1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome 2 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:30,320 Speaker 1: back to the show, Ridiculous Historians. Thank you, as always 3 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:33,280 Speaker 1: so much for tuning in. Who's that? That's our one 4 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:37,239 Speaker 1: and only super producer, Mr Max Williams. Give him a 5 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:50,839 Speaker 1: hand or two or three, but not too many. They 6 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: called me ben No, this is this is one that's 7 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: been on our list for a while. My friend. Uh, 8 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: you have actually traveled to aston Texas. Yeah? Yeah, well 9 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:06,600 Speaker 1: wait to Austin Uh one time many years ago for 10 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: um this little thing they do they're called south by Southwest. Um. 11 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 1: I'm joking. It's not a little, it's huge. It's sort 12 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: of ballooned over the years. I didn't go to the 13 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 1: music portion of it, which I would like to do 14 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:19,560 Speaker 1: one day. I went to the tech portion of it, 15 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: which I think happens like right before or after the 16 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,400 Speaker 1: music thing. Overall, I've very much enjoyed at Austin. The 17 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 1: Uber drivers were all super helpful, and we're really knowledgeable 18 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: about the history of Austin Um, which is what we're 19 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 1: going to talk about today. And anyone who's been there 20 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: even is remotely familiar with it's probably aware of the 21 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 1: whole campaign or slogan to keep Austin weird. Um, because 22 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 1: you know, Texas is a very very large state and 23 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: the majority of it is very very red, very um conservative, traditional, 24 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: you know, kind of the idea of Texan. Everything's big. 25 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: You know, it's a big big attitudes, big hats, big 26 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: trucks and and big dreams. Right. Um. But Austin has 27 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 1: always been kind of this like liberal enclave of arts 28 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 1: and music and barbecue. Um. Also in other parts of 29 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:13,919 Speaker 1: the state. But yeah, it's always kind of maintained. It's 30 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: little kind of oasis of weirdness, very similarly to how 31 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:22,079 Speaker 1: Atlanta is in Georgia. Yeah. Yeah, that's not a bad 32 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:27,079 Speaker 1: comparison at all. And it's funny because our research associate 33 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: Gave he liked to frame this conversation as the fight 34 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:35,080 Speaker 1: to keep Austin weird, and he would love to point 35 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:37,919 Speaker 1: out to everyone that it's a story that dates back 36 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: much further than you might think. It actually starts with 37 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: something called the Texas Archives War of eighteen forty two. 38 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: First thing you need to know about today's story is 39 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: the road from just Land to statehood for Texas was 40 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 1: an absolute mess. It was a train wreck. It was 41 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:00,239 Speaker 1: like two trains filled with burning trash that Calli did 42 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:03,800 Speaker 1: and then also someone through spaghetti on the wreckage. Like 43 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: that's how messy it was. The In the summer of 44 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:11,920 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty nine, what was the then the nascent Republic 45 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:15,639 Speaker 1: of Texas was threatened by Mexican forces to the south, 46 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: and they also had a bitter internal conflict over what 47 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: city should be the capital. And it's it's odd because 48 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: if you look at multiple U. S. States, you'll see 49 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 1: a lot of a lot of conflicts, a lot of 50 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: fights about which city gets to be the seat of power, 51 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: and Austin. Austin of course, ended up being the capital 52 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 1: today and a lot of historians think it's because of 53 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: this war. So maybe, well, maybe we talk a little 54 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: bit about how how the early days of Texas got 55 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 1: so messy, Right, there's the Texas Revolution. Yeah, And you know, 56 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: it's funny. We we don't really think about, first of all, 57 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 1: archive being particularly movable or something that's particularly contentious, um, 58 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: but in this case it absolutely was. There was this 59 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 1: whole kind of back and forth bush and pull over 60 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:18,360 Speaker 1: where the capitol would go, and along with it it's 61 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: archive and uh. In eighteen thirty five that Texas revolution 62 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: you mentioned consisted of an uprising of colonists, United States 63 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:31,279 Speaker 1: colonists and Mexican American UM tex sentence known as Tejanos 64 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:34,480 Speaker 1: UM that lived in the southern part of Texas and 65 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: they were fighting against Mexican forces who were trying to 66 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,799 Speaker 1: take back Texas or or you know, we're we're fighting 67 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: against the statehood of Texas, which was you know, a territory. Uh, 68 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: Mexico considered theirs. The issue was really about self governance 69 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:58,360 Speaker 1: and an autonomy. These rebels would not accept any changes 70 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:04,559 Speaker 1: that seeded power to Mexico, to the Mexican president UM 71 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:08,320 Speaker 1: instead of with the state itself. They didn't want to 72 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:11,040 Speaker 1: share any of that stuff, any of those the decision 73 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 1: making powers with Mexico. They wanted to rest with the 74 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,919 Speaker 1: state and the local government. And that's because on March 75 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: two of eighteen thirty six, the Republic of Texas government 76 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,840 Speaker 1: was formed. UM. It was meant to be treated as 77 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:29,760 Speaker 1: an independent nation until it became part of the US 78 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:34,360 Speaker 1: in eighteen forty five. There was that kind of brief 79 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 1: nine years, but still UM comparatively brief UM considering the 80 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 