1 00:00:01,040 --> 00:00:04,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy V. Wilson and Holly Fry. They were going 4 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 1: to talk about a man named Thomas Morris Chester and 5 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 1: he was the first African American war correspondent working for 6 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: a major daily newspaper. And that's pretty much how you 7 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: will see him talked about in most of the places 8 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: where he has talked about. Yeah, if you ever are 9 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:37,599 Speaker 1: looking him up online in a search, that's usually like 10 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:40,239 Speaker 1: the text that appears next to his next to the 11 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 1: primary link or picture. Yeah, it's that's pretty much how 12 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 1: he's discussed often. And he's not really a well known 13 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: figure in American history overall. Um. He covered the Civil 14 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: War for the Pennsylvania Press, and in the course of 15 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 1: his work he saw the Union Army sees the Confederate 16 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: capital of Richmond firsthand. But he had a lot of 17 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:08,680 Speaker 1: aspects to his life besides just this war correspondent work, um, 18 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,559 Speaker 1: which are pretty notable. He played a role in pretty 19 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: important parts of U. S history before and after the war. 20 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:19,760 Speaker 1: So we're not going to talk just about his war 21 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 1: correspondence work today. We're also going to talk about his 22 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 1: long and kind of troubled relationship with the colonization movement 23 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 1: from before the war. Uh. That movement encouraged freed slaves 24 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: to immigrate to Africa. And we're also going to talk 25 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 1: some about the years after the war when he moved 26 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: to the Deep South to try to work for civil 27 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: rights for African Americans. So we'll start at the beginning 28 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: with his birth, which was on May eleventh of eighteen 29 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: thirty four in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His mother, Jane Murray, had 30 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:56,040 Speaker 1: escaped from slavery when she was nineteen, making her way 31 00:01:56,120 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: from Baltimore, Maryland, to York, Pennsylvania in eighteen five. His father, 32 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: George sold oysters, which we talked about oysters recently as well. 33 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,920 Speaker 1: Uh and Thomas had eleven siblings, six of whom actually 34 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:11,520 Speaker 1: lived to adulthood. Apart from the oyster selling, they also 35 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:15,639 Speaker 1: ran a successful restaurant near the courthouse in Harrisburg, and 36 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 1: they were abolitionists, So their restaurant became this hub for 37 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:24,080 Speaker 1: both general socializing in Harrisburg and for the abolition movement. 38 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:27,640 Speaker 1: So abolitionists would meet at the restaurant to plan and 39 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: organize and to pick up a copy of The Liberator, 40 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:34,639 Speaker 1: which was William Lloyd Garrison's anti slavery newspaper. And although 41 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 1: there were many free African Americans living in Harrisburg, their 42 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:42,920 Speaker 1: lives weren't particularly easy. Laws restricted basic civil rights, and 43 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 1: racism was prevalent. Since Thomas's parents were running a successful business, 44 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: they were living pretty comfortably as a family, especially compared 45 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: to many other black Americans at the time. His parents 46 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:57,120 Speaker 1: really worked to make sure all of their children received 47 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 1: an education, and this was not really some thing that 48 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:03,360 Speaker 1: everyone was able to afford or do. No, that's notable 49 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: for sure. So when Thomas was sixteen, he started attending 50 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 1: the Allegheny Institute and Mission Church outside of Pittsburgh, and 51 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 1: this was a co educational school for African Americans that 52 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:18,080 Speaker 1: was founded by abolitionist Charles Avery. It was reportedly also 53 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,639 Speaker 1: a stop on the underground railroad. He left the institute 54 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:24,480 Speaker 1: two years later, in part because of the changing climate 55 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 1: in Pennsylvania when it came to slavery. Pennsylvania had passed 56 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:32,840 Speaker 1: a gradual emancipation law in seventeen eighty. It was the 57 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: first state to do this actually, and the law did 58 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 1: not actually free any slaves when it passed instead, it 59 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 1: gradually free the people born after that point who would 60 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,800 Speaker 1: have been slaves by having them be indentured servants until 61 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: the age of Yes, this was kind of a it 62 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: was a way to gradually free people, but it definitely 63 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: did not confer immediate freedom on anyone. Like, No, probably 64 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: most of the people living at the time it was 65 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:04,680 Speaker 1: passed would never really it would be their subsequent generations, 66 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: very gradual. Yeah. If if a person was born into 67 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: slavery the day before the law went into effect, that 68 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: person was born a slave, but a person who was 69 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:19,839 Speaker 1: born to slave parents the day after, um would instead 70 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 1: be an indentured servant until they were twenty eight years old. 71 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 1: The Scott revised a little bit over the first few 72 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:30,480 Speaker 1: years after the law was passed so that that person 73 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 1: would gradually become a free person rather than a slave. 74 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:37,520 Speaker 1: It was sort of meant to be a gradual way 75 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 1: to give people their freedom without actually inconveniencing a lot 76 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 1: of slaveholders. Yeah, there was a lot of progress in 77 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 1: this time that was extremely slow and did not really 78 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:54,160 Speaker 1: seem like progress at all at the time. Yeah, I 79 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:58,160 Speaker 1: mean that's that's when, um, you know, theory of government 80 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 1: and politics is that gradual changes better than a media change, 81 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: and it's just a mindset that was at play there. Well, 82 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:06,559 Speaker 1: there was also a mindset of wanting to appease people 83 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:12,880 Speaker 1: and not stoke the fires of anger among people who's uh, 84 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:17,080 Speaker 1: who were using slaves in their labor right, which is 85 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:20,760 Speaker 1: kind of those two things kind of played together. No, 86 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 1: you need to get used to the idea that you're 87 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:25,359 Speaker 1: not going to have this forever, I know, and to 88 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: a modern listener that can just be so horrifying that 89 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:30,800 Speaker 1: there was any appeasing of people who owned slaves. But 90 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:34,800 Speaker 1: that's really something that was going on pretty extensively. By 91 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:38,600 Speaker 1: eighteen forty, which is when Thomas was six, there were 92 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:42,320 Speaker 1: only sixty four slaves in Pennsylvania according to the Census. 93 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: So by the time the Fugitive Slave Act was passed 94 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: in eighteen fifty, nearly all of the African Americans in 95 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,479 Speaker 1: Pennsylvania were free, although many of them were working off 96 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:57,480 Speaker 1: this indenture that the gradual Emancipation Law had put into place. 97 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: In Harrisburg, in particular, Ler, most of the African Americans 98 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: living there even owned their own homes by this point, 99 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: but because the Fugitive Slave Act required runaway slaves to 100 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:12,719 Speaker 1: be returned south to their owners, and gave African Americans 101 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 1: virtually no rights to defend themselves if they were accused 102 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: of being runaways. Many free people in the North, regardless 103 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 1: of whether they had been slaves, were legitimately afraid that 104 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: they would be quote returned south into slavery, and as 105 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:30,280 Speaker 1: one can imagine, this made many consider leaving the country altogether. 106 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,599 Speaker 1: This desire to leave was compounded for many by the 107 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:35,919 Speaker 1: feeling that there was really no reason to fight to 108 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 1: stay in a country where they would never have fair treatment. 109 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: Slavery had been abolished in Canada along with the rest 110 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:46,720 Speaker 1: of the British Empire seventeen years before, so many free 111 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:50,839 Speaker 1: African Americans in Pennsylvania and elsewhere chose to flee to 112 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:54,839 Speaker 1: Canada to avoid the threat of being taken south. Others, 113 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:59,919 Speaker 1: including Thomas, chose to emigrate to Liberia. UM As a side, 114 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:03,960 Speaker 1: as I was researching this episode, I felt like everything 115 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:07,840 Speaker 1: about his life requires us to explain some context. So 116 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:11,520 Speaker 1: we've just explained the context of the fugitive slave law 117 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 1: and why freed African Americans were at this point fleeing 118 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: to Canada. UM Now we're going to talk a little 119 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 1: bit about Liberia, which is the place where Thomas chose 120 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: to live a lot of his adult life. Yes, and 121 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: that is again a whole other place with a huge history, 122 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 1: so that that we could do whole episodes on the Fugitive 123 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 1: Slave Law and a whole episode on Liberia and the 124 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:39,239 Speaker 1: colonization movement from the nineteenth century. Yeah. So the brief 125 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:43,560 Speaker 1: version is the American Colonization Society founded the Colony of 126 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:47,880 Speaker 1: Liberia in Western Africa in the early eighteen twenties, meaning 127 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:50,880 Speaker 1: it to be a home for freed slaves. The movement 128 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 1: viewed Liberia is a place set aside by God for them, 129 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:57,760 Speaker 1: and if Africans and American returned there, they could rid 130 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 1: the continent of the slave trade, spread cre chanity, and 131 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: help improve Africa overall. Colonists began arriving there in eighteen 132 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 1: twenty two, and while they did manage to make it 133 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: a republic in eighteen forty eight, they met with extreme 134 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 1: resistance from the native Africans already living there, and too 135 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:16,920 Speaker 1: few people migrated there for it to really thrive in 136 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 1: the sense of its original intent. Thomas became Pennsylvania's most 137 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:26,320 Speaker 1: prominent and recognizable supporter of the colonization movement. He went 138 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,400 Speaker 1: to Liberia on the ship Banshee in April of eighteen 139 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: fifty three, and he went to the capital, Monrovia and 140 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:36,920 Speaker 1: enrolled in Alexander High School. The curriculum, though, was basically 141 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:39,080 Speaker 1: a repeat of what he had already learned and studied 142 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: at the Allegheny Institute, and this was really frustrating for him. 143 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:45,240 Speaker 1: He had wanted the life in Liberia that would be 144 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 1: better than the opportunities that he had in America and 145 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:49,959 Speaker 1: not just a replay of what he had already done. Right. 146 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 1: He had gone there because he really was hoping for 147 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: a better life and that it wasn't working out that 148 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:59,080 Speaker 1: he was getting the same opportunities. So in September of 149 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty four, eighteen months after he got to Liberia, 150 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:05,320 Speaker 1: he went back to the United States to attend Thatford 151 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:09,480 Speaker 1: Academy in Vermont. His tuition was paid for by the 152 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 1: New York colonizationists, with his parents contributing what they could afford, 153 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 1: and the idea was that he would further his education 154 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:20,199 Speaker 1: and then go back to Liberia. The colonization movement was 155 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 1: really eager for him to return, since it would be 156 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:26,000 Speaker 1: kind of damaging to the cause or at least damaging 157 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:28,480 Speaker 1: to people's perceptions of what they were trying to do. 158 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:32,559 Speaker 1: For such a prominent advocate, who have gone to Liberia 159 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:35,480 Speaker 1: and then turned around and come back home again. So 160 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 1: he was definitely on the radar of the people who 161 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:42,040 Speaker 1: were organizing and leading this movement, and they were willing 162 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 1: to pay for his education so that he could return. Yes, 163 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 1: so that he could go back to Liberia and and 164 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 1: do more work. Uh, he wanted to go to law school, 165 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 1: but he couldn't afford it, and the colonization movement was 166 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:56,719 Speaker 1: anxious for him to return to Liberia as we were 167 00:09:56,720 --> 00:09:59,480 Speaker 1: just speaking of, so they were not willing to pay 168 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:02,080 Speaker 1: his way through law school. So in May of eighteen 169 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:05,160 Speaker 1: fifty five, he offered his services as a teacher, and 170 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:08,440 Speaker 1: he was granted free passage back to Liberia in steerage 171 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 1: if he taught the settlers on board during and after 172 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:14,240 Speaker 1: the journey. He didn't really like the idea of traveling 173 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:17,360 Speaker 1: steerage and thought that based on his prominence in his work, 174 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 1: that he should be able to get an actual cabin, 175 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 1: so he tried to negotiate for terms that would let 176 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:25,880 Speaker 1: him buy a cabin on his owns and that was 177 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:28,679 Speaker 1: going to require some money. What he really wanted to 178 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:32,200 Speaker 1: do was to found and lead a school, and eventually 179 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:34,439 Speaker 1: he was able to make a case that the executive 180 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:38,000 Speaker 1: committee of the a c S, the American Colonization Society 181 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:40,680 Speaker 1: that we referred to earlier, they agreed to this plan. 182 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:44,800 Speaker 1: So he boarded the Mary Caroline Stevens for a Liberria 183 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:50,240 Speaker 1: in November of eighteen fifty five. Unfortunately, uh this plan 184 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:53,760 Speaker 1: was not an overwhelming success. However, in addition to paying 185 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 1: him a lower salary than it had earmarked, the a 186 00:10:56,480 --> 00:10:59,320 Speaker 1: c S didn't set aside funds or have plans for 187 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:02,840 Speaker 1: building a new school, so Thomas's classroom was in a 188 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:05,920 Speaker 1: hallway in a place called the Receptacle, which was sort 189 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:09,600 Speaker 1: of an acclamation center for new colonists. He also wound 190 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:12,200 Speaker 1: up in the middle of a power struggle both within 191 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:14,800 Speaker 1: the colony and between the colony and the a c 192 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:18,439 Speaker 1: S back in the States. He was constantly at odds 193 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:21,800 Speaker 1: with the leadership there, which led to a whole lot 194 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:26,560 Speaker 1: of gossip and accusations of wrongdoing and mismanagement on all sides. 195 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:29,280 Speaker 1: And at this point there's not a lot to go 196 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:32,120 Speaker 1: on about who was actually right. We have a whole 197 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:36,600 Speaker 1: lot of documentation of what everyone said, but not a 198 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:40,760 Speaker 1: whole lot of documentation of what actually happened. But eventually 199 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:45,480 Speaker 1: Thomas resigned and went back to America again, racking up 200 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:48,480 Speaker 1: the frequent travel miles that this is one of the 201 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:52,320 Speaker 1: things I understand why a lot of biographical information seems 202 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:56,199 Speaker 1: reluctant to talk about this period in his life, because 203 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:00,360 Speaker 1: number one, the colonization movement was pretty contentious in the 204 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:02,240 Speaker 1: world at that point. There were a lot of people 205 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 1: who didn't agree with the movement, and then obviously there 206 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:09,000 Speaker 1: were also some some internal conflicts going on within the movement. 207 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 1: Um So I think a lot of people they don't 208 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:16,600 Speaker 1: want to sort of tarnish anyone's opinion of either the 209 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:19,360 Speaker 1: movement or of him or anything like this. But having 210 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:22,679 Speaker 1: to go back and forth across the ocean so many 211 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:25,839 Speaker 1: times at this point in history, I think makes it 212 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:32,440 Speaker 1: uh pretty big to omit that whole part. Yeah, that's 213 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:35,280 Speaker 1: a that's a lot of time to spend going back 214 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:37,560 Speaker 1: and forth, and a lot of effort. I mean, it 215 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:39,720 Speaker 1: was not an easy sea boy. You know, It's not 216 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,480 Speaker 1: like booking a flight now. You kind of have to 217 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:46,040 Speaker 1: prepare for a long time and prepare to be not 218 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:49,959 Speaker 1: in delightful circumstances the whole time, and upon his return 219 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:52,760 Speaker 1: he was actually viewed with suspicion by the rest of 220 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:55,680 Speaker 1: the movement. He actually became enough of a pariah that 221 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:58,240 Speaker 1: it's somewhat surprising that he and the Athist didn't just 222 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:01,120 Speaker 1: part ways instead, and he tried to stay into the 223 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:03,400 Speaker 1: radar and not get embroiled in the in fighting or 224 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:06,559 Speaker 1: politics that were going on within the movement. He also 225 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:10,120 Speaker 1: started working to support individual people and small groups who 226 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:13,200 Speaker 1: wanted to emigrate, and eventually he started to put together 227 00:13:13,280 --> 00:13:17,680 Speaker 1: another plan too were returned to Liberia himself, this time 228 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:22,040 Speaker 1: to start a newspaper. The capital of Liberia, which was 229 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:24,840 Speaker 1: called Monrovia, didn't have a newspaper at the time, and 230 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 1: people generally thought it really needed one at this point. 231 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 1: Though both the American and Pennsylvania Societies for Colonization were 232 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:36,520 Speaker 1: reluctant to deal with Thomas after his previous trip I, 233 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:39,480 Speaker 1: eventually he made a successful case and he was once 234 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 1: again bound for Liberia in exchange for sixty dollars of 235 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:45,480 Speaker 1: his own money in an annual subscription for twenty five 236 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:49,000 Speaker 1: copies of the newspaper to his benefactors. He was also 237 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:51,880 Speaker 1: to teach at the Brewster Receptacle for a few months 238 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:54,560 Speaker 1: so that he could earn enough money to actually launch 239 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,200 Speaker 1: the newspaper when he got there, so his way was paid, 240 00:13:57,320 --> 00:13:59,000 Speaker 1: but he was going to have to earn his own 241 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:03,400 Speaker 1: money to the newspaper, which he did, although by that 242 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:07,599 Speaker 1: point Liberia's original paper, The Liberrian Harold, had been resurrected, 243 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:10,000 Speaker 1: so there wasn't that gap that he had counted on. 244 00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 1: The Harold was a government supported paper and Thomas's was independent, 245 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: and it quickly came under fire for publishing things that 246 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:20,120 Speaker 1: were critical of the government. Thomas didn't agree with the 247 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:23,200 Speaker 1: positions of Stephen A. Benson, who was the Liberian president. 248 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:26,880 Speaker 1: After The Star published an anonymous letter that was critical 249 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: of the government, the Harold fired back with accusations of 250 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:34,560 Speaker 1: sexual impropriety between Thomas and another teacher. This led to 251 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,920 Speaker 1: both the Board of Trustees investigating the teacher and a 252 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:42,320 Speaker 1: grand jury and investigation into the Brewster Receptacle. In the 253 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,360 Speaker 1: aftermath of all of this, both Thomas and the other 254 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:50,640 Speaker 1: teacher resigned and left Liberia. As with problems during his 255 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:54,160 Speaker 1: previous trip to Liberia. It's unclear at this point exactly 256 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:58,040 Speaker 1: who did what. His accusers often fell back on how 257 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:02,600 Speaker 1: Thomas was tall, muscular, really attractive, and had a reputation 258 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:04,880 Speaker 1: for having away with the ladies, so they kind of 259 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 1: circumstantially judged him based on his just appeal as a 260 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 1: human being. Those either, you know, played a role in 261 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:15,760 Speaker 1: what people perceived he was doing or or maybe played 262 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,960 Speaker 1: a role in his actual behavior. It's unclear at this point. 