1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:04,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy Willson' and so you it's funny to be 4 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: I wrote this little outline with an introduction that begins. 5 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:23,759 Speaker 1: And you grew up in the Pacific Northwest, or maybe 6 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 1: in Vancouver or especially in the islands between them. You 7 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 1: may have already heard about the story we're going to 8 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 1: talk about today, which is the Pig War. If you 9 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: have tuned in thinking this is about the Bay of 10 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: Pigs invasion, I'm sorry, We're talking about something else. Um. However, 11 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: you you did grow up in that area and it 12 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:45,320 Speaker 1: was a new story to you. Yeah. I mean I 13 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 1: didn't do all of my growing up there. I moved 14 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:51,160 Speaker 1: from there when I was a little over nine, but 15 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: I still have siblings there and have gone back there 16 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,279 Speaker 1: several times. And I had never heard of it. And 17 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: right in that area, right like Tacoma and polap which 18 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:07,039 Speaker 1: is right outside Seattle, so I should have heard of it, 19 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,119 Speaker 1: but I never had. Well, I may have been too 20 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: young when I left. I missed that chunk. Well. This 21 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: was recommended as a subject by listener Katie, and it 22 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,199 Speaker 1: is basically a story of how in eighteen fifty nine 23 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:21,760 Speaker 1: the United States and Britain very nearly went to war 24 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: over an issue that seems more likely to start a 25 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: feud between hat Fields and McCoy's, which is that an 26 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: American settler shot a Canadian pig that was rooting around 27 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: in his garden. Doesn't that sound silly? Yes? And I 28 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 1: can also see how that would escalate and a hat 29 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: Field in McCoy Yes. So that is what we're going 30 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: to talk about the day. Of course, people have been 31 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: living on what is now known as San Juan Island 32 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: between the mainland of Washington and the island of Vancouver 33 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: for thousands of years before European explorers started pushing into 34 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: the Scific Northwest. So during this sort of European exploration phase, 35 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: Spain was the first country to claim and rename this island, 36 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:16,359 Speaker 1: when Francisco Eliza dubbed it Eli Archipelago da San juan Uh. 37 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:19,119 Speaker 1: Its location and fertile soil made it a really attractive 38 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 1: spot for the Spanish as well as the British and 39 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 1: the Americans, although Spain eventually withdrew from the area. In 40 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: eighteen eighteen, the United States and Britain signed the Anglo 41 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:34,000 Speaker 1: American Convention, which reinforced England's control over the eastern half 42 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 1: of Canada while allowing both nations to operate what was 43 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:42,639 Speaker 1: then called Oregon Country jointly. Citizens of both nations would 44 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: be allowed to live in this area, and the agreement 45 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,920 Speaker 1: would be renewed every decade unless one nation or the 46 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:51,240 Speaker 1: other could conclude that it had settled the region. It 47 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 1: was basically if some person or country eventually had the 48 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: most guys in there. It reminds me of like a 49 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:02,920 Speaker 1: board gate, where like I, I have thirty miniatures in here, 50 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: so it's mine now. Um. So for the first several decades, 51 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 1: both sides were kind of thinking that it was unlikely 52 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: that this thing was going to be renewed. American settlers 53 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:16,840 Speaker 1: and prospectors thought they clearly had the advantage, and at 54 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: the same time, so did English merchants and trappers. Is 55 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: probably an indication that it was pretty evenly divided for 56 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: a while. But eventually the tide did start to shift 57 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:30,800 Speaker 1: and the American population in Oregon Country skyrocketed between eighteen 58 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 1: forty and eighteen forty five, and around this same time, 59 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: fur trading started to dwindle as the region suffered from 60 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: over trapping, and this made it less attractive to England, 61 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: and England was less motivated to maintain its boundaries, whereas 62 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: the US was still quite eager for the land. So 63 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: in eighteen forty six, the U. S and Great Britain 64 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: signed the Treaty of Oregon. This is the treaty that 65 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: set the border between the United States and Canada at 66 00:03:55,840 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: the forty ninth parallel, So that really long straight portion 67 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:03,080 Speaker 1: it looks straight on a map, you're actually trying to 68 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: walk down it. It is not remotely straight because it 69 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: was delineated by people on the ground with with kind 70 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: of primitive instruments, um by the long stretch of border 71 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: that is north of what's now North Dakota, Montana and 72 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 1: Washington and south of Alberta, Saskatchewan in Manitoba. And