1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,279 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:17,120 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy B. Wilson. Okay, so 4 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,360 Speaker 1: here we are in part two of our two parter 5 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:21,480 Speaker 1: about the White House, and if you missed part one, 6 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:23,959 Speaker 1: that means you skipped past all of the discussion of 7 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: the construction of the White House and all of the 8 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:29,480 Speaker 1: renovations that have been done there over the years. We're 9 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:32,400 Speaker 1: talking about a lot of renovation, more than you might 10 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:37,560 Speaker 1: even think for a building for sure. Uh. And today, 11 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:40,120 Speaker 1: what we're gonna talk about first is the White House 12 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:42,239 Speaker 1: gardens and how they have evolved. But then we are 13 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:44,559 Speaker 1: going to shift gears and talk about the more serious 14 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 1: matter of how deeply connected the president's home is to 15 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: the country's history of slavery. So while you can jump 16 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: in here, you're gonna miss some of the context that 17 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: gives a fuller picture to that discussion of enslavement and 18 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: its role in the early presidential administrations. To talk about 19 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: the gardens though, which, as we nodded too in part one, 20 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:07,240 Speaker 1: we're a big part of the inspiration for this episode. 21 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: Gardens were always part of the plan for the White House, 22 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: George Washington saw to the purchase of property adjoining the 23 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 1: lot that was chosen for the house itself. Had the 24 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:20,679 Speaker 1: intent to plant a botanical garden. The area that now 25 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:23,959 Speaker 1: makes up the South Lawn was owned by a tobacco planter, 26 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: and that and the tract that make up the North 27 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:31,399 Speaker 1: grounds were purchased from their private owners. Washington, having never 28 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: lived in the house, did not get to fulfill his 29 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:37,559 Speaker 1: garden plans. He had really envisioned something akin to Andre 30 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 1: Le Nutra's impressive gardens at Versailles. We also talked about 31 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 1: how Thomas Jefferson was very motivated and inspired by that. 32 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: The idea was that visiting dignitaries would be able to 33 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 1: walk through the White House gardens and find the landscape 34 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:53,640 Speaker 1: arrival to anything in Europe. But it fell to the 35 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: first occupant of the home, John Adams, who was only 36 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: there for four months, to have the first garden planted, 37 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: and he did that, but it was definitely not quite 38 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: as grand as Washington had probably envisioned, due to a 39 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 1: lot of challenges just with like establishing a garden on 40 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 1: land that was never intended for that. The layout of 41 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: the White House landscape is really more to be credited 42 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:18,440 Speaker 1: to Thomas Jefferson, who redesigned everything on the grounds during 43 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: his time as president. It was under his direction that 44 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:25,360 Speaker 1: seedling trees were planted throughout the property to create groves, 45 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: and he also directed the placement and layout of fences, walls, 46 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:33,239 Speaker 1: and the flower garden. The first official White House gardener 47 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 1: was Charles Base, hired by President James Monroe, and his successor, 48 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:40,920 Speaker 1: who was brought in by the John Quincy Adams administration, 49 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: was Irish immigrant John Owsley. Owsley and President Adams are 50 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:49,120 Speaker 1: said to have gardened and planted trees together, and Adams, 51 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: who clearly did love to garden, established fruit trees and vegetables, 52 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 1: as well as the flower gardens that have been planned 53 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: by his presidential predecessors. Base may have been the first, 54 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 1: Butsley was really far more influential in the role of 55 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 1: White House gardener, and he continued to serve as the 56 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: official White House gardener for three decades. John Quincy Adams 57 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: really respected Asle's knowledge and he seems to have truly 58 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 1: enjoyed the time that he spent learning from the gardener. 59 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: In a journal entry dated June seven, he wrote, quote 60 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,239 Speaker 1: in this small garden of less than two acres. There 61 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 1: are forests and fruit trees, shrubs, hedges, esculent vegetables, kitchen 62 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: and medicinal herbs, hot house plants, flowers and weeds to 63 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 1: the amount eye conjecture of at least one thousand. One 64 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: Half of them, perhaps are common weeds, most of which 65 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: have none but the botanical name. I asked the name 66 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 1: of every plant I see. Ausley the gardener knows almost 67 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: all of them by their botanical names. But the numbers 68 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: to be discriminated and recognized are baffling to the memory 69 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:55,920 Speaker 1: and confounding to the judgment. From the small patch where 70 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: the additional herbs stands together. I plucked this morning leaves, 71 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: a bomb and hiss up majora mint, rue, sage, tansy, tarragon, 72 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 1: and wormwood, one half of which were known to me 73 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: only by the name the tarragon, not even by that. 74 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 1: I like how he discovered tarragon and was really excited. 75 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:20,040 Speaker 1: Owsley gained a staff to help him during Andrew Jackson's term, 76 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 1: enabling him to establish an ora injury. We mentioned that 77 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,159 Speaker 1: in the first episode, where citrus could be grown year round, 78 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 1: again borrowing from the European gardening playbook. Owsley also planted 79 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,840 Speaker 1: new species of trees during this period, including elm and maple, 80 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 1: and John Ousley tended the White House gardens until eighteen 81 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: fifty two and then left during the presidency of Millard Fillmore. 82 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:46,600 Speaker 1: There are several dozen commemorative trees on the White House property. 83 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,760 Speaker 1: That tradition was started by the nineteenth President, Rutherford B. 84 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,359 Speaker 1: Hayes in eighteen seventy six. He initiated the practice with 85 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: the dedication of a tree to commemorate the centennial of 86 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: the country. When that massive Roosevelt renovation of the actual 87 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: house took place in nineteen o two that we've talked 88 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 1: about in the first episode, so too, was the garden 89 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:09,720 Speaker 1: almost completely reimagined. During that time. The White House gardener 90 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 1: was Henry Fister, and he and First Lady Edith Roosevelt 91 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:17,479 Speaker 1: designed and executed a colonial garden. The colonial garden only 92 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: lasted a little more than a decade, though, when Woodrow 93 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 1: Wilson became president, First Lady Ellen Wilson removed Edith Roosevelt's 94 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:28,680 Speaker 1: design and replaced it with what most modern folks might 95 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 1: think of as a classic element of the White House grounds, 96 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:34,920 Speaker 1: and that is the Rose Garden. It had been known 97 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:37,799 Speaker 1: as the West Garden prior to the redesign, and after 98 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: it was completed it was simply the Rose Garden, in 99 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:44,920 Speaker 1: a name recognizable to many. Frederick Law Olmsted was brought 100 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 1: in by Franklin Delano Roosevelt to reshape the gardens. The 101 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:51,359 Speaker 1: design that Olmsted came up with has essentially been in 102 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:54,680 Speaker 1: place ever since, with changes to the gardens still following 103 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:57,600 Speaker 1: the lines that he laid out, and those changes focusing 104 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:00,799 Speaker 1: more on content shifts than any alteration to the footprint 105 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: of the beds. Later, Eleanor Roosevelt also planted vegetables part 106 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 1: of a Victory garden that was a symbol of similar 107 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:12,040 Speaker 1: gardens being planted throughout the country to bolster the food supply. 108 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,359 Speaker 1: Even through the nineteen fifties, while the Rose Garden was 109 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:19,039 Speaker 1: established by that name, it wasn't what we think of 110 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: when we envisioned it today. It was still a private garden. 111 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: It was not like somewhere that the press would congregate. 112 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 1: The Rose Garden didn't evolve into the current space as 113 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 1: a place where press conferences and other ceremonies would take 114 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 1: place until the Kennedy administration changes to the east garden 115 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: were initiated during the Kennedy presidency, but didn't come to 116 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: fruition until President Lyndon Baines Johnson was in office. When 117 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: the garden was completed, it was dedicated by First Lady 118 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:50,320 Speaker 1: Lady Bird Johnson to Jackie Kennedy. Although it is still 119 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: officially named the East Garden, it is also sometimes referred 120 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: to as the First Ladies Garden or the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden. 121 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: Mrs Johnson also spearheaded the creation of the Children's Garden 122 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 1: at the White House in nine. While the gardens and 123 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: grounds themselves have at least in layout, stayed pretty static 124 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 1: for the second half of the twentieth century and into 125 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: their uses have really varied. The South Lawn has become 126 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 1: home to the traditional White House Easter egg hunt, and 127 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 1: in two thousand nine, a portion of the South Lawn 128 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:24,400 Speaker 1: near the tennis courts was converted into a vegetable garden. 129 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 1: That was done by First Lady Michelle Obama and Chef 130 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,400 Speaker 1: camp Cast, with an assist from the students of Bancroft 131 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: Elementary School. Yeah, I imagine ongoing changes will happen forever. 132 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 1: So okay, we are about to get into the unpleasant 133 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 1: realities of this building which we've been talking about and 134 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: which has become so iconic, uh and its links to enslavement. 135 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: So before we do, we're going to take a quick 136 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: breath and have a little sponsor break. So we have 137 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 1: been talking at great length about out the White House 138 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:03,560 Speaker 1: and how it was built, in all of this progress 139 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 1: and renovation and updating and gardening, but we have to 140 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:12,560 Speaker 1: acknowledge that even through numerous early administrations in slave labor 141 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:16,280 Speaker 1: was part of the White House literally at its very foundations. 142 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: It is not a part of its history that is 143 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:22,160 Speaker 1: particularly comfortable, but it is an important part of this story. 144 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:27,280 Speaker 1: So you've probably heard the quote from First Lady Michelle Obama, 145 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:30,920 Speaker 1: which she used several events during her time as First Lady, 146 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,839 Speaker 1: so it became pretty famous quote, I wake up every 147 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: morning in a house that was built by slaves. So 148 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:39,200 Speaker 1: when she first said that, it made a bunch of 149 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:41,760 Speaker 1: people really angry. We said it on the show one 150 00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 1: time and a bunch of people got really angry. But 151 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:47,560 Speaker 1: it's absolutely the truth. Slavery was a part of the 152 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 1: President's home from the very beginning. So we mentioned at 153 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:54,599 Speaker 1: the beginning of the first episode that New York and 154 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:58,439 Speaker 1: Philadelphia both vied to be selected by George Washington as 155 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:01,040 Speaker 1: the place for the president's permanent residents would be built, 156 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 1: but slavery was a significant factor in those cities not 157 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,800 Speaker 1: being chosen. Both New York and Philadelphia were already working 158 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: on anti slavery legislation at this point, and George Washington 159 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 1: enslaved people, and he knew that moving the presidential household 160 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:20,839 Speaker 1: to one of these cities permanently would look really hypocritical 161 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:23,880 Speaker 1: and that it could come up as a contradiction of 162 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:27,400 Speaker 1: his public image as a liberator of the people. So 163 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: the Residents Act of seventeen ninety, which we talked about 164 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:33,560 Speaker 1: a little in the previous episode, offered him a way 165 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 1: to avoid that problem by placing the seat of the 166 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:40,679 Speaker 1: government near Virginia, where his home of Mountain Vernon was 167 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:44,840 Speaker 1: also worth remembering the land that was seated for the 168 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 1: capital had come from two states, Virginia and Maryland, which 169 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 1: were both slave states. We nodded to the fact that 170 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: there was a lot of like back room negotiation that 171 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:57,200 Speaker 1: happened and putting this act together, and one piece of 172 00:09:57,240 --> 00:10:01,120 Speaker 1: it wasn't giving the southern slave states more power by 173 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:05,439 Speaker 1: having the capital located there yep. So the records from 174 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 1: the huge construction effort to first build the President's House 175 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,840 Speaker 1: feature a lot of laborers by first names only, and 176 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:15,280 Speaker 1: that means those were enslaved men who had been hired 177 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:17,760 Speaker 1: out by their enslavers to work on the project. So 178 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:19,559 Speaker 1: a lot of times you would see them listed as 179 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: for example, like John hired out by person who enslaved him. 180 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:27,520 Speaker 1: So while there were Europeans in many of these skilled 181 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:30,680 Speaker 1: labor positions and there were freemen of color on the payroll, 182 00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:34,680 Speaker 1: they were working right alongside men who were enslaved. The 183 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 1: plan had originally been to hire a workforce made entirely 184 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,600 Speaker 1: up of European craftsmen, but there just wasn't enough interest 185 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:46,280 Speaker 1: to establish a big enough workforce for what was needed, 186 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:49,199 Speaker 1: and that is when the shift was made to use 187 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:52,360 Speaker 1: both free and enslaved black labor to build not only 188 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,240 Speaker 1: the White House, but also the Capitol Building and other 189 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:59,480 Speaker 1: necessary spaces for the new federal government. From bricklaying to 190 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: carpon treat to stone cutting and a lot of other jobs. 191 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 1: Enslaved people were used for labor. Often they were trained 192 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:08,199 Speaker 1: right there on the job, and they cleared the land, 193 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,520 Speaker 1: and they established roads and the infrastructure that allowed construction 194 00:11:11,559 --> 00:11:15,079 Speaker 1: to take place, all while, as we said, working alongside 195 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:19,360 Speaker 1: paid labor and earning extra income for their enslavers, some 196 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:23,560 Speaker 1: of whom were the project commissioners. The hiring of enslaved 197 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:26,360 Speaker 1: labor is in the records kept by the commissioners, the 198 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:30,680 Speaker 1: earliest mention of it appearing on April sevento in which 199 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:33,440 Speaker 1: they lay out their plan to hire enslaved people to 200 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:36,880 Speaker 1: make up this gap in their workforce. Their agreement was 201 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:39,559 Speaker 1: that the enslavers would provide clothing in a blanket for 202 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:42,600 Speaker 1: each person, and then in return, the commissioners would handle 203 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:46,240 Speaker 1: provisions needed for those people and pay twenty one pounds 204 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 1: per year per person to their enslaver. It's hard to 205 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 1: find documentation about the identities and the specific jobs of 206 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:57,280 Speaker 1: the enslaved workers, but the White House Historical Association has 207 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:01,319 Speaker 1: compiled a list of more than two hundred, each associated 208 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:04,319 Speaker 1: with the person who hired them out, and the association 209 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:07,840 Speaker 1: continues to search for more information. To tie back to 210 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:11,679 Speaker 1: our previous episode with historian Stephanie Jones Rodgers about her 211 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 1: book They Were Her Property. Some of those people who 212 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: hired out enslaved people were women, There is only one 213 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 1: enslaved woman listed in the Commissioner's records, and she also 214 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:24,720 Speaker 1: has the unusual distinction of being listed with the last name. 215 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:28,280 Speaker 1: Her name was Catherine Greene. We do not, unfortunately, know 216 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:32,160 Speaker 1: anything else about the specifics of her work. There also 217 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:35,280 Speaker 1: are some instances on the record and which an enslaver 218 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:38,319 Speaker 1: was part of the construction staff and then also brought 219 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:42,160 Speaker 1: their own enslaved workforce to work alongside them, collecting the 220 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:44,760 Speaker 1: federal funds for each of them in addition to his 221 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:49,240 Speaker 1: own wages. Even architect James Hoban hired out his enslaved 222 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:51,800 Speaker 1: workers for the project, although there was a conflict with 223 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:55,079 Speaker 1: the commissioners when they found out that the work Hoban's 224 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:57,840 Speaker 1: people were doing was being paid at a higher rate 225 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:01,320 Speaker 1: than the standard. The last pay meant made for enslaved 226 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:04,200 Speaker 1: labor for the initial construction of the President's home was 227 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:07,840 Speaker 1: made on June seven hundred, for the amount of nineteen 228 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: dollars and seventy four cents to an enslaver named Joseph Queen. 229 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:15,760 Speaker 1: When the President's mansion burned in eighteen fourteen, enslaved labor 230 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:18,679 Speaker 1: was once again used to rebuild it, as well as 231 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:22,160 Speaker 1: to landscape the grounds. Additionally, it was decided that the 232 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:26,000 Speaker 1: landscape of the surrounding area should be upgraded, and enslaved 233 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:29,680 Speaker 1: labor continued to be used in that endeavor. Also, yeah, 234 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:31,120 Speaker 1: we'll talk about it in a little bit, but that 235 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:35,440 Speaker 1: went on for years. So students in the US, particularly 236 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: of our generation, I think tracy, when we first were 237 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:41,880 Speaker 1: taught about the Founding Fathers, it was in this way 238 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:47,000 Speaker 1: that framed them as almost transcendent. They're really like just 239 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:51,040 Speaker 1: regaled as these amazing humans. Uh. Sometimes that is still 240 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 1: the way people talk about them, but it's important to 241 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:56,199 Speaker 1: remember that they were human and many of them, most 242 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,720 Speaker 1: of them participated in the institution of slavery. Of the 243 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:02,880 Speaker 1: fir twelve presidents of the United States, only two are 244 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 1: normally cited as having not been enslavers, those being John 245 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:10,080 Speaker 1: Adams and John Quincy Adams. And even that statement is 246 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:12,320 Speaker 1: more complicated than it might seem at face value, but 247 00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:14,360 Speaker 1: we're going to get into that in a moment. So 248 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:17,920 Speaker 1: George Washington is estimated to have enslaved a hundred and 249 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:21,480 Speaker 1: twenty three people in his lifetime. For Thomas Jefferson, that 250 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 1: number was six hundred. James Madison one hundred, James Monroe 251 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:31,240 Speaker 1: seventy five, Andrew Jackson two hundred, Barton van Buren one, 252 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:37,120 Speaker 1: William Henry Harrison eleven, John Tyler seventy, James K. Polk, 253 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 1: and Zachary Taylor a hundred and fifty. And those numbers 254 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:45,800 Speaker 1: are totals of people enslaved by those presidents in their lifetimes, 255 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 1: not necessarily when they were president, but there was definitely 256 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:53,200 Speaker 1: enslaved labor in the president's house for each of those men. 257 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:57,480 Speaker 1: In the presidential household of George Washington, at least ten 258 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:01,520 Speaker 1: enslaved people have been documented. At least eleven were documented 259 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 1: as as part of Jefferson's time in the White House. 260 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,440 Speaker 1: James Madison had six enslaved workers in his White House 261 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:13,120 Speaker 1: James Monroe thirteen, Andrew Jackson nine, Martin van Buren four, 262 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 1: although not all their names were known. You'll notice that 263 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 1: is a higher number than what he's listed as having enslaved. 264 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:23,480 Speaker 1: There's not necessarily always a direct correlation that it is 265 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 1: a person that he was the direct enslaver of or 266 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:28,760 Speaker 1: would claim ownership over that person, but they are hired 267 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 1: in through another way. That's why there's that discrepancy. John Tyler, 268 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:36,280 Speaker 1: for James K. Polk for again, these are all in 269 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:40,400 Speaker 1: the White House. Zachary Taylor eleven. More than thirty enslaved 270 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:42,760 Speaker 1: people tended the grounds in that period we talked about 271 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:45,160 Speaker 1: from eighteen eighteen to eighteen twenty one, as part of 272 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,560 Speaker 1: that redesign of the gardens and the landscaping. All of 273 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:52,040 Speaker 1: these numbers are also at least meaning there could have 274 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:55,040 Speaker 1: been more. These are just the numbers for which there's 275 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 1: some sort of documentation, whether it's in ledgers, census records, 276 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,640 Speaker 1: or journal entry's made by the people in each household. Yeah, 277 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:07,840 Speaker 1: different UM presidents had different levels of record keeping about 278 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 1: how things ran. Like one of the reasons we know 279 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:15,000 Speaker 1: so much about Thomas Jefferson's enslaved workforce is because he 280 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,840 Speaker 1: was very rigorous about keeping notes and records and ledgers. 281 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:21,440 Speaker 1: Others were not as rigorous in that way, so it's 282 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 1: a little bit trickier to identify what the situation really was. 283 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:28,680 Speaker 1: And enslaved workers feel just about every role that would 284 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:31,480 Speaker 1: be needed in the president's household. So they cooked the meals, 285 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:34,240 Speaker 1: they attended to the horses in the stables, They served 286 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:38,320 Speaker 1: as personal servants, as ladies, maids and valets. They basically 287 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:42,280 Speaker 1: supported the household in every way, and the personal space 288 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:45,120 Speaker 1: that was set aside for the enslaved workforce was normally 289 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:48,040 Speaker 1: the attic or rooms on the ground floor, none of 290 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 1: which were particularly comfortable, and there were often rodent issues 291 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:54,240 Speaker 1: coming up. We're going to talk about a couple of 292 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:57,720 Speaker 1: stories of presidents and their enslaved staff that you may 293 00:16:57,720 --> 00:16:59,760 Speaker 1: have heard about, but then we will talk about some 294 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:04,280 Speaker 1: of the more difficult and nuanced topics related to how 295 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:09,000 Speaker 1: even ardent anti slavery leaders we're just not necessarily walking 296 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:11,240 Speaker 1: the walk. And we'll do all that after a sponsor 297 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:21,439 Speaker 1: break one of the women who had been enslaved in 298 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 1: the Washington household caused the president a great deal of 299 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:28,240 Speaker 1: embarrassment and probably anger. As a result, one of his wife, 300 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:33,159 Speaker 1: Martha's enslaved maids, Ownah Judge, escaped to freedom. Onnah was 301 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,199 Speaker 1: born into slavery at Mount Vernon. She began training as 302 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:38,400 Speaker 1: a maid when she was twelve, and she was moved 303 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:41,160 Speaker 1: to New York with the First Lady in seventy nine 304 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:45,240 Speaker 1: at the age of sixteen, when Oonah Judge learned that 305 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,400 Speaker 1: she was going to be given to the Washington's granddaughter 306 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:51,399 Speaker 1: as a wedding gift. She took her chance and slipped 307 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:53,760 Speaker 1: out at dinner one night, rather than being moved into 308 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 1: the home of a woman who was known to have 309 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:58,439 Speaker 1: a temper and a man who she feared might sexually 310 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:02,000 Speaker 1: assault her. There was a notice placed in the Philadelphia 311 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,480 Speaker 1: Gazette offering a ten dollar reward for the return of 312 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:08,800 Speaker 1: Owny Judge. How it was spelled in the listing who 313 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:11,840 Speaker 1: had quote absconded from the household of the President of 314 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:15,919 Speaker 1: the United States. But Nonnah Judge lived a free life 315 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 1: after that, although George Washington pursued her for years. After 316 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 1: leaving the President's home, she had made her way to 317 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:25,600 Speaker 1: a ship that left Philadelphia and headed to New Hampshire. 318 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:29,080 Speaker 1: She did that immediately, and she worked there as a 319 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:31,840 Speaker 1: domestic servant, and she settled into a married life with 320 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:34,119 Speaker 1: a man named Jack Stains, who she met after she 321 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:38,520 Speaker 1: had made her escape. Although Washington twice sent men that 322 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:42,560 Speaker 1: essentially tried to trick Ownah Judge into returning to Virginia, 323 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:46,640 Speaker 1: she outwitted them both times, and then after George Washington died, 324 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:49,800 Speaker 1: she lived more or less unbothered, at least by this pursuit. 325 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:53,800 Speaker 1: Uh In an interesting twist. Washington stipulated in his will 326 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:57,080 Speaker 1: that when his wife Martha died, all of their enslaved 327 00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 1: workforce was to be freed, which seems interesting considering pretty 328 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:02,719 Speaker 1: much right up to the end he was obsessed with 329 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:05,760 Speaker 1: this one person coming back. Yeah, Well, and doing it 330 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:10,240 Speaker 1: that way also meant that he was technically freeing the 331 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:13,639 Speaker 1: people he was enslaving, but without any inconvenience to him 332 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:18,240 Speaker 1: or his spouse by having to not having enslaved workforce anymore. Yeah, 333 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,080 Speaker 1: there's a lot of her story that I didn't get 334 00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:23,480 Speaker 1: into here. It's been told in other places. But like, 335 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:29,520 Speaker 1: the things that really struck me are how much the 336 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:33,120 Speaker 1: Washington's seemed so shocked were They're like, but we treated 337 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:35,960 Speaker 1: her like a daughter. And then later in her life 338 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:39,800 Speaker 1: own a judge gave statements about her time being enslaved, 339 00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:43,040 Speaker 1: and she's like, yeah, daughter that they owned essentially like 340 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:46,560 Speaker 1: to her. It was so obvious why this was a problem. 341 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:48,960 Speaker 1: But the Washington's, it was very clear, did not really 342 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:52,480 Speaker 1: get how that was incorrect, because they felt like they 343 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,760 Speaker 1: were such good They felt like they were the original 344 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:59,240 Speaker 1: trope of the kind slave owner. Yeah, there's a I'm 345 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:01,919 Speaker 1: pretty sure it's an episode of the podcast Uncivil that 346 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:05,760 Speaker 1: tells this whole story. I don't remember if it is 347 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:09,040 Speaker 1: one of the episodes where there is some profanity in 348 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 1: that show. So if you're gonna listen with kids, maybe 349 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:18,560 Speaker 1: anyway that that entire podcast is extremely good. I highly 350 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:23,360 Speaker 1: recommend it. Thomas Jefferson has often been written about as 351 00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:25,600 Speaker 1: sort of a walking paradox. He was a man that 352 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:28,840 Speaker 1: penned the preamble to the Declaration of Independence that was 353 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:31,720 Speaker 1: full of all this rhetoric about all men being created 354 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 1: equal and the whole quote life, liberty, and the pursuit 355 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:39,520 Speaker 1: of happiness thing, while he was simultaneously enslaving scores of 356 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:42,119 Speaker 1: people because he was not thinking of them as actual 357 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:45,679 Speaker 1: people when he was writing that language. He tried to 358 00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:48,840 Speaker 1: blame slavery in the Colonies on King George the Third 359 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:52,200 Speaker 1: in a discarded passage that he wrote for the Declaration 360 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:56,119 Speaker 1: of Independence. He kept almost all of his enslaved staff 361 00:20:56,119 --> 00:20:59,679 Speaker 1: at Monticello, away from his home in the capital, although 362 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:02,479 Speaker 1: he did have a smaller enslaved staff at the Capitol 363 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:04,639 Speaker 1: when he was president. And of course there's this a 364 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:08,240 Speaker 1: relationship with Sally Hemmings that's been the source of debate 365 00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:13,080 Speaker 1: since his presidency at this point, like pretty much historians 366 00:21:13,119 --> 00:21:16,639 Speaker 1: agree that that that he fathered children with her. Yeah, 367 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:20,120 Speaker 1: there has been DNA testing definitely points in that direction. 368 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:22,199 Speaker 1: People will try to say that that was really a 369 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:26,560 Speaker 1: relative and not him, But like at this point, Manicello 370 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,840 Speaker 1: was like no, really, like yeah, yeah. They have a 371 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:32,439 Speaker 1: lot of writing about it, and a lot of writing 372 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:36,000 Speaker 1: about Sally. This is one of those things where people 373 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:42,560 Speaker 1: like to debate this um and Sally's part in the relationship. 374 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:44,880 Speaker 1: The problem is that we don't have anything in her 375 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:50,240 Speaker 1: words to really inform any of this. But I remember 376 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:54,840 Speaker 1: in high school history having a teacher that really wanted 377 00:21:54,880 --> 00:22:00,080 Speaker 1: this to be romanticized desperately, which there are plenty of 378 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:02,800 Speaker 1: people who still like that version. But I think it's 379 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,399 Speaker 1: really important to remember because one of the things that 380 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,439 Speaker 1: people point to you as this being a romantics like 381 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:12,520 Speaker 1: an actual caring for one another sort of relationship is 382 00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:15,399 Speaker 1: that they had been in Paris. Sally had been brought 383 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:19,640 Speaker 1: to Paris with Jefferson, she was the maid to one 384 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:23,720 Speaker 1: of his daughters, and that she had negotiated going back 385 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:27,760 Speaker 1: to the United States with him once again to be 386 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:31,119 Speaker 1: enslaved because in France she was not considered property of 387 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:34,240 Speaker 1: any kind, and so people are like, well, she must 388 00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:37,600 Speaker 1: have loved him, she chose this life, and it's like, well, okay. 389 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:39,560 Speaker 1: First of all, she was pregnant at the time, so 390 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:42,840 Speaker 1: she was in a little bit of a desperate situation. Two, 391 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:48,480 Speaker 1: she was sixteen, not a situation where this person really 392 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:52,159 Speaker 1: has agency in the relationship of any kind. Three, Like 393 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,560 Speaker 1: a sixteen year old who is with child in France, 394 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:59,600 Speaker 1: a country she does not come from. That's not really 395 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,880 Speaker 1: a choice in that time. Um So I just if 396 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:04,800 Speaker 1: you are one of those people I hate to bust 397 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:07,200 Speaker 1: any bubbles, but like this one needs to be busted, 398 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:13,480 Speaker 1: because you can't really consider this a consensual, like valid relationship, 399 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:16,960 Speaker 1: even if they had feelings for one another. The power play, 400 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:19,560 Speaker 1: like the power structure involved, is just not one where 401 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:23,880 Speaker 1: she had any agency. Anyway. That was my soapbox about 402 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:27,440 Speaker 1: Sally Hemmings. There's certainly more that you can go on about, 403 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:30,880 Speaker 1: but will keep scooting on. There are also ways where 404 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:34,800 Speaker 1: you can, like you can see people exercising the agency 405 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:37,880 Speaker 1: that they did have, and sometimes people will like use 406 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 1: that to be like, well, she could have left because 407 00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:43,639 Speaker 1: she chose to do these other things, and like that's 408 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:47,040 Speaker 1: not the same thing as being on equal footing with 409 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: the person who's enslaving you, right, And she was often 410 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:54,840 Speaker 1: negotiating and looking at the future of her children at 411 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:59,760 Speaker 1: that point, which is a whole other set of needs 412 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:04,360 Speaker 1: and values and sacrifice. Uh. That further shift that that 413 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:09,080 Speaker 1: power dynamic. The stories of Washington, Jefferson, and other early 414 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:12,920 Speaker 1: presidents and their relationships with slavery are likely not new 415 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 1: to many of our listeners. But I wanted to make 416 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,320 Speaker 1: sure we go back and we talk about the Adams 417 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:21,960 Speaker 1: Is because that becomes a lot more multifaceted, and it 418 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:25,600 Speaker 1: is a closer examination that will reveal that they too, 419 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,800 Speaker 1: certainly benefited from enslaved labor. And I want to cover 420 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:32,160 Speaker 1: this not to vilify them, because they are often held 421 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:35,200 Speaker 1: up as like not these two, but I really think 422 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:37,640 Speaker 1: it's important to talk about this so that we can 423 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:43,119 Speaker 1: underscore just how institutionalized the practice of enslavement was, so 424 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:48,080 Speaker 1: much so that people in power who vocally spoke out 425 00:24:48,119 --> 00:24:51,760 Speaker 1: against it, we're also passively part of it, and sometimes 426 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:55,239 Speaker 1: not so passively. So one of the trickier parts of 427 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:59,200 Speaker 1: the accounting of enslaved people in the President's residence because 428 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:02,399 Speaker 1: during the admitted stration of John Quincy Adams, while the 429 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:06,160 Speaker 1: household of his father, John Adams, at various times may 430 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:09,680 Speaker 1: have hired in enslaved labor. It's a little bit unclear, 431 00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:12,520 Speaker 1: but in the case of John Quincy Adams, while he 432 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:16,800 Speaker 1: did not enslave anyone personally in terms of direct ownership, 433 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:19,919 Speaker 1: there were at least two enslaved people who lived in 434 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:24,280 Speaker 1: the President's home while he was in office. So to 435 00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:27,920 Speaker 1: set the groundwork here first, Lady Louisa Adams, as sister 436 00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:32,040 Speaker 1: Nancy Helen and her husband Walter Helen did enslave people, 437 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:35,760 Speaker 1: and Louisa's mother did as well, but they were certainly 438 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:38,960 Speaker 1: not the only people in the Adams life who participated 439 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:42,920 Speaker 1: in slavery. And we talked about in a previous episode 440 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:45,639 Speaker 1: a live show that we did at Adams National Historic 441 00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:48,920 Speaker 1: Park about the time that Louisa and John Quincy spent 442 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,040 Speaker 1: abroad when he was serving as a diplomat, And in 443 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:55,399 Speaker 1: the time that they were away that near decade, Washington, 444 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:57,840 Speaker 1: d C. Really Had this big growth spurt and became 445 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:01,760 Speaker 1: a busy metropolitan city. And so when they returned, they 446 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:04,439 Speaker 1: returned to a place that was much more populated and 447 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:08,640 Speaker 1: a lot of households with much more affluent people had 448 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:12,160 Speaker 1: been established, and at that point slavery had become very 449 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:16,359 Speaker 1: common because most of the domestic servants were enslaved people. 450 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:20,640 Speaker 1: And while the adams As may have hated the institution, 451 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,040 Speaker 1: they definitely had people in their social circle who had 452 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:28,359 Speaker 1: enslaved labor. They were probably served by an enslaved workforce 453 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,880 Speaker 1: when making social calls. It would have been almost impossible 454 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:34,399 Speaker 1: for that not to be the case. But the bigger 455 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:37,280 Speaker 1: issue of enslaved people living in the White House in 456 00:26:37,359 --> 00:26:41,359 Speaker 1: John Quincy Adams's term goes back to Louise's family. This 457 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,960 Speaker 1: is a little bit tricky to follow, but when Louisa's sister, 458 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:48,920 Speaker 1: Nancy Helen died, her husband Walter, Helen married another of 459 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:53,320 Speaker 1: Louise's sisters, Adelaide, and then Walter died and Adelaide at 460 00:26:53,359 --> 00:26:56,120 Speaker 1: that point had four children on her hands, ages fifteen 461 00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:59,000 Speaker 1: to one year old. The baby had been the only 462 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:01,520 Speaker 1: child from her marriage to Walter, the others were her 463 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:05,440 Speaker 1: sister's children, and as Adelaide's health got a little bit 464 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:09,119 Speaker 1: worse over time, John Quincy and Louisa took two of 465 00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:12,680 Speaker 1: the children, Mary and Johnson, into their home and they 466 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:16,399 Speaker 1: likely those two children brought with them enslaved servants that 467 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:20,400 Speaker 1: they had inherited from their father. John Quincy Adams referenced 468 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:24,679 Speaker 1: quote Holsey the Black Boy belonging to Johnson Helen and 469 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:28,719 Speaker 1: his diary that February of eight and that entry sadly 470 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:32,560 Speaker 1: marks Holsey's death from consumption, and it also mentions that 471 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:35,600 Speaker 1: Holsey had been living with them for several years. And 472 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:38,240 Speaker 1: the second record of an enslaved person in the John 473 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:41,280 Speaker 1: Quincy Adams white house involves a woman named Rachel Clark. 474 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:45,479 Speaker 1: So when Mary Catherine Helen married Louisa and John Quincy's son, 475 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:50,360 Speaker 1: John Adams the second in eight, Mary filed manumission papers 476 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:53,200 Speaker 1: for Rachel Clark that same day, and it is likely 477 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:56,520 Speaker 1: that Rachel had moved into the Adams home with Mary. 478 00:27:56,560 --> 00:27:59,280 Speaker 1: This lines up with an eighteen twenty cents his record 479 00:27:59,359 --> 00:28:03,119 Speaker 1: that mentions an enslaved girl of fourteen living in the household. 480 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:06,639 Speaker 1: The exact reasons for Rachel's manumission on the day of 481 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:10,120 Speaker 1: Mary's wedding are really a matter of speculation. It could 482 00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:12,360 Speaker 1: have been a condition of the marriage for the Adams 483 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:15,000 Speaker 1: is whether it was a moral issue or even just 484 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:17,439 Speaker 1: one of public image and It also could have been 485 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:20,639 Speaker 1: a matter of legality. Mary may not have had the 486 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:23,840 Speaker 1: power to divest herself of her enslaved help until a 487 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:26,600 Speaker 1: marriage or a certain age, according to the terms of 488 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:29,680 Speaker 1: the inheritance. So even in the case of a family 489 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:32,960 Speaker 1: that was outspoken against the institution of slavery, there was 490 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:37,480 Speaker 1: a deep complexity to their relationship with the institution. Yeah, 491 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:40,680 Speaker 1: there's also speculation that because they were going after Andrew 492 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 1: Jackson so hard for his participation in slavery, that it 493 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:47,320 Speaker 1: was like this, you gotta get rid of this. This 494 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:50,840 Speaker 1: is not a good for US. President Zachary Taylor was 495 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:55,240 Speaker 1: the last president to enslave people while in office. When 496 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:58,880 Speaker 1: he died in eighteen fifty, the free black population of Washington, 497 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:01,920 Speaker 1: d c. Had grown considerably. It was at that point 498 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:06,280 Speaker 1: nearly double that of the enslaved black population. Slavery was 499 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:09,600 Speaker 1: not abolished in the nation's capital for another twelve years. 500 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:12,720 Speaker 1: That was marked by the Emancipation Act of eighteen sixty two. 501 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:18,080 Speaker 1: Not the most up with people topic, I know, but 502 00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:20,960 Speaker 1: I think it's so important because I feel like, as 503 00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:24,800 Speaker 1: our country is coming to terms with a lot of 504 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:29,240 Speaker 1: problems that have been here involving racism, that stem from 505 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:32,320 Speaker 1: this period of time, Like, we have to acknowledge that 506 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:38,120 Speaker 1: the very foundations literally of a government that was founded 507 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:40,800 Speaker 1: on the idea of freedom were laid by people who 508 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:44,360 Speaker 1: were not free. I don't want to mess with anybody's 509 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:46,560 Speaker 1: love of a historical figure, but we got to acknowledge 510 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:52,360 Speaker 1: this stuff. Um, always super important. Everybody's complicated. No one 511 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:59,920 Speaker 1: is all good or all evil. That's what history is. Um. Yeah. 512 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:02,880 Speaker 1: So I hope that is food for thought and that it, 513 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:05,240 Speaker 1: you know, gives context to some of what we're living 514 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:09,440 Speaker 1: through today, right, like, yeah, yeah, this this is where 515 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:12,720 Speaker 1: it all started. Yeah, that passage of Thomas Jefferson where 516 00:30:12,760 --> 00:30:15,040 Speaker 1: he wants to blame the whole thing on George the Third. 517 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:17,320 Speaker 1: There might have been some swearing at my house last night. 518 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:24,520 Speaker 1: Thomas Jefferson's no sense of personal responsibility in there. I 519 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:26,720 Speaker 1: have to because you set this up and it's the 520 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,880 Speaker 1: only way I'm going to function. Yeah, I'm sorry. What 521 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:34,200 Speaker 1: we've also read some of his other writing recently on 522 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:38,720 Speaker 1: the show makes it clear how he viewed people of 523 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:47,160 Speaker 1: African descent. Yes, yeah, um, Thomas Jefferson, Oh you're problematic thing? Okay, 524 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:49,440 Speaker 1: do you want to hear fun listener? Mail to kind 525 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:53,840 Speaker 1: of be a palate cleanser. Actually it is from our listener, Christina, 526 00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:57,440 Speaker 1: and it is about our Thomas Dorsey episode. She writes, 527 00:30:57,520 --> 00:30:59,840 Speaker 1: I have been a longtime listener of the show and 528 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:02,680 Speaker 1: the lover of history and especially personal stories. I was 529 00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:05,920 Speaker 1: absolutely thrilled when I realized a little personal connection to 530 00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:09,720 Speaker 1: your episode on Thomas Dorsey. You see, I live in Columbus, Georgia, 531 00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:12,400 Speaker 1: home of Ma Rainey, many times called the Mother of 532 00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:15,240 Speaker 1: the Blues. Growing up, my dad made it a point 533 00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:17,520 Speaker 1: to actively show me the history of my city, so 534 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:19,960 Speaker 1: Ma Reney's house was a place we visited and read 535 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,200 Speaker 1: about many times. Music from this era has always been 536 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:26,600 Speaker 1: one of my favorites. But here is the seemingly insignificant 537 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:30,240 Speaker 1: personal connection to Thomas Dorsey. During my teenage years, every 538 00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:32,600 Speaker 1: day I drove down Dorsey Drive on my way home 539 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:35,480 Speaker 1: Dorsey Drive. Honestly, I have no idea if this is 540 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:38,560 Speaker 1: named after Thomas Dorsey, but the sentimental person I am 541 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:41,480 Speaker 1: hopes it is. I listened to his music and I 542 00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:44,160 Speaker 1: was hit to the core with how much feeling it conveyed. 543 00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:47,160 Speaker 1: As he had connections to Ma Rainey. I do wonder 544 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:49,560 Speaker 1: if he spent some time in Columbus and walked the 545 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 1: very same steps I have. Thank you for listening to 546 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:55,440 Speaker 1: this possibly insignificant connection. I love listening to y'all, and 547 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:58,520 Speaker 1: keep up the great work. Uh. You know, here's the thing. 548 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:01,000 Speaker 1: Even connections you think are insta minificant mean that you're 549 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:03,160 Speaker 1: thinking about history and your place in it. So I 550 00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:05,960 Speaker 1: love it just the same. Like that's I think that's 551 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:08,080 Speaker 1: kind of part of what drives both Tracy and I 552 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:12,120 Speaker 1: could do this because you know, it's our research paper 553 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:15,240 Speaker 1: a week essentially, which can be a lot of workload. 554 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:17,440 Speaker 1: But then when you realize that people are using that 555 00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:19,960 Speaker 1: to to figure out their place in the bigger history 556 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:22,120 Speaker 1: and their connections to things we've talked about, to me, 557 00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:24,720 Speaker 1: that is immensely rewarding. So thank you, Thank you, Christina. 558 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:26,840 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can 559 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:29,800 Speaker 1: do so at History Podcast at iHeart radio dot com. 560 00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:33,040 Speaker 1: You can also find us on social media are Our 561 00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:36,520 Speaker 1: handle is missed in History, and you can also subscribe 562 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:38,880 Speaker 1: to the podcast so you never miss a thing. You 563 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:40,719 Speaker 1: can do that on the I Heart Radio app, at 564 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:48,400 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever it is you listen. Stuff you 565 00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:51,120 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class is a production of I heart Radio. 566 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:54,320 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart 567 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:57,479 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 568 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:00,240 Speaker 1: favorite shows. Two