1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,200 Speaker 1: Hey, y'all, we're rerunning two episodes today. Enjoy the show. 2 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:07,320 Speaker 1: What's Up? Everyone? Welcome to this day in History Class, 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:13,119 Speaker 1: where we bring you a new tidbit from history every day. 4 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: The day was April four, nineteen sixty seven. Civil rights 5 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Delivered a speech at 6 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 1: Riverside Church in New York City denouncing the Vietnam War 7 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: in front of three thousand people. King had voiced his 8 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: opposition to the war in Vietnam before, but this time 9 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: King's speech largely focused on the problems of the war 10 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 1: and the need for social justice, and it was radical. 11 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:50,559 Speaker 1: The speech, entitled Beyond Vietnam, A Time to Break Silence, 12 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: was met with a ton of criticism, but King didn't 13 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: let up on his anti war dance. King had long 14 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: been praised as a bastion of non violent protests and 15 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:04,319 Speaker 1: social activism, but he was still an enemy in many 16 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:08,679 Speaker 1: people's eyes. FBI director j Edgar Hoover called him the 17 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: most dangerous man in America, and by the time he 18 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 1: gave the Beyond Vietnam speech, King was already falling out 19 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 1: of favor with the public Americans. Opinions were mixed on 20 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: whether U s military involvement in Vietnam was a mistake. 21 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:26,319 Speaker 1: In early nineteen sixty seven, there were a lot of 22 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: people who still supported the war and who took issue 23 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 1: with King's criticism of it, But the King the Vietnam 24 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: War was not about saving people from the threat of communism. 25 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 1: The US was plagued by militarism, materialism, and racism. Instead 26 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:45,760 Speaker 1: of spending loads of money to commit atrocities in an 27 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: illegitimate war, King argued that American power should be harnessed 28 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 1: to the service of peace and human beings, not an 29 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:58,360 Speaker 1: inhumane power unleashed against defenseless people. King had first announced 30 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 1: the Vietnam War in March nine, teen sixty five, when 31 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: he said millions of dollars can be spent every day 32 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 1: to hold troops in South Vietnam, and our country cannot 33 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: protect the rights of negros in Selma. Throughout nineteen sixty 34 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: five and nineteen sixty six, King committed to non violence 35 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: anywhere continued to condemn the war. He had a solid 36 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: relationship with President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had advanced civil 37 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,640 Speaker 1: rights legislation, but King was firm in his belief that 38 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: the civil rights movement was tied to American military aggression abroad, 39 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 1: and in Los Angeles in February nineteen sixty seven, he 40 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: gave a speech called the Casualties of the War in Vietnam. 41 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 1: Vincent Harding, a history professor at Spellman College in Atlanta, 42 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 1: had written the speech for the Los Angeles address, and 43 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:50,120 Speaker 1: he drafted the speech that King would give at Riverside Church. 44 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:55,520 Speaker 1: Wesleyan professor John McGuire also helped draft the speech, and 45 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: on April four, nineteen sixty seven, King was accompanied by 46 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: Amorous Ledge, professor Henry Commager, Union Theological Seminary president John Bennett, 47 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 1: and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel at an event sponsored by 48 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: clergy and layman. Concerned about Vietnam, King delivered his Beyond 49 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: Vietnam speech, claiming his conscience left him no other choice. 50 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: In the speech, King mentioned his reason for speaking up, 51 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:26,240 Speaker 1: and I knew that I could never again raise my 52 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:29,519 Speaker 1: voice against the violence of the oppressed and the ghettos 53 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:33,240 Speaker 1: without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of 54 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: violence in the world today, my own government. King charged 55 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: the US with rebeling in its wealth while it created 56 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 1: a hill for the poor. He suggested a five point 57 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: plan for stopping the war in Vietnam. But it was 58 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: about more than just Vietnam. This war was just one 59 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: expression of American colonialism. He said that peaceful revolution was 60 00:03:56,280 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: now impossible and a radical revolution of values was in parrative. 61 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 1: Near the end of his speech, King said the following, 62 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: we still have a choice today. Non violent coexistence are 63 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: violent co annihilation. We must move past indecision to action. 64 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: We must find new ways to speak for peace in 65 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 1: Vietnam and justice throughout the developing world, a world that 66 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:24,159 Speaker 1: borders on our doors. If we do not act, we 67 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:28,159 Speaker 1: shall surely be dragged down the long, dark and shameful 68 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:32,920 Speaker 1: corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, 69 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:39,479 Speaker 1: might without morality, and strength without sight. The war in 70 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: Vietnam was a controversial issue, and his speech inspired lots 71 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: of backlash. Scholar and diplomat Ralph Bunch, as well as 72 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:51,839 Speaker 1: the National Association for the Advancement of Color People or 73 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 1: in double a CP, accused King of linking unrelated issues, 74 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: and in April seven New York Times editorial titled doctor 75 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 1: King's Error, the Times wrote, linking these hard, complex problems 76 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:09,919 Speaker 1: will lead not to solutions, but to deeper confusion, the 77 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:13,479 Speaker 1: Washington Post set about King. Many who have listened to 78 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 1: him with respect will never again accord him the same confidence. 79 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:20,760 Speaker 1: He has diminished his usefulness to his cause, to his country, 80 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,120 Speaker 1: and to his people, and that is a great tragedy. 81 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 1: King stood by his views that the Vietnam War was 82 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 1: morally and economically wrong. As a result, his relationship with 83 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:36,800 Speaker 1: the Johnson administration soured. The Church showed him support, but 84 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 1: the mainstream media, other civil rights activists, and politicians did not. 85 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:46,560 Speaker 1: King had began professing his anti war sentiment before the 86 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 1: anti war movement picked up in America, but he continued 87 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 1: to give speeches against the Vietnam War even as the 88 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:55,799 Speaker 1: FBI began seeing him as more of a political threat 89 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:59,919 Speaker 1: and upped his surveillance and harassment of King. He wasn't 90 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 1: worried about gallop poles measuring his popularity or losing political respect. 91 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,479 Speaker 1: Exactly one year to the day after King gave this speech, 92 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:12,680 Speaker 1: he was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. 93 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 1: I'm each Jeffcoat, and hopefully you know a little more 94 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:23,280 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. I just wanted 95 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:26,360 Speaker 1: to add something that Vincent Harding said about the criticism 96 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:29,279 Speaker 1: that King was getting. He said that it reflected a 97 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 1: kind of paternalism. Harding said it was as if his 98 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,680 Speaker 1: critics were saying the following, Martin Luther King, you have 99 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:39,719 Speaker 1: forgotten who you are and who we are. You should 100 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:41,960 Speaker 1: be very very happy that we have allowed you to 101 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:45,159 Speaker 1: talk critically about race relations in this country. You should 102 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:47,400 Speaker 1: be very happy that we've allowed you to talk about 103 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,640 Speaker 1: Negro things. But MLK, when it comes to the foreign 104 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 1: policy of this country, you are not qualified to speak 105 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:58,599 Speaker 1: to these issues. These are our issues. Our white establishment 106 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:01,200 Speaker 1: is in charge of such things, and you are absolutely 107 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:03,960 Speaker 1: out of your place to enter into this kind of arena. 108 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at 109 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: t d i h C podcast. Thanks again for listening 110 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: and we'll see you again tomorrow. Hey everyone, I'm Eves 111 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: and welcome to This Day in History Class, a podcast 112 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: that proves history happens every single day. I think that 113 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 1: that is abundantly clear right now to all of us 114 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 1: that we are living in historically important and challenging times. 115 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: But there are new things that we can talk about 116 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 1: every day that happened in history, and hopefully let these 117 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: episodes of this day and history class can bring a 118 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:08,119 Speaker 1: little something new to every day for you. With that said, 119 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: on with the show. The day was April four eight 120 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: Scottish novelist and historical writer Margaret Olaphant was born. Over 121 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: the course of her life, Olaphant published nearly one hundred novels, 122 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 1: more than fifty short stories and mini biographies and articles. 123 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:39,280 Speaker 1: Margaret was born in Wallyford, Scotland. Her parents were Margaret 124 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 1: and Francis Wilson, and she grew up with two older brothers. 125 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 1: The family lived in Glasgow, Scotland for a while before 126 00:08:47,559 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: they moved to Liverpool, England in eighteen thirty eight. Though 127 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,840 Speaker 1: there is no record of Margaret having a formal education, 128 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:58,479 Speaker 1: she spent a lot of time reading the books, magazines 129 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:02,520 Speaker 1: and newspapers kept her company. She lived a relatively secluded life. 130 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:06,880 Speaker 1: Margaret began writing in her teens. In eighteen forty nine, 131 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 1: she published her first novel, Passages in the Life of 132 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:14,320 Speaker 1: Mrs Margaret Maitland. The book was not a huge hit, 133 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 1: but it did garner Olaphant some recognition in the British 134 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:22,839 Speaker 1: literary world. In eighteen fifty one, she published a historical 135 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 1: novel called Caleb Field, a Tale of the Puritans. From 136 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 1: this point on, she consistently published novels. In eighteen fifty two, 137 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 1: Margaret married her cousin, Francis Wilson Olaphant. This made her 138 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:40,640 Speaker 1: full name Margaret Olaphant Wilson Olaphant, and she sometimes published 139 00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 1: anonymously under the initials m O WO. Over the next 140 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:49,640 Speaker 1: few years, Oliphant gave birth to several children, though some 141 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 1: of them did not live past childhood. She also helped 142 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:57,319 Speaker 1: support her brother, Willie, who dealt with alcoholism. He helped 143 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:02,600 Speaker 1: Margaret by assisting her in negotiations with publishers. Francis died 144 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: in eighteen fifty nine after getting tuberculosis, leaving her to 145 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:10,440 Speaker 1: take care of her children and other family members. Margaret 146 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:13,400 Speaker 1: was prolific, and she credited the amount that she wrote 147 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:17,480 Speaker 1: to how many people's lives depended on her success. Margaret 148 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:22,720 Speaker 1: contributed to Blackwood's Magazine, a publication popular among Victorian readers 149 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:28,400 Speaker 1: for several decades. She published stories, articles, essays, and serialized 150 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:32,640 Speaker 1: novels With Blackwoods. She published some of her best known novels, 151 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:36,560 Speaker 1: The Chronicles of Carlingford, throughout the mid eighteen sixties. In 152 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:39,560 Speaker 1: Blackwoods the series followed the lives of people in the 153 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:44,160 Speaker 1: fictional English town of Carlingford. Though these works boosted her 154 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 1: reputation and she published incessantly until her death, she was 155 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:53,559 Speaker 1: criticized by some for producing too much. Tragically, her eleven 156 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 1: year old daughter Maggie died in eighteen sixty four after 157 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,440 Speaker 1: getting the stomach flu, and in eighteen six the eight 158 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 1: her brother Frank went bankrupt, dying a few years later. 159 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:08,120 Speaker 1: Margaret was left to raise his children, and in her 160 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 1: later years she turned to writing supernatural fiction, and her 161 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:15,960 Speaker 1: writing continued to provide her with financial support. But in 162 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 1: the nineties her two sons died, so that she had 163 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:23,400 Speaker 1: outlived many of the people in her family. At this 164 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:26,080 Speaker 1: point she lost some of her desire to write fiction. 165 00:11:26,679 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 1: She turned to her autobiography, which she had begun writing 166 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:34,480 Speaker 1: decades earlier. She planned on the work being published after 167 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:36,880 Speaker 1: her death, with the money made from it going to 168 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:42,839 Speaker 1: her niece. Oliphant died in her autobiography was published two 169 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:46,600 Speaker 1: years later. In the book, she noted that beyond needing 170 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:50,360 Speaker 1: the money, she wrote to cope with her sorrow. The 171 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 1: last project she worked on was a history of the 172 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:57,760 Speaker 1: Blackwood Publishing House, which was published posthumously. Though she didn't 173 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:00,720 Speaker 1: get a ton of recognition for being a literary writer 174 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:04,520 Speaker 1: during her lifetime, her work gained renewed interest in the 175 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 1: last decades of the twentieth century for its observations of 176 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:12,640 Speaker 1: Victorian society. I'm Eves Jeff Coote and hopefully you know 177 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:15,719 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 178 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 1: Don't be afraid to give us a shout or a 179 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:21,720 Speaker 1: share on social media. We're at t d i h 180 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:25,480 Speaker 1: C Podcast on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, and you can 181 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:29,200 Speaker 1: also send us an email at this Day at iHeartMedia 182 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:32,120 Speaker 1: dot com. Hope you enjoyed the show and we'll be 183 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 1: back tomorrow with another episode. For more podcasts from I 184 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: Heeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 185 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:43,640 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.