it 73 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:25,159 Speaker 1: seems pretty self explanatory until you get to the western 74 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 1: end of the border. The treaty went on to say 75 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 1: it quote shall be continued westward along the forty nine 76 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:34,600 Speaker 1: parallel of north latitude to the middle of the Channel, 77 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: which separates the continent from Vancouver's Island, and then southerly 78 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:41,719 Speaker 1: through the middle of the said channel and of Schuca 79 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:45,839 Speaker 1: Straits to the Pacific Ocean. The problem was that this 80 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,839 Speaker 1: channel was really two large straits and a lot of 81 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: other smaller waterways. The Harrow Strait lay next to Vancouver 82 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:56,320 Speaker 1: Island and the Rosario Strait lay next to the mainland 83 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:59,359 Speaker 1: in what is now Washington, and in between where the 84 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 1: San Juan Islands, which became disputed territory, with both the 85 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:07,240 Speaker 1: United States and Canada basically saying that is mine. The 86 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,479 Speaker 1: largest island, the one known as San Juan Island, was 87 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: the one that was the most demand. The US made 88 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:16,640 Speaker 1: an official claim to the islands in eighteen fifty three 89 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: by including it with the creation of Washington Territory. The 90 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:23,359 Speaker 1: Hudson's Bay Company, which had been operating on the island 91 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: since at least eighteen forty five, responded by building a 92 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: sheep farm on the southern shore that September, which quickly 93 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,880 Speaker 1: started to flourish. A man named Charles Griffin was sent 94 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 1: to run it, and he named it Bellevue. For a while, 95 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:39,679 Speaker 1: it was just Griffin and his staff and their sheep 96 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:42,520 Speaker 1: that we're all living on this fifty five square mile island. 97 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:44,840 Speaker 1: This doesn't sound like a huge population, but it was 98 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:47,719 Speaker 1: a pretty large sheep farm. There were like almost five 99 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 1: thousand sheep, but the sheep did not count as humans. 100 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:56,839 Speaker 1: Now maybe they did not, there's no equivalency. So the 101 00:05:56,960 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: land on San Juan Island was very rich and productive 102 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:03,880 Speaker 1: of and it became a prime location for American settlers, 103 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:07,359 Speaker 1: especially after gold rushes in the area kind of drew 104 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,480 Speaker 1: people out there, and then you know, they would fail 105 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: and people would look for something else to do, like 106 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:16,599 Speaker 1: starting a farm. So soon Americans coming into the region 107 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 1: were staking claims in what had been the Hudson's Bay 108 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 1: Company's grazing land. So the British government viewed all these 109 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:28,480 Speaker 1: American incomers as squatters, and tensions between the British and 110 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:32,600 Speaker 1: the Americans actually living there ran pretty high, so case 111 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:35,920 Speaker 1: in point, in eighteen fifty four, a U. S customs 112 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:38,880 Speaker 1: collector showed up on the island and tried to collect 113 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: duties from Griffin's farm manager, and the farm manager swore 114 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 1: out a warrant for the custom collector's arrest for trespassing 115 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:49,120 Speaker 1: on British soil. Then, in March of eighteen fifty five, 116 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,280 Speaker 1: a sheriff from the Washington Mainland brought his poffee over 117 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: the channel in the middle of the night and confiscated 118 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 1: thirty five Griffin sheep, claiming that they were going to 119 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:01,279 Speaker 1: be sold to pay back taxes. HUD's Bay Company later 120 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 1: demanded fifteen thousand dollars in damages. This also led Vancouver's 121 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,600 Speaker 1: Governor James Douglas to right to Isaac L. Stevens, who 122 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:15,120 Speaker 1: was his counterpartner Washington, to complain about it. The name 123 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 1: Isaac L. Stevens may ring a bell if you remember 124 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:20,360 Speaker 1: our Chief Seattle episode. He plays a role in that also, 125 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 1: And this whole thing was raising enough eyebrows and Washington 126 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:27,760 Speaker 1: d c that Secretary of State William L. Macy also 127 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:32,720 Speaker 1: wrote to Governor Stevens basically saying, hey, please play nice guys. Uh. 128 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:34,760 Speaker 1: He also asked for the British government to do the 129 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 1: same with Governor Douglas, and they did. Sadly, this did 130 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,920 Speaker 1: not really help diffuse anything. And before we go into 131 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 1: detail on why, let's take a moment and talk about 132 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 1: a word from our sponsor. So let's get back to 133 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: where thanks got simultaneously escalated and a little silly American 134 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 1: Lyman Cutler was part of the American influx of settlers 135 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 1: onto San Juan Island He was a failed gold prospector 136 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:05,160 Speaker 1: who built a little cabin and planted a potato patch 137 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 1: right by the Hudson's Bay Company's sheep run. He later 138 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: claimed that Governor Stevens himself had told him that the 139 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:16,640 Speaker 1: land belonged to America, and so Cutler was claiming a 140 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,960 Speaker 1: hundred and sixty acres under the Donation Land Claim Act 141 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: of eighteen fifty so. Like the Homestead Act later did 142 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: in the Midwest, the Donation Land Claim Act allowed citizens 143 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:30,120 Speaker 1: over the age of twenty one to claim a bunch 144 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,560 Speaker 1: of land for free if they met certain residency and 145 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:39,960 Speaker 1: improvement conditions. Number one, disputed land was not up for 146 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: grabs under this act, and number two the Land Claim 147 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 1: Act expired in eighteen fifty five before Cutler even got there. 