1 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart 2 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:17,040 Speaker 1: Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manky. Their people 3 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: were starving. The Kingdom had invaded their country in one 4 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:23,960 Speaker 1: and taken their land, forced a new religion on them, 5 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 1: and decimated their culture for centuries. After the people worked 6 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: the Kingdom's fields or suffered the consequences, they were forced 7 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: to pay high taxes and export their butter, honey, livestock 8 00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 1: and crops, while their own families died of malnutrition and 9 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:42,199 Speaker 1: flat out starvation. In fact, during times of famine, the 10 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 1: Kingdom demanded even higher exports. They had no say in 11 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:48,680 Speaker 1: political matters, nor were they allowed a voice concerning their 12 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 1: land or rights. Their nationality was looked down on, and 13 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: they lived in extreme poverty by a combination of design 14 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: and disregard. In short, the people of Ireland were inconsequential 15 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: to England. The Irish immigrated to Britain were forced to 16 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:06,680 Speaker 1: live in the poorer, run down sections of the cities 17 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:10,479 Speaker 1: they moved to, like Liverpool. They were physically attacked, banned 18 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: from entering pubs, and refused employment. The Great Hunger, as 19 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: it's known started in Ireland in eighteen forty and lasted 20 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: into the early eighteen fifties. The primary food England allowed 21 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:23,400 Speaker 1: them to keep. The potato, suffered a blight that wiped 22 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:26,839 Speaker 1: out close to seventy of the crop. Desperate, the people 23 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: pleaded with the Kingdom for mercy and for help, but 24 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: those requests went unanswered. Before long, a million people had 25 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: died of starvation or a disease brought on by malnutrition. 26 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:40,479 Speaker 1: Without a means to fight back, many survivors fled their homeland, 27 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 1: sparking the largest migration in history. One million Irish bordered 28 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: ships so unseaworthy, overcrowded, and understocked with supplies that they 29 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:53,639 Speaker 1: were dubbed coffin ships. Disease tore through the densely packed ships, 30 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: destroying families even further. The dead would tossed overboard so 31 00:01:57,360 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: often that it said sharks learned to follow the boat. 32 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: Food and water were scarce during the six week trip, 33 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 1: and there was only seawater for bathing and buckets for toilets. 34 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 1: Traumatized and penniless, the Irish arrived on US soil. They 35 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 1: weren't looking for the American dream, just the basics, food 36 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 1: and shelter. They had been kept uneducated and unskilled and 37 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:21,639 Speaker 1: now Americans made it clear that they weren't welcome in 38 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:25,920 Speaker 1: their new home either. The new immigrants spoke a different language, Gaelic, 39 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: and practiced a different religion. They were called know nothings, 40 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:34,079 Speaker 1: scorned and ridiculed. Help wanted. Signs often read Irish need 41 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:37,800 Speaker 1: not apply. No one else accepted them, and so they 42 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 1: clung together. Ireland had been stripped from their lives, but 43 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: not their hearts. After all, they had stared down death 44 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 1: for so long, had survived the unspeakable, But now an 45 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: idea was forming. There's something in each of us worth 46 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 1: fighting for, dying for. The Irish were willing to risk 47 00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:00,520 Speaker 1: everything once more, death was inevitable. It was what they 48 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 1: did with their lives and ultimately mattered. After centuries of 49 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,520 Speaker 1: persecution and oppression, a group of Irish settlers were willing 50 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:10,959 Speaker 1: to give everything to a cause greater than themselves. But 51 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:14,240 Speaker 1: as they were about to find out, sometimes the hardest 52 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:20,880 Speaker 1: battles are fought from within. I'm Lauren Bogelbaum. Welcome to 53 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 1: American Shadows. It was a revolution in the making. More 54 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: than two hundred thousand Irish immigrants enlisted to fight in 55 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: the Civil War. Despite the anti Irish sentiment against them, 56 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 1: and when the war ended in eighteen sixty five, they 57 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: came away with something powerful military experience. Back in eighteen 58 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 1: fifty eight, still shunned from American communities, a group of 59 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: Irish immigrants had created the Fenian Brotherhood. Founders John Mahoney 60 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: and Michael Doany named the organization after Fiana, legendary Irish fighters. 