1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class. It's a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:07,920 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Welcome to This Day in History Class, where 3 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:11,480 Speaker 1: we bring you a new tidbit from history every day. 4 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:25,640 Speaker 1: Today is July twelfth, nineteen. The day was July twelve, 5 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty six, American filibuster William Walker was inaugurated as 6 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 1: president of Nicaragua. Walker was born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 7 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:39,520 Speaker 1: eighteen twenty four. He went on to study medicine in law, 8 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:42,159 Speaker 1: and later he became the co owner and editor of 9 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:45,680 Speaker 1: the New Orleans Crescent. Walker was an inherent of the 10 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: philosophy of manifest destiny, a nineteenth century belief that US 11 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: territorial expansion across the North American continent was inevitable and 12 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: destined by God. It was a belief that encouraged the 13 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: displacement and persecution of many Indied and Its people and 14 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:04,680 Speaker 1: people of color on the continent. After moving to San Francisco, 15 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: then Marysville near Sacramento, Walker began devising a scheme to 16 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: conquer parts of Latin America to create new slave states 17 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: to add to the United States. This was not a 18 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: new idea. Filibustering or freebooting, was the practice of engaging 19 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: in unauthorized warfare against countries that the US was at 20 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,759 Speaker 1: peace with. The government did not approve these armed expeditions, 21 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,559 Speaker 1: and they were a violation of federal law that said 22 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: it was illegal to wage war against countries that were 23 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:36,039 Speaker 1: at peace with the US. In the years before the 24 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:39,679 Speaker 1: Civil War, many full hardy Americans set out to seize 25 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 1: territory in Central and South America. Walker made his motivations clear, 26 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 1: saying the following that which you ignorantly call filibuster is 27 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 1: m is not the offspring of hasty passion or ill 28 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: regulated desire. It is the fruit of the shore unerring instincts, 29 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: which act in accordance with laws as old as the creation. 30 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: They are but drivelers who speak of establishing fixed relations 31 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: between the pure white American race as it exists in 32 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:09,880 Speaker 1: the United States and the mixed Hispano Indian race as 33 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 1: it exists in Mexico and Central America without the employment 34 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:18,000 Speaker 1: of force. Walker first looked towards Mexico. He tried to 35 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,959 Speaker 1: get permission from Mexico to create a colony there under 36 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,359 Speaker 1: the guy said it would serve as a fortified frontier. 37 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 1: But when Mexico said no, Walker decided to just plan 38 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:30,919 Speaker 1: an invasion. He went back to San Francisco and began 39 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: recruiting people for the invasion who supported slavery and manifest 40 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:37,440 Speaker 1: destiny and who were looking for some sort of success. 41 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 1: In eighteen fifty three, he and his crew captured Lapace, 42 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 1: the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California, and 43 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 1: called it the Republic of Lord California, later called the 44 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: Republic of Sonora. He declared himself president and adopted Louisiana 45 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 1: state codes, which made slavery legal. Though more Americans joined 46 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: him in Mexico, supplies were lacking, and knee there in 47 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: Mexico nor the US government were happy with his actions. 48 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:07,080 Speaker 1: By eighteen fifty four, Walker and the band of invaders 49 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,880 Speaker 1: were forced to surrender and leave Mexico. Still, when Walker 50 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 1: went to trial in California for starting in a legal 51 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:16,840 Speaker 1: war and violating the Neutrality Act of seventeen ninety four, 52 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: the jury acquitted him in just eight minutes. So Walker 53 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 1: continued his filibustering efforts. He took advantage of civil war 54 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 1: in Nicaragua to bring mercenaries to the country and capture 55 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: the city of Granada. US President Franklin Pierce recognized Walker's 56 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: regime as legitimate, and on July twelfth, eighteen fifty six, 57 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: Walker became President of Nicaragua. Walker reinstated slavery, declared English 58 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,839 Speaker 1: the official language, and encouraged immigration from the US through 59 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: changes to currency and fiscal policy. He promoted the filibustering 60 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: expedition as a way to expand slavery to win the 61 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: support of US Southerners, but Walker had already earned the 62 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 1: anger of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who controlled trans businesses in Nicaragua, 63 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala also opposed Walker 64 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 1: and his plans of military conquest. Walker surrendered to Commander 65 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: Charles Henry Davis of the U. S. Navy on May one, 66 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty seven. Walker was welcomed back when he returned 67 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:21,320 Speaker 1: to the US, but when he went to Honduras on 68 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 1: another filibuster in eighteen sixty, the British government had too 69 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 1: much strategic and economic interests in the region to tolerate 70 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:32,600 Speaker 1: his ploys, and they shut the operation down. A commander 71 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: in the British Royal Navy sent him to Honduran authorities 72 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 1: instead of sending him back to the United States. Walker 73 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: was executed in through Hillo on September twelve, eighteen sixty 74 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: Once the US Civil War broke out in eighteen sixty one, 75 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 1: Filibustering died out before the end of the war. Walker 76 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: was remembered fondly in the southern and western United States 77 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,840 Speaker 1: for his exploits, dubbed the gray eyed Man of Destiny 78 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:01,800 Speaker 1: by his admirers. Many Northerners, on the other hand, saw 79 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 1: him as a pirate. Central American countries viewed his defeat 80 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: with pride, but Walker's recognition soon faded into history. I'm 81 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 1: each Jeff Coote and hopefully you know a little more 82 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. You can learn 83 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and 84 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: Instagram at t d i HC podcast. Thanks for joining 85 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:32,599 Speaker 1: me on this trip through time. See you here in 86 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 1: the exact same spot tomorrow. For more podcasts from I 87 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 88 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.