148 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:52,199 Speaker 1: And then number three uh possibly a lesser but definitely 149 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 1: a critical point. His improvements were really not so great. 150 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:59,160 Speaker 1: His potato patch was only fenced on three sides, and 151 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:02,440 Speaker 1: that allowed animals to trot right in and plunder his crop. 152 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:06,520 Speaker 1: One of these invading animals was a bore belonging to 153 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 1: Charles Griffin of Bellevue Sheep Farm fame. Cutler claimed that 154 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 1: he woke up one morning to the sound of laughter 155 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:16,720 Speaker 1: outside of his window. This was on June fifty nine. 156 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:19,959 Speaker 1: He looked outside to see one of Griffin's men laughing 157 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 1: at a pig rooting through his potato patch, so Cutler 158 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:27,319 Speaker 1: went outside and shot it. This would not have been 159 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:30,360 Speaker 1: newsworthy if Cutler had not been American, and if the 160 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:33,800 Speaker 1: pig had not effectively been the property of the Hudson's 161 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:36,480 Speaker 1: Bay Company, which was a treating company that ran much 162 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:40,120 Speaker 1: of the show in Canada. At first, the two men 163 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:43,960 Speaker 1: did try to work it out between themselves. Cutler offered 164 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,560 Speaker 1: to replace the pig, or to get estimates from three 165 00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 1: men about how much the pig was worth, and then 166 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 1: use that information to figure out how much money to 167 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:57,560 Speaker 1: repay Griffin for it. Griffin, on the other hand, demanded 168 00:09:57,600 --> 00:10:01,040 Speaker 1: a hundred dollars, saying that the pig was a prized breeder, 169 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:04,800 Speaker 1: and Cutler said, quote, better chance for lightning to strike 170 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 1: you than for you to get a hundred dollars for 171 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:11,000 Speaker 1: that hog, And then he stormed away in a huff. Yeah, 172 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:16,880 Speaker 1: when things escalate and become insulting, gonna be so much 173 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:20,679 Speaker 1: more escalation. Griffin took this matter to his bosses at 174 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:23,720 Speaker 1: the Hudson's Bay Company who went to Cutler's cabin to 175 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,960 Speaker 1: try to get restitution, and of course Cutler refused to pay. 176 00:10:27,559 --> 00:10:30,360 Speaker 1: It is possible that the Hudson's Bay Company men also 177 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:33,720 Speaker 1: tried to have Cutler arrested, but if they did, UH, 178 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:36,000 Speaker 1: it never came to fruition because he refused to go 179 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:38,680 Speaker 1: with the people who came to arrest it. The records 180 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: are a little unclear on that. Some sources say one thing, 181 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:44,520 Speaker 1: and some sources it may have been attempted, maybe it 182 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:50,320 Speaker 1: never actually happened. So Fat July, Brigadier General William S. 183 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:53,840 Speaker 1: Harney toward the area and he noticed the American flag 184 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:56,200 Speaker 1: that Cutler and his friends had started flying for the 185 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:59,200 Speaker 1: Fourth of July holiday. He asked them about it, and 186 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:03,000 Speaker 1: they launched into this list of complaints about how vulnerable 187 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 1: they were both to attacks by Native Americans UH and 188 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: to mistreatment by the British, and they cited the pig 189 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:15,320 Speaker 1: incident in this process. Harney was staunchly anti British. UH. 190 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: He had a little bit of a temper, He was 191 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:19,360 Speaker 1: very quick to anger, and he had a very foul mouth. 192 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 1: By the end of his military career, he had been 193 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:26,360 Speaker 1: court martial four times, and even though he had just 194 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:28,960 Speaker 1: been to Vancouver to thank Governor Douglas for what a 195 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,160 Speaker 1: good job he'd been doing protecting the Americans from Native 196 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:35,319 Speaker 1: American attacks, he decided now would be a good time 197 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:40,680 Speaker 1: to show some force. He characterized the Hudson's Bay Company's 198 00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:46,480 Speaker 1: behavior as quote oppressive interference, and without consulting his command 199 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:50,120 Speaker 1: or the War Department, he sent in Company d ninth 200 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:54,320 Speaker 1: U S Infantry under Captain George E. Pickett. The sixties 201 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:56,920 Speaker 1: six men arrived on the U. S S Massachusetts, and 202 00:11:56,960 --> 00:12:00,320 Speaker 1: they camped right by the Hudson's Bay cump and He's 203 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:03,720 Speaker 1: Wharf and the sheep farm, which you know, doesn't seem 204 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:07,920 Speaker 1: like they're provoking things at all. Harning did eventually tell 205 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:10,960 