61 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:01,839 Speaker 1: If no one else would help them free their land 62 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: and people, then they'd do it on their own. Collectively, 63 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 1: they made plans toward igniting a revolution back home in Ireland. However, 64 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 1: Ireland was an ocean away, so they focused on British 65 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: ruled Canada instead. If they could control British areas, they 66 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:21,880 Speaker 1: could negotiate their freedom back home. The border between the 67 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:25,040 Speaker 1: United States and Canada was still mostly wild, with dense 68 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 1: forests that would help conceal them, and so the Fenian 69 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 1: raids on British troops began in Earnest in eighteen sixty 70 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: six and lasted for more than five years. Not all 71 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:38,920 Speaker 1: the Fenians agreed with this tactic, though a handful sat 72 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:42,679 Speaker 1: a more peaceful solution Marching, they said, might spur a movement, 73 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 1: but the majority were less convinced. After all England had 74 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: shown no compassion or empathy in eleven seventy one nor 75 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: the centuries that followed. No, they believed that the only 76 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: way to gain their freedom from British rule was to 77 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,279 Speaker 1: do exactly as the Americans had to fight back. Okay, 78 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:04,840 Speaker 1: Despite the uncertainty and divide, members of the Brotherhood traveled 79 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: from as far as the Bayous of Louisiana to Buffalo, 80 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: New York. Did attack from there, plus other locations like Illinois, Wisconsin, 81 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:15,279 Speaker 1: and Vermont along the St. Lawrence River. After that, they 82 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:19,280 Speaker 1: invade the Niagara Peninsula, sabotage the welland canal connecting Lake 83 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 1: Ontario and Lake Erie, and then occupy what was then 84 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: called Canada West, now known as Ontario. Along the way, 85 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 1: they'd conquered major transportation centers used by the British, and 86 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 1: after they had taken the troops hostage and gained control, 87 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: their negotiations with England would begin. Their demands were simple. 88 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:41,040 Speaker 1: They would hand over British controlled Canada only in exchange 89 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:44,880 Speaker 1: for Ireland's freedom. A few Fenians held hope that the 90 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: attack might start another war between the United States and 91 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 1: Great Britain. The Americans knew what living under British rule 92 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 1: had been like. After all, a war might force England 93 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,719 Speaker 1: to send considerable troops to America, leaving the British weaker 94 00:05:56,720 --> 00:06:01,680 Speaker 1: against rebellion in Ireland. It was a solid plan except 95 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:05,599 Speaker 1: for a key problem. The large training gatherings of wild Irish, 96 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:09,880 Speaker 1: as they were derogatorially called, hadn't gone unnoticed. In fact, 97 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:14,280 Speaker 1: British spies had easily infiltrated the Fenian camps before long. 98 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: The British authorities in Canada were aware of the Brotherhood's 99 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:21,040 Speaker 1: every move, Oblivious to the trap they were walking into. 100 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:24,280 Speaker 1: The Fenians set out on June one from Buffalo, crossing 101 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:27,800 Speaker 1: the Niagara River. After passing over the border, they camped 102 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:30,279 Speaker 1: near Old fort Erie before making their way to Ridgeway 103 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: the next day. They're awaiting them were eight hundred British militiamen, 104 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: led by one lieutenant Colonel Booker. For all of their intel, 105 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:43,599 Speaker 1: the British were still outnumbered. The Fenians had twelve hundred fighters, 106 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:47,719 Speaker 1: but those eight hundred British carried repeating rifles, whereas the 107 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:51,920 Speaker 1: Irish had only muskets. The conflict between the two sides 108 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: raged for hours in the surrounding woods, but paused when 109 00:06:55,360 --> 00:07:03,200 Speaker 1: the thunder of hoofs alarmed both sides, each fearing their 110 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 1: opponent had brought in cavalry. Both sides fled the battlefield. 111 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: But it wasn't the cavalry. All That gunfire had spooked 112 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 1: a herd of grazing horses in a nearby field. In 113 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:16,240 Speaker 1: a panic, they had bolted from their pasture and ran 114 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 1: wildly through the woods. With the British gone, the Irish 115 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 1: fighters stood alone at the field's edge. They had captured 116 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,720 Speaker 1: Ridgeway and it was a victory, but the Fenians had 117 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:30,560 Speaker 1: suffered injuries and casualties. In no position to withstand a 118 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:33,880 Speaker 1: larger attack, the fighters turned back and headed for the river. 