand two, the anniversary 404 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:19,240 Speaker 1: of his capture of the Planter, in recognition of his 405 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:23,280 Speaker 1: service to the South Carolina Militia. An army transport ship 406 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:25,760 Speaker 1: was christened to the Major General Robert Smalls on April 407 00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:31,080 Speaker 1: two thousand four. At various points, multiple schools in Beaufort 408 00:24:31,119 --> 00:24:34,800 Speaker 1: County have born Robert Small's name. Robert Small's Middle School, 409 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,679 Speaker 1: which is now Robert Small's International Academy, still does in 410 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:42,719 Speaker 1: Some of its alumni protested that its logo, which featured 411 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:44,680 Speaker 1: a man with a face that was darker on one 412 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:47,359 Speaker 1: side and lighter on the other, wearing what appeared to 413 00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:51,639 Speaker 1: be Revolutionary war Eric garb, didn't accurately represent who Robert 414 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,800 Speaker 1: Smalls was. The logo was temporarily changed to a G 415 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,119 Speaker 1: for Generals, which was their school mascot, but the greater 416 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:01,240 Speaker 1: discussion was still ongoing at the time. Recorded this episode 417 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:04,440 Speaker 1: to end with a quote for the man himself. Quote 418 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:07,840 Speaker 1: my race needs no special defense, for the past history 419 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,359 Speaker 1: of them in this country proves them to be equal 420 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:13,400 Speaker 1: of any people anywhere. All they need is an equal 421 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:17,960 Speaker 1: chance in the battle of life. That is Robert Smalls. 422 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:22,560 Speaker 1: I had a surprisingly difficult time researching this episode because 423 00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:28,560 Speaker 1: if you can find lots of children's books about Robert 424 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:32,840 Speaker 1: Small's in a typical public library, there are a lot 425 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:39,000 Speaker 1: of them. There are also numerous, like rigorous academic works 426 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:43,920 Speaker 1: for adults about Robert Small's and to get any of them, 427 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:46,840 Speaker 1: I had to go to a university library, like the 428 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:51,320 Speaker 1: public library only had the children's book levels stuff. It's 429 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,879 Speaker 1: a trend that frustrates me. Like, I am glad that 430 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:58,040 Speaker 1: there are children's books about all of these people in 431 00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:00,880 Speaker 1: these stories. That's great. And I'm glad that they're available 432 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:04,199 Speaker 1: for free at the public library. That's great. But it 433 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:08,919 Speaker 1: kind of sucks, slash really sucks when a lot of 434 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:12,439 Speaker 1: these stories are looked at as like inspirational stories for 435 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:17,720 Speaker 1: children rather than things for adults to study seriously. Also, 436 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:22,040 Speaker 1: so if you are interested in learning more about Robert Smalls, 437 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:23,399 Speaker 1: the two books that I had to go to a 438 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:27,359 Speaker 1: university library to get our gull of Statesman Robert Smalls 439 00:26:27,359 --> 00:26:31,119 Speaker 1: from Slavery to Congress by Edward A. Miller and yearning 440 00:26:31,119 --> 00:26:33,800 Speaker 1: to Breathe Free Robert Smalls of South Carolina and his 441 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:36,640 Speaker 1: family is by Andrew Billingsley, and they are both really good. 442 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:44,520 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining us today for this 443 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:47,600 Speaker 1: Saturday classic. If you have heard any kind of email 444 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:49,800 Speaker 1: address or maybe a Facebook you are l during the 445 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:52,200 Speaker 1: course of the episode, that might be obsolete. 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