Speaker 1: the War Department what he was doing, but he didn't 206 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:14,240 Speaker 1: send this letter until the July until July nine, and 207 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:16,800 Speaker 1: it didn't actually get there until September. So for a 208 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:19,360 Speaker 1: long time he was just doing what he wanted, with 209 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:24,360 Speaker 1: no one being posturing and taunting people. Although Pickett's orders 210 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:27,400 Speaker 1: were to protect against Native Americans and the British, he 211 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:31,400 Speaker 1: posted a notice uh claiming that the camp was American 212 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:34,640 Speaker 1: property and subject only to US laws and courts, and 213 00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 1: that he in fact was in command of it. Governor Douglas, 214 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:40,960 Speaker 1: having none of that, and believing that Britain had lost 215 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:44,640 Speaker 1: Oregon by just being too welcoming, responded by sending in 216 00:12:44,679 --> 00:12:47,560 Speaker 1: the twenty one gun HMS Satellite, which was joined by 217 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:50,520 Speaker 1: the thirty one gun frigate HMS Tribune under the command 218 00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:54,319 Speaker 1: of Captain Jeffrey Phipps Hornby of the Royal Navy, and 219 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:58,240 Speaker 1: another warship also came to anchor, so there were three 220 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:02,840 Speaker 1: warships now off the coast of this island. He also 221 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:05,800 Speaker 1: appointed a Justice of the Peace to enforce British law, 222 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:08,480 Speaker 1: which he claimed was the only law and effect on 223 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:13,240 Speaker 1: the island. So, in spite of now facing down three warships, 224 00:13:13,280 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 1: one of which carried forty six Royal Marines, Pickett refused 225 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:21,240 Speaker 1: to withdraw or stand down. He was publicly boastful, allegedly 226 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:23,760 Speaker 1: saying things like he would make a bunker hill of 227 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:26,760 Speaker 1: it if pressed. Although at the time he sent worried 228 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:31,199 Speaker 1: sounding dispatches asking for more reinforcements uh and he appointed 229 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:34,800 Speaker 1: his own Justice of the Peace, Hardy kept funneling more 230 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:38,680 Speaker 1: troops into the area. Pickett was eventually reinforced by a 231 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:42,720 Speaker 1: hundred and seventy one men under Lieutenant Colonel Silas Casey, 232 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:45,280 Speaker 1: and together they all went to Victoria to try to 233 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:49,680 Speaker 1: negotiate with Rear Admiral R. Lambert Baynes, who was commanding 234 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:53,640 Speaker 1: the British forces in the East Pacific. Bain's, on the 235 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:56,800 Speaker 1: other hand, was aboard the eighty four gun HMS Ganges, 236 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:00,280 Speaker 1: which he refused to leave for negotiations. Believe being this 237 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,360 Speaker 1: entire thing to be ridiculous and beneath the involvement of 238 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:06,760 Speaker 1: quote two great nations, Casey realized it was going to 239 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:09,520 Speaker 1: be pretty fruitless to go up against that kind of firepower, 240 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 1: so he and everyone else went back to San Juan 241 00:14:12,679 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 1: Island to ask for more reinforcements. By the end of August, 242 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,520 Speaker 1: so keep in mind, there's a letter out there somewhere 243 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:23,400 Speaker 1: floating around that hasn't reached the appropriate people yet. Yep uh, 244 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:26,840 Speaker 1: the American forces on San Juan Island had swelled to 245 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:30,000 Speaker 1: about four hundred and fifty men, who had armed themselves 246 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:33,800 Speaker 1: with fourteen field cannons and an additional eight thirty two 247 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:38,040 Speaker 1: pound guns collected from the U S S Massachusetts. The U. 248 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:41,520 Speaker 1: S troops reinforced their fortifications while the British Navy carried 249 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: out drills along the coast with about two thousand fighting 250 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,480 Speaker 1: men ready for action. And at this point it was 251 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:51,640 Speaker 1: basically an arms race over a dead pig. And from 252 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:54,360 Speaker 1: my own perspective, if you knew how tiny this piece 253 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:58,200 Speaker 1: of land was, that makes it extra hilarious and slash. 254 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:00,600 Speaker 1: Where did they put all those boats? Well, and some 255 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:02,960 Speaker 1: of the boats they would go out on maneuvers and 256 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,040 Speaker 1: they were they would just fire their cannons at the 257 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:07,720 Speaker 1: bluffs or at like big rocks that were on the land, 258 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: which was vastly entertaining to some of the people who 259 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:14,920 Speaker 1: uh were were around. It turned into this source of 260 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:19,240 Speaker 1: excitement of Okay, now now we're gonna do drills by 261 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:24,680 Speaker 1: firing our cannons at the at the bluffs here. Yeah. 262 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 1: So in September, almost three months after Cutler shot the pig, 263 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:33,000 Speaker 1: word finally reached Washington, d c. Which was then approximately 264 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,720 Speaker 1: a six week trip away, about what was going on. 265 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:38,320 Speaker 1: It was not through this letter sent to the War 266 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:42,360 Speaker 1: Department there. It was when President James Buchanan read about 267 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:45,760 Speaker 1: it in the newspaper on September three. Both the US 268 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,120 Speaker 1: government and the British officials who were in Washington, d C. 269 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:53,560 Speaker 1: Were astonished that an international incident was brewing between Vancouver 270 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:59,720 Speaker 1: and Washington over a pig. Yeah, yeah, I can only 271 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 1: have And how startling that must be to be like, oh, 272 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:04,720 Speaker 1: did you know, by the way, there's about to be 273 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:07,640 Speaker 1: a war? Wait, what we're involved in? What? Yeah? So 274 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:10,240 Speaker 1: you and I both did a lot of growing up 275 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:14,160 Speaker 1: during the eighties and a lot of like the nuclear 276 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:16,440 Speaker 1: war fear, or are is somebody going to push the 277 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:19,720 Speaker 1: red button? Yeah? The constant Cold war discussion. Yeah, And 278 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:21,360 Speaker 1: and for a long time I felt like a lot 279 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 1: of this was just ridiculous paranoia and made up things. 280 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:26,760 Speaker 1: And then when I get to this part about how 281 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,120 Speaker 1: really there was almost a shooting war between the United 282 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:32,960 Speaker 1: States and Brittain over a pig, I kind of go, oh, 283 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:37,080 Speaker 1: maybe that was not so completely far fetched that somebody 284 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: might just accidentally one day be like, you know what 285 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:44,560 Speaker 1: I'm gonna do, I'm gonna push the button. Unfortunately, all 286 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:51,160 Speaker 1: of our civilization is still filled with humans who are fallible, 287 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:55,160 Speaker 1: and we'll have lapses in judgment. And fortunately we now 288 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: have video conferencing, which would have resolved a lot of 289 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: the problems talking about in this episode, UH President Buchanan, 290 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:06,000 Speaker 1: who had helped negotiate the Treaty of Oregon in the 291 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,159 Speaker 1: first place when he was Secretary of State, sent General 292 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:12,919 Speaker 1: Winfield Scott to try to restore calm. And General Scott 293 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:16,200 Speaker 1: was a battlefield general and a diplomat who had experience 294 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,480 Speaker 1: in border dispute, so he was really the perfect man 295 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:21,600 Speaker 1: for the job. But on top of this experience, General 296 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:25,879 Speaker 1: Scott also had firsthand knowledge of Harney's hotheadedness. He had 297 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:30,440 Speaker 1: been involved in half of Harney's courts martial. So Scott's 298 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: trip out to this part of the world, which was 299 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:37,160 Speaker 1: a sea voyage through the Panama Canal, took another six 300 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:40,119 Speaker 1: additional weeks, But once he got there in October, he 301 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:42,720 Speaker 1: immediately set to work and stayed for about a month. 302 00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:47,240 Speaker 1: Governor Douglas of Vancouver finally became an active participant in 303 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:51,560 Speaker 1: negotiations now that he had someone actually interested in negotiating 304 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:54,879 Speaker 1: to talk to you. During that time that he was 305 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:57,879 Speaker 1: set up, Scott ordered all but one company of U. 306 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:01,440 Speaker 1: S soldiers off the island and convince it's Governor Douglas 307 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:04,360 Speaker 1: to withdraw the British ships as well, leaving just one 308 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:07,760 Speaker 1: at anchor in Griffin Bay. All of these removals were 309 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:10,199 Speaker 1: to stay in place until a complete survey of the 310 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:15,199 Speaker 1: island was complete. He also recommended that Harney be relieved 311 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:18,560 Speaker 1: of his command. Harney at this point was just being 312 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:21,760 Speaker 1: willfully insubordinate and had even tried to dismiss the troops 313 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:24,119 Speaker 1: that Scott had ordered to be left behind with troops 314 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: of his own, and ultimately he was indeed relieved of 315 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:31,760 Speaker 1: that command to the betterment of everyone, which was like 316 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:35,720 Speaker 1: the wisest course of action. Before we get into how 317 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:39,520 Speaker 1: this all resolved, let's take another moment talk about the 318 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:42,760 Speaker 1: words my responsive. That sounds great, so good communication, as 319 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:48,080 Speaker 1: we know, extremely important to basically all of life's endeavors, 320 00:18:48,119 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 1: including work. Yeah, I'm sure we have on that moment 321 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: where like one person neglects to include something in an 322 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 1: email or forgets to read something in an email and 323 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:00,880 Speaker 1: a huge, crazy mess developed and it could have all 324 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:04,160 Speaker 1: been avoided with good communication, or when there's some kind 325 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:09,399 Speaker 1: of weird information bottleneck and just nobody has what they need. So, 326 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:12,840 Speaker 1: because it's so important stay on top of communicating, you 327 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:14,720 Speaker 1: need to be able to stay connected and meet with 328 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:17,360 Speaker 1: co workers and clients wherever they are. And that's why 329 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:20,359 Speaker 1: millions of small business professionals rely on Go to Meeting 330 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 1: by Citrics. It is an awesome solution for meeting and 331 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:28,439 Speaker 1: collaborating online. With Go to Meeting, you can share the 332 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:30,439 Speaker 1: same screen so that you can look at documents and 333 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:33,919 