119 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:38,720 Speaker 1: Their luck changed after that though. At the American border, 120 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 1: u S authorities apprehended seven hundred of them, and in 121 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,840 Speaker 1: another clash near Fort Erie, the British surprised the Fenians 122 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: by arriving in boats and surrounding them. Those who weren't 123 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:53,880 Speaker 1: captured took refuge in nearby houses. The final blow came 124 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:56,240 Speaker 1: when the remaining fighters returned to Buffalo on the night 125 00:07:56,280 --> 00:08:00,560 Speaker 1: of June third. They're the disheartened Fenians were all arrested 126 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 1: in just two days. Their quest for freedom was over, 127 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: but that didn't mean they gave up. Far from it. 128 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:11,880 Speaker 1: The Fenian Brotherhood would live on to fight under other names. 129 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: In response to the attacks, the British created a secret 130 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:20,480 Speaker 1: police force with the mission to penetrate Irish organizations. They 131 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: also made improvements to the Canadian militia. Concerned about threats 132 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 1: from the Irish fighters on Canadian borders, along with growing 133 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:31,640 Speaker 1: fear regarding American economics, the Dominion of Canada was formed 134 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: as a nation in eighteen sixty seven. In a roundabout way. 135 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:40,040 Speaker 1: It was the Irish who helped make it possible, but 136 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:44,199 Speaker 1: their struggle continued. Soon after those failed raids on Canada, 137 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:48,800 Speaker 1: one Fenian named Thomas Darcy McGhee switched sides, denouncing the 138 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 1: brotherhood and moving to Canada. There, he tried to convince 139 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:56,000 Speaker 1: his fellow Irishman to work with the British Protestants. His 140 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,319 Speaker 1: efforts didn't go over well, though. On April seventh of 141 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty eight, McGee was fatally shot. Most accounts blame 142 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:07,280 Speaker 1: the assassination on the Fenians, although some suspect the British 143 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:11,080 Speaker 1: had something to do with it. Undaunted, the Irish kept 144 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:13,960 Speaker 1: fighting and continued to carry out more of those raids 145 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:17,480 Speaker 1: over into Canada, but the death of McGhee wouldn't be 146 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:20,520 Speaker 1: the last bit of intrigue the Fenians would face, and 147 00:09:20,559 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 1: it was all about to get worse. In eighty two, 148 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 1: Dr Patrick Henry Cronin took a position at Chicago's Cook 149 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:37,320 Speaker 1: County Hospital. He settled in nicely, becoming an active member 150 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:40,280 Speaker 1: of the Irish community. He gave to a multitude of 151 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:43,080 Speaker 1: local charities, and he's sang in the Catholic Cathedral on 152 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:47,960 Speaker 1: State Street. Dr Cronin's commitment didn't stop there, though, he 153 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: joined another organization, the Clan Niguel. They began as an 154 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 1: offshoot of the Fenians in eighteen sixty seven, and just 155 00:09:56,120 --> 00:10:00,839 Speaker 1: like their predecessors, Clan Niguel dedicated itself to Irish freedom. 156 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:04,440 Speaker 1: Instantly popular with Irish communities, their numbers swelled to more 157 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:08,720 Speaker 1: than forty thousand by the late eighteen eighties. Dr Cronin 158 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: was a busy and ambitious man. His dedication to the 159 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:15,320 Speaker 1: group allowed him to rise quickly through its ranks, something 160 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:19,560 Speaker 1: there then current leader Alexander Sullivan wasn't too thrilled about. 161 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:25,120 Speaker 1: While Cronin was well liked for being middle of the road, 162 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:30,040 Speaker 1: Sullivan was more of a polarizing and radical figure. For example, 163 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:33,720 Speaker 1: Sullivan had championed the Dynamite campaign from one through eighteen 164 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 1: eighty five, convincing young Irish Americans to travel to England 165 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:40,920 Speaker 1: to plant explosives at a number of prominent locations, including 166 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: the Tower of London, Houses of Parliament, and the London Bridge. 167 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:49,480 Speaker 1: Under Sullivan's leadership, twenty five attacks targeting government, military, police 168 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:53,079 Speaker 1: and infrastructure were carried out. Those bombs killed more than 169 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 1: eighty people, including three bombers and a young child, but 170 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:01,160 Speaker 1: somehow the British police managed to quite locate and arrest 171 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:05,800 Speaker 1: every single one of the surviving bombers. Ever, the moderate 172 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:09,720 Speaker 1: Dr Cronan loudly condemned these attacks, and tension between him 173 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:13,599 Speaker 1: and Sullivan grew. The conflict intensified when Cronan began to 174 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:16,560 Speaker 1: suspect Sullivan of embezzling money from the fund set up 175 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:19,040 Speaker 1: to assist the families of the bombers, to the tune 176 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:22,040 Speaker 1: of a hundred thousand dollars that's the equivalent of more 177 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:27,000 Speaker 1: than two and a half million dollars today. Cronin confronted Sullivan, 178 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:31,720 Speaker 1: who adamantly denied the accusations. Cronin then went public, which 179 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: clearly made Sullivan less than happy. His retribution was swift. 