1 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:05,760 Speaker 1: You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Manky. French historian 3 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:24,479 Speaker 1: Eduard de Lablay had an idea. It was eighteen sixty five, 4 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 1: the American Civil War was drawing to a close, and 5 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,280 Speaker 1: he wanted France to give the US a gift. He 6 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: decided on a statue that would mark America's hard thought 7 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: democracy and celebrate its centennial. And he didn't propose just 8 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: any statue. His concept would take years to build. Frederic 9 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:47,800 Speaker 1: Auguste Bartoldi, who shared Labala's vision, was commissioned for the 10 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: monumental task. Bartoldi traveled to America in eighteen seventy one 11 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 1: and chose Bedloe's Island for the statue's location. Though small, 12 00:00:56,800 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: its position made it a landmark noticeable to every ship 13 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: entering the harbor. He envisioned the statue greeting all who 14 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: entered the port and thus the nation. The first phase 15 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 1: of construction began in France in eighteen seventy six. Bartoldi 16 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,840 Speaker 1: created the arm holding the torch first. In eighteen seventy 17 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:19,680 Speaker 1: eight he finished the head and shoulders. He finally completed 18 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,480 Speaker 1: the statue in eighteen eighty four. While Bartoldi and his 19 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: team in France put the final touches on the statue, 20 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,640 Speaker 1: a crew in the US built the pedestal. In eighteen 21 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: eighty five. All that remained was shipping the Statue of 22 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:36,480 Speaker 1: Liberty to her new home. Workers disassembled the statue and 23 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: carefully packed it in over two hundred crates. The Zaire, 24 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: a French frigate, arrived in New York that June. The 25 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: laborers got to work erecting the pedestal and the statue. 26 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 1: On October of eighteen eighty six, President Grover Cleveland stood 27 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: before a crowd of thousands to dedicate the three hundred 28 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 1: and five foot tall statue. From that moment, Bartoldie's vision 29 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:01,560 Speaker 1: came to life. The Statue of Liberty greeted everyone who 30 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: entered the harbor. In eighteen ninety two, when Ellis Island opened, 31 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: immigrants viewed the statue as a symbol of freedom, hope, 32 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 1: and a new way of life. It remained both monument 33 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:16,240 Speaker 1: and working lighthouse until nineteen thirty three, when the National 34 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 1: Park Service took over its care and maintenance. Though they 35 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: shut down the lighthouse, the Park Service opened the Statute 36 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: of Visitors The iconic plaque and poem of the New 37 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: Colossus by Emma Lazarus became a favorite photo opportunity for tourists, 38 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: and like the statue itself, the poem, with its famous 39 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 1: lines welcoming the tired and huddled masses, had its own story. 40 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: New York born Emma and her siblings wanted for nothing. 41 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: Her father owned a successful sugar refinery and provided his 42 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 1: family with a comfortable lifestyle, and private tutors taught them German, French, 43 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 1: and Italian, in addition to other subjects. In eighteen sixty six, 44 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 1: seventeen year old Emma authored her first book, titled Poems 45 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: and Translations. Her father loved her work and published the 46 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: book to support his daughter. Emma sent a copy to 47 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the famous writers shared her father's 48 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:11,680 Speaker 1: praise and mentored the very talented Emma For several years. 49 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 1: She wrote more books expressing her opinions on life. In 50 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:18,160 Speaker 1: eighty three, she donated a sonnet to help raise money 51 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:22,799 Speaker 1: for the pedestal. The words became synonymous with immigration, yet 52 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: the poem didn't become part of the statue until after 53 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: Emma's death. She died a year after Cleveland's speech, and 54 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: mostly her sonnet was forgotten. The new Colossus wasn't memorialized 55 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 1: until nineteen o three, when one of Emma's friends pushed 56 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 1: to make the sonnet a permanent part of the monument. 57 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: While we recall the names behind many famous works of art, 58 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 1: others remained in the shadows of their creations. This is 59 00:03:48,000 --> 00:04:00,120 Speaker 1: one such story. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum. Welcome to American shadows US. 60 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 1: What many people born to the lower socioeconomic status at 61 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: the time. We don't know what year and Monia Lewis 62 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 1: was born. When asked, she gave different responses for different situations. 63 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:14,640 Speaker 1: It could have been eighteen forty two, eighteen forty four, 64 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: or even eighteen fifty four. What we do know is 65 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: that she was born in New York sometime in July Catherine. 66 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,920 Speaker 1: Her mother was Afro indigenous of the Ojibwe people and 67 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 1: lived in the Credit River Reserve on Lake Ontario. Her 68 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:33,039 Speaker 1: father was as mysterious as her birth year. Some believe 69 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:37,279 Speaker 1: her father was Samuel Lewis, a valet of Afro Haitian heritage. 70 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:41,119 Speaker 1: Other sources speculate that African and Native American writer Robert 71 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: Benjamin Lewis was her father. Proper birth certificates were rare 72 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,840 Speaker 1: at the time, and none appears to have been recorded 73 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:51,280 Speaker 1: for her. And Monia had a half brother, Samuel, from 74 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:54,600 Speaker 1: her father's first marriage, and even though Sam was nine 75 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:58,839 Speaker 1: years older, the two siblings were inseparable for a while. 76 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 1: The children enjoyed a perfect family life with loving parents 77 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:05,720 Speaker 1: and time spent growing up in Greenbush, New York, and 78 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 1: by the time Edmonia turned nine, however, both parents had died. 79 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: Sam and Agmonia went to live with their mother's sisters 80 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 1: near Niagara Falls. Despite the tragedy, the children thrived. Edmonia 81 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 1: continued to make the traditional a jibwei crafts her mother 82 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:24,479 Speaker 1: had taught her. Tourists loved her artwork, often buying whatever 83 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: Edmonia and her aunt's maide. She ran through the forests 84 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,400 Speaker 1: in the summer with her brother and other local children. 85 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:34,360 Speaker 1: They fished, swam, and explored the great outdoors, even hunted 86 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: together for the rest of her days. Agmonia recalled this 87 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:39,680 Speaker 1: part of her childhood as some of the best times 88 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: of her life. But life moved on, and one day 89 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:47,000 Speaker 1: her brother told her he was leaving. He had caught 90 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:51,159 Speaker 1: what people called gold fever. Men across the country were 91 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:54,240 Speaker 1: leaving their families and droves, hoping to strike it rich 92 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:57,679 Speaker 1: out west. The moment that sparked the gold rush happened 93 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 1: on January forty eight one. James Wilson Marshall, a carpenter 94 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,200 Speaker 1: from New Jersey, caught a glimpse of something shiny in 95 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:09,080 Speaker 1: the American River at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 96 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 1: He discovered an abundance of gold flakes. Marshall originally moved 97 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:16,800 Speaker 1: west to work on a sawmill for John Sutter, who 98 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:20,039 Speaker 1: set up a colony that would later become Sacramento, and 99 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:22,240 Speaker 1: the men swore each other to secrecy so that the 100 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 1: gold would be all theirs. A Sutter had already claimed 101 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,200 Speaker 1: quite a bit of land, enslaving hundreds of Native Americans 102 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:31,120 Speaker 1: who helped colonize the area. The amount of gold the 103 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: men found made it impossible to hide. Soon, gold miners 104 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:37,680 Speaker 1: from miles around appeared for their steak in the riches. 105 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 1: Sam Brannon, a storekeeper in San Francisco, proudly displayed the 106 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:45,920 Speaker 1: vial of gold had panned from Sutter's creek. Within weeks, 107 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:48,160 Speaker 1: most of the men in San Francisco converged on the 108 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:51,760 Speaker 1: settlement to pan for gold, words spread, bringing in people 109 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:55,599 Speaker 1: from around the world. In December of eighty eight, President 110 00:06:55,720 --> 00:07:00,600 Speaker 1: James Cape Holp announced the California had gold. California's population 111 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,440 Speaker 1: jumped from twenty thousand to over a hundred thousand the 112 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:06,520 Speaker 1: following year. Most of those heading to the gold mines 113 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 1: in eight were men, known as the Forty Niners. The 114 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:14,520 Speaker 1: men left everything behind, including wives and children. In the 115 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: men's absence, women struggled to keep businesses afloat the farms running, 116 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: and raised children alone. Many of the forty Niners found 117 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: the wealth they saw it holding onto It was another matter. 118 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 1: Businesses charged extra pushing up the cost of living. Many 119 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 1: lost their fortunes to gambling, drinking, and time spent in 120 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:38,400 Speaker 1: brothels that San Francisco storekeeper Sam Brannon never went back 121 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: to seek out more gold. Instead, he bought nearly all 122 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:44,640 Speaker 1: the local supply of mining equipment, then marked it up 123 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: and sold it to miners. His business model inspired the 124 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:53,280 Speaker 1: saying during a gold rush cell shovels. While Stutter went bankrupt, 125 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: Brannon became the state's first millionaire. Others also made their fortunes, 126 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:09,280 Speaker 1: including Edmonia's brother Emuel Lewis. It's unclear why sam took 127 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: Edmonia away from her aunts and left her with one, 128 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 1: Captain S. R. Mills, But Edmonia fell into a deep depression. 129 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 1: Her parents were dead, her brother abandoned her, and she 130 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: had been taken away from her aunt's and the place 131 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 1: she called home. Gone were her forests with animals and trees. 132 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:28,960 Speaker 1: Gone where the fields where she ran and played with 133 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: other children. She was living with a man she didn't 134 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:36,400 Speaker 1: know in Manhattan, a crowded, dirty city, and though she 135 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 1: waited for her brother, he never returned home. Samuel headed 136 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 1: to San Francisco and opened a barbershop while searching for 137 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 1: his fortune in gold. He made enough to travel to 138 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:49,440 Speaker 1: Europe and eventually returned to the States, settling in Idaho. 139 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:53,280 Speaker 1: His business ventures failed, though, and some of his buildings 140 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 1: caught fire. He moved Montana and opened another barbershop. Fifteen 141 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:01,280 Speaker 1: years later, he built a home, married and had a son. 142 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:04,480 Speaker 1: Though he never returned to see his sister, he sent 143 00:09:04,559 --> 00:09:08,680 Speaker 1: money for her housing, food, and schooling, and after four 144 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:11,920 Speaker 1: years in Manhattan and Monia left to attend the New 145 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 1: York Central College Upstate, established in eighteen forty nine. The 146 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,320 Speaker 1: school offered black and white students in education. Higher education 147 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 1: was rare for black people, much less women at the time. 148 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:28,240 Speaker 1: The school focused on grammar, reading, math, and geography, while 149 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 1: the male students took additional science, natural history, and astronomy classes. 150 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:36,200 Speaker 1: The women learned needlework and knitting. Edmonia studied at the 151 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,160 Speaker 1: school from eighteen fifty six to eighteen fifty seven. In 152 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:42,200 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty nine, she resumed her studies at Oberlin College 153 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: in Ohio. The founders prided themselves on the school's Christian values. 154 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:50,640 Speaker 1: Like Central College, they accepted students black and white, men 155 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:53,960 Speaker 1: and women. The school also became the first in the 156 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:58,120 Speaker 1: country to offer co ed classes. Though many departments offered 157 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:01,880 Speaker 1: coed learning, most women's studied in the school's ladies department, 158 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: earning a literary degree at the end of four years. 159 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: Edmonia received a well rounded education, but of all her studies, 160 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:13,280 Speaker 1: she demonstrated a rare talent in her favorite subject art. 161 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: As a woman of color, Edmonia felt at home there. 