263 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:22,640 Speaker 1: Back in the United States, he spent several months promoting 264 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:26,520 Speaker 1: colonization on behalf of the Pennsylvania Society, and in September 265 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:30,400 Speaker 1: of eighteen sixty he went back to Liberia again. The 266 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:33,680 Speaker 1: Star had stopped publishing after he left, and he wanted 267 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:36,400 Speaker 1: to get it going again. He really wanted people who 268 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:39,520 Speaker 1: didn't agree with the Librarian government to have a voice 269 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:43,240 Speaker 1: in the newspaper. He was hoping to use the newspaper's 270 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:48,080 Speaker 1: influence to sway the course of upcoming elections. But when Benson, 271 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:51,040 Speaker 1: who previously said that he did not agree with, was 272 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: re elected, he once again decided to return to the States. 273 00:15:56,760 --> 00:16:01,120 Speaker 1: This I feel like I sort of characterize him as 274 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:05,680 Speaker 1: just a strong idealist. He was really committed to his 275 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:11,040 Speaker 1: own beliefs and not willing to play politics to compromise 276 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 1: them in any way. So he wound up butting heads 277 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 1: with a lot of people in the whole context of 278 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:21,520 Speaker 1: this movement. Yeah, I think I'm glad you said that, 279 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:23,920 Speaker 1: because it is easy to start, you know, with these 280 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: repeats of I went and tried it, and I got mad, 281 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:28,960 Speaker 1: and it came home that you want to be careful 282 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 1: not to characterize him as just kind of a foot 283 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:37,720 Speaker 1: stomp e like angry. Fine, I'm leaving. You know that 284 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: there are ideals behind this behavior. It's not just that 285 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:42,600 Speaker 1: it didn't go his way so he was out of 286 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:44,800 Speaker 1: the are. Yeah, there were strong ideals behind the whole 287 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 1: movement and how it was going to be better for 288 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,840 Speaker 1: freed slaves to move to Africa then to stay in America. 289 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:53,120 Speaker 1: And he really felt like sometimes when I got there, 290 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: it was not actually better, and he was not willing 291 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,520 Speaker 1: to back down on that idea. He was like, no, seriously, 292 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:03,040 Speaker 1: this needs to be better. We are moving to Africa, um, 293 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:06,640 Speaker 1: And he just he really raised a lot of ire 294 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:10,919 Speaker 1: from people. But back in the US in eighteen sixty one, 295 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:14,640 Speaker 1: Thomas kept speaking on behalf of the colonization movement. So 296 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:16,560 Speaker 1: even though he was frustrated with how it was going. 297 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:18,800 Speaker 1: He was still, you know, promoting it in some ways, 298 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 1: but there was heavy resistance at that point to the 299 00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:24,200 Speaker 1: idea of colonization. A lot of people who wanted to 300 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:27,520 Speaker 1: immigrate were choosing to go to other places, including Haiti, 301 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 1: but many felt like America was their home, and even 302 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:33,040 Speaker 1: though they weren't treated as full citizens there, it was 303 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: the option that they were most interested in. The prevailing 304 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:40,359 Speaker 1: desire of most African Americans to stay in the United 305 00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:44,240 Speaker 1: States got stronger and stronger as the government started to 306 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:49,560 Speaker 1: actually encourage colonization. In eighteen sixty two, for example, following 307 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:53,560 Speaker 1: the District of Columbia Emancipation Act, Congress earmarked a hundred 308 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:57,680 Speaker 1: thousand dollars to fund the immigration of freed slaves. Lincoln 309 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:00,639 Speaker 1: and others in the government had supported emigration action plans 310 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 1: as well, which led to really vocal protests. There are 311 00:18:04,119 --> 00:18:08,160 Speaker 1: a lot of reasons why people were reluctant to leave 312 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:10,960 Speaker 1: the United States and to move somewhere else, most off 313 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:13,439 Speaker 1: in Africa, but a lot of it boiled down to 314 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:16,119 Speaker 1: people thinking, Okay, why should we give up our home 315 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:19,840 Speaker 1: and property just to appease a bunch of racists, which 316 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:23,159 Speaker 1: I think is a valid question. Um. There's also a 317 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:26,600 Speaker 1: really great long read at the Route about why people 318 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:28,919 Speaker 1: chose to stay. A lot of that is focused on 319 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:33,040 Speaker 1: why why freed slaves chose to stay in the South, 320 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:35,919 Speaker 1: but it's still relevant. A lot of the issues that 321 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:38,480 Speaker 1: it brings up as reasons for people to stay apply 322 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:40,919 Speaker 1: to anyone who was staying at a place where they 323 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:46,960 Speaker 1: were facing just serious discrimination and unfairness at all. Turns, Yeah, 324 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:49,560 Speaker 1: and these why why don't you go away somewhere else? 325 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:52,200 Speaker 1: You'll be happier there, I'm sure of it. There was 326 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:54,840 Speaker 1: a there's a lot of question about what what will 327 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:58,960 Speaker 1: we do once slaves are freed, and a lot of 328 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:03,520 Speaker 1: people in the government proposing as an actual solution in 329 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:08,480 Speaker 1: quotation marks, well, we could just send them back to Africa. 330 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:14,240 Speaker 1: I don't recall learning a ton about that in my 331 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:17,439 Speaker 1: school about it was more and then we've freed slaves 332 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:21,040 Speaker 1: and everything was great. Wait, no, that's not true at all. 333 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:26,320 Speaker 1: Heavy simplification, that is not accurate. Uh. Throughout all this, 334 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:29,679 Speaker 1: Thomas had been thinking about returning to Liberia again, but 335 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:33,400 Speaker 1: after Lincoln issued the Emancipatient Proclamation in eighteen sixty three, 336 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:36,040 Speaker 1: it became clear that there wasn't going to be a 337 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:39,639 Speaker 1: mass immigration, and so Thomas decided not to go. He 338 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:41,720 Speaker 1: started working on a way to get to Britain to 339 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 1: continue his education, but in the meantime he turned his 340 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,200 Speaker 1: attention to the Civil War. Following a call for black 341 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:51,080 Speaker 1: soldiers to fight for the Union, he became a recruiter 342 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:55,360 Speaker 1: and he recruited African American soldiers into the fifty fifth 343 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:59,640 Speaker 1: Massachusetts Regiments. And he didn't stay entirely on the sidelines. 344 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:03,639 Speaker 1: When Harrisburg was threatened with Confederate attack, he actually briefly 345 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:07,359 Speaker 1: became a captain in the Pennsylvania State Militia. So what 346 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:11,040 Speaker 1: Thomas is most known for is his war correspondents, and 347 00:20:11,119 --> 00:20:14,200 Speaker 1: we have finally gotten to the Civil War. In August 348 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:17,720 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty four, an editor named John Russell Young, who 349 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:21,480 Speaker 1: had himself been a war correspondent, offered Thomas a job 350 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:25,040 Speaker 1: at the Philadelphia Press to report from the front lines 351 00:20:25,119 --> 00:20:28,280 Speaker 1: and focus on the work of black troops. And the 352 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:31,680 Speaker 1: job of a reporter was not entirely respected in America 353 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:35,159 Speaker 1: before the war. Often reporters were reviewed as nosy people 354 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:38,280 Speaker 1: airing other people's business, but that changed when they became 355 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:40,640 Speaker 1: the primary way for news from the front to reach 356 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:43,760 Speaker 1: the rest of the people. Hiring Thomas and giving him 357 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:46,560 Speaker 1: such an assignment was really a huge risk on the 358 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:50,720 Speaker 1: part of the paper, both politically and financially. There was 359 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:52,879 Speaker 1: you know, there was a risk of everything from people 360 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:55,920 Speaker 1: attacking the offices of the paper to just not buying 361 00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:00,280 Speaker 1: the paper anymore. But white papers weren't really reporting on 362 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:03,080 Speaker 1: the African American soldiers, and at the time there were 363 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:07,639 Speaker 1: only two black weeklies covering things from a black perspective. 364 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:10,879 Speaker 1: And at this point, the Union Army was only about 365 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:14,080 Speaker 1: a month into a congressional effort under Lincoln's direction to 366 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:17,760 Speaker 1: try to work out massive inequalities between black and white soldiers. 367 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:23,280 Speaker 1: Black soldiers were unfortunately basically cannon fodder, given inferior everything, 368 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:27,439 Speaker 1: and we're sometimes beaten and abused by their white commanding officers. 369 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:33,160 Speaker 1: Thomas was in part working to draw attention to these issues. 370 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:36,280 Speaker 1: Right even if a unit, if a fighting unit was 371 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:41,040 Speaker 1: entirely made up of African American enlisted men, almost always 372 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:44,760 Speaker 1: the commanding officers were white, and that led to all 373 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:49,080 Speaker 1: kinds of issues within the Union Army in terms of 374 00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:51,719 Speaker 1: fairness and how people were treated and all of that 375 00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: sort of stuff um and taking this job. As we 376 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:58,080 Speaker 1: alluded to earlier, Thomas became the first African Americans to 377 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:01,720 Speaker 1: be a war correspondent for a major ailing newspaper. In 378 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:04,560 Speaker 1: addition to the risk of being hurt or killed in 379 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:07,200 Speaker 1: the front, he also really was at genuine risk for 380 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:10,400 Speaker 1: being sold into slavery if he were captured by the Confederates. 381 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:14,240 Speaker 1: He wrote often with empathy and sometimes even with humor. 382 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:17,320 Speaker 1: His very first dispatch was about an explosion at the 383 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:22,080 Speaker 1: headquarters outside Petersburg. Here's what he wrote about it. For 384 00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:25,600 Speaker 1: several hundred yards the ground was thickly strewn with debris. 385 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:29,720 Speaker 1: The million of property destroyed was but little thought of 386 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:32,919 Speaker 1: in the midst of the immense loss of life. Fragments 387 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:35,800 Speaker 1: of humanity were scattered around in the immediate vicinity of 388 00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:40,560 Speaker 1: the tragedy and frightful profusion. Sorrow was depicted in every 389 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:44,000 Speaker 1: countenance that gazed on the ruins, but those loudest in 390 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:47,800 Speaker 1: their grief for the contrabands who mourned their relatives and comrades. 391 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:52,280 Speaker 1: Being employed in great numbers where the accident occurred, more 392 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:55,280 Speaker 1: of them were killed and wounded than any other class 393 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:59,240 Speaker 1: of individuals. And not much later he wrote this passage. 394 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:04,080 Speaker 1: This is of the funny ones. YEA, the enterprising managers 395 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:06,320 Speaker 1: of the firm of Grant and Lee take pleasure in 396 00:23:06,359 --> 00:23:09,080 Speaker 1: announcing to the public in and around Petersburg that they 397 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:12,240 Speaker 1: are now prepared, and will continue until further notice, to 398 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:15,520 Speaker 1: give every evening a grand exhibition of fireworks for the 399 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:19,600 Speaker 1: benefit of their respective employees. The past experience of the 400 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 1: firm has enabled it to acquire a success in this direction, 401 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:26,440 Speaker 1: which it feels satisfied a liberal minded public will concede. 402 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:30,000 Speaker 1: The managers will not, in any case hold themselves responsible 403 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:32,239 Speaker 1: for any accidents which may occur to those who may 404 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:36,280 Speaker 1: be attracted from curiosity or otherwise to witness their exhibition. 405 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:41,119 Speaker 1: That makes me chuckle, it does. It's really charming. Most 406 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:44,040 Speaker 1: of the action he witnessed was near Petersburg and Richmond. 407 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:47,360 Speaker 1: He spent almost all of his time reporting from Virginia, 408 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 1: although he did accompany the Union army to Fort Fisher, 409 00:23:50,359 --> 00:23:54,480 Speaker 1: North Carolina in December of eighteen sixty four. The Union 410 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 1: had planned to take out the fort at the mouth 411 00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:59,520 Speaker 1: of the Cape Beer River using a barge of explosives, 412 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 1: which was and to cut off the south supply route, 413 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:05,920 Speaker 1: but the plan failed because the walls of the fort 414 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,880 Speaker 1: were too strong for this barge of explosives to blow up, 415 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:14,440 Speaker 1: they had to call off the attack. Like other Union writers, 416 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 1: part of Thomas's job was to make it seem as 417 00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:20,399 Speaker 1: though the war was going well, so he could not, 418 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:23,840 Speaker 1: you know, feed into the perception that this was a horrible, 419 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:27,400 Speaker 1: catastrophic error on the part of any particular person. This 420 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:30,320 Speaker 1: is what he had to say. There will probably be 421 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:33,760 Speaker 1: much speculation in reference to the failure of this expedition, 422 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:37,240 Speaker 1: attributing it to the want of military foresight on the 423 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:40,879 Speaker 1: part of General General Whitzel and not providing the expedition 424 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:45,560 Speaker 1: with the necessary implements for a siege to Other causes are, however, 425 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:49,560 Speaker 1: responsible for the result, the first being the publicity which 426 00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:54,120 Speaker 1: naval officers in Norfolk previous to sailing gave their impressions 427 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:57,320 Speaker 1: as to the destination of the fleet, and secondly, the 428 00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:01,760 Speaker 1: delay caused after the arrival of the fleet off Masonboro Inlet. 429 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:06,960 Speaker 1: We experienced previous to the storm four days of splendid weather. 430 00:25:07,359 --> 00:25:10,280 Speaker 1: There could not have been better weather for the attack. 431 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:14,480 Speaker 1: So he was trying to diffuse the blame and not 432 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:19,080 Speaker 1: make it seem as though any particular person should take 433 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:23,320 Speaker 1: the fall for this unsuccessful attempt. Multiple factors will play here, people, 434 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:26,800 Speaker 1: it's kind of his approach. On April three of eighteen 435 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:30,399 Speaker 1: sixty five, he saw the fall of Richmond, the first 436 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:33,760 Speaker 1: troops to enter the city, where the fifth Massachusetts Cavalry 437 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:36,920 Speaker 1: and the Army Corps, both of which were black units. 438 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:40,359 Speaker 1: Blacks within the city welcomed them as heroes, and he 439 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:43,879 Speaker 1: wrote on Sunday evening strange to say, the jails in 440 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:47,240 Speaker 1: this place were thrown open, and all runaway negroes, those 441 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:50,200 Speaker 1: for sale and those for safekeeping, were told to hop 442 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:53,239 Speaker 1: out and enjoy their freedom. You may rely upon it 443 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:56,199 Speaker 1: that they did not need a second invitation. Many of 444 00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:59,159 Speaker 1: these persons will have no difficulty in convincing themselves that 445 00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:01,080 Speaker 1: they were always on the side of the Union and 446 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:04,120 Speaker 1: the freedom of the slave. Great events have a wonderful 447 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:08,840 Speaker 1: influence on the minds of guilty trembling wretches. So upon 448 00:26:09,119 --> 00:26:11,719 Speaker 1: entering Richmond, he went to the Virginia Statehouse, which had 449 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:14,680 Speaker 1: been home to the Confederate Congress, and rode his first 450 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:17,520 Speaker 1: dispatch after the fall of the city. While sitting at 451 00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:20,199 Speaker 1: the desk belonging to the speaker of the Confederate House. 452 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:25,200 Speaker 1: A Boston correspondent named Charles Carrollton Coffin wrote this tale 453 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:27,840 Speaker 1: about the event, which is just ranking up there with 454 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:31,320 Speaker 1: the recent story we told about how Hypatia the touring 455 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:35,359 Speaker 1: a suitor with favorite historical antidotes. And so here is 456 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:40,800 Speaker 1: what Charles Coulson Coffin said. Visiting the capital. He entered 457 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:42,920 Speaker 1: the Senate chamber and sat down at the Speaker's chair 458 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:47,480 Speaker 1: to write a letter. A paroled rebel officer entered the room. 459 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:50,320 Speaker 1: Come out of there, you black cuss, shouted the officer, 460 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:54,680 Speaker 1: clenching his fist. Mr Chester raised his eyes, calmly, surveyed 461 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:57,600 Speaker 1: the intruder, and went on with his writing. Get out 462 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,000 Speaker 1: of here, or I'll knock your brains out. The officer, bellow, 463 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:03,119 Speaker 1: pouring out a torrent of oaths, and rushing up the 464 00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:06,480 Speaker 1: steps to execute his threat, found himself tumbling over the 465 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:10,560 Speaker 1: chairs and benches, knocked down by one well planted blow 466 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:14,480 Speaker 1: between the eyes. Mr Chester sat down as if nothing 467 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:17,320 Speaker 1: had happened. The rebel sprang to his feet and called 468 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:21,159 Speaker 1: upon Captain Hutchins of General Devons's staff for a sword. 469 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:25,159 Speaker 1: I'll cut that fellow's heart out, said he. Oh, I 470 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:28,160 Speaker 1: guess not. I can't let you have my sword for 471 00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:31,240 Speaker 1: any such purpose. If you want to fight, I will 472 00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:34,080 Speaker 1: clear a space there and see that you have fair play. 473 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:35,760 Speaker 1: But let me tell you that you will get a 474 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:40,640 Speaker 1: tremendous thrashing, said Captain Hutchins. The officer left the hall 475 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:44,359 Speaker 1: in disgust. Once again. There are so many levels of 476 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 1: things that I love about the story, starting with him 477 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:53,679 Speaker 1: running a dispatch in the speaker chair and including punching 478 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:56,639 Speaker 1: a guy between the eyes calmly, calmly, and then getting 479 00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:01,000 Speaker 1: back to his work. After the fall of Richmond, Thomas 480 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:04,280 Speaker 1: stayed in the city to report on rebuilding efforts. The 481 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:07,000 Speaker 1: city was war torn, it was partly destroyed, and it 482 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 1: was full of impoverished displaced people. After the war, he 483 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:13,800 Speaker 1: also traveled to Washington to advocate for civil rights before 484 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:17,399 Speaker 1: Andrew Johnson. From there, he returned to his hometown of 485 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:20,360 Speaker 1: Harrisburg and until he left for England to study law. 486 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:22,800 Speaker 1: That fall, he worked as an advocate for equal rights 487 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:26,040 Speaker 1: and joined the Pennsylvania State Equal Rights League. He actually 488 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:29,840 Speaker 1: became its solicitor in literary critic and its corresponding secretary. 489 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:32,520 Speaker 1: He earned his law degree in England at the age 490 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:35,879 Speaker 1: of thirty six. While he was overseas, he also toured 491 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:38,680 Speaker 1: Europe and Russia on behalf of the League. He was 492 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:40,880 Speaker 1: invited to meet and have a meal with the Czar 493 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:44,120 Speaker 1: as well. Then he spent two years in Europe serving 494 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:48,200 Speaker 1: as a diplomatic representative of Liberia, having been appointed as 495 00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:51,480 Speaker 1: an aide to camp of James Spriggs Payne, who was 496 00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:55,240 Speaker 1: President of Liberia. Sometime in eighteen sixty eight, he left 497 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:58,880 Speaker 1: that post after an election again brought a brought an 498 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:03,080 Speaker 1: administration into power which he didn't entirely support. And while 499 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:05,840 Speaker 1: he continued to think about returning to Liberia and he 500 00:29:05,880 --> 00:29:08,360 Speaker 1: actually referred to Liberia as home for most of his 501 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:11,520 Speaker 1: adult life, he was reluctant to do so based on 502 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:14,680 Speaker 1: all of his experiences there Before he came to the 503 00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:18,080 Speaker 1: United States again, where he moved to the Deep South, 504 00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:21,280 Speaker 1: becoming the first African American to practice law in the 505 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:24,880 Speaker 1: state of Louisiana, with his goal really working on the 506 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:29,280 Speaker 1: reconstruction effort. And this was obviously not a welcoming situation. 507 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 1: Racism and violence against African Americans were rampant, and the 508 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:36,880 Speaker 1: local political environment was full of corruption. At one point, 509 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:40,120 Speaker 1: he was actually shot in the head during an altercation 510 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:44,640 Speaker 1: related to a possibly fraudulent election. He survived and went 511 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:46,600 Speaker 1: on to work for equal rights and an end to 512 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,920 Speaker 1: racism in segregation for the rest of his career. He 513 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:53,200 Speaker 1: also became a brigadier general in the Louisiana State Militia 514 00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:56,280 Speaker 1: in the aftermath of a different election, that of William 515 00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:59,800 Speaker 1: Pitt Kellogg to the office of governor, which was disputed 516 00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:03,479 Speaker 1: by the Democrats and led to a violent rebellion. As 517 00:30:03,520 --> 00:30:05,680 Speaker 1: if he had not had enough careers at this point, 518 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:08,080 Speaker 1: he became a politician, and he served in a number 519 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:11,920 Speaker 1: of offices, including the superintendent of public education in more 520 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:15,680 Speaker 1: than one Louisiana division. He continued to be active in 521 00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:19,040 Speaker 1: the Republican government until eighteen seventy seven, when the Democrats 522 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:22,440 Speaker 1: took control. From there, he became U S Commissioner for 523 00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:25,280 Speaker 1: New Orleans, which was a federal appointment, and he held 524 00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:29,320 Speaker 1: that post until eighteen eighty three. The Republican government had 525 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:32,840 Speaker 1: been much more supportive of African Americans than the Democrats 526 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:36,040 Speaker 1: were at the time, so the change in leadership left 527 00:30:36,040 --> 00:30:39,840 Speaker 1: Thomas feeling pretty frustrated and disillusioned. Like we said before, 528 00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:42,400 Speaker 1: he was really an idealist, and he did not want 529 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 1: to back down on anything, but he started to spend 530 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:49,080 Speaker 1: more time in Harrisburg. He eventually married a teacher named 531 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:53,040 Speaker 1: Florence Johnson, and the couple split their time between Pennsylvania 532 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:56,800 Speaker 1: and Louisiana, uh and she was teaching during this time 533 00:30:56,840 --> 00:30:59,760 Speaker 1: and he was practicing law. In another turn late in 534 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:02,640 Speaker 1: his life, he became president of the Wilmington's Rights, Fell 535 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:06,720 Speaker 1: and Onslow Railroad, an African American owned company in North Carolina, 536 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:10,200 Speaker 1: in eighty four. This might have been a financial move, 537 00:31:10,280 --> 00:31:13,480 Speaker 1: since his law clients were often extremely poor, which made 538 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:15,880 Speaker 1: it hard for him to make an actual living from 539 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:20,400 Speaker 1: his law work. Unfortunately, though, the railroad company eventually failed 540 00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:26,280 Speaker 1: and finally on September thirty eight, two Thomas died at 541 00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:29,080 Speaker 1: the age of fifty eight. His name is really not 542 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:31,560 Speaker 1: very well known in most of the United States, but 543 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:35,000 Speaker 1: he became really prominently known in his hometown of Harrisburg, 544 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:38,480 Speaker 1: where a school was named after him in two thousand four, 545 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:42,920 Speaker 1: and the book Thomas Morris Chester Black Civil War Correspondent, 546 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:46,360 Speaker 1: which was edited by R. J. M. Blackett, includes quite 547 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:49,400 Speaker 1: a lengthy biography on him, and it also includes all 548 00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:52,440 Speaker 1: of his dispatches as a correspondent I ordered a copy 549 00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:57,400 Speaker 1: of that book before before doing research on this podcast, 550 00:31:57,440 --> 00:32:00,200 Speaker 1: and I did not comprehend how cool what was to 551 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:02,920 Speaker 1: be arriving in the in the mail was. Like I 552 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,720 Speaker 1: knew it was his dispatches from the front, I didn't 553 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:08,960 Speaker 1: quite realize that it was a very detailed biography of 554 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:12,280 Speaker 1: his whole life, followed by every dispatch that he wrote. 555 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:15,640 Speaker 1: So if you were interested in this at all, this 556 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:20,200 Speaker 1: is a highly worthwhile. Yeah, it's much more. It's much 557 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:22,480 Speaker 1: more comprehensive than you might think. It gets into a 558 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:25,480 Speaker 1: lot of detail about all the various like he said, 559 00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:28,840 Speaker 1: he said, she said, going on while he was working 560 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:32,200 Speaker 1: uh in Liberia. It gets a lot into a lot 561 00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:35,720 Speaker 1: more detail about that particular movement. Um. As we said, 562 00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:38,320 Speaker 1: there are many many things in this episode that could 563 00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:43,000 Speaker 1: have been episodes on their own. We keep finding them. Yeah, 564 00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:45,680 Speaker 1: this why I feel like this had more of that 565 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:47,960 Speaker 1: than in any episode that I've researched in a while. 566 00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:49,840 Speaker 1: I felt like every time I turned a page there 567 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:53,280 Speaker 1: was something else that was going to need context explained 568 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:56,240 Speaker 1: because it has not maybe been talked about very much 569 00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:00,600 Speaker 1: in your typical school room. Well, and it's dates. He 570 00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:03,640 Speaker 1: was busy, he was he said a lot of very 571 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:07,320 Speaker 1: different interesting things. He broke a lot of ground in 572 00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:12,080 Speaker 1: terms of color barriers. He just I see where eight 573 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:14,200 Speaker 1: podcasts could come off at this one. Yeah. Well, and 574 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:16,720 Speaker 1: it makes me really sad that he I think the 575 00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:19,680 Speaker 1: general perception is that by the time he died he 576 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:23,480 Speaker 1: was very frustrated with the state of race relations in America. 577 00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:26,600 Speaker 1: He was not very optimistic that things were going to 578 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:32,280 Speaker 1: get better, and that is very sad. It makes me 579 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:36,000 Speaker 1: very sad that, having accomplished so much, that seems to 580 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:38,200 Speaker 1: have been his state of mind at the end of 581 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:41,720 Speaker 1: his life. Yeah. I empathize with it. I cannot say 582 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:45,200 Speaker 1: I identify with it because I am not an African 583 00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:48,800 Speaker 1: American person and that would be a just terribly pretentious 584 00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:51,480 Speaker 1: thing to say. But it does make me sad that 585 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:53,520 Speaker 1: that I think of at the end of his life 586 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:56,320 Speaker 1: he was in a place of frustration. Yeah. I mean, 587 00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:57,880 Speaker 1: you don't want anybody to feel that way at the 588 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:01,120 Speaker 1: end of their lives, but a particularly with as much 589 00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:02,800 Speaker 1: as he had gone through and as much work and 590 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:07,080 Speaker 1: effort as he had put into the race relations movement. Uh, 591 00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:08,600 Speaker 1: you hate to think that he felt like it was 592 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:10,719 Speaker 1: for not right and so much of his writing and 593 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:13,440 Speaker 1: his actions make it clear that that his motivation always 594 00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:16,720 Speaker 1: was a sense of wanting things to be better for people, 595 00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:20,120 Speaker 1: and that is another reason why it was so deeply 596 00:34:20,160 --> 00:34:23,440 Speaker 1: frustrating so often, because things were not getting better very 597 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:28,200 Speaker 1: quickly at all. I think I also have some listener mail. Fantastic. 598 00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:30,680 Speaker 1: This is actually two pieces of mail about the same 599 00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:34,279 Speaker 1: thing from our Facebook, from people who have raised very 600 00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:39,160 Speaker 1: interesting questions about our Plan and Aisle Lighthouse disappearance episode. 601 00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:42,160 Speaker 1: The first is from Ashley, and she says, Hi, Tracy 602 00:34:42,200 --> 00:34:44,760 Speaker 1: and Holly, I listen to your podcast while I'm working, 603 00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:46,839 Speaker 1: so I may have missed some information in your most 604 00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:50,360 Speaker 1: recent podcast concerning the mystery surrounding the Plan and Aisle Lighthouse. 605 00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:53,920 Speaker 1: At any rate, I am curious to know why thieves, bandits, 606 00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:57,000 Speaker 1: and or pirates were not considered as possible culprits in 607 00:34:57,040 --> 00:35:00,440 Speaker 1: the disappearance of three men. There may not have been 608 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:02,759 Speaker 1: anything of worth in the lighthouse, but seems to me 609 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:06,359 Speaker 1: a more likely option than some of the other suggestions. 610 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:09,120 Speaker 1: Thanks for the research to keep it up. I would 611 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:13,320 Speaker 1: say definitely, uh, piracy is more likely than aliens. Yeah, 612 00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:16,640 Speaker 1: and it it has been theorized by various historians and 613 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:19,279 Speaker 1: that was that could have been the cause. But it 614 00:35:19,320 --> 00:35:23,560 Speaker 1: was such a remote location, like the the island itself 615 00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:27,000 Speaker 1: was uninhabited by anyone else, like there was no other 616 00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:30,480 Speaker 1: human presence on the island besides the lighthouse. Um, it 617 00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:34,200 Speaker 1: would have required some serious work for thieves or abandons 618 00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:36,879 Speaker 1: to make their way out there. Yeah, and to make 619 00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:39,160 Speaker 1: their way. We talked a little bit about how it 620 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:44,080 Speaker 1: was it was difficult to um doc at the landing 621 00:35:44,120 --> 00:35:48,520 Speaker 1: stage there they had as it was there uh, And 622 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:50,720 Speaker 1: how that one man had had to jump from his boat, 623 00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:53,000 Speaker 1: he had to back in the small boat into the 624 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:56,000 Speaker 1: slip and jump, and how it was a little bit dangerous, 625 00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:59,839 Speaker 1: so that could have potentially been a deterrent as well. Uh. 626 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:01,920 Speaker 1: We also got a note on Facebook from Jim, and 627 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:04,880 Speaker 1: Jim said, did you consider that the source of a 628 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:07,560 Speaker 1: rogue wave that might have killed the three lighthouse keepers 629 00:36:07,719 --> 00:36:10,960 Speaker 1: might have been an undersea earthquake? After all, Iceland and 630 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:14,200 Speaker 1: the mid Atlantic Ridge aren't that far away. However, a 631 00:36:14,239 --> 00:36:17,040 Speaker 1: large tsunami probably would have been reported by others along 632 00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:20,160 Speaker 1: the west coast of Scotland if one happened. This had 633 00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:24,520 Speaker 1: a very similar answer of basically what Jim said, which 634 00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:28,160 Speaker 1: is that where the flann and Aisles are located between 635 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:33,040 Speaker 1: Iceland and bigger, more inhabited islands. If there had been 636 00:36:33,080 --> 00:36:36,399 Speaker 1: something as large as a tsunami, that almost certainly would 637 00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:39,360 Speaker 1: have been reported by other people, and that would have 638 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:42,920 Speaker 1: led the investigation to be like they must have been 639 00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:46,000 Speaker 1: wiped out by the tsunami and not I wonder what happened. Yeah, 640 00:36:46,080 --> 00:36:49,239 Speaker 1: and I think we might have referenced it briefly in 641 00:36:49,239 --> 00:36:51,120 Speaker 1: the episode. But I know there is at least one 642 00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:53,920 Speaker 1: author that has written a book that he thinks it 643 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:58,080 Speaker 1: was potentially a seaquake, but he there wasn't enough supporting 644 00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:00,720 Speaker 1: evidence for me to include that one in the list. 645 00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:02,880 Speaker 1: Just you know, eventually you have to edit out some 646 00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:07,439 Speaker 1: things for time. I think like a frequent roague wave 647 00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:12,080 Speaker 1: situation is probably a little more likely than seaquake because 648 00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:15,880 Speaker 1: that would have made a much larger wave. Probably. Yeah, 649 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:20,040 Speaker 1: it's um, you know, such an isolated incident. And even 650 00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:22,919 Speaker 1: though these are kind of out on their own, they're 651 00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:24,840 Speaker 1: not the only thing they are. We know there were 652 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:30,320 Speaker 1: people nearby, for example, the gamekeeper that was um keeping 653 00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:34,000 Speaker 1: an eye on things. He surely would have seen there 654 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:39,200 Speaker 1: had been a So yeah, those are the answers to 655 00:37:39,239 --> 00:37:42,880 Speaker 1: those questions really not really answers other than do you 656 00:37:42,880 --> 00:37:45,959 Speaker 1: have Some people think that might be the thing, right, So, 657 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:48,000 Speaker 1: if you would like to write to us about this 658 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:50,920 Speaker 1: or any other episode, you can at History Podcast at 659 00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:54,319 Speaker 1: Discovery dot com. We're also on Facebook at Facebook dot 660 00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:58,000 Speaker 1: com slash history class stuff, and on Twitter at Misston History. 661 00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:00,720 Speaker 1: Our tumbler is that mist and his Right dot tumbler 662 00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:03,200 Speaker 1: dot com, and we're on Pinterest too, or we can 663 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:05,880 Speaker 1: penned a whole bunch of pictures of that lighthouse. If 664 00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:07,640 Speaker 1: you would like to learn more about what we've talked 665 00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:09,920 Speaker 1: about today, you can come to our website and put 666 00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:12,960 Speaker 1: the word Newspapers in the search bar. You will find 667 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:18,320 Speaker 1: how Newspapers Work, which is freshly updated for this century. 668 00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:21,760 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, you can have changes in that industry so many. 669 00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:23,719 Speaker 1: You can learn about all that and a whole lot 670 00:38:23,719 --> 00:38:26,279 Speaker 1: more at our website, which is how stuff Works dot 671 00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:32,600 Speaker 1: com for more on this and thousands of other topics. 672 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:45,839 Speaker 1: Because it has stuff works dot com. Netflix streams TV 673 00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:49,440 Speaker 1: shows and movies directly to your home, saving you time, money, 674 00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:52,840 Speaker 1: and hassle. 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