Speaker 1: presentations together in real time. Makes it easier for everybody 334 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,600 Speaker 1: to stay on the same page. There's also built in 335 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:39,840 Speaker 1: HD video conferencing, and you just need a webcam to 336 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:43,160 Speaker 1: see each other face to face. You can present, demonstrate, 337 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:47,160 Speaker 1: and simply just get together from anywhere with any Mac, PC, 338 00:19:47,359 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: tablet or smartphone. We have used this before to connect 339 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:56,399 Speaker 1: all our various people from very far away. Yeah, and 340 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,520 Speaker 1: the mobile connectivity makes it super handy because people can 341 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:02,280 Speaker 1: be out, they can be on vacation but still check 342 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:03,680 Speaker 1: in if they have to, and they don't need to 343 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:05,680 Speaker 1: lug their laptop with them if they don't want to 344 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:09,240 Speaker 1: our our Our most recent experience for this was one 345 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:11,600 Speaker 1: time with a meeting that had wound up speaking of 346 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:14,879 Speaker 1: communication not on either of our calendars. H and I 347 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,600 Speaker 1: had to be at home at that time. I should 348 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:19,480 Speaker 1: not be in the office, and we were. We were 349 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:22,480 Speaker 1: all It was just as easy as anything else to 350 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:25,399 Speaker 1: to just have us from all our various locations in 351 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:28,600 Speaker 1: the same virtual meeting room. You can see why millions 352 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:31,280 Speaker 1: choose Go to meeting. Start hosting your own face to 353 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:35,000 Speaker 1: face online meetings today. Try it free for thirty days. 354 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,040 Speaker 1: Visit go to meeting dot Com click we try it 355 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:41,520 Speaker 1: free button and use the promo code stuff. That's go 356 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:47,200 Speaker 1: to meeting dot Com promo code stuff. Okay, back to 357 00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:50,399 Speaker 1: the end of the Pig War, So the United States 358 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:54,760 Speaker 1: and written finally negotiated a joint military occupation of the island, 359 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:58,320 Speaker 1: and that stayed in place for twelve years. Essentially, a 360 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:01,840 Speaker 1: few months after Scott's departure, Britain and the United States 361 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:05,200 Speaker 1: each sent about a hundred troops to establish a presence 362 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:08,120 Speaker 1: on opposite ends of the island. So it was like, 363 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:13,000 Speaker 1: you can have the same amount of guys there. It's 364 00:21:13,119 --> 00:21:16,760 Speaker 1: like when parents of multiple children are trying to divide 365 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:22,680 Speaker 1: the exact number of French fries or has equals taping 366 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:25,159 Speaker 1: a line down the center of the bedroom. This is 367 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:32,280 Speaker 1: your side, your brother's side. Yeah. The American effort was 368 00:21:32,359 --> 00:21:36,480 Speaker 1: soon derailed by the impending Civil War, though the soldiers 369 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:38,560 Speaker 1: were at that point all going without pay and the 370 00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:42,919 Speaker 1: camp was really falling into disrepair. When Virginia seceded on 371 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:46,439 Speaker 1: April seventeenth of eighteen sixty one, Pickett gave up his 372 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:49,399 Speaker 1: command and he went home to join the Confederacy. He 373 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:51,879 Speaker 1: would later make a much bigger name for himself at 374 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:55,760 Speaker 1: the Battle of Gettysburg. In eighteen seventy one, Britain and 375 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:59,000 Speaker 1: the United States signed the Treaty of Washington, and the 376 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:02,200 Speaker 1: question of who San Juan Island belonged to was turned 377 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:05,440 Speaker 1: over to Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, and he sent it 378 00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:09,560 Speaker 1: on to a three man arbitration panel. This arbitration commission 379 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:12,360 Speaker 1: went on in Geneva for almost a year before finally 380 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:15,399 Speaker 1: ruling that the island belonged to the United States, and 381 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:18,520 Speaker 1: this officially put the boundary between the United States and 382 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:22,879 Speaker 1: Canada through the Harrow Strait. British troops withdrew from the 383 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:26,359 Speaker 1: island on November twenty five, eighteen seventy two, and the 384 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:28,600 Speaker 1: last of the U. S troops had also left by 385 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:32,280 Speaker 1: July of eighteen seventy four. In nineteen sixty six, the 386 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:36,399 Speaker 1: US government created San Juan Island National Historical Park to 387 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:41,480 Speaker 1: commemorate the event and its non violent resolution. I have 388 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:45,560 Speaker 1: read several pieces that discussed this whole event as like 389 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:54,320 Speaker 1: a great example of how two nations can resolve something peacefully, which, okay, 390 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:58,680 Speaker 1: that part happened, but they should never have been game 391 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:05,760 Speaker 1: to that point. I mean, it seems from the outside, Yeah, 392 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:11,600 Speaker 1: it definitely. There was definitely a lot of people, especially 393 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:18,160 Speaker 1: you know, especially one particular person that Harney was um. 394 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:20,480 Speaker 1: And I don't know why I had such trouble with 395 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:24,600 Speaker 1: his name. I kept, uh, we've we've got all this out, 396 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:26,880 Speaker 1: I think, but I managed to type his name three 397 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:30,760 Speaker 1: different ways in my notes for some reason. Um. But yeah, 398 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:33,200 Speaker 1: he just kept wanting to take matters into his own 399 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:36,480 Speaker 1: hands and operate without going through the chain of command 400 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:40,640 Speaker 1: and basically be kind of a jerk and put more 401 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:43,160 Speaker 1: and more guys on this tiny island full of cheap 402 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,160 Speaker 1: and put more and more people at risk to kind 403 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:52,000 Speaker 1: of prove his point slash support his ego. Yeah, when 404 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:53,920 Speaker 1: I was wrapping up the research on this podcast, I 405 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,120 Speaker 1: kind of did a second review to try to make 406 00:23:56,119 --> 00:23:59,199 Speaker 1: sure that I had not just gotten the American up 407 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:02,000 Speaker 1: point of views, because a lot of like a lot 408 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:05,199 Speaker 1: of the major actors and this this story, as we 409 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:07,880 Speaker 1: have told it, are the American people. So I went 410 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:10,440 Speaker 1: in and looked up some Canadian sources to just make 411 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:14,080 Speaker 1: sure because most of the most of my original results 412 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:16,639 Speaker 1: happened to have been from American sources, and that they 413 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:19,280 Speaker 1: were basically the same. Because it's a lot of the 414 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:24,200 Speaker 1: instigation really was coming from the American side, which totally 415 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:26,760 Speaker 1: makes sense that then a lot of the resolution also 416 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:30,480 Speaker 1: needed to be started by the Americans. It's only fair. 417 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:34,879 Speaker 1: I'm sure that. Uh. When General Scott went out, there 418 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:37,320 Speaker 1: was probably a certain degree of embarrassment about the whole 419 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:39,760 Speaker 1: thing having gotten to this point in the first place. Yeah, 420 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:41,879 Speaker 1: he was not really happy about having to go all 421 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:43,680 Speaker 1: the way out there. He was not in great health. 422 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:47,320 Speaker 1: Then it was all kind of go clean up a mess. Yeah, 423 00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:49,399 Speaker 1: I'm gonna have to travel for six weeks to go 424 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:52,280 Speaker 1: clean up the stupid mess. I would be quite put out. 425 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:55,479 Speaker 1: I would too, uh, but not being put out. Do 426 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:58,040 Speaker 1: you have to listener mail for us? I do? This 427 00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:00,000 Speaker 1: one is from we would get this back in February 428 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,560 Speaker 1: where we're recording it almost a month later. Doesn't happen? 429 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:06,719 Speaker 1: It does happen. This is from Grace who writes to 430 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:11,159 Speaker 1: us about our Rosa Parks episodes, and Grace says I 431 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:13,639 Speaker 1: wanted to quickly address a question that was raised in 432 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:17,199 Speaker 1: the listener male portion of the first Rosa Parks episode, namely, 433 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 1: how did there come to be a Chinese American family 434 00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:23,399 Speaker 1: in the middle of Mississippi. So basically we read a 435 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:27,080 Speaker 1: listener male that was about another court case UM that 436 00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:29,720 Speaker 1: had to do with integration and who was able to 437 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,840 Speaker 1: attend what school? And it was about the daughter of 438 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:34,920 Speaker 1: a Chinese American family. I think it was a daughter 439 00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:39,880 Speaker 1: who had not been allowed to attend the quote white school, um, 440 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:43,840 Speaker 1: and the court upheld that verdict. So the letter goes on. 441 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:46,000 Speaker 1: While I would never claim to be an expert on 442 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:49,680 Speaker 1: Mississippi history, being a Mississippian and a history buff can 443 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:53,359 Speaker 1: open you up to certain interesting and often depressing tidbits 444 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:56,920 Speaker 1: about my fascinating state. There has been a small population 445 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:00,080 Speaker 1: of Chinese Americans in the Mississippi Delta since reconstruction, and 446 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:03,600 Speaker 1: the delta that you see is the northwest portion of 447 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 1: the state, which was once the floodplain of the river 448 00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:09,119 Speaker 1: and is now thanks to Levis where the majority of 449 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:12,840 Speaker 1: Mississippi's cotton has grown. When making this transition from floodplain 450 00:26:13,119 --> 00:26:17,360 Speaker 1: read swamp to fertile farmland, many Chinese laborers who had 451 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:20,560 Speaker 1: come through Mississippi laying railroad decided to stay to help 452 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:24,200 Speaker 1: drain the swamps. Though they were immediately classified as quote 453 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:28,280 Speaker 1: non white by the white Mississippians, the Chinese immigrants occupied 454 00:26:28,320 --> 00:26:31,119 Speaker 1: a sort of middle ground between whites and African Americans, 455 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:35,679 Speaker 1: not precisely lesser, but distinctly other. They carved out a 456 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:39,240 Speaker 1: firm niche for themselves as grocery store owners throughout the Delta. 457 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:42,520 Speaker 1: After the swamps were drained, they served a mainly black 458 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:45,800 Speaker 1: clients hell, but they were generally well respected as honestly 459 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:48,919 Speaker 1: as honest businessmen by the white business owners of the area. 460 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:52,879 Speaker 1: Of course, the white communities also entirely excluded the Chinese 461 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:56,919 Speaker 1: Americans from their social structure Separate schools if possible, separate 462 00:26:56,960 --> 00:27:00,399 Speaker 1: classrooms if not. But violence against Chinese Americans was much 463 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:04,000 Speaker 1: less frequent than against African Americans. I can't imagine the 464 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:06,639 Speaker 1: Delta offered the Chinese immigrants of life they had dreamed 465 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,440 Speaker 1: of when they left China, but their community did prove 466 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:13,000 Speaker 1: to be a strong and economically successful one until the seventies. 467 00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:15,359 Speaker 1: In fact, the Delta has the largest community of Asian 468 00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:18,479 Speaker 1: Americans anywhere in the South. So there you go if 469 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:22,840 Speaker 1: you're at all interested in little known ethnic minorities in Mississippi, parentheses, 470 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:26,080 Speaker 1: the Vietnamese and Yugoslavs along the coast, the Choctaws, the 471 00:27:26,119 --> 00:27:29,879 Speaker 1: Jewish population, and parentheses. I'm attaching a trailer for a 472 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 1: documentary one of my friends was making called sub City, 473 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:38,200 Speaker 1: which I will watch. Yes, that's really really good. That's 474 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:40,560 Speaker 1: one of the reasons I had flagged it was later 475 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,120 Speaker 1: and then she thanks us for the podcast and says, 476 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:45,159 Speaker 1: thanks for the good work, Thank you so much, Grace. 477 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:51,720 Speaker 1: Uh number one, that is fascinating history. Yeah, it's really Uh, 478 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:53,800 Speaker 1: you know, there are often those times when two cultures 479 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:56,040 Speaker 1: kind of happened together and people go, wait, what like 480 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:58,879 Speaker 1: when there's you know, sort of a Vietnamese connection to 481 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:01,040 Speaker 1: France and back and forth, and that always confuses people, 482 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:03,080 Speaker 1: which I would love to talk about on a future podcast. 483 00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:07,359 Speaker 1: But that of course clarifies why that and it also 484 00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:09,920 Speaker 1: it also kind of brings up a lot of times 485 00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:17,720 Speaker 1: people assume, uh that a particular places history was pretty 486 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:21,920 Speaker 1: homogeneous in terms of living there, Like there's this sort 487 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:25,919 Speaker 1: of idea sometimes that people have that Europe was mostly 488 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:29,840 Speaker 1: Caucasian people and maybe mostly it might be correct, but 489 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:33,080 Speaker 1: there was definitely a lot of racial and ethnic diversity 490 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:37,320 Speaker 1: happening in Europe way way back into the past um 491 00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:40,200 Speaker 1: because the people were trading and people were traveling, and 492 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:42,680 Speaker 1: so you know, if if you look at there's a 493 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:46,320 Speaker 1: great a great tumbler that is the people of color 494 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:50,680 Speaker 1: and medieval art history love it. I love it constantly 495 00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:56,320 Speaker 1: showing pictures of Europe in the Middle Ages, paintings and 496 00:28:56,560 --> 00:29:01,600 Speaker 1: other artwork from that time period. That that really shows 497 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:05,040 Speaker 1: how much of a spectrum there was of diversity happening, 498 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:10,680 Speaker 1: was not just exclusively one particular race or one particular color. Um. 499 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:13,440 Speaker 1: So I think this story kind of highlights that. Like 500 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:16,840 Speaker 1: a lot of people probably imagine Mississippi as a place 501 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:20,760 Speaker 1: that for many years of American history had mostly white people, 502 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:24,000 Speaker 1: African Americans and Native Americans, but it was actually a 503 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:27,080 Speaker 1: lot uh broader than that in terms of who was 504 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:30,080 Speaker 1: living there. So thank you Grace for writing. If you 505 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 1: would like to write to us, you can. We're at 506 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:35,120 Speaker 1: History Podcast at Discovery dot com. We're also on Facebook 507 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:37,840 Speaker 1: at Facebook dot com, slash miss in History on Twitter 508 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:40,960 Speaker 1: at miss in History are Tumbler, which is where we 509 00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:44,840 Speaker 1: keep up with the medieval people of Feller. Tumbler is 510 00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:47,360 Speaker 1: that mission history dot tumbler dot com, and we're also 511 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:51,200 Speaker 1: on Pinterest at interest dot com. Slash missed in History 512 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:57,240 Speaker 1: are pretty new, still growing. Website is also the thing 513 00:29:57,440 --> 00:29:59,640 Speaker 1: you can come see, and that is that missed in 514 00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:02,640 Speaker 1: history dot com. If you would like to learn more 515 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:04,960 Speaker 1: about something we talked about today, you can come to 516 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:08,120 Speaker 1: our website and put in the name Picket and you 517 00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:11,719 Speaker 1: will find the article how the Battle of Gettysburg works, 518 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:14,600 Speaker 1: which is where Pickett, who was a captain at this 519 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:18,720 Speaker 1: point in the the Pig War, later made a much 520 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:22,720 Speaker 1: much more memorable name for himself uh in the Battle 521 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:24,440 Speaker 1: of Gettysburg. You can do all that and a whole 522 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:31,480 Speaker 1: lot more at how stuff works dot com for more 523 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:33,800 Speaker 1: on this and thousands of other topics because it how 524 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:46,720 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. 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