162 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:20,920 Speaker 1: Oberlin had strong ties to the abolitionist movement and took 163 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: part in the underground railroad that helped enslaved people escaped 164 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:27,600 Speaker 1: to Canada. One reverend John Keep and his wife welcomed 165 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:29,880 Speaker 1: her into their home, and she lived with them from 166 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:33,960 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty nine until eighteen sixty three. The community also 167 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:37,760 Speaker 1: reflected the school's ideals. Both black and white residents lived 168 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 1: and worked alongside each other. But while the school in 169 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:46,000 Speaker 1: town seemed progressive and somewhat idyllic, black people, Native Americans, 170 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:50,840 Speaker 1: and women still lacked equality. Politics and contentions surrounding slavery 171 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:55,360 Speaker 1: led to arguments and other conflicts. Several classmates participated in 172 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:58,760 Speaker 1: John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry. Brown hoped to start 173 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:01,720 Speaker 1: a rebellion that would result to freedom for all enslaved people. 174 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:06,760 Speaker 1: While the uprising failed, it sparked conversation. The tensions on 175 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:11,760 Speaker 1: both sides grew. Oberlin's leaders feared something terrible would eventually happen. 176 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 1: They were right. The headlines for February eleventh of eighteen 177 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: sixty two read that two women at the college had 178 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:23,120 Speaker 1: been poisoned and a suspect was in custody. A month earlier, 179 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:27,000 Speaker 1: Edmonia had joined classmates Maria Miles and Christina Ennis for 180 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,440 Speaker 1: an unschaperoned slave ride with a few young men. All 181 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:34,559 Speaker 1: enjoyed the rod despite the bitter cold Afterward, Amnia asked 182 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:36,640 Speaker 1: the other women to join her for a hot drink. 183 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 1: The women eagerly accepted. Ammonia poured two glasses of spiced 184 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,600 Speaker 1: wine and handed them to the women. The three sat 185 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:48,200 Speaker 1: and talked until the glasses were empty. Maria and Christina 186 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:51,600 Speaker 1: bad Edmonia good night and retired to their rooms. Not 187 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:56,040 Speaker 1: long afterward, the two became violently ill. The school administration 188 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:58,280 Speaker 1: sent them home to their parents until they recovered. A 189 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:02,080 Speaker 1: couple of days later, both women accused Agmonia of lacing 190 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:05,080 Speaker 1: their drinks with the drug popularly known as Spanish fly. 191 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:09,880 Speaker 1: Though most often historically used as an aphrodisiac in large doses, 192 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:14,079 Speaker 1: it's a poison. In retrospect, Agmonia realized that asking them 193 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:16,960 Speaker 1: to join her and not participating in the drinking had 194 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:20,920 Speaker 1: made her instantly suspect. No matter how much the reverend 195 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:25,520 Speaker 1: insisted Agmonia was innocent, she was arrested without any evidence. 196 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:29,600 Speaker 1: The court and jury found Ammonia not guilty. At first, 197 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: she thought life might go on as it had before, 198 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:46,960 Speaker 1: but that was before the second incident. Agmonia struggled through 199 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:49,640 Speaker 1: her studies and was preparing for her final paper when 200 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:54,200 Speaker 1: professor accused her of theft. The subsequent investigation proved she 201 00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 1: had not stolen the missing art supplies, but innocent or not, 202 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:01,719 Speaker 1: the controversy around Agmonia too much for the school's reputation. 203 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,120 Speaker 1: Oberlin asked her to leave and not return for the 204 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:08,760 Speaker 1: false semester. She had worked hard, but Edmonia would not 205 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 1: finish her degree. Determined nonetheless, to make a career from 206 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 1: her artistic talents, Agmonia moved to Boston with financial help 207 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:20,160 Speaker 1: from her brother. She mingled with abolitionists and confided that 208 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,000 Speaker 1: she would love to make fine art. She never told 209 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 1: anyone how she came to leave Oberlin. One day she 210 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:28,760 Speaker 1: saw a statue of Benjamin Franklin and thought she could 211 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:32,560 Speaker 1: learn to make statues too. The three male sculpting tutors 212 00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 1: turned her down. Male sculptors usually learned sculpting by taking 213 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:40,960 Speaker 1: anatomy classes. First women didn't have that luxury. Finally, she 214 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:45,560 Speaker 1: found Edward Augustus Brackett, who specialized in creating busts. Oh 215 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:49,560 Speaker 1: With his mentoring, Edmonia began to make and sell claim medallions, 216 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:52,840 Speaker 1: and prominent Boston women began to commission her. But it 217 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 1: was her rendition of Robert Shaw that brought her fame. 218 00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: A Shaw, a white man hailing from Massachusetts, had headed 219 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:02,640 Speaker 1: into this of a war with America's first all black regiment. 220 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,080 Speaker 1: He stood by his men when they were ambushed and 221 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:09,520 Speaker 1: died with them. Confederate soldiers unceremoniously tossed them into a 222 00:14:09,559 --> 00:14:13,280 Speaker 1: mass grave, and Mania made enough money on creating busts 223 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:16,319 Speaker 1: that she began setting aside money for her ultimate dream 224 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:21,040 Speaker 1: to move to Europe and find more inspiration for her art. Meanwhile, 225 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:24,000 Speaker 1: she wanted to help others with the war over, and 226 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: Monia traveled to Richmond to give newly freed black people 227 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: basic educations. By August she had enough money to set sail. 228 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:35,920 Speaker 1: She chose Florence, Italy, where neoclassical sculpture was popular due 229 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:39,080 Speaker 1: to the number of marble quarries, and Monia was pleased 230 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:43,040 Speaker 1: to discover that Italy widely accepted women, artists with color 231 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: and sects were not nearly as controversial. Soon she felt 232 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:51,080 Speaker 1: right at home with local artists and American expats. In time, 233 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:54,560 Speaker 1: she traveled to Paris and London for more inspiration before 234 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:58,360 Speaker 1: returning to Italy and settling in Rome. At the time, 235 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 1: sculptors often paid stone crafters to help with their statues. 236 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:05,800 Speaker 1: Admonia locked the resources and did the work herself. She 237 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:10,960 Speaker 1: created traditional busts of famous and influential people. However, most 238 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 1: of her work comprised African American and Native American subjects. 239 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:19,760 Speaker 1: Native American sculptures weren't unheard of, but Admonia's depictions stood out, 240 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:22,120 Speaker 1: and one of her better known works was a series 241 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:26,520 Speaker 1: of statues inspired by Henry Wadsworth Longfellows The Song of Hiawatha. 242 00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 1: Admonias versions of Native Americans possessed a more respectful reality 243 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:34,840 Speaker 1: than the stereotyped and fantasized versions that her fellow artists created. 244 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:39,240 Speaker 1: She told stories with her sculptures. In one of her works, 245 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:42,479 Speaker 1: an African American couple has broken free from their shackles. 246 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:46,000 Speaker 1: The beauty and depth of emotion in her subjects made 247 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,240 Speaker 1: her very successful. In eighteen seventy she returned to the 248 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 1: United States for a while. She tried to reunite with 249 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:56,400 Speaker 1: her brother. Though she made several attempts, he never reciprocated 250 00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 1: the effort. In eighteen seventy three, she traveled to San France, 251 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:03,080 Speaker 1: Cisco for a major art show, praising the West Coast 252 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:06,080 Speaker 1: for being much more friendly than the East Coast. The 253 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:09,720 Speaker 1: show wasn't as profitable as she had hoped, and disillusioned, 254 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:13,320 Speaker 1: she tried seeing her beloved brother once more. When he 255 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:17,040 Speaker 1: still wouldn't see her, she returned to Europe. Edmonia would 256 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:20,760 Speaker 1: never see Samuel again. Back in Rome, she created her 257 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:26,080 Speaker 1: most famous work, inspired by Cleopatra's legendary suicide, and Monia 258 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:29,160 Speaker 1: chiseled the queen's image slumped back on her throne, a 259 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,000 Speaker 1: smile on her face as venom from a poisonous snake 260 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:36,240 Speaker 1: took hold. Her message seemed to say that Cleopatra died 261 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 1: on her own terms as queen. Edmonia first revealed the 262 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:44,360 Speaker 1: sculpture during the eighteen seventy six Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, and 263 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:48,720 Speaker 1: judges were astounded. While some viewers considered the dying queen's 264 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:53,680 Speaker 1: image ghastly and graphic, others praised it as masterful. The 265 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:56,440 Speaker 1: statue failed to find a buyer when the expo ended, 266 00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: and it went into storage, but a Monia returned to Rome. 267 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: She continued to create more sculptures and inspire other artists, 268 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:16,920 Speaker 1: and then Edmonia disappeared from history almost Ammonia Lewis died 269 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:20,960 Speaker 1: in London on September seventeenth of nine seven. She never 270 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:24,359 Speaker 1: married and had no children. In her will, she requested 271 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:27,680 Speaker 1: two things, a dark walnut casket and for her death 272 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:31,120 Speaker 1: notice to appear in the British Roman Catholic publication The Tablet. 273 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:35,320 Speaker 1: Edmonia faded from history until two women dug into her past, 274 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:41,520 Speaker 1: biographer Marilyn Richardson and ROBERTA. Bobby Reno, historian in East Greenbush, 275 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:45,639 Speaker 1: New York, where Edmonia grew up, Richardson tracked down at 276 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:50,080 Speaker 1: Monia's most famous sculpture, the Death of Cleopatra. It wasn't easy. 277 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 1: Edmonia left the sculpture in Philadelphia. Richardson first tracked a 278 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:59,399 Speaker 1: twist saloon in Chicago. After that, it marked a racehorse's 279 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:03,119 Speaker 1: grave a track. The racetrack eventually fell out of favor 280 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:06,159 Speaker 1: and was sold to become a golf course. The Cleopatra, 281 00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:09,359 Speaker 1: still on her throne, stood vigil over the changes that 282 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,200 Speaker 1: came and went. The golf course gave way to a 283 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:15,240 Speaker 1: munition site, which later became a center for bulk mail. 284 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:19,080 Speaker 1: Through all sorts of weather, neglect and abuse, andedmonious work 285 00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:22,840 Speaker 1: of art. Endured boy scouts attempted to cover the graffiti 286 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:26,520 Speaker 1: with paint. But finally the sculpture found its way to 287 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 1: a mall. From there, Richardson managed to find it in 288 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:33,600 Speaker 1: a storage room. The Forest Park Historical Society rescued the 289 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,120 Speaker 1: sculpture in the nineteen eighties. Ten years later they donated 290 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:40,680 Speaker 1: it to the Smithsonian. Along the Way another sculpture surface 291 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:44,879 Speaker 1: of two sleeping infants, simply called Night. Along the Way 292 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:49,240 Speaker 1: another sculpture surface of two sleeping infants called simply Night. 293 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:52,520 Speaker 1: The Baltimore Museum of Art purchased the piece at a 294 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:55,679 Speaker 1: Southeby's auction for a hundred and thirty thousand, seven hundred 295 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:59,040 Speaker 1: and twenty dollars. Other pieces were sent to the Howard 296 00:18:59,119 --> 00:19:02,880 Speaker 1: University Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum, and the Detroit 297 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:07,240 Speaker 1: Institute of Arts. The historian Bobby Reno was a devoted 298 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:10,920 Speaker 1: fan of Ammonia's, though she knew very little about her life, 299 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 1: In fairness, no one did. Dedicated to finding out more 300 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:19,440 Speaker 1: about this former Greenbush resident, Reno began searching for Admonia's 301 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:23,359 Speaker 1: grave site. Eventually, it was found under an unmarked slab. 302 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:27,040 Speaker 1: Reno restored the grave site and added a simple marker 303 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:31,920 Speaker 1: per Admonious Will. But Reno and Richardson weren't finished. They 304 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:34,760 Speaker 1: wanted to do one more thing in honor of Ammonia. 305 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 1: In Reno sent a request to Oberlin College to write 306 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:42,800 Speaker 1: a wrong. The college took their request to grant Aedmonia 307 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:47,080 Speaker 1: Lewis an honorary degree before a committee. Meanwhile, Reno lobbied 308 00:19:47,119 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 1: for more public recognition. On January, Ammonia appeared on a 309 00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:58,000 Speaker 1: U S postage stamp honoring her talent and heritage. In April, 310 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:01,480 Speaker 1: the college finally got back to re Now the committee 311 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:05,120 Speaker 1: would not grant the request for an honorary degree. Instead, 312 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:07,760 Speaker 1: Oberlin decided to give it Monia Lewis the full degree 313 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:10,280 Speaker 1: she had nearly completed a hundred and sixty years ago. 314 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:16,040 Speaker 1: On June five, Oberlin President Carmen Ambar stood before the 315 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:20,520 Speaker 1: graduating class and awarded Edmonia Lewis her degree in Ladies Courses. 316 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:26,280 Speaker 1: Posthumous and Monia, who her aunts and family sometimes called Wildfire, 317 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,800 Speaker 1: had finally received the recognition she had earned all those 318 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:35,120 Speaker 1: years ago. There's more to this story. Stick around after 319 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:46,000 Speaker 1: this brief sponsor break to hear all about it. In nine, 320 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:49,080 Speaker 1: the good times of the Roaring twenties came to a halt. 321 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:53,560 Speaker 1: The New York stock market crashed, People lost their life savings. 322 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:58,760 Speaker 1: Businesses failed, leaving what in four workers unemployed. Many had 323 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:02,000 Speaker 1: to stand in long breadline for rations to feed their families. 324 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:06,000 Speaker 1: For those struggling to survive, it seemed that no one cared. 325 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:11,360 Speaker 1: Banks defaulted on mortgages and evicted families. President Hoover believed 326 00:21:11,359 --> 00:21:13,520 Speaker 1: that dead all get through it if people just helped 327 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:19,160 Speaker 1: one another. Families moved in together. Philanthropy increased with food drives. 328 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:22,240 Speaker 1: Communities came together to help farmers through a sort of 329 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:25,240 Speaker 1: collective action that's come to be known as penny auctions. 330 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:29,159 Speaker 1: After foreclosures, they bid on the houses, farming equipment, and 331 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 1: livestock the banks had seized for only pennies and returned 332 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:35,639 Speaker 1: them to the farmers who had supplied their food. But 333 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:38,800 Speaker 1: it wasn't enough. Neighbors often had no more to give 334 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:43,280 Speaker 1: than those in need. Without anything left to share, Americans 335 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: turned to the government for assistance, but Hoover remained unmoved. 336 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:50,600 Speaker 1: Americans who had once lived in apartments and houses now 337 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,720 Speaker 1: lived in makeshift huts made of cardboard, tar, paper, or 338 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:57,640 Speaker 1: other discarded supplies. Some dug holes in the ground and 339 00:21:57,840 --> 00:21:59,879 Speaker 1: used whatever might count as a roof to keep the 340 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,760 Speaker 1: a now, others took up residence inside water mains and 341 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:07,960 Speaker 1: under bridges. The settlements became known as Hooverville's. The residents 342 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,359 Speaker 1: referred to the newspapers they used as blankets as Hoover blankets. 343 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:15,600 Speaker 1: Empty pockets turned inside out were called Hoover flags. When 344 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:18,119 Speaker 1: people wore out the soles in their shoes, they placed 345 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:21,719 Speaker 1: Hoover leather, which amounted to pieces of cardboard, into their shoes. 346 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 1: It's easy to see that the President's reluctance to help 347 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:30,080 Speaker 1: Americans didn't win him many fans. Typically, Americans looked down 348 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:33,760 Speaker 1: on those seeking handouts. People thought taking state welfare was 349 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:37,000 Speaker 1: shameful unless it was someone they knew who had fallen 350 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,800 Speaker 1: on hard times. The general sentiment was that people on 351 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:44,159 Speaker 1: welfare did little to nothing to help themselves. Droughts in 352 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:47,960 Speaker 1: the Plain States made the situation worse. Without water, crops, 353 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:52,600 Speaker 1: animals and people died. Some government officials insisted the situation 354 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:55,040 Speaker 1: was hardly as dyer as people made it out to be. 355 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:59,080 Speaker 1: If they didn't see it, then it didn't exist. But 356 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:02,359 Speaker 1: a group of bographers was about to change that. In 357 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,879 Speaker 1: March of nineteen thirty six, Dorothea Lange passed a sign 358 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:10,360 Speaker 1: the Long Road in California. Sensing a story, she turned around. 359 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,760 Speaker 1: The handmade sign read pe Pickers Camp. Lange worked as 360 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:18,480 Speaker 1: a photographer for the Farm Security Administration. Her job was 361 00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:21,600 Speaker 1: to help raise awareness of the American farmer's plight. She 362 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:23,919 Speaker 1: grabbed her camera equipment and got out of the car. 363 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:27,120 Speaker 1: The thin, disheveled woman and her children were friendly enough. 364 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:30,080 Speaker 1: The woman told Lange that she and her children had 365 00:23:30,119 --> 00:23:33,240 Speaker 1: been living on vegetables from a nearby field and whatever 366 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:36,440 Speaker 1: birds the children managed to catch. A thirty two year 367 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:40,400 Speaker 1: old Florence Owens. Thompson and her seven children allowed Lange 368 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:43,879 Speaker 1: to take several photos, including a close up of Thompson's 369 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:48,680 Speaker 1: tired and desperate face. This was the face of rural America. 370 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:53,080 Speaker 1: Thompson's portrait came to represent the Great Depression and made 371 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:56,840 Speaker 1: Lange one of America's top photographers. She had always loved art, 372 00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:00,800 Speaker 1: but especially photography. In nineteen four teen, she had worked 373 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:05,520 Speaker 1: for the famous Pictorialist movement photographer Arnold Genta. In nineteen seventeen, 374 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:08,720 Speaker 1: she had studied at the Clarence H. White School of Photography. 375 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,280 Speaker 1: After graduation in nineteen nineteen, she had opened a portrait studio. 376 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:17,000 Speaker 1: Lang's gift for photography had captured the Farm Security Administration's attention. 377 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:21,480 Speaker 1: They asked if she and other photographers, predominantly men, could 378 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:24,679 Speaker 1: document the effects the Great Depression had had on America. 379 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:28,199 Speaker 1: Between nineteen thirty five and nineteen forty four, Lange and 380 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:32,040 Speaker 1: the others took eighty thousand photographs of struggling Americans and 381 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:35,840 Speaker 1: the drought bridden dust Bowl migrant mother. The portrait Lang 382 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:40,440 Speaker 1: took of Florence and her children spread across the nation. Florence, 383 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: an indigenous woman, had lost her husband in nineteen thirty one. 384 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:47,080 Speaker 1: Since then she had worked in the fields for minimal 385 00:24:47,119 --> 00:24:51,200 Speaker 1: pay and scraps. Americans called Florence the Madonna of the 386 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:55,000 Speaker 1: dust Bowl. Without a word, she had described the plight 387 00:24:55,119 --> 00:24:59,600 Speaker 1: of rural farmers. Lange took more heartbreaking photos of malnourished 388 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:03,399 Speaker 1: children in breadlines and farm workers from all kinds of backgrounds, 389 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: hunched over crops and sparse fields. Her photography captured the 390 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:12,520 Speaker 1: moments where Americans, regardless of heritage or upbringing, shared compassion. 391 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 1: Lang went on to say that she strove to create 392 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:20,240 Speaker 1: photos that created social change. The day after Lang's photo 393 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:23,040 Speaker 1: of Florence and her children appeared in the San Francisco News. 394 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:28,000 Speaker 1: The state Relief Administration arrived with food rations. In nineteen forty, 395 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:30,919 Speaker 1: Lang became the first woman to be awarded a Guggenheim 396 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:34,320 Speaker 1: Fellowship Grant for her exceptional talent and creativity in the arts. 397 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:40,680 Speaker 1: Like edmonious Statue of Cleopatra, Lang's art reflected reality. Lang 398 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:44,879 Speaker 1: died in ninety five, though she is not forgotten. She 399 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: inspired a host of photographers to prioritize humanity in their 400 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:59,440 Speaker 1: photos and influenced the development of documentary photography. American Shadows 401 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:03,000 Speaker 1: as host it by Lauren Vogelbaum, this episode was written 402 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:06,920 Speaker 1: by Michelle Muto, researched by Ali Steed, and produced by 403 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:11,040 Speaker 1: Miranda Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Mankey, 404 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:15,320 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. To learn more about the show, 405 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:18,440 Speaker 1: visit grim and mil dot com. For more podcasts from 406 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:22,520 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 407 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:24,200 Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts.