1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,640 Speaker 1: Hey, y'all, Eve's here. Today's episode contains not just one, 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: but two nuggets of history. These are coming from the 3 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: T D I h C Vault, so you'll also here 4 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,479 Speaker 1: to hosts. Consider it a double feature. Enjoy the show. 5 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to This Day in History Class from how Stuff 6 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,599 Speaker 1: Works dot com and from the desk of Stuff you 7 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class. It's the show where we explore 8 00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:23,239 Speaker 1: the past one day at a time with a quick 9 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: look at what happened today in history. Hello and welcome 10 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson and it's September two. 11 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:36,600 Speaker 1: The Great Fire of London began on this day in 12 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: sixteen sixty six. Fires were not at all unusual in 13 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:44,959 Speaker 1: London in the seventeenth century. Most of the buildings were 14 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: made out of wood, and the streets tended to be 15 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:51,280 Speaker 1: very narrow, with the buildings built very close together, so 16 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: once a fire did start, it tended to spread really quickly. 17 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 1: The summer of sixteen sixty six, though, was really primed 18 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: for some kind of disaster. The summer had been very 19 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:04,040 Speaker 1: long and hot and dry, so all of those wooden 20 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: buildings that were all so tightly built together were particularly dry. 21 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: The city also didn't have a lot of water on 22 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 1: hand to fight a fire if one happened. People were 23 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: aware of the danger, but frankly they had other things 24 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:22,000 Speaker 1: on their minds. The Great Plague of London had killed 25 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 1: tens of thousands of people over the previous year. This 26 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:28,560 Speaker 1: fire started in the home of the King's baker in 27 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: Putting Lane, near London Bridge. The family managed to escape, 28 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:35,960 Speaker 1: but they're Maide was too scared to leave and she died. 29 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:40,400 Speaker 1: The fire spread so quickly from there. It started at 30 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:43,399 Speaker 1: about two am and by dawn the London Bridge was 31 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: on fire. The London Bridge was not just a bridge, 32 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:50,680 Speaker 1: It also had buildings built on it, and in a 33 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: previous fire in sixteen thirty two, some of these buildings 34 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 1: had been torn down to create a firebreak, So pretty 35 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: typical way of fighting a fire in London at the 36 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 1: time You would just destroy the buildings that were in 37 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: the fire's path, so it wouldn't have any fuel anymore, 38 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:09,920 Speaker 1: would have nowhere to go. The fact that some of 39 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: the buildings on London Bridge had been destroyed to stop 40 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: a fire in sixteen thirty two also stopped the fire 41 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 1: in sixteen sixty six, so the fire could not get 42 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: across the London Bridge, but it did continue to spread 43 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:28,640 Speaker 1: west into London, aided by heavy winds. The mayor hesitated 44 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 1: about making more firebreaks because obviously it's very expensive to 45 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: rebuild deliberately torn down buildings after the fire is over, 46 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:40,120 Speaker 1: and Charles the second finally ordered the destruction of any 47 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: buildings that needed to be destroyed to create a firebreak, 48 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: but by then it was just too late. The fire 49 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 1: was absolutely out of control. It burned for days and 50 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:53,080 Speaker 1: was finally extinguished on September five. Some flames broke out 51 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:55,119 Speaker 1: again after that, though at Temple Church, and the Duke 52 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 1: of York immediately had several buildings nearby blown up to 53 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: stop the spread. A massive part of London was destroyed 54 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:05,800 Speaker 1: in this fire, including most of the civic buildings. Nearly 55 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:10,799 Speaker 1: ninety parish churches were destroyed and more than ten thousand homes. 56 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: There are also four officially reported deaths. There may have 57 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:19,640 Speaker 1: been many more, but considering how big the fire was, 58 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,960 Speaker 1: it seems as though the death toll was surprisingly low. 59 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: When the city was rebuilt, a lot of the streets 60 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:28,920 Speaker 1: were widened and many of the houses were made of 61 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:33,239 Speaker 1: brick instead of wood. An investigation also followed this fire, 62 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: A lot of people believed it had been some kind 63 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: of a plot by a foreign power or a plot 64 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: by Catholics, so this led to an increased anti immigrants 65 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: and anti Catholic hostility. Watchmaker Robert Hubert's confessed starting the 66 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: fire and was executed, but his testimony was really erratic. 67 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 1: It kept changing, and after his execution, his colleagues said 68 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 1: there was no way he could have done it because 69 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:04,680 Speaker 1: he was at sea when the fire started. It's completely 70 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: unknown why he confessed to starting this fire that he 71 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,720 Speaker 1: definitely did not start. You can learn more about this 72 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: in the May episode of Stuff You Missed in History Class, 73 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: History is Unforgettable Fires. You can also subscribe to This 74 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: Day in History Class on Apple Podcasts, Google podcast and 75 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: wherever else you get your podcasts, and you can tune 76 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 1: in tomorrow for a massacre that followed a war. Hello, 77 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:40,119 Speaker 1: Welcome to This Day History class, where we desked off 78 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:51,919 Speaker 1: a little piece of history every day. The day was September. 79 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 1: Two white miners murdered twenty eight Chinese miners in Rock Springs, 80 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: Wyoming after a dispute over the location where they were working. 81 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:08,560 Speaker 1: Anti Chinese sentiment was high in the U S at 82 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:13,200 Speaker 1: the time, with the Rock Springs Massacre occurring just three 83 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 1: years after the Chinese Exclusion Act put a tenure moratorium 84 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:22,839 Speaker 1: on Chinese labor immigration. Though the Rock Springs massacre was 85 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: not the only instance of anti Chinese violence in this climate, 86 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:32,200 Speaker 1: it was one of the more brutal occurrences. Chinese miners 87 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: had been in the United States at least since the 88 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: California Gold Rush in eighteen forty nine. Even though the 89 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: work they were doing, like farming and building railroads, was 90 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:48,080 Speaker 1: physically demanding, difficult, and dangerous, they stayed because they could 91 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:50,919 Speaker 1: make much more money in the US than they could 92 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: in China, and because they kept their expenses low. They 93 00:05:55,279 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 1: often took low paying jobs. White workers began to view 94 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:04,679 Speaker 1: Chinese immigrants as competitors who were taking their jobs, and 95 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 1: they made it clear that the Chinese were not welcome. 96 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: Violence against Chinese people was not uncommon in California, Arizona, 97 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: and Nevada, but even though Congress limited Chinese immigration into 98 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:22,320 Speaker 1: the United States, Chinese people continued to work in the 99 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 1: Western US. The railroad company Union Pacific had coal mines 100 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: across Wyoming that provided the fuel for trains. When it 101 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: ran into financial trouble and needed to save money, the 102 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: company cut miners pay. On top of this, Union Pacific 103 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:45,640 Speaker 1: required workers to shop for food, clothes, and tools at 104 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 1: the company's stores so it could pocket more money. The 105 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:53,480 Speaker 1: company's miners went on strikes against these working conditions, and 106 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:57,279 Speaker 1: they tried to unionize, but the company did not concede 107 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:02,159 Speaker 1: to the striker's demands and even sorted to firing strikers 108 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 1: and hiring people who were more compliant. After one eighteen 109 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:10,960 Speaker 1: seventy five strike, Union Pacific hired Chinese miners who were 110 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: willing to work for low wages. By five, there were 111 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 1: about six hundred Chinese miners and three hundred white miners 112 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 1: working at the coal mine in Rock Springs, Wyoming. The 113 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:28,960 Speaker 1: white miners, largely Scandinavian, Welsh, and English immigrants, lived in 114 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 1: downtown Rock Springs. The Chinese miners lived in what the 115 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 1: white miners called Chinatown. Though the two groups worked side 116 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: by side, they maintained their own cultures and languages, and 117 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: white workers were still unhappy with their pay, which remained low, 118 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 1: so they joined a union called the Knights of Labor, 119 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: where they could voice their grievances. Many white miners wanted 120 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: to send the Chinese out of Wyoming Territory. Threats and 121 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 1: violence again It's Chinese workers in Wyoming were an issue. 122 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:06,640 Speaker 1: This tension was the backdrop for a fight that broke 123 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: out between Chinese and white miners in the Number six 124 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:13,280 Speaker 1: mine in Rock Springs on the morning of September two. 125 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: It was a high yield mine and getting a good 126 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: part of the mind was important for miners since they 127 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:25,480 Speaker 1: were paid by the ton. One Chinese miner was hit 128 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: in the head with a pick and died in the fight. 129 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:32,319 Speaker 1: A foreman broke up the violence, but the white miners 130 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: escalated the fight, getting weapons and gathering in the nights 131 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 1: of Labor Hall. As miners from other minds joined the 132 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: commotion and it became clear that violence was imminent, saloons 133 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 1: closed for the day. By that afternoon, between a hundred 134 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:52,600 Speaker 1: and a hundred and fifty armed white men, mainly miners 135 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:56,680 Speaker 1: and railroad workers, had assembled near the Number six mine. 136 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:03,800 Speaker 1: Women and children joined them. The mob surrounded Chinatown. The 137 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 1: mob shot and killed Chinese people and looted and burned 138 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:12,120 Speaker 1: their houses. They went to their Union Pacific bosses and 139 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:18,080 Speaker 1: demanded they leave town. Territorial Governor Francis E. Warren called 140 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 1: for federal troops and told Union Pacific to run a 141 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:25,679 Speaker 1: slow train that would pick up stranded Chinese miners and 142 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:30,600 Speaker 1: give them food, water, and blankets. Many Chinese people who 143 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:34,280 Speaker 1: had been threatened or faced violence were sent to Evanston, 144 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: west of Rock Springs. When some of the Chinese workers 145 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 1: requested railroad tickets out of Wyoming and the back pay 146 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:47,479 Speaker 1: they were owed, the company refused. Union Pacific even refused 147 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 1: when white residents in Evanston requested the Chinese be paid 148 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:55,000 Speaker 1: off so they could leave Wyoming. On September nine, the 149 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 1: Chinese people in Evanston were put on box cars and 150 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:02,359 Speaker 1: told they were headed to safety in San Francisco. Instead, 151 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:05,440 Speaker 1: they were taken back to Rock Springs so they could 152 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:09,959 Speaker 1: go back to work. Of course, they met more antagonism 153 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 1: from white miners who blocked them from entering the mines, 154 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:18,600 Speaker 1: and many Chinese people left Rock Springs, but Union Pacific 155 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:21,920 Speaker 1: declared that they would fire anyone who was not back 156 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:26,120 Speaker 1: to work by one, and so the miners went back 157 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:31,079 Speaker 1: to work. Sixteen white miners were arrested and released on bail. 158 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:36,480 Speaker 1: People cheered for them upon their release. Union Pacific fired 159 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:39,000 Speaker 1: some of the white miners who took part in the massacre, 160 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:44,560 Speaker 1: but no one was convicted of robbery, rioting, arson or murder. 161 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:49,960 Speaker 1: In the end, Chinese people were killed fifteen were wounded. 162 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:52,840 Speaker 1: In all, seventy nine of the shacks and houses in 163 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:58,559 Speaker 1: Rock Springs, Chinatown were looted and burned. Damages were estimated 164 00:10:58,679 --> 00:11:01,960 Speaker 1: at about a hundred and d thousand dollars, which is 165 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: the equivalent of about four million dollars today, and Congress 166 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 1: ended up compensating the miners for their loss. Federal troops 167 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:14,319 Speaker 1: built Camp Pilot Butte between downtown Rock Springs in Chinatown 168 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:17,720 Speaker 1: to prevent further violence, and they stayed there until the 169 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:23,440 Speaker 1: Spanish American War broke out. In I'm Eve Jeffco and 170 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 1: hopefully you know a little more about history today than 171 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:30,240 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. We love it if you left us 172 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:34,640 Speaker 1: a comment on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. At t D 173 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:41,040 Speaker 1: I h C podcast, thanks again for listening, and I 174 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:47,720 Speaker 1: hope you come back tomorrow for more delicious morsels of history. 175 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:59,120 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 176 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:01,720 Speaker 1: Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.