180 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:40,679 Speaker 1: Sullivan accused Cronan of treason against the organization and then 181 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:45,000 Speaker 1: immediately ordered a trial, handpicking five men for the panel. 182 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 1: One of the men was not only one of Sullivan's 183 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:51,880 Speaker 1: closest associates, he was also a senior detective on the 184 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:56,360 Speaker 1: Chicago Police Force. Another panel member was alri Lea Coron, 185 00:11:56,920 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 1: a Frenchman who had sided with the Irish fighters since 186 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:02,640 Speaker 1: the days of the eighteen invasions and was solidly camp Sullivan. 187 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 1: Cronin didn't trust either man any more than he did Sullivan. 188 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:10,240 Speaker 1: With the panel skewed in Sullivan's favor, the outcome should 189 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:14,640 Speaker 1: be no surprise. They found Cronan guilty and expelled him 190 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:18,840 Speaker 1: from the organization in the spring of eight five. For Sullivan, 191 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:22,920 Speaker 1: the problem seemed to be solved, except that Cronin had 192 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:25,440 Speaker 1: made quite the impression on a lot of the other members, 193 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 1: and his expulsion divided them deeply, splitting Clan to Gale 194 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:34,160 Speaker 1: into two factions. Meanwhile, public resentment of the attacks had 195 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:37,520 Speaker 1: damaged the reputation of Irish Americans so bitterly that for 196 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:40,520 Speaker 1: three years, members of Clan to Gael, and other cities 197 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:44,880 Speaker 1: made attempts to reconcile them. During a convention in Buffalo 198 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:48,959 Speaker 1: in June, of local representatives agreed to review the evidence 199 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:52,880 Speaker 1: that Cronin had collected against Sullivan. This time Cronan sat 200 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:56,840 Speaker 1: on the prosecution and Sullivan on the defense, but again 201 00:12:57,040 --> 00:13:00,839 Speaker 1: Sullivan prevailed. It perhaps didn't helped that Sullivan was a 202 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:05,439 Speaker 1: lawyer by trade. Cronan was understandably furious and swore that 203 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:09,679 Speaker 1: had proved his claims Sullivan gloated, saying Cronin was simply 204 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:13,280 Speaker 1: better after being outed as a trader. Sullivan had no 205 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:17,600 Speaker 1: idea though, because Cronin wasn't the real trader. Enri La 206 00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 1: Coron was. Lacroon had abruptly left for England after lobbying 207 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 1: for Cronan's expulsion. It turns out that he had been 208 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:28,040 Speaker 1: called back for the trial of one Charles Stuart Parnell, 209 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 1: who had served as the head of the Irish Parliamentary Party. 210 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:34,200 Speaker 1: Parnell had been charged with taking part in a string 211 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:37,439 Speaker 1: of murders in Dublin in two and was also accused 212 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:40,439 Speaker 1: of having close relations with the Fenians and Claniguel. Back 213 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 1: in America, and during the testimony la Caron gave he 214 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:48,880 Speaker 1: outed himself as an English spy planted by the British. 215 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 1: Lacron's real name was Thomas Miller Beach and had been 216 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:54,560 Speaker 1: a spy for the British for nearly twenty five years. 217 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:57,760 Speaker 1: In fact, he had worked closely with one of scotland 218 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:02,000 Speaker 1: Yards first spymasters. Clearly, Beach was good at his job, 219 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 1: but still, how had he infiltrated Clanegale. Years before, Beach 220 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:10,560 Speaker 1: had sailed to America and enlisted in the Union Army, 221 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:13,360 Speaker 1: where he fought alongside the Irish. Posing as a Frenchman. 222 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:15,720 Speaker 1: He told them his mother was Irish and that he 223 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 1: sympathized with their plight and readily joined the Fenians. Beach 224 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:22,720 Speaker 1: then went on to leak information about upcoming raids and 225 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 1: where their bombers and fighters were at any given moment. 226 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: In the end, Cronan's suspicions about le Caron had been right. 227 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:33,840 Speaker 1: The blow to Clanegale was huge and it was just 228 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:37,440 Speaker 1: the thing Cronan needed. He wasted little time in pointing 229 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 1: out how close Beach had been to Sullivan. Meanwhile, Sullivan 230 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:44,680 Speaker 1: had been spreading the rumor that Beach had given up 231 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:48,680 Speaker 1: four members during testimony, and if you guessed Sullivan named 232 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:52,160 Speaker 1: Cronan as part of that list, you'd be right, except 233 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 1: for one small detail. The list never existed and no 234 00:14:56,440 --> 00:15:01,040 Speaker 1: such testimony had ever been given, But that didn't stop 235 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:04,920 Speaker 1: people from believing it, and a conspiracy theory developed. Some 236 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 1: reason that England wouldn't have taken Beach away without replacing him, 237 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,240 Speaker 1: and since Sullivan had pointed fingers at Cronin, that was 238 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:16,920 Speaker 1: strong evidence of Cronin's own guilt. Dr Cronin had fought 239 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:20,000 Speaker 1: long and hard for justice and freedom thanks to the 240 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:22,760 Speaker 1: false rumors of his treason, though none of the good 241 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 1: had done for the Irish community seemed to matter, and 242 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:30,880 Speaker 1: despite Cronin's best efforts, Sullivan still remained in power and unscathed. 243 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:33,800 Speaker 1: There was only one thing left for Cronan to do, 244 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:38,880 Speaker 1: leave town, so he relocated to a northern suburb outside 245 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:42,640 Speaker 1: of Chicago. When he did, though, he left something behind, 246 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:48,040 Speaker 1: a pamphlet. The title of it read, is it a Conspiracy? 247 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:51,720 Speaker 1: And inside was an interview with an unknown reporter. Here's 248 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:55,240 Speaker 1: how it read. It strikes me that your funeral would 249 00:15:55,240 --> 00:16:00,360 Speaker 1: be a very largely attended one. The reporter pointed, out Yes, cronanpplied, 250 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:05,920 Speaker 1: and the cause of death very extensively inquired into. Cronin 251 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:09,920 Speaker 1: seemed rather comfortable discussing his own demise and funeral. Granted, 252 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:12,360 Speaker 1: his intuition had been spot on in regards to the 253 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:15,000 Speaker 1: clans in her workings, but now he believed that they 254 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,120 Speaker 1: wanted him dead. Yet, if he thought the clan was 255 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:21,080 Speaker 1: plotting his murder, it's hard to believe he'd fall for 256 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:34,040 Speaker 1: any of what happened next. In April of nine, Dr 257 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:38,360 Speaker 1: Cronin entered into a strange agreement. Patrick O'Sullivan, an iceman 258 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:41,560 Speaker 1: with a nearby factory, paid to keep the doctor on retainer, 259 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,560 Speaker 1: you know, just in case a factory employee had a 260 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 1: medical emergency. Why Dr Cronin's intuition didn't ring alarm bells 261 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:54,080 Speaker 1: as anyone's guests. Maybe he couldn't refuse to treat the injured, 262 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:56,680 Speaker 1: or maybe he just needed the money after leaving his 263 00:16:56,760 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 1: job at the hospital, whatever the reason. When a nurse 264 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:02,840 Speaker 1: this young man called on him on May fourth, claiming 265 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,879 Speaker 1: there had been a horrible accident, Cronan packed his medical 266 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:08,040 Speaker 1: bag and followed him out the door to a carriage. 267 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:13,280 Speaker 1: Cronan didn't return home that evening, fearing foul play, his 268 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:17,159 Speaker 1: landlord and friends reported the doctor missing. The investigation that 269 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:22,360 Speaker 1: followed was short, almost non existent. Detective Daniel Coughlin took 270 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:25,479 Speaker 1: a cursory glance around the home and told reporters, boys, 271 00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 1: I give up. I've searched high and low until I'm 272 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:30,840 Speaker 1: exhausted and I can get nowhere. But this you may 273 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: be sure of. There isn't a shred of evidence that 274 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:38,280 Speaker 1: Cronan was murdered. Shocked, Cronan's friends pointed out that several 275 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:42,160 Speaker 1: patrolmen had already reported a suspicious carriage carrying a large 276 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:44,200 Speaker 1: trunk and moving radically through the streets the night of 277 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:48,160 Speaker 1: the doctor's disappearance, and wouldn't you know it, the very 278 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:51,840 Speaker 1: next day, a bloodstained trunk matching the patrolman's description was 279 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:56,040 Speaker 1: found in a roadside ditch. Inside the trunk more blood 280 00:17:56,480 --> 00:18:02,600 Speaker 1: and human hair. Despite these facts, the press circulated other rumors. 281 00:18:03,119 --> 00:18:05,960 Speaker 1: Cronan escaped to Canada after a botched abortion, they wrote, 282 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:09,399 Speaker 1: although truth be told, he had never performed one, or 283 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:11,320 Speaker 1: that had gone to New York after a love affair 284 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:15,440 Speaker 1: gone bad, or more likely, they claimed, his disappearance proved 285 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:18,199 Speaker 1: that Cronan had been a spy and returned to London. 286 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:25,080 Speaker 1: On May twenty, employees of the Board of Public sent 287 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: to investigate a feated stench coming from a sewer removed 288 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:32,639 Speaker 1: all doubt. Fighting back bile, the crew peered between the 289 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:37,240 Speaker 1: sewer bars they're wedged inside. They found the bloated, naked 290 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:40,760 Speaker 1: corpse of a man. Around his neck hung a medallion 291 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 1: of Agnes Day, a Catholic sacramental thought to protect the 292 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:48,640 Speaker 1: wearer from harm. Maybe the killers had let him keep 293 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:52,080 Speaker 1: that last possession, or maybe it was a statement that 294 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:54,760 Speaker 1: not even the heavens could protect him from the clan's reach. 295 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:59,119 Speaker 1: Either way, Dr Cronin's friends and landlord arrived at the 296 00:18:59,119 --> 00:19:04,520 Speaker 1: morgue and positively identified the badly beaten body. Two days later, 297 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:08,040 Speaker 1: a Swedish couple living in Chicago called the police. Had 298 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:10,040 Speaker 1: rented out a cottage on March twenty to a man 299 00:19:10,119 --> 00:19:13,560 Speaker 1: named Frank Williams, but when Williams hadn't been seen or 300 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:16,360 Speaker 1: heard from, they entered the cabin and made a grizzly 301 00:19:16,359 --> 00:19:21,200 Speaker 1: discovery multiple rooms stained with blood and scattered with broken furniture. 302 00:19:22,119 --> 00:19:26,520 Speaker 1: At last, the police had found the crime scene. While 303 00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 1: following leads, police came across a livery stable next to 304 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:33,320 Speaker 1: the station. There they found a carriage matching the description 305 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:35,480 Speaker 1: of the one scene on the night of Cronan's disappearance. 306 00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:38,720 Speaker 1: The stable owner said that a man named Smith had 307 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:43,280 Speaker 1: rented it that night. Officers dug deeper and soon learned 308 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:46,160 Speaker 1: that the apathetic detective Coughlin was a member of Clan 309 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 1: na Gael, and not just a member, had been one 310 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:52,320 Speaker 1: of the men Sullivan had hand picked to expel Cronan 311 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:57,480 Speaker 1: back in The officers reported their findings to the Chief 312 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:01,840 Speaker 1: of Police, and on they arrested the tective Coughlin for 313 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:05,520 Speaker 1: murder and took Iceman Patrick O'Sullivan into custody as well. 314 00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:09,720 Speaker 1: They also found a direct link between Iceman O'Sullivan and 315 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:12,720 Speaker 1: a man named Martin Burke, who matched the description of 316 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:17,639 Speaker 1: the mysterious Frank Williams. Senior guardian of the local Clandegale camp, 317 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:23,320 Speaker 1: John Beggs, was also implicated. O'Sullivan was arrested on June eleventh, 318 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 1: but remained in jail just one night. Conveniently, the evidence 319 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:31,720 Speaker 1: against him wasn't strong enough to detain him. Five days later, 320 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:34,520 Speaker 1: police caught up to Martin Burke at the Winnipeg Railway 321 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:38,480 Speaker 1: station traveling under an alias. A search of his belongings 322 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:41,360 Speaker 1: turned up a one way boat ticket heading to Liverpool, England. 323 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 1: The story grabbed headlines all over the world, exposing Clanegale's 324 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 1: dirty secrets for all to see. In Chicago, the newspapers 325 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:53,800 Speaker 1: reported every new twist, turn, and theory from May through December. 326 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:57,359 Speaker 1: It made for great copy and readers were obsessed and 327 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:03,240 Speaker 1: horrified with the details. Everyone was talking about Clannegale, and 328 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:06,560 Speaker 1: people were quite vocal about their opinions, which made jury 329 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:10,600 Speaker 1: selections nearly impossible for the Illinois State Attorney's Office as 330 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:13,359 Speaker 1: far as the public was concerned. Detective Coughlin and the 331 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:17,640 Speaker 1: others were guilty. Over one thousand, one hundred and fifteen 332 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:21,560 Speaker 1: men were interviewed as possible jurors. The case had proved 333 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:24,160 Speaker 1: to be not only the largest selection process to date, 334 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:28,639 Speaker 1: but the longest two The courts swore in the twelve jurors. 335 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:32,440 Speaker 1: The trial began the very next day, and five thousand 336 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:35,040 Speaker 1: people swarmed the court house attempting to be one of 337 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:37,840 Speaker 1: the lucky two hundred the court room could hold. For 338 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,560 Speaker 1: seven straight weeks, the city was hooked on the trial, 339 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:43,399 Speaker 1: partly for the story and partly for the pure drama 340 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,800 Speaker 1: of it all. A cold rain fell outside the court 341 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:50,560 Speaker 1: house on December twelfth. Despite the dreary weather, a crowd 342 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:54,840 Speaker 1: had gathered anxiously awaiting the juror's verdict. Public outcry was 343 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:57,480 Speaker 1: at a fever pitch, with many calling for the accused 344 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:01,159 Speaker 1: to hang. When the court roomed or swung open, the 345 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:06,840 Speaker 1: crowd fell silent. The verdict had been handed down. Coughlin, O'Sullivan, 346 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:10,600 Speaker 1: and Burke all found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. 347 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:15,840 Speaker 1: John Beggs, however, had been acquitted. With all the dirty 348 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:19,200 Speaker 1: details out, the public viewed Dr Cronin as an innocent 349 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:21,680 Speaker 1: and honest man who had been murdered for shining a 350 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:26,160 Speaker 1: light on the evil and corruption within Irish America. Newspapers 351 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 1: coined the phrase the Trial of the Century when reporting 352 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:31,040 Speaker 1: the Clanigale murder. It was the first time it had 353 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:35,800 Speaker 1: ever been used. A Sullivan, Coughlin, and Burke all arrived 354 00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:40,920 Speaker 1: for their sentence at Joliet Prison in January of eight Unbelievably, 355 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:44,600 Speaker 1: Coughlin appealed, and three years later he managed to convince 356 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:48,480 Speaker 1: the Illinois Supreme Court to retry the case. Before that 357 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:52,720 Speaker 1: could happen, Burke and O'Sullivan both died of tuberculosis. The 358 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:56,080 Speaker 1: former detective survived, though, and soon stood before a jury, 359 00:22:56,600 --> 00:23:00,600 Speaker 1: a jury that most historians believe had been bribed. Despite 360 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:04,040 Speaker 1: the evidence to support his guilt, Coughlin was cleared of 361 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:15,760 Speaker 1: all charges. On a late spring day in May of 362 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:20,640 Speaker 1: eight nine, twelve thousand people lined Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, 363 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:25,440 Speaker 1: outside the First Cavalry Church. The poor stood alongside the rich. 364 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:31,560 Speaker 1: Mothers held babies, and some elders clutched walking sticks. Housewives, bakers, 365 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:35,560 Speaker 1: and business men all waited patiently. Members of every race 366 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:39,760 Speaker 1: and class filled the street. People readily drew a comparison 367 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:42,720 Speaker 1: to the funerals of assassinated Presidents James A. Garfield and 368 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:47,040 Speaker 1: Abraham Lincoln. But this wasn't the president. The people of 369 00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:49,760 Speaker 1: Chicago had come to pay respects to forty two year 370 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:55,520 Speaker 1: old doctor Henry Patrick Cronin his elaborate walnut casket remained closed, 371 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:59,439 Speaker 1: though too much decay, too many gruesome open wounds for 372 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:03,320 Speaker 1: delicate eyes. Instead, the casket was flanked by a large 373 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:05,760 Speaker 1: portrait of Cronan to help him be remembered by the 374 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:10,439 Speaker 1: onlookers as he should be. Armed Irish American sentries stood 375 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:15,560 Speaker 1: watchful in the church's corners. Hyacinths, lush ferns, and other 376 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:20,040 Speaker 1: flowers adorned the space, transforming the interior into a peaceful garden. 377 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:23,480 Speaker 1: A spray of pastel roses and white daisies in the 378 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:25,600 Speaker 1: shape of a cross adorned the head of the casket, 379 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:29,000 Speaker 1: while a harp made entirely of flowers rested at its foot. 380 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:33,320 Speaker 1: The soft flicker of candles cast shadows as mourners paid 381 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:37,639 Speaker 1: their respects. Cronin had written of this day, and he 382 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:42,119 Speaker 1: had been right. The investigation certainly had been extensive, and 383 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:45,600 Speaker 1: his funeral, just as the reporter had suggested, was a 384 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:48,879 Speaker 1: large one, although I doubt anyone had expected it to 385 00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:54,359 Speaker 1: be such a grand farewell. The next morning, on his 386 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:58,879 Speaker 1: procession brought Chicago to a stand still. Just before eleven am. 387 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:01,679 Speaker 1: Paul bearers carried casket from the church to a hearse. 388 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:05,919 Speaker 1: Once it was loaded, four black horses solemnly pulled the 389 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:10,240 Speaker 1: carriage down Michigan Avenue. The procession took over an hour 390 00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:13,600 Speaker 1: to make it through the city streets. Friends filled carriage 391 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:17,480 Speaker 1: after carriage behind Cronan's, and following them a drum corps 392 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:22,080 Speaker 1: led several thousand mourners. Members of a marginal Irish militia, 393 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:25,119 Speaker 1: weapons reserved in a display of honor and respect, marched 394 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:30,280 Speaker 1: behind them. The press reported that over forty tho onlookers 395 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:33,480 Speaker 1: had come to bid the doctor farewell. The street was 396 00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:36,640 Speaker 1: so crowded that some stood tiptoe on stairs, crammed themselves 397 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:39,280 Speaker 1: into doorways, climbed lamp posts, and even took to the 398 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:43,200 Speaker 1: rooftops to get a better look. Twenty thousand awaited the 399 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:46,960 Speaker 1: procession outside of Union Depot, with another five thousand inside. 400 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:51,840 Speaker 1: Three trains carried the casket and mourners of Cavalry Cemetery 401 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:55,320 Speaker 1: in Evanston, where Dr Cronin, his work now done, was 402 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:58,840 Speaker 1: finally laid to rest. The good Doctor may not have 403 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:02,320 Speaker 1: brought down Alexander's Olivan in life, but he did in death. 404 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:07,440 Speaker 1: People protested against secret societies and the Church denounced Clan Niguel, 405 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:11,000 Speaker 1: and by the time Dr Cronin was laid to rest, 406 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:24,080 Speaker 1: the secrets of Clan Niguel were secret no more. There's 407 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:26,879 Speaker 1: more to this story. Stick around after this brief sponsor 408 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:35,520 Speaker 1: break to hear all about it. Alfred began his studies 409 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:38,359 Speaker 1: in chemistry in St. Petersburg, Russia. In eighteen fifty nine, 410 00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:43,000 Speaker 1: but after the family business went bankrupt, he moved to Stockholm. 411 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:46,920 Speaker 1: There he became obsessed with explosives and kniter glycerin. In particular, 412 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:50,560 Speaker 1: he and his family understood all too well knitter glycern's power. 413 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 1: An explosion that the family factory had killed his younger brother. 414 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:57,520 Speaker 1: The tragedy made Alfred determined to find a safer, more 415 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:02,320 Speaker 1: stable alternative, and in eighteen sixty seven, after years of 416 00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:06,240 Speaker 1: hard work, he found it. Purely by accident. He discovered 417 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:11,399 Speaker 1: the diet tamacious earth absorbed and stabilized nitroglycerin. Alfred called 418 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:14,359 Speaker 1: his new discovery dynamite, from the Greek word for power, 419 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:19,760 Speaker 1: and before long dynamite made him wealthy. He owned nearly 420 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:23,320 Speaker 1: a hundred factories, all of which made explosives, ammunition, and 421 00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:28,040 Speaker 1: other military weapons. Dynamite has a lot of uses. It 422 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:31,520 Speaker 1: can help excavate large quantities of rock, bring down old buildings, 423 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:35,480 Speaker 1: and so much more. But human nature, being what it is, 424 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:40,200 Speaker 1: people found a darker use as well. Soon enough, dynamite 425 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 1: was the weapon of choice for bomb makers like Clenniguel. 426 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:49,160 Speaker 1: The first anarchist terrorist attack in America occurred on May fourth, 427 00:27:49,359 --> 00:27:53,320 Speaker 1: eighty six during a labor demonstration at Haymarket Square in Chicago, 428 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 1: a bomb was thrown at the police, starting a riot. 429 00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:00,280 Speaker 1: Eleven people died that day and many more were in jared. 430 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:05,080 Speaker 1: Two years later, Alfred's other brother, Ludwig died of a 431 00:28:05,119 --> 00:28:08,960 Speaker 1: heart attack. A French newspaper mixed the two brothers up, though, 432 00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:13,840 Speaker 1: and wrote a scathing obituary of Alfred instead. The reporter 433 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,320 Speaker 1: wrote that Alfred had been a merchant of death, and 434 00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:18,960 Speaker 1: that his riches had come from inventing ways to mutilate 435 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:22,680 Speaker 1: and kill people. As you can imagine, it's not every 436 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:24,840 Speaker 1: day that you get to read your own obituary, and 437 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:28,159 Speaker 1: one filled with such vitriol at that. I'm sure the 438 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:30,960 Speaker 1: newspaper corrected the error, but the remarks had made a 439 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:34,720 Speaker 1: profound impact on Alfred. In his heart, he knew himself 440 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:37,560 Speaker 1: to be a peaceful man, but seeing himself from this 441 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:44,160 Speaker 1: new perspective was eye opening. On November he sat down 442 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:47,040 Speaker 1: and rewrote his will, altering it in such a way 443 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:49,560 Speaker 1: that no reporter could do anything other than cast him 444 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:52,760 Speaker 1: in a better light. He was going to will a 445 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:55,080 Speaker 1: good deal of his fortune to the betterment and support 446 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:58,160 Speaker 1: of scientists and inventors around the world. It was a 447 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:02,920 Speaker 1: daunting and highly ambitious effort. In one thousand words, though 448 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:06,400 Speaker 1: he summed it up. Awards would be given to individuals 449 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:09,400 Speaker 1: for the greatest work that benefited mankind in the previous year, 450 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:13,479 Speaker 1: and he created five categories, three of which were reserved 451 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:17,480 Speaker 1: for physics, chemistry, and medicine. The fourth award would go 452 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:19,840 Speaker 1: to an author of the most outstanding work in literature, 453 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:22,960 Speaker 1: and the fifth and final award would go to the 454 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,320 Speaker 1: person who shall have done the most or the best 455 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:28,400 Speaker 1: work for fraternity between the nations, and the abolition or 456 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:31,920 Speaker 1: reduction of standing armies, and the formation and spreading of 457 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:36,560 Speaker 1: peace congresses. His family name had been associated with war 458 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:40,960 Speaker 1: and destruction for years, but Alfred Nobel changed all of 459 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:44,120 Speaker 1: that by dedicating his fortune to an award respected by 460 00:29:44,120 --> 00:30:01,800 Speaker 1: the entire world today, The Nobel Prize American Shadows is 461 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:05,440 Speaker 1: hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum. This episode was written by Michelle 462 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:09,800 Speaker 1: Muto with researcher Robin Miniter, and produced by Miranda Hawkins 463 00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:14,400 Speaker 1: and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Minky, Alex Williams, 464 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:17,320 Speaker 1: and Matt Frederick. To learn more about the show, visit 465 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:20,480 Speaker 1: Grim and mil dot com. For more podcasts from my 466 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:24,080 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 467 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:26,000 Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts.