1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey guys, the show is currently on break 3 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: until the new year, but we've got plenty of classic 4 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:10,760 Speaker 1: episodes to tide you over. Enjoy this trip through the 5 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:13,399 Speaker 1: show's own history, and I'll see you back here on 6 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: January second with a batch of brand new episodes. See 7 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: you then. Welcome to This Day in History Class from 8 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works dot Com and from the desk of 9 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:25,759 Speaker 1: Stuff You Missed in History Class. It's the show where 10 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: we explore the past one day at a time with 11 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 1: a quick look at what happened today in history. Hello, 12 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I am sitting in for Tracy V. Wilson. 13 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:42,239 Speaker 1: This week. It's December and on this day in nine, 14 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 1: Carrie Nation smashed the bar at the Carry Hotel in Wichita, Kansas, 15 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 1: and I will tell you why she did that. Nation 16 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: was born Carrie Amelia Moore in Kentucky on November On 17 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: November one, eighteen sixty seven, at the age of twenty one, 18 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: Carrie married a man named Charles Gloyd, but she left 19 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 1: Gloyd just a few months into the marriage when she 20 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: found out she was pregnant. She believed that Charles could 21 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:12,560 Speaker 1: not support a family because he was an alcoholic, and 22 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 1: Charles died shortly after the baby was born. Carrie next 23 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:20,960 Speaker 1: married a journalist, lawyer, and preacher named David Nation, who 24 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:23,720 Speaker 1: she believed had been sent to her by God after 25 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 1: she prayed for a solution to her problem of being 26 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:29,800 Speaker 1: a single mother with no income. The marriage was not 27 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 1: very happy, though, according to Carrie's autobiography, the biggest conflict 28 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: was that she was much more devout than her preacher husband. 29 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: Carrie's faith continued to grow throughout her life. At a 30 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: Methodist conference in Texas in four she was deeply moved 31 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: during one of the sermons, later writing of the experience, quote, 32 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: my first impression was that an angel was talking and 33 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: that the house was ascending to heaven. I felt my 34 00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: natural heart expanding to an enormous size, and this moment 35 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:03,640 Speaker 1: led her to the decision that she should devote her 36 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: entire life to God. Carrie became involved in charity work 37 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:10,800 Speaker 1: in Medicine Lodge, Kansas, where she and David had moved, 38 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: working with women's and children's causes and starting a local 39 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,680 Speaker 1: chapter of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. It was through 40 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: her volunteer work offering religious counseling to imprisoned men that 41 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: carry determined that most criminal behavior was linked to alcohol, 42 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 1: which only intensified her fervor for temperance. She began to 43 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: organize protests, which consisted of groups of women like herself, 44 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:39,240 Speaker 1: gathering outside or just inside of bars and saloons to 45 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 1: sing hymns and talk about God. Nation did not want 46 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: the men who ran those bars and saloons to get 47 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 1: into legal trouble. She literally blamed drink and not them 48 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: for their sins, and so she tried to counter the 49 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:56,960 Speaker 1: lure of alcohol with the promise of religious salvation. She 50 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: also wrote to the county attorney and State attorney men 51 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,400 Speaker 1: times to report the sale of alcohol in Kansas, and 52 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: sometimes got her information on illicit alcohol sales from the 53 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 1: men that she ministered to in jail. In June of 54 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 1: nine hundred, Carrie heard what she believed to be a 55 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: divine voice speaking to her, promising to stand by her 56 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: in her fight against alcohol, and directing her to go 57 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,919 Speaker 1: to Kiowa, Kansas, a place that she knew illegal alcohol 58 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 1: sales were taking place. Carrie Nation traveled immediately to Kiowa, 59 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: walked into a men's club carrying a number of small 60 00:03:32,639 --> 00:03:36,880 Speaker 1: parcels and told the owner, quote Mr Dobson, I told 61 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:39,440 Speaker 1: you last spring to close this place. You did not 62 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: do it. Now I have come down with another remonstrance. 63 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 1: Get out of the way. I do not want to 64 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: strike you, but I am going to break this place up. 65 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: And then she hurled her parcels, which were in fact 66 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 1: paper wrapped bricks around the bar, making good on her 67 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: promise to destroy the place. This was the first in 68 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 1: a law series of bar smashings performed by carry but 69 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: one of the most famous was the assault on the 70 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: Carrie Hotel on December, a bar that she selected as 71 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: a target because of an indecent painting that was hanging 72 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:16,599 Speaker 1: above the bar. She went at the place with a 73 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 1: cane that she had reinforced by strapping an iron rod 74 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 1: to it, and she did thousands of dollars of damage 75 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 1: in the process, and that resulted in her arrest. Her 76 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 1: time in jail did not deter Carrie Nation. She continued 77 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: in her mission to destroy establishments that served spirits or 78 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:36,919 Speaker 1: alcohol of any kind, and she became quite famous in 79 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 1: the process, particularly for her use of a hatchet as 80 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 1: a means of destruction, something that she adopted during one 81 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: of her many smashings, which she started to call hatchetations. 82 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: She went on to start to temperance newspapers, and she 83 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:55,679 Speaker 1: made public appearances both in the US and abroad, always 84 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:59,039 Speaker 1: with her trusty hatchet and bible, always speaking about the 85 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 1: importance of temper and selling souvenir photos of herself holding 86 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:06,800 Speaker 1: that hatchet and bible along the way. Carrie died in 87 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 1: nineteen eleven after collapsing during a speaking engagement. She did 88 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:13,520 Speaker 1: not live long enough to see the Eighteenth Amendment past 89 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:18,239 Speaker 1: in nineteen nineteen, which outlawed alcohol sales nationally. She also 90 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:21,400 Speaker 1: did not live to see its repeal in nineteen thirty three, 91 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,839 Speaker 1: which ended prohibition. If you would like to learn more 92 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 1: about Carrie Nation and her life, which is quite fascinating, uh, 93 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,360 Speaker 1: there is a two part episode by Stuff you Missed 94 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: in History Class in the archives. You can find that 95 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: in July. I want to thank Chandler Mays and Casey 96 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:40,839 Speaker 1: Pegram for their work on the audio for this show, 97 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:43,280 Speaker 1: and I want to thank you for listening. You'd like 98 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:45,359 Speaker 1: to hear more, you can subscribe to This Day in 99 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:49,440 Speaker 1: History Class on I Heart Radio's app at Apple Podcasts 100 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:53,040 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to podcasts tomorrow you should come 101 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:55,239 Speaker 1: back because we're going to talk about an important moment 102 00:05:55,360 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 1: in early film history. Hey y'all, it's Eaves. I'm at 103 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: home keeping warm for the holidays. But history does not stop, 104 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: so let's get into another episode. The day was December twelve. 105 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: The Laws of Bordighos, a set of laws regulating the 106 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:36,279 Speaker 1: relationship between Spaniards and indigenous people in the America's, was 107 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:40,479 Speaker 1: promulgated in Bordighos, Crown of Castile. Though the Laws of 108 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:44,320 Speaker 1: Bordergos have been recognized for even attempting to improve the 109 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:48,719 Speaker 1: treatment of indigenous people, they've been criticized for not truly 110 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 1: doing anything to make their lives better. As the Spanish 111 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:57,159 Speaker 1: colonized the Caribbean islands, they decimated the indigenous populations that 112 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:01,719 Speaker 1: lived there. When Christopher Columbus and his expeditions in the Caribbean, 113 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:05,040 Speaker 1: the Tana were the largest group of indigenous people of 114 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:08,800 Speaker 1: the Caribbean, but by the mid fi hundreds there were 115 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 1: barely any Tano people left due to the diseases the 116 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: Spaniards brought. Indigenous people were often physically and sexually abused, 117 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:21,000 Speaker 1: they were overworked, and their customs were often stripped away 118 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:25,240 Speaker 1: from them, and many times they were outright killed. Some 119 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: people in Spanish colonial society objected to this mistreatment and abuse. 120 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: Antonio da Montesinos, a friar and missionary on the island 121 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 1: of Hispaniola, called for an end to the enslavement of 122 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 1: and violence committed against the indigenous people on the island 123 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 1: in fifteen eleven. Many colonists rejected the call and denounced 124 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: Antonio da Montesinos, but King Ferdinand the Second called an 125 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:53,800 Speaker 1: ecclesiastical and academic panel to decide how to deal with 126 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 1: the mistreatment of indigenous people in the Caribbean. On December twelve, 127 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 1: Ferdinand the Second issued the Laws of Bordigos, officially known 128 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 1: as the Royal Ordinances for the Good Governance and Treatment 129 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:11,160 Speaker 1: of the Indians. The laws were originally intended for the 130 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:14,160 Speaker 1: island of Hispaniola, which is made up of modern day 131 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:17,440 Speaker 1: Haiti and the Dominican Republic, but they were extended to 132 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:22,000 Speaker 1: cover Jamaica and Puerto Rico. The text included thirty five laws. 133 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: Four amendments were later added in July. Of the laws 134 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:32,679 Speaker 1: established Incommendetto's responsibilities towards the people they held in encomienda 135 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 1: and comenda was a legal system instituted by the Spanish 136 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:40,520 Speaker 1: crown that granted colonists the right to collect tribute from, 137 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:44,720 Speaker 1: and control the labor of indigenous people. The laws of 138 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 1: bordigos required that the incommendetto or grantee provide food, lodging, clothing, 139 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: and religious instruction to the people they held in incomenda. 140 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: They also outlined the kinds and amount of labor that 141 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: could be required of those held in and commenda. They 142 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:06,000 Speaker 1: banned corporal punishment of indigenous people, except by certain justices, 143 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:09,439 Speaker 1: but the laws did not address the treatment of indigenous 144 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:13,960 Speaker 1: people during the course of conquest. And Comienda was supposed 145 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 1: to reduce the abuses of the earlier system known as 146 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:21,080 Speaker 1: Robartimiento and allow for a more humane approach to labor 147 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:24,920 Speaker 1: for the indigenous people, but in comienda soon proved to 148 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,920 Speaker 1: be a form of slavery, and most of the laws 149 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:31,840 Speaker 1: of the bordergost Code were not enforced. Throughout the early 150 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: fifteen hundreds, people continued to decry the treatment of indigenous people. 151 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 1: Bartolome de las casas, a former incomendero, spoke out against 152 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:44,360 Speaker 1: the mistreatment of indigenous people, and in fifteen thirty a 153 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:48,520 Speaker 1: royal decree banned the enslavement of indigenous people, but violations 154 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 1: happened frequently and the band was reversed four years later. 155 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 1: But the protest continued, and in fifteen forty two the 156 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:58,600 Speaker 1: Council of the Indies wrote the New Laws of the 157 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 1: Indies for the Good Treatment and Preservation of the Indians. 158 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 1: King Charles the Five enacted the laws, which abolished indigenous 159 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 1: slavery and ended the incomunda system. While Indigenous people still 160 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:14,400 Speaker 1: had to pay tribute, they could not be demanded to 161 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:18,200 Speaker 1: work for free. The new laws were opposed by many 162 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 1: colonists in the America's It did lead to the liberation 163 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:26,800 Speaker 1: of some indigenous laborers, but in five the King revoked 164 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:30,040 Speaker 1: the controversial law, stating that Inco Mandetto's could not pass 165 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:33,520 Speaker 1: on encomenda to their heirs. A lighter version of the 166 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:37,560 Speaker 1: new laws was issued in fiftifty two. I'm Eve step 167 00:10:37,679 --> 00:10:40,400 Speaker 1: Coote and hopefully you know a little more about history 168 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:44,400 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. If you have any questions 169 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: or comments, feel free to send us a shout on Facebook, 170 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:51,960 Speaker 1: Instagram or Twitter at t d I h C podcast 171 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,440 Speaker 1: and if you prefer email. Send us a note at 172 00:10:55,480 --> 00:10:59,640 Speaker 1: this Day at I heart media dot com. Thanks again 173 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:21,120 Speaker 1: for listen name and we'll see you tomorrow. Hello, and 174 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:24,200 Speaker 1: welcome to This Day in History Class, a show that 175 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 1: uncovers a little bit more about history every day. I'm 176 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,360 Speaker 1: Gay Bluesier, and in this episode we're looking at the 177 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:44,600 Speaker 1: early days of firefighting in the Hawaiian Islands. The day 178 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:52,040 Speaker 1: was December eighteen fifty. King Kamehameha the third established and 179 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:56,120 Speaker 1: joined the Honolulu Fire Department, the first in the Hawaiian 180 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 1: Islands and the only one in the world to include 181 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:05,240 Speaker 1: monarch as active members. Remarkably, this kingly act of public 182 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:09,840 Speaker 1: service wasn't a one time thing. In fact, three of 183 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:14,479 Speaker 1: the king's successors also joined the island's first fire brigade. 184 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:19,320 Speaker 1: Kings Kamehameha the fourth, kamey Ameya the fifth, and Kala 185 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:23,720 Speaker 1: Kawa were all active members of the Honolulu Fire Department 186 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:29,000 Speaker 1: during their reigns. In the mid eighteen hundreds, firefighting equipment 187 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:33,360 Speaker 1: was limited mostly to buckets and giant water tubs on wheels. 188 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:38,400 Speaker 1: Manual water pumps and hoses were available, but not every 189 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 1: city had them. In Honolulu, the situation was even worse 190 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:47,400 Speaker 1: because there was no organized system for fighting fires whatsoever. 191 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:52,840 Speaker 1: That finally changed on November sixth, eighteen fifty, when a 192 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:57,280 Speaker 1: man named W. C. Park formed the first volunteer fire 193 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:01,720 Speaker 1: Brigade in the Hawaiian Islands. That same day, as if 194 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:04,960 Speaker 1: to highlight the need for such a service, a fire 195 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:10,079 Speaker 1: broke out and destroyed eleven homes in Honolulu. The volunteer 196 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:14,440 Speaker 1: brigade was not yet an official fire department, but thanks 197 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:18,719 Speaker 1: to interest from King Kamehameha the Third, the volunteers were 198 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:21,880 Speaker 1: given equipment to use in the meantime while all the 199 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:27,000 Speaker 1: details were sorted out. This amounted to sixty buckets, which 200 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:31,440 Speaker 1: were painted red and marked as Engine number one. The 201 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,880 Speaker 1: money for the buckets was issued by the Privy Council, 202 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: a body of advisers to the King. They made it 203 00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:41,840 Speaker 1: clear that the buckets were only at the disposal of 204 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:46,280 Speaker 1: the fire brigade until the organization of the fire department 205 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:49,920 Speaker 1: was official. At such time, they would have to hand 206 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 1: over the buckets to the new fire chief no exceptions. 207 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 1: The process took nearly two months, but on December eighteen fifty, 208 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:05,680 Speaker 1: Kabaameha the Third signed legislation that formerly established the Honolulu 209 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:11,559 Speaker 1: Volunteer Fire Department. His contribution wasn't just signing the paperwork either. 210 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:15,320 Speaker 1: When the fire alarm would sound, the king would respond 211 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:20,320 Speaker 1: and get to work right alongside the other volunteers. W. C. 212 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:23,800 Speaker 1: Park served as the acting fire chief of the newly 213 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:28,200 Speaker 1: formed department, but in February of eighteen fifty one, the 214 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:33,320 Speaker 1: Governor of Oahu appointed Alexander Cartwright Junior to the full 215 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:38,640 Speaker 1: time role. Under his leadership, the department grew quickly. In 216 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 1: August of that year, Engine Company Number One was able 217 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:46,360 Speaker 1: to upgrade their buckets to an actual fire engine, which 218 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 1: had been purchased second hand. To be clear, this wasn't 219 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:53,160 Speaker 1: a fire truck. It was a water tank and a 220 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:58,600 Speaker 1: manual pump mounted on wheels. Most engines were pulled by horses, 221 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:01,800 Speaker 1: but in the first few years of the Honolulu Department, 222 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:07,440 Speaker 1: their engine was pulled by the firefighters themselves. Reportedly, it 223 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:09,880 Speaker 1: didn't go so well the first time the engine was 224 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,920 Speaker 1: used to fight a fire. When the water tank ran dry, 225 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 1: the volunteers tried to connect the engine suction pipe down 226 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:22,880 Speaker 1: and nearby water well, but they mistakenly tapped a cesspool instead. 227 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:28,120 Speaker 1: They did get the fire put out, but it wasn't pretty. 228 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:32,120 Speaker 1: In its first ten years, the department expanded to include 229 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 1: several more hand drawn engine companies, as well as a 230 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:39,880 Speaker 1: hook and ladder company. Each of the four engine companies 231 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:44,480 Speaker 1: had more than fifty volunteer members, including Company number four, 232 00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 1: which was made up exclusively of Native Hawaiians. The four 233 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:52,480 Speaker 1: Kings who joined the fire department were all members of 234 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:57,480 Speaker 1: Company number four. In eighteen seventy eight, of fifth engine 235 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:02,000 Speaker 1: company was added. This one composed of Chinese volunteers who 236 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:06,880 Speaker 1: primarily lived in the Chinatown area of downtown Honolulu. The 237 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:11,200 Speaker 1: neighborhood was the site of two of the department's worst fires, 238 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:15,360 Speaker 1: first in eighteen eighty six and then again in nineteen hundred. 239 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:21,000 Speaker 1: Although it's hard to imagine, the city's firefighters remained unpaid 240 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:25,960 Speaker 1: volunteers until the eighteen eighties, and even then, how much 241 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 1: and how often they were paid depended on their rank 242 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 1: and on how many fires they helped put out. Finally, 243 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:38,120 Speaker 1: in eighteen ninety three, the Hawaiian legislature passed a law 244 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:43,760 Speaker 1: funding regular salaries for everyone at the fire Department. Around 245 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:47,840 Speaker 1: the same time, the department changed in other ways as well. 246 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:52,600 Speaker 1: They replaced their manual water pumps with new steam powered engines, 247 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:56,440 Speaker 1: and they even purchased horses to pull them. The first 248 00:16:56,560 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 1: motorized fire engine arrived in Honolulu in nineteen twelve, and 249 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:06,840 Speaker 1: by nineteen twenty the department was fully motorized. Two decades later, 250 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:11,639 Speaker 1: the Honolulu Fire Department faced its greatest challenge yet, the 251 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:16,879 Speaker 1: Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. On the morning of December seven, 252 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:22,679 Speaker 1: three companies engines won four and six, were sent to 253 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:26,320 Speaker 1: Hickam Air Force Base to fight the fires caused by 254 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:31,199 Speaker 1: the attacking planes. When the smoke finally cleared at Hickham Field, 255 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:36,720 Speaker 1: six firefighters were injured and three others were dead. The 256 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:41,080 Speaker 1: men were awarded Purple Hearts for their brave service, making 257 00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:45,320 Speaker 1: them the only civilian firefighters to ever receive the honor. 258 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:49,600 Speaker 1: They're likely to remain the only ones too, because the 259 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:52,840 Speaker 1: Purple Heart is now only awarded two members of the 260 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:58,080 Speaker 1: armed forces wounded in combat. When Hawaii became the fiftieth 261 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:02,600 Speaker 1: state of the United States nineteen fifty nine, the Honolulu 262 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:07,639 Speaker 1: Fire Department claimed yet another distinction. It became the only 263 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:11,040 Speaker 1: fire department in the country to have been established by 264 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:15,280 Speaker 1: a ruling monarch. Not only that, it's the only one 265 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:19,840 Speaker 1: who have served its community under a monarchy, a provisional government, 266 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:24,520 Speaker 1: a republic, a territory, and lastly a state of the Union. 267 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:29,400 Speaker 1: That's a remarkable legacy of public service, and it continues 268 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,960 Speaker 1: to this day. The men and women of the Honolulu 269 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:37,200 Speaker 1: Fire Department no longer rely on buckets and hand drawn engines, 270 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:40,720 Speaker 1: but they remain just as committed to keeping their cities 271 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:47,960 Speaker 1: safe and fire free. Mahallow, I'm Gabe Louzier, and hopefully 272 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:51,320 Speaker 1: you now know a little more about history today than 273 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:54,560 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. If you have a second and you're 274 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:58,200 Speaker 1: so inclined, you can follow the show on Twitter, Facebook, 275 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:02,800 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t d HC Show, and if you 276 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:05,639 Speaker 1: have any comments or suggestions, you can send them my 277 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:09,000 Speaker 1: way by writing to this Day at i heart media 278 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:12,879 Speaker 1: dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 279 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:15,720 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 280 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:26,520 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another Day in History class. For more 281 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:29,080 Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 282 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:31,720 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.