WEBVTT - A Violent Week In Kansas History

0:00:08.245 --> 0:00:13.685
<v Speaker 1>School of Humans. Well, hello, hello, filth heads. Here we are.

0:00:13.925 --> 0:00:18.125
<v Speaker 2>I am recording this on Tuesday, November fifth, twenty twenty four,

0:00:18.165 --> 0:00:22.725
<v Speaker 2>which is the day before the election, so yesterday if

0:00:22.765 --> 0:00:26.005
<v Speaker 2>you're an avid listener like that. So I don't know

0:00:26.045 --> 0:00:29.045
<v Speaker 2>what the results of the election are in this current moment.

0:00:29.645 --> 0:00:32.485
<v Speaker 2>Did anything bad happen? Is there a civil war going on?

0:00:32.525 --> 0:00:33.205
<v Speaker 2>What's going on?

0:00:33.405 --> 0:00:33.765
<v Speaker 1>Tell me?

0:00:34.685 --> 0:00:36.685
<v Speaker 2>And since this is coming out after the election, I

0:00:36.725 --> 0:00:39.805
<v Speaker 2>had a really big choice for today's episode. I was like,

0:00:39.845 --> 0:00:42.165
<v Speaker 2>I could do something that has absolutely nothing to do

0:00:42.205 --> 0:00:46.765
<v Speaker 2>with elections and treat ourselves to a little escapism, or

0:00:47.045 --> 0:00:49.965
<v Speaker 2>I could just really lean into it and do something

0:00:50.045 --> 0:00:54.125
<v Speaker 2>that's upsetting. And if you guys can believe it, I

0:00:54.165 --> 0:00:58.685
<v Speaker 2>went with upsetting. So let's look at another election, an

0:00:58.725 --> 0:01:01.405
<v Speaker 2>election that did in fact lead to a civil war.

0:01:01.685 --> 0:01:06.485
<v Speaker 2>In fact, the Civil War one of those controversial elections

0:01:06.485 --> 0:01:09.965
<v Speaker 2>in American history, and it wasn't even for a president.

0:01:11.045 --> 0:01:14.725
<v Speaker 2>It was for Kansas during an era that came to

0:01:14.725 --> 0:01:18.445
<v Speaker 2>be known as Bleeding Kansas. No, Kansas was not on

0:01:18.485 --> 0:01:21.605
<v Speaker 2>its period. This was from eighteen fifty four ish to

0:01:21.645 --> 0:01:25.485
<v Speaker 2>eighteen sixty one, when Kansas became a state, and it

0:01:25.525 --> 0:01:27.765
<v Speaker 2>was a time when Americans were deciding whether or not

0:01:27.885 --> 0:01:30.605
<v Speaker 2>Kansas would enter the Union as a free state or

0:01:30.645 --> 0:01:34.085
<v Speaker 2>a slave state. And if you can imagine, a lot

0:01:34.165 --> 0:01:38.445
<v Speaker 2>of people had some very strong opinions about that, which

0:01:38.525 --> 0:01:42.245
<v Speaker 2>led to a period of violence, fighting, deaths, and then

0:01:43.005 --> 0:01:52.005
<v Speaker 2>the Civil War. Cue the theme song. This is American

0:01:52.045 --> 0:01:54.165
<v Speaker 2>Filth and I'm Gabby Watts. Every week I tell you

0:01:54.165 --> 0:01:58.405
<v Speaker 2>a filthy story from American history. This week's episode a

0:01:58.445 --> 0:02:18.685
<v Speaker 2>week of Bleeding Kansas. Okay, so a whole bunch of

0:02:18.685 --> 0:02:21.605
<v Speaker 2>shit went down during the Bleeding Kansas era from eighteen

0:02:21.645 --> 0:02:24.325
<v Speaker 2>fifty four to eighteen sixty one, And what I want

0:02:24.365 --> 0:02:27.245
<v Speaker 2>to do is focus on one week of it, which

0:02:27.325 --> 0:02:31.165
<v Speaker 2>was in May eighteen fifty six, where a lot of violent,

0:02:31.565 --> 0:02:36.325
<v Speaker 2>bad stuff happened. But first we're going to do a

0:02:36.325 --> 0:02:42.405
<v Speaker 2>little summary about what the heck was going on. So

0:02:42.445 --> 0:02:44.685
<v Speaker 2>the big thing that started all of this was the

0:02:44.725 --> 0:02:48.405
<v Speaker 2>passage of the Kansas Nebraska Act of eighteen fifty four.

0:02:49.085 --> 0:02:52.565
<v Speaker 2>This Act was introduced by Senator Stephen A. Douglas, who

0:02:52.645 --> 0:02:55.965
<v Speaker 2>the people called the Little Giant because he was short,

0:02:56.365 --> 0:03:00.605
<v Speaker 2>a mere five to four, but he was loud, and

0:03:00.685 --> 0:03:04.005
<v Speaker 2>he was a big proponent of this thing called popular sovereignty,

0:03:04.485 --> 0:03:07.285
<v Speaker 2>the idea that territories should be able to decide for

0:03:07.325 --> 0:03:11.845
<v Speaker 2>themselves whether or not they wanted to allow slavery. And

0:03:11.885 --> 0:03:15.445
<v Speaker 2>so what the Kansas Nebraska Act did was it repealed

0:03:15.485 --> 0:03:19.805
<v Speaker 2>the Missouri Compromise of eighteen twenty, which had prohibited slavery

0:03:19.925 --> 0:03:25.445
<v Speaker 2>north of the thirty six thirty parallel. So when the

0:03:25.565 --> 0:03:29.725
<v Speaker 2>US opened up Kansas for settlement, a lot of abolitionist

0:03:29.765 --> 0:03:32.245
<v Speaker 2>groups were like, we got to get to Kansas so

0:03:32.245 --> 0:03:34.525
<v Speaker 2>that when they do a vote, we make sure it's

0:03:34.565 --> 0:03:37.365
<v Speaker 2>not a slave state. But then also the pro slavery

0:03:37.365 --> 0:03:39.005
<v Speaker 2>people were like, we got to do the same thing,

0:03:39.005 --> 0:03:42.405
<v Speaker 2>but make sure it is a slave state. So a

0:03:42.405 --> 0:03:45.365
<v Speaker 2>lot of abolitionists and free staters. Free staters, those were

0:03:45.405 --> 0:03:48.205
<v Speaker 2>the people who opposed the expansion of slavery. They moved

0:03:48.245 --> 0:03:52.765
<v Speaker 2>into the Kansas territory. So most of the actual settlers

0:03:52.765 --> 0:03:58.125
<v Speaker 2>who were in Kansas opposed slavery. But when the election

0:03:58.245 --> 0:04:01.525
<v Speaker 2>came around in eighteen fifty five deciding whether or not

0:04:01.565 --> 0:04:04.685
<v Speaker 2>it's a free state or a slave state, the pro

0:04:04.725 --> 0:04:10.445
<v Speaker 2>slavery people one because of election fraud. Ding ding ding ding.

0:04:10.525 --> 0:04:17.365
<v Speaker 2>Have you guys heard about this? Okay, here's what happened.

0:04:17.365 --> 0:04:20.845
<v Speaker 2>There's this main group who I consider the proud Boys

0:04:20.885 --> 0:04:24.965
<v Speaker 2>of Yore. They were called the Border Ruffians. These dudes

0:04:25.005 --> 0:04:29.005
<v Speaker 2>lived in neighboring Missouri, and even before the election in

0:04:29.045 --> 0:04:34.565
<v Speaker 2>eighteen fifty five, they started harassing and intimidating abolitionist settlements.

0:04:35.485 --> 0:04:38.605
<v Speaker 2>But they lived in Missouri. They didn't actually live in Kansas.

0:04:39.525 --> 0:04:42.605
<v Speaker 2>And so came the day of the election on March thirtieth,

0:04:42.685 --> 0:04:47.445
<v Speaker 2>eighteen fifty five. Now, what this election was doing was

0:04:47.485 --> 0:04:52.285
<v Speaker 2>electing delegates to a new legislature, and depending on the

0:04:52.325 --> 0:04:56.365
<v Speaker 2>sentiments of the delegates, Kansas would be a pro slavery

0:04:56.485 --> 0:04:59.045
<v Speaker 2>or a abolitionist state essentially.

0:05:00.845 --> 0:05:03.285
<v Speaker 1>And what the Border Ruffians.

0:05:02.685 --> 0:05:07.125
<v Speaker 2>Did, those dudes from Missouri, is they came over and

0:05:07.165 --> 0:05:09.525
<v Speaker 2>with a loophole in the voting system, they ended up

0:05:09.565 --> 0:05:10.605
<v Speaker 2>casting their votes.

0:05:10.885 --> 0:05:12.605
<v Speaker 1>They're like, I don't live here, but I'm going to vote.

0:05:13.045 --> 0:05:14.845
<v Speaker 1>And not only that, they.

0:05:14.885 --> 0:05:19.445
<v Speaker 2>Also stuffed the ballot boxes with hundreds of additional fake ballots.

0:05:21.765 --> 0:05:25.365
<v Speaker 2>And the result of this election fraud well, thirty seven

0:05:25.405 --> 0:05:28.925
<v Speaker 2>of the thirty nine seats in that legislature were won

0:05:29.045 --> 0:05:36.685
<v Speaker 2>by pro slavery people. But the free Staters, the abolitionists,

0:05:36.685 --> 0:05:39.965
<v Speaker 2>they were like, what the hell this is a load

0:05:39.965 --> 0:05:40.605
<v Speaker 2>of bull crap.

0:05:40.685 --> 0:05:42.325
<v Speaker 1>They don't even actually live here.

0:05:43.125 --> 0:05:48.245
<v Speaker 2>They committed voter fraud, and it was pretty obvious that

0:05:48.365 --> 0:05:51.525
<v Speaker 2>voter fraud happened because a lot more ballots were passed,

0:05:51.725 --> 0:05:54.285
<v Speaker 2>because a lot more ballots were cast than people who

0:05:54.325 --> 0:05:58.205
<v Speaker 2>actually lived in Kansas. Because remember the people who actually

0:05:58.245 --> 0:06:01.165
<v Speaker 2>lived in Kansas, most of those people were against slavery.

0:06:01.765 --> 0:06:04.845
<v Speaker 2>And so the free Staters were pissed and they're trying

0:06:04.845 --> 0:06:08.325
<v Speaker 2>to put pressure on the territorial governor and your reader

0:06:08.405 --> 0:06:11.725
<v Speaker 2>to do something. But he ended up pissing off everyone

0:06:11.765 --> 0:06:15.965
<v Speaker 2>by being noncommittal. Instead of being like, oh, no, shut up,

0:06:16.005 --> 0:06:20.525
<v Speaker 2>Free Staters, these elections were correct, what he did was like,

0:06:20.605 --> 0:06:23.605
<v Speaker 2>I'm going to say eleven of these elections were fraudulent.

0:06:24.325 --> 0:06:26.325
<v Speaker 1>He was like, I'm going to go somewhere in the middle.

0:06:26.805 --> 0:06:28.805
<v Speaker 2>And then when they did a special election for those

0:06:28.805 --> 0:06:33.365
<v Speaker 2>eleven seats, free Staters won eight of them, but still

0:06:33.765 --> 0:06:38.045
<v Speaker 2>the pro slavery delegates outnumbered the free Staters twenty nine

0:06:38.085 --> 0:06:40.885
<v Speaker 2>to ten. By can you believe it, That's not the

0:06:40.965 --> 0:06:45.405
<v Speaker 2>end of this drama. After these special elections, the pro

0:06:45.445 --> 0:06:49.485
<v Speaker 2>slavery people were like, ugh, those special elections don't count.

0:06:50.165 --> 0:06:52.445
<v Speaker 2>We're going to set up shop with the original delegates

0:06:52.485 --> 0:06:55.485
<v Speaker 2>from the March election, and the Free.

0:06:55.285 --> 0:06:56.925
<v Speaker 1>Staters were like, well, fuck all of that.

0:06:57.245 --> 0:07:00.765
<v Speaker 2>All of these elections were fraudulent, and they set up

0:07:00.805 --> 0:07:08.285
<v Speaker 2>their own rival government in Topeka. The president at the

0:07:08.325 --> 0:07:11.165
<v Speaker 2>time was President Pierce, and he was really into slavery,

0:07:11.725 --> 0:07:13.325
<v Speaker 2>and so he was really pissed off at all the

0:07:13.365 --> 0:07:16.165
<v Speaker 2>Free Staters, and he was pissed off by the territorial

0:07:16.205 --> 0:07:19.365
<v Speaker 2>governor for allowing a special election, and he was pissed

0:07:19.365 --> 0:07:22.285
<v Speaker 2>off that they were starting another rival government at Topeka.

0:07:23.325 --> 0:07:25.125
<v Speaker 2>And so to Andrew Reader, he was like, you're a

0:07:25.125 --> 0:07:28.045
<v Speaker 2>super little bit, You're fired. And then he appointed this

0:07:28.165 --> 0:07:32.725
<v Speaker 2>new guy who was pro slavery named Wilson Shannon. And

0:07:32.725 --> 0:07:36.805
<v Speaker 2>Andrew Reader literally fled Kansas in disguise because he was

0:07:36.845 --> 0:07:39.205
<v Speaker 2>scared someone would shoot him in the face.

0:07:40.525 --> 0:07:42.325
<v Speaker 1>So, yeah, there was a lot of stuff going on

0:07:42.405 --> 0:07:43.845
<v Speaker 1>that was the political side of it.

0:07:44.525 --> 0:07:48.365
<v Speaker 2>On the violent side of it, since eighteen fifty four,

0:07:49.045 --> 0:07:51.965
<v Speaker 2>border Ruffians had been coming into Kansas to kind of

0:07:52.005 --> 0:07:55.605
<v Speaker 2>beat up on pre Staters, but then abolitionists would also

0:07:55.685 --> 0:08:00.765
<v Speaker 2>attack pro slavery people, so there was a lot of hitting, shooting,

0:08:00.805 --> 0:08:04.165
<v Speaker 2>and killing people going on. By eighteen fifty six. Many

0:08:04.165 --> 0:08:08.645
<v Speaker 2>people had died in total during these years. Some historians

0:08:08.725 --> 0:08:11.325
<v Speaker 2>think like fifty five people died, other people think more

0:08:11.365 --> 0:08:14.445
<v Speaker 2>like two hundred. And also it was kind of like

0:08:14.485 --> 0:08:17.365
<v Speaker 2>a free for all because the federal government wasn't really

0:08:17.405 --> 0:08:20.685
<v Speaker 2>doing anything about the violence. So let's go to that

0:08:20.725 --> 0:08:23.165
<v Speaker 2>week in May eighteen fifty six when a lot of

0:08:23.205 --> 0:08:26.165
<v Speaker 2>people got the shit beat out of them or were killed.

0:08:29.205 --> 0:08:31.765
<v Speaker 2>The first huge event that happened was on May twenty first,

0:08:31.845 --> 0:08:35.925
<v Speaker 2>eighteen fifty six, the day of the sacking of Lawrence.

0:08:36.725 --> 0:08:39.005
<v Speaker 2>So Lawrence was a town that had been founded by

0:08:39.045 --> 0:08:44.445
<v Speaker 2>anti slavery settlers, primarily from the New England Immigrant Aid Company.

0:08:45.645 --> 0:08:47.125
<v Speaker 2>These are people who are like, we got to get

0:08:47.165 --> 0:08:48.965
<v Speaker 2>to Kansas, we got to live there to make sure

0:08:49.005 --> 0:08:53.645
<v Speaker 2>it's a free state. And Lawrence was considered a stronghold

0:08:53.725 --> 0:08:58.725
<v Speaker 2>of the free state movement. One of their enemies was

0:08:58.805 --> 0:09:00.125
<v Speaker 2>Sheriff Samuel J.

0:09:00.405 --> 0:09:00.885
<v Speaker 1>Jones.

0:09:03.485 --> 0:09:07.165
<v Speaker 2>A month before this, Shareff Jones had attempted to arrest

0:09:07.205 --> 0:09:11.205
<v Speaker 2>several free state settlers who were implicated in the resistance

0:09:11.245 --> 0:09:16.565
<v Speaker 2>against pro slavery forces. He was in Lawrence trying to

0:09:16.605 --> 0:09:20.445
<v Speaker 2>serve some warrants to some abolitionists, but while he was

0:09:20.485 --> 0:09:24.045
<v Speaker 2>camped outside trying to make these arrests. He was shot

0:09:24.125 --> 0:09:29.365
<v Speaker 2>by an unknown assailant in the night. The bullet wounded

0:09:29.445 --> 0:09:31.965
<v Speaker 2>him and either his back or shoulder, not exactly clear,

0:09:32.285 --> 0:09:36.045
<v Speaker 2>but he survived the injury, and now he was super pissed.

0:09:36.885 --> 0:09:42.485
<v Speaker 2>He wanted his revenge against Lawrence, specifically, so he in

0:09:42.645 --> 0:09:46.845
<v Speaker 2>eight hundred Border Ruffians gathered outside of Lawrence ready to

0:09:46.925 --> 0:09:54.085
<v Speaker 2>attack on May twenty first, but before the onslaught, obviously,

0:09:54.165 --> 0:09:56.325
<v Speaker 2>to get them nice and ready for the attack, they

0:09:56.365 --> 0:10:00.565
<v Speaker 2>had a pep talk from a former US senator, Democrat

0:10:00.765 --> 0:10:06.885
<v Speaker 2>David Brice Atkinson from Missouri. Atkinson was extremely pro slavery,

0:10:07.605 --> 0:10:09.325
<v Speaker 2>like he was all in for the repeal of the

0:10:09.325 --> 0:10:14.205
<v Speaker 2>Missouri Compromise, and he was really nervous about Kansas becoming

0:10:14.245 --> 0:10:16.965
<v Speaker 2>a free state. He was like, if they're a free state,

0:10:17.005 --> 0:10:19.405
<v Speaker 2>it's right next to Missouri. In Missouri, they're going to

0:10:19.445 --> 0:10:22.725
<v Speaker 2>make us be a free state. In eighteen fifty five,

0:10:22.765 --> 0:10:25.125
<v Speaker 2>he wrote this letter to a colleague about repealing the

0:10:25.125 --> 0:10:29.485
<v Speaker 2>Missouri Compromise. We are playing for a mighty stake. If

0:10:29.485 --> 0:10:32.525
<v Speaker 2>we win, we carry slavery to the Pacific Ocean. If

0:10:32.565 --> 0:10:36.045
<v Speaker 2>we fail, we lose Missouri. Arkansas and Texas and all

0:10:36.085 --> 0:10:42.925
<v Speaker 2>the territories. The game must be played boldly. So this guy,

0:10:43.005 --> 0:10:46.405
<v Speaker 2>this Senator, on May twenty first, eighteen fifty six, he

0:10:46.525 --> 0:10:49.805
<v Speaker 2>was also in Lawrence, where that eight hundred person mob

0:10:49.925 --> 0:10:55.725
<v Speaker 2>was ready to attack, and he personally incited it. What

0:10:55.965 --> 0:10:59.565
<v Speaker 2>a politician in citing a mob? Never heard of that before?

0:11:00.565 --> 0:11:05.005
<v Speaker 2>He said, gentlemen, officers and soldiers, this is the most

0:11:05.045 --> 0:11:07.805
<v Speaker 2>glory day of my life. This is the day I

0:11:07.845 --> 0:11:11.645
<v Speaker 2>am a border Ruffian. And now allow me and true

0:11:12.045 --> 0:11:15.645
<v Speaker 2>border Ruffian style, to extend to you the right hand

0:11:15.685 --> 0:11:18.845
<v Speaker 2>of fellowship. Men of the South. I greet you as

0:11:18.925 --> 0:11:22.605
<v Speaker 2>border Ruffian brothers. Though I have seen more years than

0:11:22.645 --> 0:11:24.885
<v Speaker 2>most of you, I am yet young in the same

0:11:24.965 --> 0:11:27.805
<v Speaker 2>glorious cause that has made you leave your homes in

0:11:27.845 --> 0:11:31.125
<v Speaker 2>the South. Boys, I am one of your number today,

0:11:31.525 --> 0:11:33.645
<v Speaker 2>and today you will have a glorious.

0:11:33.245 --> 0:11:34.125
<v Speaker 1>Duty to perform.

0:11:34.485 --> 0:11:37.605
<v Speaker 2>Today you will earn laurels that will ever show you

0:11:37.645 --> 0:11:41.605
<v Speaker 2>to have been true sons of the noble South. Now, boys,

0:11:42.005 --> 0:11:44.845
<v Speaker 2>let your work be well done. Faint not as you

0:11:44.885 --> 0:11:48.285
<v Speaker 2>approach the city of Lawrence, but remembering your mission, act

0:11:48.405 --> 0:11:53.245
<v Speaker 2>with true Southern heroism, and at the word spring your

0:11:53.325 --> 0:11:58.645
<v Speaker 2>bloodhounds at home upon that accursed abolition whole, break through

0:11:58.725 --> 0:12:03.245
<v Speaker 2>everything that may oppose you, never flinching and courage, Yes,

0:12:03.485 --> 0:12:08.045
<v Speaker 2>or Ruffians, draw your revolt and bowied knives and cool

0:12:08.125 --> 0:12:11.245
<v Speaker 2>them in the heart's blood of all those dogs that

0:12:11.485 --> 0:12:14.285
<v Speaker 2>dare defend the breathing whole of hell.

0:12:17.965 --> 0:12:19.045
<v Speaker 1>Little dramatic, is it not.

0:12:20.365 --> 0:12:25.245
<v Speaker 2>And so after this speech about the hellhole of abolitionists,

0:12:25.965 --> 0:12:36.165
<v Speaker 2>the eight hundred border Ruffians attacked. The pro slavery mob,

0:12:36.325 --> 0:12:40.965
<v Speaker 2>ransacked and looted the town. They destroyed the offices of

0:12:41.005 --> 0:12:44.565
<v Speaker 2>the two Free State newspapers, the Herald of Freedom and

0:12:44.605 --> 0:12:48.365
<v Speaker 2>the Kansas Free State, as well as the Free State Hotel,

0:12:48.925 --> 0:12:51.685
<v Speaker 2>which was a prominent building considered as a base for

0:12:51.805 --> 0:12:56.805
<v Speaker 2>anti slavery supporters. The mob shot at the hotel with

0:12:56.885 --> 0:12:59.765
<v Speaker 2>a cannon and then burned the whole thing down.

0:13:02.405 --> 0:13:03.085
<v Speaker 1>The town was.

0:13:03.045 --> 0:13:08.205
<v Speaker 2>Destroyed and several pro staters were killed. The sacking of

0:13:08.285 --> 0:13:11.485
<v Speaker 2>Lawrence was covered in the press across the country.

0:13:12.005 --> 0:13:13.165
<v Speaker 1>People were shocked.

0:13:13.485 --> 0:13:17.365
<v Speaker 2>They were like, what the heck is going on in Kansas?

0:13:18.525 --> 0:13:24.685
<v Speaker 2>Everyone was going crazy. Abolitionists, pro slavery people. They hated

0:13:24.685 --> 0:13:28.405
<v Speaker 2>each other. The country was dividing. And then on the

0:13:28.405 --> 0:13:31.805
<v Speaker 2>floor of the US Senate, there was even more violence.

0:13:33.685 --> 0:13:36.925
<v Speaker 2>We'll be right back after these soothing advertisements.

0:13:43.205 --> 0:13:44.125
<v Speaker 1>On May twenty.

0:13:43.845 --> 0:13:47.205
<v Speaker 2>First, eighteen fifty six, the Border Ruffians sacked the town

0:13:47.245 --> 0:13:48.365
<v Speaker 2>of Lawrence in Kansas.

0:13:48.805 --> 0:13:50.085
<v Speaker 1>It was covered in the press.

0:13:50.685 --> 0:13:56.325
<v Speaker 2>Tensions were rising between abolitionists and pro slavery people. And

0:13:56.405 --> 0:13:58.765
<v Speaker 2>in this same week, just a couple of days before

0:13:58.805 --> 0:14:03.605
<v Speaker 2>this happened, on May nineteenth and twentieth, Senator Charles Sumner

0:14:03.645 --> 0:14:07.925
<v Speaker 2>of Massachusetts, who was an outspoken abolitionist, made a speech

0:14:08.005 --> 0:14:13.885
<v Speaker 2>titled The Crime against Kansas. And this speech was long

0:14:13.925 --> 0:14:16.565
<v Speaker 2>as hell. It took him five hours to deliver over

0:14:16.605 --> 0:14:20.605
<v Speaker 2>two days. He also printed it out for everyone. How nice.

0:14:20.805 --> 0:14:22.765
<v Speaker 2>It was one hundred and twelve pages long, and.

0:14:22.765 --> 0:14:26.445
<v Speaker 1>He memorized the whole thing. That's awesome. I'm just saying

0:14:26.445 --> 0:14:27.485
<v Speaker 1>that because I could never.

0:14:29.165 --> 0:14:32.085
<v Speaker 2>And along with being an abolitionist, some pro slavery people

0:14:32.245 --> 0:14:36.765
<v Speaker 2>hated him because of his fashion choices. Instead of wearing

0:14:36.805 --> 0:14:39.925
<v Speaker 2>all black suits, he liked to wear these tweed coats

0:14:39.965 --> 0:14:45.325
<v Speaker 2>and lavender trousers. But in the speech he condemned the

0:14:45.365 --> 0:14:50.005
<v Speaker 2>pro slavery forces involved in the violence of Bleeding Kansas,

0:14:50.925 --> 0:14:55.485
<v Speaker 2>being like those border Ruffians, they're the instigators. His speech

0:14:55.565 --> 0:14:59.725
<v Speaker 2>was also super critical of the Kansas Nebraska Act, and

0:14:59.765 --> 0:15:03.925
<v Speaker 2>he roasted many of the pro slavery senators involved, like

0:15:04.045 --> 0:15:07.565
<v Speaker 2>Senator Douglas, who it was basically responsible for the whole bill.

0:15:08.485 --> 0:15:12.445
<v Speaker 2>Senator Sumner said this about him. It called him a brutal,

0:15:12.565 --> 0:15:16.565
<v Speaker 2>vulgar man without delicacy or scholarship, who looks as if

0:15:16.605 --> 0:15:19.325
<v Speaker 2>he needs clean linen and should be put under a

0:15:19.365 --> 0:15:25.205
<v Speaker 2>shower bath. Roasted in the speech, Sumner called him a noisome,

0:15:25.365 --> 0:15:29.685
<v Speaker 2>squat and nameless animal, not a proper model for an

0:15:29.685 --> 0:15:35.525
<v Speaker 2>American Senator. Sumner also roasted Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina.

0:15:36.405 --> 0:15:40.725
<v Speaker 2>Sumner accused him of taking a quote mistress who, though

0:15:40.845 --> 0:15:44.765
<v Speaker 2>ugly to others, is always lovely to him, though polluted

0:15:44.845 --> 0:15:47.645
<v Speaker 2>in the sight of the world, is chased in his sight.

0:15:48.205 --> 0:15:56.885
<v Speaker 2>I mean the harlot slavery wow roasted. So Senator Sumner

0:15:57.245 --> 0:16:01.525
<v Speaker 2>delivers this speech May nineteenth, May twentieth, The next day

0:16:01.565 --> 0:16:02.765
<v Speaker 2>is the sacking of Lawrence.

0:16:03.765 --> 0:16:05.045
<v Speaker 1>Everyone's in a tizzy.

0:16:05.885 --> 0:16:09.525
<v Speaker 2>And then the next day, on May twenty second, one

0:16:09.525 --> 0:16:13.325
<v Speaker 2>of those pro slavery senators decided to beat the shit

0:16:13.365 --> 0:16:21.245
<v Speaker 2>out of Sumner and his goddamn lavender pants. So what

0:16:21.365 --> 0:16:26.365
<v Speaker 2>happened May twenty second Representative Preston Brooks, who was a

0:16:26.405 --> 0:16:28.925
<v Speaker 2>relative of Senator Butler, remember one of the guys who

0:16:28.965 --> 0:16:32.605
<v Speaker 2>was roasted in the speech. He confronted Sumner at his

0:16:32.845 --> 0:16:37.725
<v Speaker 2>desk in the Senate Chamber and without warning, Brooks began

0:16:37.925 --> 0:16:42.165
<v Speaker 2>hitting Sumner with a heavy cane made out of a

0:16:42.285 --> 0:16:48.925
<v Speaker 2>hard type of rubber. Brooks struck him repeatedly. Sumner was

0:16:49.045 --> 0:16:52.725
<v Speaker 2>trapped behind his desk. He was so desperate to get

0:16:52.765 --> 0:16:55.885
<v Speaker 2>away that even though his desk was bolted to the floor,

0:16:56.245 --> 0:17:01.445
<v Speaker 2>he eventually managed to wrench it free. However, Brooks had

0:17:01.485 --> 0:17:04.725
<v Speaker 2>him trapped and continued to beat him until the cane

0:17:05.005 --> 0:17:11.725
<v Speaker 2>broke and boy howdy again. Sumner had some pretty intense injuries,

0:17:12.325 --> 0:17:15.885
<v Speaker 2>including head trauma, and because of this beating he was

0:17:16.005 --> 0:17:19.405
<v Speaker 2>unable to return to the Senate for three years from

0:17:19.405 --> 0:17:23.405
<v Speaker 2>the physical and psychological effects. I mean, can you imagine

0:17:23.445 --> 0:17:27.365
<v Speaker 2>being beaten at your office? I mean, sometimes I beat

0:17:27.365 --> 0:17:29.525
<v Speaker 2>my head into my desk, but that's a whole different thing,

0:17:31.605 --> 0:17:36.045
<v Speaker 2>and so if you can believe it. This continued to

0:17:36.445 --> 0:17:40.205
<v Speaker 2>escalate and deepen the divisions between the North and the South,

0:17:40.725 --> 0:17:44.005
<v Speaker 2>between the abolitionists and the pro slavery people.

0:17:45.045 --> 0:17:48.885
<v Speaker 1>People are like, God, damn, the US government is breaking down.

0:17:49.565 --> 0:17:59.885
<v Speaker 2>We're so polarized. Now, let's go back to Kansas. In

0:17:59.965 --> 0:18:05.205
<v Speaker 2>that same week, where violence continued, but this time it

0:18:05.245 --> 0:18:08.445
<v Speaker 2>was the pro staters who decided to retaliate.

0:18:09.765 --> 0:18:11.045
<v Speaker 1>Entered John Brown.

0:18:15.085 --> 0:18:19.005
<v Speaker 2>John Brown was a big abolitionist who believed that slavery

0:18:19.085 --> 0:18:23.245
<v Speaker 2>was a moral abomination that must be eradicated by any

0:18:23.405 --> 0:18:30.925
<v Speaker 2>means necessary aka violence. He was really pissed off about

0:18:30.925 --> 0:18:33.885
<v Speaker 2>what happened at Lawrence, and he was also really upset

0:18:33.885 --> 0:18:38.725
<v Speaker 2>about what happened to Senator Sumner, and he was like, well,

0:18:38.765 --> 0:18:42.045
<v Speaker 2>you know, you gotta fight fire with frickin' fire, So

0:18:42.205 --> 0:18:47.645
<v Speaker 2>let's go fuck up some pro slavery people. So on

0:18:47.685 --> 0:18:51.285
<v Speaker 2>the night of May twenty fourth, eighteen fifty six, two

0:18:51.365 --> 0:18:54.445
<v Speaker 2>days after the caning of Sumner and three days after

0:18:54.485 --> 0:18:58.605
<v Speaker 2>the sacking of Lawrence, John Brown, along with a small

0:18:58.605 --> 0:19:01.725
<v Speaker 2>militia that included four of his sons, a family affair,

0:19:02.045 --> 0:19:04.885
<v Speaker 2>and a few other people, went to the pro slavery

0:19:04.925 --> 0:19:11.005
<v Speaker 2>settlement of Potawa Tommy Creek. Around ten pm. The group

0:19:11.165 --> 0:19:15.645
<v Speaker 2>scurried into the darkness. They went to the cabin of

0:19:15.685 --> 0:19:19.125
<v Speaker 2>one pro slavery settler, and forced him outside with his

0:19:19.205 --> 0:19:23.205
<v Speaker 2>two sons. Brown shot him in the head, and then

0:19:23.245 --> 0:19:25.765
<v Speaker 2>the rest of them hacked apart his sons with swords

0:19:25.765 --> 0:19:30.285
<v Speaker 2>and knives. Then they went to another cabin where they

0:19:30.325 --> 0:19:33.165
<v Speaker 2>seized a man whose wife screamed at them and was

0:19:33.165 --> 0:19:36.085
<v Speaker 2>also like, hey, I have the measles, don't kill him.

0:19:36.525 --> 0:19:38.685
<v Speaker 2>And they hacked that guy to death as well, and

0:19:38.725 --> 0:19:43.885
<v Speaker 2>then just left his body by the road. Then they

0:19:43.925 --> 0:19:47.325
<v Speaker 2>went across the creek and came upon another group of men.

0:19:48.165 --> 0:19:51.485
<v Speaker 2>They questioned them on their views about slavery, and then

0:19:51.525 --> 0:19:54.045
<v Speaker 2>when they didn't like one of the men's answers, they

0:19:54.125 --> 0:19:56.245
<v Speaker 2>killed him and threw his body in the creek.

0:19:58.445 --> 0:19:59.285
<v Speaker 1>Fucking brutal.

0:20:01.405 --> 0:20:05.445
<v Speaker 2>After this happened, if you can believe it, they caused

0:20:05.645 --> 0:20:08.445
<v Speaker 2>a massive shockwave throughout Kansas and the rest of the

0:20:08.565 --> 0:20:14.285
<v Speaker 2>nation and intensified the violence in the region. It led

0:20:14.285 --> 0:20:17.845
<v Speaker 2>to more attacks from both pro slavery and anti slavery forces,

0:20:18.325 --> 0:20:21.805
<v Speaker 2>and even abolitionists were divided on this. Some people were like, oh,

0:20:21.885 --> 0:20:25.125
<v Speaker 2>John Brown, that was fucking awesome. Those people deserve to die.

0:20:25.165 --> 0:20:27.805
<v Speaker 2>They fucking our pieces as shit. But then other ones

0:20:27.805 --> 0:20:30.805
<v Speaker 2>were like, let's try to distance ourselves from John Brown.

0:20:31.045 --> 0:20:32.845
<v Speaker 2>I don't know if we actually want that to be

0:20:32.885 --> 0:20:40.885
<v Speaker 2>part of our movement. And also remember at this point

0:20:40.965 --> 0:20:44.445
<v Speaker 2>that there were those elections where all the Border Ruffians

0:20:44.485 --> 0:20:46.125
<v Speaker 2>did the fraud guys.

0:20:46.165 --> 0:20:49.205
<v Speaker 1>Remember that from the beginning of the episode, Well.

0:20:49.085 --> 0:20:51.725
<v Speaker 2>That was still a question because there was the one

0:20:51.805 --> 0:20:54.205
<v Speaker 2>government that the pro slavery people had and then there

0:20:54.205 --> 0:20:57.925
<v Speaker 2>were the free Staters in Topeka, and nobody was agreeing

0:20:58.005 --> 0:21:01.485
<v Speaker 2>on what the actual result of those elections were. So

0:21:01.525 --> 0:21:04.005
<v Speaker 2>at this point the US Congress was like, I guess

0:21:04.005 --> 0:21:06.125
<v Speaker 2>we should check this out and see what's going on.

0:21:06.645 --> 0:21:07.565
<v Speaker 1>So in July.

0:21:07.445 --> 0:21:11.165
<v Speaker 2>Eighteen fifty six, they sent a committee to talk to people.

0:21:11.845 --> 0:21:15.205
<v Speaker 2>They went around with surveys, talked to the settlers there,

0:21:15.885 --> 0:21:18.325
<v Speaker 2>and what they discovered was they're like, hey, most of

0:21:18.365 --> 0:21:22.445
<v Speaker 2>the settlers in Kansas, the vast majority, are people who

0:21:22.485 --> 0:21:26.445
<v Speaker 2>want Kansas to be a free state. And they were like, well,

0:21:26.485 --> 0:21:28.765
<v Speaker 2>I guess, based on the evidence of the people who

0:21:28.805 --> 0:21:32.605
<v Speaker 2>actually live here, this legislature doesn't reflect their views.

0:21:33.445 --> 0:21:36.525
<v Speaker 1>And so they were like, Dang, dang, Dan election fraud.

0:21:36.725 --> 0:21:37.365
<v Speaker 1>It's for real.

0:21:39.325 --> 0:21:41.605
<v Speaker 2>But even that didn't end the fighting and the violence.

0:21:42.245 --> 0:21:45.165
<v Speaker 2>John Brown and the Border Ruffians were involved in many

0:21:45.205 --> 0:21:49.485
<v Speaker 2>more skirmishes across Kansas. In eighteen fifty eight, a new

0:21:49.565 --> 0:21:53.845
<v Speaker 2>governor of the territory was appointed, and this guy, John Geary,

0:21:54.005 --> 0:21:58.205
<v Speaker 2>restored order for the most part. But even after that,

0:21:58.645 --> 0:22:00.685
<v Speaker 2>people were still beating the shit out of each other,

0:22:01.045 --> 0:22:05.125
<v Speaker 2>and a few more people died, and then an eighteen

0:22:05.205 --> 0:22:10.205
<v Speaker 2>six Kansas entered the Union as a free state, and

0:22:10.285 --> 0:22:19.165
<v Speaker 2>a few months later the Civil War started. This is

0:22:19.165 --> 0:22:22.165
<v Speaker 2>going to sound super obvious and stupid, but bleeding Kansas

0:22:22.245 --> 0:22:24.725
<v Speaker 2>was a huge thing, and it was kind of like

0:22:24.805 --> 0:22:29.405
<v Speaker 2>this microcosm of what was happening more broadly across the

0:22:29.525 --> 0:22:34.845
<v Speaker 2>United States. There were deepening national divisions. Obviously, the national

0:22:34.885 --> 0:22:39.125
<v Speaker 2>politics were going to shit. People were literally fighting. Someone

0:22:39.205 --> 0:22:41.885
<v Speaker 2>literally almost got beaten to death with a cane. There

0:22:41.965 --> 0:22:45.365
<v Speaker 2>was bloodshed, There was turmoil, and no one was able

0:22:45.405 --> 0:22:49.565
<v Speaker 2>to do anything about it. There was no legislative compromises

0:22:49.605 --> 0:22:50.405
<v Speaker 2>that were working.

0:22:50.685 --> 0:22:51.725
<v Speaker 1>The North and the South.

0:22:52.085 --> 0:22:56.405
<v Speaker 2>Abolitionist pro slavery people had deeply different morals. Everything was

0:22:56.445 --> 0:22:59.925
<v Speaker 2>breaking down on the question of whether or not there

0:22:59.965 --> 0:23:03.325
<v Speaker 2>should be slavery. So when people say stuff like, oh,

0:23:03.365 --> 0:23:06.125
<v Speaker 2>the Civil War it was all about economics, tell them

0:23:06.165 --> 0:23:08.845
<v Speaker 2>to shut the fuck up. What are the economics they

0:23:08.845 --> 0:23:13.205
<v Speaker 2>are referring to the economics of slavery perhaps, or they'll

0:23:13.245 --> 0:23:14.085
<v Speaker 2>say something.

0:23:13.805 --> 0:23:16.925
<v Speaker 1>Like, oh, it's about states rights. Yeah, it's states rights

0:23:16.965 --> 0:23:19.405
<v Speaker 1>to do what. Oh to have slaves or not to

0:23:19.445 --> 0:23:20.925
<v Speaker 1>have slaves. Shut up.

0:23:26.765 --> 0:23:30.245
<v Speaker 2>And you remember those border Ruffians, Well, a lot of

0:23:30.245 --> 0:23:33.685
<v Speaker 2>them became bushwhackers during the Civil War. These were guerrilla

0:23:33.805 --> 0:23:38.085
<v Speaker 2>fighters on the side of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

0:23:38.085 --> 0:23:41.285
<v Speaker 2>In eighteen sixty three, the town of Lawrence got sacked

0:23:41.325 --> 0:23:44.405
<v Speaker 2>again and one hundred and forty three people were killed

0:23:44.765 --> 0:23:46.445
<v Speaker 2>by Confederate guerrilla fighters.

0:23:48.845 --> 0:23:51.005
<v Speaker 1>John Brown didn't make it to the Civil War.

0:23:52.205 --> 0:23:55.365
<v Speaker 2>John Brown continued fighting in Kansas and then he went

0:23:55.405 --> 0:23:59.205
<v Speaker 2>over to Virginia where he raided a federal armory at

0:23:59.205 --> 0:24:03.445
<v Speaker 2>Harper's Ferry. In October eighteen fifty nine, he was arrested,

0:24:04.045 --> 0:24:07.205
<v Speaker 2>and actually he was arrested by then Colonel Robert E. Lee,

0:24:07.765 --> 0:24:10.325
<v Speaker 2>and he was put on trial for treason, murder, and

0:24:10.445 --> 0:24:14.925
<v Speaker 2>inciting a slave insurrection. He was found guilty in all

0:24:15.005 --> 0:24:18.085
<v Speaker 2>counts and was sentenced to death. He was hanging in

0:24:18.165 --> 0:24:23.165
<v Speaker 2>Virginia on December second, eighteen fifty nine. When John Brown

0:24:23.205 --> 0:24:27.205
<v Speaker 2>was on trial, he never backed down. He still believed

0:24:27.205 --> 0:24:31.645
<v Speaker 2>in his morals thought his cause was just. He said,

0:24:32.965 --> 0:24:35.285
<v Speaker 2>if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my

0:24:35.365 --> 0:24:39.005
<v Speaker 2>life for the furtherance of the ends of justice and

0:24:39.085 --> 0:24:41.565
<v Speaker 2>mingle my blood further with the blood of my children

0:24:41.645 --> 0:24:44.085
<v Speaker 2>and with the blood of millions in this slave country

0:24:44.485 --> 0:24:48.965
<v Speaker 2>whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel and unjust enactments,

0:24:49.565 --> 0:24:58.525
<v Speaker 2>I submit, So let it be done. Hoo ee. That

0:24:58.605 --> 0:25:01.125
<v Speaker 2>was an intense episode, guys. A lot of things happened

0:25:01.645 --> 0:25:04.925
<v Speaker 2>all because of an election in eighteen fifty five. I

0:25:04.925 --> 0:25:08.525
<v Speaker 2>hope you guys are doing well out there. I hope

0:25:08.525 --> 0:25:12.005
<v Speaker 2>things are okay. I feel like the Internet will still

0:25:12.045 --> 0:25:13.965
<v Speaker 2>be working at this point, but if a civil war

0:25:14.005 --> 0:25:17.525
<v Speaker 2>has erupted, I'm happy to have this episode just for

0:25:17.605 --> 0:25:18.005
<v Speaker 2>the ether.

0:25:19.325 --> 0:25:21.485
<v Speaker 1>And don't worry. Next week we're gonna get into some.

0:25:21.405 --> 0:25:26.485
<v Speaker 2>Really stupid, filthy shit a little palate cleanser as we

0:25:26.605 --> 0:25:31.725
<v Speaker 2>head into our uncertain future. On every episode of American Filth,

0:25:31.765 --> 0:25:34.165
<v Speaker 2>we learn a lesson, and I think the lesson from

0:25:34.205 --> 0:25:38.045
<v Speaker 2>today's episode is that people from Missouri should just stay

0:25:38.085 --> 0:25:41.605
<v Speaker 2>at home, like, don't go bother those people in Kansas.

0:25:41.845 --> 0:25:45.845
<v Speaker 1>Just shut up and sit down. Write cue the credits.

0:25:51.245 --> 0:25:53.165
<v Speaker 2>American Field is a production of School of Humans and

0:25:53.165 --> 0:25:55.605
<v Speaker 2>My Heart Podcast. This episode was written and produced by

0:25:55.605 --> 0:25:58.885
<v Speaker 2>me Gabby Watts. Our theme song is by Jesse Niswanger.

0:25:58.925 --> 0:26:02.525
<v Speaker 2>Our executive producers are Virginia Prescott, Elsie Crowley, and Brandon Barr.

0:26:03.285 --> 0:26:06.525
<v Speaker 2>You guys can follow the show at American filth on Instagram,

0:26:06.565 --> 0:26:09.165
<v Speaker 2>and also remember, leave us some stars, leave us a review,

0:26:09.765 --> 0:26:13.085
<v Speaker 2>Tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell everyone about the

0:26:13.125 --> 0:26:16.165
<v Speaker 2>show so that they listen. And depending on the state

0:26:16.205 --> 0:26:18.365
<v Speaker 2>of our country, I'll talk to you guys next week.

0:26:18.645 --> 0:26:34.245
<v Speaker 3>Bye.

0:26:36.565 --> 0:26:37.485
<v Speaker 1>School of Humans.