1: history of the United States, where Texas was self governed, 81 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: but it was not a particularly peaceful time there. There 82 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:51,400 Speaker 1: was always, you know, threats coming to take back that 83 00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: power of self governance. Yeah, yeah, that's the thing. The 84 00:05:55,279 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 1: Mexican government heard about this declaration of independence. In their 85 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: response was pretty much lowell uh and then yeah, and 86 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: they kept uh. They kept rating the southern western boundaries 87 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 1: of of the area well into the eighteen forties. Smithsonian 88 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:15,919 Speaker 1: has a great article on this, and they point out 89 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:20,240 Speaker 1: a little bit about how the government of the Republic 90 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:23,599 Speaker 1: was created. It was modeled on the US Congress. Uh. 91 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:27,800 Speaker 1: It had two houses of the legislature. They were elected 92 00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:32,279 Speaker 1: by what Texas considered to be citizens who were not 93 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:36,160 Speaker 1: free people of color, not Native Americans. It was like 94 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: white dudes, the right kind of white dudes, etcetera. So 95 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: all in all, the Congress represented about seventy thousand people, 96 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,440 Speaker 1: and we know this because they took a census once 97 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 1: in eighteen forty. One of the big things that you 98 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:54,920 Speaker 1: have to figure out when you start your own country 99 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: is where you're gonna put the capital. And this is 100 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:02,839 Speaker 1: how messy it was, folks. Five different cities in Texas 101 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 1: were temporarily capitals in the very first year of the 102 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 1: Republic's existence. And they were. They were not always jumping 103 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 1: around because of local pride, you know what I mean? 104 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: They were they were usually moving to escape invasion and 105 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 1: capture by forces from Mexico. Uh. Sam Houston chose the 106 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: city of Houston as the capital in eighteen thirty seven. 107 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 1: Was he biased? I think so because the city of 108 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 1: Houston was already named after him. So he was like, 109 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 1: I'm trying to like, I got one. You know. He 110 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 1: did have a worse in the race. The Texas Congress, though, 111 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: wanted to find some location in central Texas to build 112 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:50,720 Speaker 1: a planned city. But for the moment, Sam Houston got 113 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:53,680 Speaker 1: his way. The Republic's archives, which mentioned at the top, 114 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: included stuff like official documents, military records, land titles, trophies, 115 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:02,559 Speaker 1: international treaties. All this stuff was shipped from the city 116 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:06,960 Speaker 1: of Columbia to Houston with this new designation. And this 117 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:11,239 Speaker 1: this comes from a Nestorian named Dorman Winfrey who wrote 118 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: about the Texas Archive wars like more than half a 119 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 1: century ago. And um, this is where it gets sticky, 120 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 1: because Houston is not the capital of Texas today. How 121 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: did that happen? No, that's right. Um. The next president 122 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: of that you know, short lived independent Texas Republic was 123 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:36,400 Speaker 1: a guy named Marabeau Lamar. That's how he said it. Uh. 124 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 1: He was he was in a tiny from Georgia, and 125 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 1: he believed, uh that the only way to achieve any 126 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:49,319 Speaker 1: kind of progress as a nation was to completely obliterate 127 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:52,760 Speaker 1: and and and cause the extinction of the Native American 128 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:58,959 Speaker 1: UM race class. Yeah. Yeah, pretty problematic guy there. He 129 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,079 Speaker 1: wanted to move the capital to Austin, and he did 130 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,320 Speaker 1: that thing in eighteen thirty nine, Um because it was 131 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:08,720 Speaker 1: more central, Like you said, Ben folks were not into 132 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: this idea. UM. They were supporters of Sam Houston. And 133 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:17,680 Speaker 1: Sam Houston himself. He felt that Austin was too remote, 134 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:20,320 Speaker 1: it wasn't very developed, and it was too close to 135 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 1: Mexican and Native American UM rivals, you know that they 136 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:29,600 Speaker 1: were potentially wanting to do them harm and invade their 137 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 1: sovereign lands. The Comanche and Cherokee nations in particular were 138 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:39,120 Speaker 1: right around that that area, and we Houston then, you know, 139 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:42,000 Speaker 1: it's not what it like looks like today. But I 140 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 1: do think of the the stereotypical image of Houston UM 141 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: as being a little bit more of like downtown kind 142 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 1: of you know, center of of government of you know, 143 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:56,040 Speaker 1: like government buildings and things like that. Um, much more 144 00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:59,839 Speaker 1: access to trade with the Gulf of Mexico in all 145 00:09:59,880 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 1: of that. Yeah, and so guess who comes back into 146 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:07,680 Speaker 1: the game. Sam Houston himself. He becomes president again the 147 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:11,160 Speaker 1: second time in eighteen forty one, and Austin isn't is 148 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,400 Speaker 1: the capital. And this, to me is hilarious. He's been 149 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 1: a lot of time beat me here, Max, He's been 150 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:20,440 Speaker 1: a lot of time just bitching and winching about how 151 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 1: much he hated It's perfect about how much he hated Austin. 152 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:27,800 Speaker 1: He called it the most unfortunate site on Earth for 153 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:30,680 Speaker 1: a seat of government. And what I love about this 154 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:34,280 Speaker 1: is like, wherever you live, picture your president or your 155 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:36,559 Speaker 1: prime minister or whatever. Like if you live in the US, 156 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: picture picture Joe Biden starting every speech in d C. 157 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:44,640 Speaker 1: Like he's an insults comic, you know what I mean. 158 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:47,160 Speaker 1: And he's like, oh, you know, I hope a hurricane 159 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:50,000 Speaker 1: comes through d C. It'll do billions of dollars worth 160 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:54,679 Speaker 1: of improvements, and and like all all these terrible jokes 161 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:58,439 Speaker 1: like it's it's just it's it's bad. It's like bad 162 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:00,960 Speaker 1: school spirit, it's bad. From a rally you show up 163 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:05,959 Speaker 1: and you're like, Okay, hey, thanks for coming, UMU d 164 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: C anyway go us I could catch And so he 165 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:16,400 Speaker 1: wouldn't even like get a place there. He he was 166 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:20,200 Speaker 1: so against it just in general, just as a city 167 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:22,960 Speaker 1: like it sounded like he just had a fundamental issue 168 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 1: with the whole vibe again, you know it did. It 169 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:27,680 Speaker 1: did strike me as being a bit more on the 170 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:30,559 Speaker 1: it was on the upswing. But so it was probably 171 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:33,200 Speaker 1: a little more underdeveloped. I mean there's talking like things 172 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:35,920 Speaker 1: like a thoroughfare. You know, maybe I'm picturing in my 173 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:38,320 Speaker 1: mind a little bit like you know, one of those 174 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 1: pioneer towns like in Deadwood or something like that. Maybe 175 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:43,320 Speaker 1: it just was a little bit less developed, and maybe 176 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:45,199 Speaker 1: there was like maybe it was muddy or something. He 177 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:49,000 Speaker 1: didn't like getting his pantaloons besmirched. But he would only 178 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:52,640 Speaker 1: stay in like boarding houses rather than or boarding house 179 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:55,960 Speaker 1: rather than like taking up residents officially. Yeah, yeah, And 180 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 1: so Houston felt like he had a lot of political 181 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: capital to spend. He got three quarters of the vote 182 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:05,439 Speaker 1: in the recent election, and so he said, I'm gonna 183 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:09,480 Speaker 1: move the capital back to the town that happens to 184 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 1: be named after me, and he kept he kept starting 185 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 1: fights about this in the legislature, and people kept batting 186 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:22,400 Speaker 1: down his his proposals. The people of Austin, of course, 187 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:25,320 Speaker 1: they had they had pride in their hometown, but they 188 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:29,480 Speaker 1: also had an economic interest in remaining the capital because 189 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:33,080 Speaker 1: this was the capital of Texas. The city was growing 190 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: at a rapid pace, it was as you said on 191 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:40,319 Speaker 1: the upswing, and if the capital relocated, then property values 192 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 1: would tank, there would be less investment like there would 193 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:47,560 Speaker 1: there would be a litany of economic complications. So from 194 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:52,920 Speaker 1: their perspective, this Sam Houston guy was abandoning the actual 195 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 1: seat of government, and he was maybe being alarmist about 196 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:02,199 Speaker 1: the threats from Mexican forces, mainly to achieve his political 197 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:06,120 Speaker 1: games and perhaps as a stop to his own ego. Uh. 198 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:09,600 Speaker 1: Here's what happened though, This is who mentioned the forces 199 00:13:09,679 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 1: of the Mexican government. They gave him the excuse he 200 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:17,640 Speaker 1: needed to cause us Belliott to move the capital again. 201 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:28,160 Speaker 1: In March of eighteen forty two, seven hundred troops from 202 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:32,200 Speaker 1: Mexico crossed the Republic of Texas borders and they occupied 203 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:35,320 Speaker 1: San Antonio, which was only about eighty miles from Austin. 204 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:39,440 Speaker 1: The Officials of the time declared martial law. Tons of 205 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:43,160 Speaker 1: families evacuated to try to find a safer place to live. 206 00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:47,480 Speaker 1: Houston was like, look, this is an attack. There will 207 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,640 Speaker 1: be more in the future. And we know from reading 208 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:54,679 Speaker 1: his correspondencies with his fiancee that he was really concerned 209 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:57,560 Speaker 1: not just from Mexican forces, but he was concerned that 210 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:02,120 Speaker 1: the Native American populations nearby would burn and destroy the city, 211 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 1: especially it's archives. He thought that Austin was actually his 212 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:11,680 Speaker 1: ego aside, not a safe place for the capital of 213 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 1: the Republic of Texas, and he was worried that he 214 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:17,880 Speaker 1: would get in trouble if he let Austin be captured 215 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 1: as the capital. And we've got the we've got the 216 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:23,200 Speaker 1: letters where he says this, But one of the things 217 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 1: he mentions is that if any president let this happen, 218 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,960 Speaker 1: they would be culpable and the entire nation would hate them. Right, 219 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 1: It's true. It makes me you know, I again, I 220 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,720 Speaker 1: haven't really given much thought to the importance of archives, 221 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:38,760 Speaker 1: but you're right. And then the days where everything was 222 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:42,400 Speaker 1: on paper, the burning of these archives or destruction would 223 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:46,640 Speaker 1: cause some irrevocable harm, not only in terms of morale, 224 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:48,920 Speaker 1: but just literally it would cause all kinds of problems 225 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 1: with like property, titles and deeds and all that he 226 00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:56,120 Speaker 1: wrote on Mar two, the destruction of the National Archives 227 00:14:56,120 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 1: would entail irremediable injury upon the whole people of Texas. 228 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:03,680 Speaker 1: Should the infinite evil which the loss of the National 229 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:07,760 Speaker 1: Archives would occasion fall upon the country through his neglect 230 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:12,240 Speaker 1: referring to himself of imperious constitutional duty, he would be 231 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:16,840 Speaker 1: culpable in the extreme and must justly incur the reproach 232 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:20,280 Speaker 1: of a whole nation. Right, I mean this is remember 233 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:24,040 Speaker 1: this before the cloud, they have all their stuff on paper. 234 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:27,000 Speaker 1: It's it is all in one place. This is fo 235 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 1: bar if the archives get taken uh. And a couple 236 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:34,680 Speaker 1: of weeks before this all goes down, Houston had talked 237 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:38,320 Speaker 1: to his Secretary of War, a guy named George W. Hawkley, 238 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:41,400 Speaker 1: and he said, move the archives out of Austin to Houston. 239 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:45,280 Speaker 1: Doesn't matter what the capital is, just move them. And 240 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:48,480 Speaker 1: there's a guy who's a commissioner of the General Land 241 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:51,760 Speaker 1: Office that you know, deals with public lands and patents 242 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:54,760 Speaker 1: and they keep track of all the records. This guy's name, 243 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:58,040 Speaker 1: I kid you not is peg Leg. That's his street name, 244 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:03,040 Speaker 1: Thomas peg leg word the Commissioner of the General Land Office. Uh, 245 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:05,920 Speaker 1: he gets the word, you gotta you gotta start packing 246 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:09,120 Speaker 1: up the boxes, get these archives ready to go. But 247 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:12,760 Speaker 1: there's another guy in Austin who is planning against this. 248 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:15,880 Speaker 1: He's the military commander. His name is Colonel Henry Jones, 249 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:20,520 Speaker 1: and he says, this is malarkey, this is bs of 250 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 1: the highest stink factor. He gets a bunch of like, 251 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 1: he gets a bunch of piste off Austin nights together 252 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:30,480 Speaker 1: and he's like, let's let's talk about this. But really 253 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,080 Speaker 1: what he means is like, let's get our pitchfork sharpened. 254 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:36,000 Speaker 1: Everybody brings something you can light as a torch. They 255 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:39,200 Speaker 1: form what they call the Committee of Vigilance to stop 256 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:43,160 Speaker 1: this transport, to guard the archives. They think this this 257 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:48,000 Speaker 1: war like they're they're almost conspiratorial. Honestly, they're like the 258 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:51,640 Speaker 1: war on San Antonio. If war it is is overblown, 259 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,040 Speaker 1: it's a pretext to move the capital from our city. 260 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:57,640 Speaker 1: Will we stand for that, good people of Austin, And 261 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:03,080 Speaker 1: they're like, no, rabble rabble, rab rabble rabble, So they say, uh, 262 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 1: rabble rabble. Who said that? In the McDonald land pantheon? 263 00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:11,760 Speaker 1: Was that the Hamburglar rebel rebel. Oh, I don't know, maybe, 264 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:13,960 Speaker 1: and then I think it was like all he said 265 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:17,960 Speaker 1: as he was hammer, I still wanted to do a 266 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:22,679 Speaker 1: great episode on the McDonald's pantheon. Man, I missed those folks, 267 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:26,480 Speaker 1: even though, yeah, creepy, like what the fry the fry twins, 268 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:29,840 Speaker 1: it's a little the little the little pom pom looking dudes. 269 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: They looked like those uh uh to give you all 270 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:36,040 Speaker 1: an answer, it was the Hamburgler who said rebble rebel? 271 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:40,520 Speaker 1: Did I say that? South Park they also have like 272 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:43,760 Speaker 1: a rabble rapper rebble thing, I think. And you know 273 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:46,840 Speaker 1: who I always thought was such an excellent representation of 274 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:51,399 Speaker 1: capitalism as Mayor mccheese. Absolutely, that big old flat head. 275 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 1: You know, why did you have a sash that said mayor? 276 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:58,040 Speaker 1: Was that ever a thing that people actually did? You know? 277 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,880 Speaker 1: It's a good question, Um, all the fry guys. Yeah, 278 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:06,240 Speaker 1: the fry guys. They were like little pom poms of 279 00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:09,440 Speaker 1: various genders with they were literally just pom poms made 280 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:12,359 Speaker 1: of fries, I assume, with legs and and uh it 281 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:15,800 Speaker 1: looks like kind of converse type sneakers. But to answer 282 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:19,199 Speaker 1: your question, Ben, the mayoral sash. It does strike me 283 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,880 Speaker 1: as kind of an old school, you know, um thing, 284 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:25,600 Speaker 1: like in Deadwood, for example, the second time I've mentioned 285 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 1: this today, there is a character named eb Farnum who 286 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:32,040 Speaker 1: owns the End and he is sort of a Everyone 287 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:34,240 Speaker 1: calls him a grotesque because he's kind of this like hovering, 288 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:37,760 Speaker 1: sort of like weirdo. Uh. They make him the mayor. Uh, 289 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:40,280 Speaker 1: and it's clearly a symbolic gesture because he's kind of 290 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:42,119 Speaker 1: an idiot. Uh. So that would strike me as the 291 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:43,880 Speaker 1: kind of person that would wear a sash that says 292 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:46,960 Speaker 1: mayor for their own benefit. Okay, all right, so now 293 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:49,400 Speaker 1: we could go back to Texas. We sorted out our 294 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:53,679 Speaker 1: v I T very important things for this episode. So 295 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:56,400 Speaker 1: we're gonna take a flight, one way flight from McDonald 296 00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:59,280 Speaker 1: land back to Texas. One more thing, one more thing. 297 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:03,639 Speaker 1: He has no what grimaces? He's a blob, right purple blob? 298 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:06,520 Speaker 1: Is he catching? Is he a condiment? He's a one 299 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:14,320 Speaker 1: giant taste bud. Oh gross, it's so fucked up. I'm 300 00:19:14,359 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 1: not okay, man, Beep, I'm not I'm not okay with this. 301 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:23,840 Speaker 1: I heard that somewhere and maybe another podcast or something recently. 302 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:26,040 Speaker 1: I was like, are you kidding me? He's a taste? 303 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:29,080 Speaker 1: But why is that? Why is his name Grimace? Then? 304 00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:32,960 Speaker 1: Shouldn't his name be like mommy or you know, tasty, 305 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:36,600 Speaker 1: tasty to taste? But I don't know. Okay, alright, well 306 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,280 Speaker 1: we're we're going back to Texas. We'll return to this. 307 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:41,800 Speaker 1: We'll sort this out. It's got me cursing on air. Sorry, 308 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:47,560 Speaker 1: Grimmace taste whatever. The McDonald corporation disputes this. Uh, I 309 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:49,480 Speaker 1: think it's okay. I think I think it's still I 310 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 1: think it's still up in the air. But I like 311 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:53,679 Speaker 1: the idea. Uh, the Internet is a is a wild 312 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:58,200 Speaker 1: and mysterious place. We got some connects. We'll talk back 313 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,879 Speaker 1: to Texas. Back to Texas, okay. So Sam Houston, Oh, 314 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:07,280 Speaker 1: Sam Houston first tries to get these papers peacefully, but 315 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:11,360 Speaker 1: then these Austinites from this Committee of Vigilance, they end 316 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:16,040 Speaker 1: up going to the messengers from Sam Houston. They take 317 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:19,760 Speaker 1: those messengers horses and they protest by shaving off the 318 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:23,480 Speaker 1: tails and the mains of these poor innocent horses, which 319 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:26,679 Speaker 1: is what our pals, Miles and Jack over at Dale's 320 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,440 Speaker 1: Yecheis would definitely call a weird flex yeah, I don't know. 321 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 1: I don't I don't imagine the horses much cared or noticed. 322 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:34,119 Speaker 1: Maybe they got a little chilly, but it's certainly not 323 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:37,760 Speaker 1: a good look for the horse riders. Uh. They would 324 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:42,600 Speaker 1: look absolutely foolish carrying their messages on these shorn horses. 325 00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:46,160 Speaker 1: But Houston didn't let this get to him. He called 326 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:48,639 Speaker 1: a special session of Congress to get to the bottom 327 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:51,920 Speaker 1: of all this and sort everything out. It met on June. 328 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,040 Speaker 1: He made it clear that it was very important to 329 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:58,760 Speaker 1: move the capital and the archives, but the legislature of 330 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:02,640 Speaker 1: the time did not take up his cause. His please 331 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:05,280 Speaker 1: fell on deaf ears, and they did not make any 332 00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:10,240 Speaker 1: moves in his favor. Then in the fall, troops from 333 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: Mexico attacked San Antonio, um, which caused Houston to gather 334 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:19,719 Speaker 1: the Congress up for another special session. This time it 335 00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:22,680 Speaker 1: meant in an amazingly named hyphen it place that I 336 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:27,000 Speaker 1: don't believe exists anymore, called Washington on Brazos. I imagine 337 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,560 Speaker 1: that had to have been a reference to, like Washington 338 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:33,040 Speaker 1: being the capital of the US. They're trying to feel 339 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:36,480 Speaker 1: a little more like state like or US centric. I 340 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,439 Speaker 1: don't know, that's weird. Why would they invoke Washington if 341 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:41,840 Speaker 1: they're still trying to be independent. Man, No, I have 342 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:44,280 Speaker 1: a theory. I have a theory. Theory. But it's like, 343 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 1: you know, the same reason why like kaisers are all 344 00:21:48,359 --> 00:21:50,119 Speaker 1: comes from the word Caesar is It's like, you know, 345 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 1: does Washington kind of mean like now to these people, 346 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:59,720 Speaker 1: like this signifies like a capital Washington. Yeah, that's I 347 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:04,200 Speaker 1: agree with you, Max. Yet, so this is interesting because 348 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:06,880 Speaker 1: it feels like it could be a compromise. Right, it's 349 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:10,680 Speaker 1: not Austin, it's not Houston. Uh, it's not named after 350 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:14,040 Speaker 1: the president, so that conflict of interest is gone. But 351 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:19,000 Speaker 1: this this comes to us, uh, courtesy of Patsy McDonald, 352 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:22,399 Speaker 1: who was the author of Texas Senate Republic to Civil 353 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:26,280 Speaker 1: War eighteen thirty six to sixty one. She also notes 354 00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:28,640 Speaker 1: that there was a President of the Senate at the time, 355 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:33,880 Speaker 1: Edward Burlson, who didn't really dig Sam Houston's whole vibe, 356 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:39,080 Speaker 1: and so he said, I'm not gonna support the legal 357 00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:42,359 Speaker 1: decision that would trigger the transfer of the archives. So 358 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:45,679 Speaker 1: the motion to move this stuff stalled in a tie, 359 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:51,159 Speaker 1: and Houston said, look, the official channels aren't doing what 360 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:53,879 Speaker 1: I want. Well, I'm Texan. So I'm gonna take the 361 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:57,560 Speaker 1: law into my own hands, outside of Congress, outside the government, 362 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:00,600 Speaker 1: even though I run the government. He's he didn't really 363 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:04,480 Speaker 1: stress about that part. So December ten, he secretly orders 364 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:07,879 Speaker 1: two officers from the Texas Army, Captain Eli Chandler and 365 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:12,399 Speaker 1: Colonel Thomas Smith, to gather up twenty guys to steal 366 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:18,359 Speaker 1: the archives from Austin with secrecy, efficiency and dispatch and 367 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:22,120 Speaker 1: take them to Washington on Brasos. You know what this means, fellas, 368 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:27,880 Speaker 1: We've got a heist. Max sound cube? Yeah, I love 369 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:31,120 Speaker 1: The best part of this, by the way, is watching 370 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 1: Max's face when I just requested a lunar chrously vague 371 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:36,640 Speaker 1: sound cube. Max, you got it? That was you mean? 372 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:39,760 Speaker 1: You mean when it lights up with joy and and 373 00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:44,119 Speaker 1: and the the the anticipation of a creative moment. Yeah, 374 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:46,879 Speaker 1: I love that about Max. He's always down to clown 375 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:52,680 Speaker 1: when it comes to sound effects, always down to sound clown. Um. Oh, 376 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:56,560 Speaker 1: it'll be a good alternative to SoundCloud. What's called soundclown? 377 00:23:57,040 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 1: And um, I don't know what will work, So let's 378 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:01,639 Speaker 1: get legs. We could work on it. As giant shoes 379 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:07,720 Speaker 1: to the Texas Archives. War became a thing. Houston wrote 380 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:10,480 Speaker 1: this of the momentous day that he ordered those those 381 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:16,040 Speaker 1: two secret army officers Eli Chandler and Thomas Um to 382 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:19,959 Speaker 1: gather those forces. He said, the importance of removing the 383 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:24,440 Speaker 1: public archives and government stores from their present dangerous situation 384 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:27,240 Speaker 1: at the city of Austin to a place of security 385 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,679 Speaker 1: is becoming daily more and more imperative. While they remain 386 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:33,280 Speaker 1: where they are, no one knows the hour when they 387 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:44,159 Speaker 1: may be utterly destroyed. It's not necessarily hyperbole there, I 388 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:48,359 Speaker 1: mean he has serious concerns. So his his covert strike 389 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:52,240 Speaker 1: force enters town on December in the wee hours of 390 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:55,639 Speaker 1: the morning. They were loading up the archives uh into 391 00:24:55,680 --> 00:25:01,919 Speaker 1: wagons when a local Indans keeper named Angelie Everley finds 392 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:05,240 Speaker 1: them uh and she owns several spots in the city. 393 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:07,720 Speaker 1: She's playing the Monopoly game in addition to her and 394 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:11,359 Speaker 1: she's got some properties, and she said, these archives have 395 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:15,320 Speaker 1: symbolic value to the republic. We've already lost the capital 396 00:25:15,359 --> 00:25:18,439 Speaker 1: here in Austin, and if we lose the archives, then 397 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:20,879 Speaker 1: we're gonna be as a city left out of the 398 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:24,160 Speaker 1: future of Texas. So she runs in kind of like 399 00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:29,440 Speaker 1: a Paul Revere style thing. Right, and she's telling everybody 400 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 1: in Austin, YO, look, they're still in the archives. I 401 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:34,600 Speaker 1: don't know, she said yo at the time, but she 402 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,440 Speaker 1: was like, you know, raising awareness. And then an ad 403 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:43,320 Speaker 1: hoc army of angry locals gathered. And then on Austin's 404 00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:48,400 Speaker 1: main thoroughfare, Congress Avenue, there was a loaded six pound 405 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:51,879 Speaker 1: howitzer and it was carrying grape shot. And this was 406 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:56,000 Speaker 1: left over from the Republic's earlier wars with Native American communities. 407 00:25:56,280 --> 00:26:00,600 Speaker 1: So this lady Angelina, she faces the muzzle of the 408 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:05,160 Speaker 1: howitzer towards the Land Office and fires the cannon. This 409 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:07,840 Speaker 1: is we know this happened, and it comes from D. G. Wootton, 410 00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:10,679 Speaker 1: author of a complete history of Texas. And there was 411 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:16,040 Speaker 1: like a Ward peg leg the land commissioner from earlier. 412 00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:18,719 Speaker 1: He writes a layer to Sam Houston about this and 413 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:21,600 Speaker 1: he says there was a cry blow the old house 414 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:25,679 Speaker 1: to places. Some shots hit the land Office, but no 415 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:29,560 Speaker 1: one was injured, no damage was done. Everybody was very 416 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:33,480 Speaker 1: lucky that there were no fatalities. History might have gone 417 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:37,120 Speaker 1: differently now, of course, Ward there's a little historical least 418 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:41,680 Speaker 1: ragg of course, ward um as pre existing beef with cannons. 419 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:47,119 Speaker 1: Peg Leg was not a like ironic nickname. That's right, Ward, 420 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:49,280 Speaker 1: who was Mayor of Austin at the time, lost his 421 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:55,200 Speaker 1: right arm to a faulty cannon um during a celebration 422 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:58,160 Speaker 1: of the five year anniversary of the Battle of Santia Sinto. 423 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 1: There's this thing as a peg arm. Why is he 424 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:03,159 Speaker 1: peg leg if he lost an arm, not not to 425 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:05,919 Speaker 1: not to diminish the man's suffering. I just feels like 426 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,960 Speaker 1: a misplaced nickname if you ask me. Yeah, he lost 427 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:12,879 Speaker 1: his right arm due to a cannon malfunction during the 428 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:15,679 Speaker 1: five year anniversary of the Battle of Saint Jacinto, and 429 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:19,280 Speaker 1: before that at an earlier siege, in Assault of Bexar 430 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:22,119 Speaker 1: in eight thirty five, he lost his right leg to 431 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:25,399 Speaker 1: cannon fire. So okay, cannon's hate him would be the 432 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:29,160 Speaker 1: buzfeed headline, and and and also peg leg would take 433 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:34,120 Speaker 1: precedent over the leg. The leg injury came first, presumably um, 434 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:37,240 Speaker 1: and then the the arm and followed suit. But the 435 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:40,960 Speaker 1: nickname was already you know, fully ensconced by that point. 436 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:46,360 Speaker 1: So Smith, Chandler and their guys made off with the 437 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:50,159 Speaker 1: archives in their wagons. This is the highest we're talking about. 438 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:55,800 Speaker 1: They were pursued by twenty Austin knites out for blood. Uh. 439 00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:59,800 Speaker 1: Some were carrying that cannon, alright, a cannon and around 440 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:02,359 Speaker 1: new In the next day, at Bushy Creek, which is 441 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:05,960 Speaker 1: just a lovely, delightfully named creek north of Austin, the 442 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:10,680 Speaker 1: Austin folks literally took the troops hostage. They held them 443 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:15,920 Speaker 1: at gunpoint. Uh. Smith was ordered to uh surrender or fight. 444 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:19,960 Speaker 1: According to um Winfries account of the story, of which 445 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:23,840 Speaker 1: there are several another one written by Wootton, at the 446 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:26,760 Speaker 1: mob forcing Smith to move the archives back to Austin, 447 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:32,040 Speaker 1: and wards account um had the vigilantes hauling the archives 448 00:28:32,119 --> 00:28:40,040 Speaker 1: back themselves. UM fabulous article from Smithsonian Magazine by Shella mcclear, 449 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:43,480 Speaker 1: The Fascinating Story of the Texas Archives War of two 450 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:45,760 Speaker 1: gives you the play by play for a lot of 451 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:50,320 Speaker 1: this stuff, highly worth the full read. So, regardless of 452 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:54,760 Speaker 1: the specifics, they did surrender the archives. The archives were 453 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:59,400 Speaker 1: returned to Houston. The Committee of Vigilance decided to party hardy, 454 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:04,520 Speaker 1: and they got together the New Year's celebration and some accounts, 455 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:07,920 Speaker 1: again there's discrepancy between these accounts. Some accounts say they 456 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:11,840 Speaker 1: even said, hey, you know Colonel Smith come hang out 457 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:15,120 Speaker 1: and uh depend on which story you here. He may 458 00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:18,520 Speaker 1: have accepted, he may have declined. Either way, No one 459 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:22,120 Speaker 1: was seriously injured, no one died. It seemed like it 460 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:25,040 Speaker 1: was It seemed like the War of the Texas Archives 461 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:30,040 Speaker 1: was over. But they had to settle somewhere, and the 462 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:33,760 Speaker 1: land Office was damaged by you know, the ends keeper 463 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:38,720 Speaker 1: firing a cannon uh to bring the building down. She actually, 464 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:44,920 Speaker 1: Mrs Eberley, actually got the archives herself. The records were 465 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,600 Speaker 1: sealed in these tin boxes. They were stored at her 466 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:51,960 Speaker 1: place under seven guard, and any attempt to take them 467 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:56,480 Speaker 1: by force, according to historians like Louis Wills Kemp, would 468 00:29:56,520 --> 00:30:02,280 Speaker 1: have triggered a civil war in Texas. Everley definitely had 469 00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:06,240 Speaker 1: a financial concern involved because she owned so much property 470 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:09,880 Speaker 1: and the property values. Who tank if Austin lost the 471 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:14,320 Speaker 1: capital and the archives. Um Old peg Leg is not 472 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,680 Speaker 1: super jazzed about this. He writes to Houston and says, 473 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:21,040 Speaker 1: I have employed all the exhaustion I could to have 474 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:24,120 Speaker 1: them restored to this place, but in vain and what 475 00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:28,920 Speaker 1: the result? Maybe providence alone can determine. Many threats have 476 00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:32,040 Speaker 1: been made against me. But how I have a dangerous 477 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:36,520 Speaker 1: song present my situation. Maybe we will not complain if 478 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:39,640 Speaker 1: I can do a service to the republic. Oh and 479 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:42,440 Speaker 1: then Congress got mad at Houston. It was a whole 480 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:46,200 Speaker 1: to do. They reprimanded him. But what what does that mean? 481 00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:51,000 Speaker 1: They all all they were just like, we're mad at you. Yeah, 482 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:53,440 Speaker 1: they might have pounded a fist on a table or something. 483 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:56,680 Speaker 1: I possibly slammed the door or stumped a foot or something, 484 00:30:56,720 --> 00:30:59,720 Speaker 1: but it did not appear to amount to any official 485 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:05,880 Speaker 1: like censure or actual consequences. Right, yeah, Yeah, they just said, 486 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:09,920 Speaker 1: you know, you had no legal reason to attempt to 487 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:13,040 Speaker 1: move the archives, and he knew he didn't. He went 488 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,320 Speaker 1: outside of the law to do it. Uh. The archives 489 00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:18,840 Speaker 1: stayed in Austin for a while. The seat of government 490 00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:23,480 Speaker 1: was still Washington on Brassos, and Austin was at the 491 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:28,120 Speaker 1: time on the decline, was turning into a ghost town. Eventually, 492 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:31,600 Speaker 1: like peg Leg spends the first half of eighteen forty 493 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:34,920 Speaker 1: three trying to get the archives back in the possession 494 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:37,560 Speaker 1: of the Land Commission. And then this, obviously, you know, 495 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:40,080 Speaker 1: plays into the whole idea of what we talked about, 496 00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:44,120 Speaker 1: that the Austinites were very concerned that if the archives 497 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:49,239 Speaker 1: were not there selfishly, Um that that explosion and you know, 498 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:52,959 Speaker 1: development and all that stuff would probably start to wane, 499 00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:57,200 Speaker 1: and as we see it most certainly did, right, Yeah, yeah, 500 00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:01,600 Speaker 1: it most certainly did. And so so when peg Leg 501 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:05,560 Speaker 1: doesn't have any luck getting these archives out of Austin, 502 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:08,960 Speaker 1: he creates a new land office in the current capital 503 00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:14,520 Speaker 1: and he starts making a new archive. If you fast 504 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:17,200 Speaker 1: forward just the next year July four Independence days, we 505 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:21,160 Speaker 1: know what today in the US without too much hubbub 506 00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:24,600 Speaker 1: and without too many growing pains, those two archives get 507 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:28,720 Speaker 1: combined and reunited in Texas. The Republic of Texas joins 508 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:31,920 Speaker 1: the USA a few months later on December twenty nine eight, 509 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:41,080 Speaker 1: and Austin ends up becoming the capital. Uh, this doesn't 510 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:45,760 Speaker 1: really get resolved until eighteen fifty that's when the people 511 00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:49,760 Speaker 1: of Texas finally vote to choose Austin as their capital. 512 00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:56,120 Speaker 1: But that's still doesn't become like official, like concrete, concrete, 513 00:32:56,520 --> 00:33:01,720 Speaker 1: until eighteen seventy two, when there's a statewide vote that 514 00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:06,480 Speaker 1: marks the end to this strange, very messy journey. I 515 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:09,719 Speaker 1: I don't know, man, should we start keeping archives? They 516 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:12,360 Speaker 1: seem important? Like what if we need to make a 517 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:15,400 Speaker 1: state later we should have some archives. Who's going to 518 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:18,000 Speaker 1: be in charge of the art? Max? Max? Will you? 519 00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:21,160 Speaker 1: Will you run the archives for us? I guess that 520 00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:23,320 Speaker 1: kind of seems like could be. I don't know more. 521 00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:26,320 Speaker 1: Y'all are the creatives on the functional one, so I 522 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:29,440 Speaker 1: guess you know, thank you don't sell yourself short. You're 523 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:39,360 Speaker 1: creative as well. He's functional. That nothing if not nonfunctioning creatives. 524 00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:42,320 Speaker 1: But I think I think between the three of us 525 00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:46,520 Speaker 1: we could successfully run and operate an archive, don't you. 526 00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:49,160 Speaker 1: I would like to think that. But you know, now 527 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:51,840 Speaker 1: we live in a world with the benefit of the Internet. 528 00:33:51,880 --> 00:33:54,440 Speaker 1: We have, uh, we have our own archive kind of 529 00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:58,400 Speaker 1: going with ridiculous historians over on Facebook. Yeah, that's where 530 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:02,160 Speaker 1: we start. We have podcast episodes that's probably in the archive. 531 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:05,280 Speaker 1: You know what we need? We need to flag. I'm 532 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:10,040 Speaker 1: an amateur vexillologist, which is the fancy word study or flags? 533 00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:12,439 Speaker 1: We could we could uh, I don't know what would 534 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:14,759 Speaker 1: be on our flag. Maybe that's a question for the 535 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:17,000 Speaker 1: folks in the audience that has a great idea design 536 00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:21,040 Speaker 1: a ridiculous history flag for the ridiculous nation one nation 537 00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:24,960 Speaker 1: under fraud. I don't know what are we um, one 538 00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:30,640 Speaker 1: nation under whimsy. Sure we gotta work one nation under 539 00:34:31,680 --> 00:34:34,920 Speaker 1: Uh yeah, we'll work on it. Send our sender suggestions 540 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:38,480 Speaker 1: for that as well. That's our that. This is our 541 00:34:38,520 --> 00:34:41,560 Speaker 1: story today and it's an amazing history. If you're listening 542 00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:44,440 Speaker 1: and you are lucky enough to live in the city 543 00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:48,080 Speaker 1: of Austin, uh, we hope you enjoy this episode. We 544 00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:50,239 Speaker 1: hope you can also tell us where all the all 545 00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:52,960 Speaker 1: the good food is for when we when we hit 546 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:56,279 Speaker 1: the road again, which maybe sooner than later, hopefully coming 547 00:34:56,320 --> 00:35:00,000 Speaker 1: to a town near you. I just remember really enjoying torches, tacos. 548 00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:03,400 Speaker 1: I'm a big fan of a breakfast taco, breakfast Mexican 549 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:05,840 Speaker 1: food of any kind. Clabst French eiros is really great. 550 00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:08,000 Speaker 1: But hey, Austin Knights, let us know what your favorite 551 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:10,279 Speaker 1: taco places. And you know we we promised at the 552 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:12,120 Speaker 1: top of the show. They're being kind of a full 553 00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:15,200 Speaker 1: circle connection as to how this whole back and forth 554 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:19,680 Speaker 1: hullebluh sort of led to the strong identity of Austin 555 00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:22,480 Speaker 1: and its citizens. Obviously we've seen that, and then how 556 00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:25,800 Speaker 1: you know how much they fought for keeping the archive 557 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:28,640 Speaker 1: and the capital there um, but how how did this 558 00:35:28,719 --> 00:35:32,280 Speaker 1: kind of enter into the current sort of keep Austin 559 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:34,239 Speaker 1: weird mentality that we talked about on the top of 560 00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:38,280 Speaker 1: the show. Yeah. Well, first it's a weird story. That's 561 00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:41,640 Speaker 1: not that's not a story that all capitals can lay 562 00:35:41,719 --> 00:35:47,760 Speaker 1: claim to. And secondly, this show's Austin's own independence within 563 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:52,040 Speaker 1: a first republic and then a state that very much 564 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:57,560 Speaker 1: prizes its own independence. Austin fought to become the capital, 565 00:35:58,040 --> 00:36:00,640 Speaker 1: and even when things were looking dire, they did not 566 00:36:00,719 --> 00:36:04,880 Speaker 1: give up. Uh, And they maintained a unique identity which 567 00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:09,600 Speaker 1: I would argue continues to date to great acclaim. Indeed, Um, well, 568 00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:11,479 Speaker 1: let us know if you have any more. Like I said, 569 00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:13,319 Speaker 1: all the the Uber drivers that I had when I 570 00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:17,440 Speaker 1: was in Austin were super super um knowledgeable about the 571 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:20,160 Speaker 1: history of their city and we're very proud. Uh. And 572 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:22,600 Speaker 1: one thing I also remember we didn't see it in action, 573 00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:25,680 Speaker 1: but there's this bridge where all of these bats hang 574 00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:29,440 Speaker 1: underneath it and usually at a certain time every single evening, 575 00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:33,320 Speaker 1: the bats all, um, you know, dissipate like on mass 576 00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:35,319 Speaker 1: But I think we missed it or it didn't happen 577 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:37,279 Speaker 1: that night or something like that. But lots of really 578 00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:40,279 Speaker 1: cool things to check out in Austin, and I hope 579 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:41,960 Speaker 1: to make it back very soon. So let us know 580 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:45,239 Speaker 1: what your favorite things to eat and do in Austin are. 581 00:36:45,719 --> 00:36:47,600 Speaker 1: You can write to us at Ridiculous and I heart 582 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:51,080 Speaker 1: media dot com. You can join our Facebook group Ridiculous Historians, 583 00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:53,520 Speaker 1: by you know, just going to Facebook and pointing it 584 00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:57,280 Speaker 1: towards Ridiculous Historians. Answer a couple of very simple questions 585 00:36:57,280 --> 00:37:00,720 Speaker 1: and you're in lots of cool folks chatting about history 586 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:03,359 Speaker 1: there and memes of plenty being shared, and I think 587 00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:06,320 Speaker 1: you'd enjoy it. And you the royal, You, You the listener, 588 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:11,399 Speaker 1: you specifically you listening now thanks to you, You specifically 589 00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:14,360 Speaker 1: of course in Texas and abroad, thanks of course to 590 00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:18,880 Speaker 1: our Ride or Die super producer Max Williams, Gabe Bluesier, 591 00:37:19,560 --> 00:37:24,200 Speaker 1: Research Associate extraordinaire, Eve's Jeff co Christopher Ociotis you know 592 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:28,399 Speaker 1: all the hits, all the good ones, um owen Thanks 593 00:37:28,440 --> 00:37:33,680 Speaker 1: to Jonathan strictly indeed, I love that guy. In quotation fingers, 594 00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:43,840 Speaker 1: We'll see you next time. For more podcasts for my 595 00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:46,520 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, 596 00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:48,760 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows