1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Menkey's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,960 Speaker 1: full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, 4 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 1: all of these amazing tales are right there on display, 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet 6 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:39,479 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Nobody likes being told to do something. Today's 7 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,560 Speaker 1: avid readers might recall the agony of struggling through books 8 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:45,600 Speaker 1: assigned on their high school reading list. It's even worse 9 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: when the person giving the orders has no intention of 10 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:53,199 Speaker 1: participating themselves. For example, the Vietnam War draft of the 11 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:57,280 Speaker 1: nineteen sixties and seventies instilled resentment toward the war effort 12 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: in those being called to serve. They hadn't fallen tiered. 13 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 1: They had been pulled into something they never wanted to 14 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:06,200 Speaker 1: be part of. Those who have voluntarily enlisted in the 15 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: military understand that they may be sent anywhere in the 16 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: world as part of their service. Soldiers have an oath 17 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:14,839 Speaker 1: to defend their country from all enemies, foreign and domestic, 18 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: but the lawmakers voting to enter such conflicts aren't going 19 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: to see the front lines. They'll be safe and warm 20 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:23,160 Speaker 1: in their own beds at night while the men and 21 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: women of the military carry out their demands. In the 22 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:30,200 Speaker 1: years before the United States entered World War One, a 23 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 1: petition was circulated by the people of Nebraska to amend 24 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: the Constitution. They've were tired of seeing their sons sent 25 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: off to fight and die by a Congress with too 26 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:43,400 Speaker 1: much power and no awareness of the opinions of their constituents. 27 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: The amendments would have done two things. First, it would 28 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: have required a national vote by the American people to 29 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:54,320 Speaker 1: declare war on another country. And second, anyone who had 30 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: voted yes would have been required to enlist to fight. 31 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,720 Speaker 1: The petition didn't get very far, but the idea also 32 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 1: didn't immediately die out. It circulated for two decades as 33 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: one World war ended and another one loomed on the horizon, 34 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:13,920 Speaker 1: and then in nineteen thirty five, Indiana Representative Louis Ludlow 35 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 1: took a closer look like the people of Nebraska. He 36 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:19,960 Speaker 1: also thought the lives of the country soldiers were too 37 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: important to leave up to Washington bureaucrats. Ludlow was one 38 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 1: of many people who believed a sensationalist media apparatus and 39 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 1: greedy corporations had influenced his colleagues into entering the previous 40 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,360 Speaker 1: major conflict. The people who suffered at the hands of 41 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:40,360 Speaker 1: such greed everyday citizens and their families, and something had 42 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: to change, so Ludlow moved ahead with his plan. He 43 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would have required 44 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: a majority vote by the American public to authorize a 45 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: declaration of war. Today, it's looked back on as one 46 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 1: of the worst policies ever put forth by a sitting congressman, 47 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:00,360 Speaker 1: but at the time it was lauded by seven five 48 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: percent of the country. Those who supported it believed keeping 49 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:08,359 Speaker 1: America out of international conflicts would isolate them from violence. 50 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: President Franklin Roosevelt, though, had no interest in cutting the 51 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 1: United States off from its duty to protect vulnerable foreign allies. 52 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 1: To leave war up to a national vote would have 53 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:22,520 Speaker 1: not only rendered future presidents powerless, but it also invited 54 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:26,679 Speaker 1: harm from hostile countries who didn't believe that they faced retribution. 55 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: By eight the amendment still saw backing from sixty percent 56 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: of the U. S population. Unfortunately, the longer World War 57 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: two dragged on, the more people began to drop their 58 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: support for the policy. Several high ranking senators came out 59 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: against it as well. One equated it with holding a 60 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:48,400 Speaker 1: town meeting before a fire department was allowed to put 61 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:52,040 Speaker 1: out a fire. The amendment was voted on my Congress 62 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: in eight but despite its bipartisan support, they couldn't achieve 63 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: the two thirds majority to pass it. Nearly four years later, 64 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: to hand bombed Pearl Harbor, officially kicking off the United 65 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: States entry into World War Two. After such a horrific event, 66 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: the country as a whole united behind a common goal, 67 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 1: and support for the Ludlow Amendment evaporated almost overnight. In fact, 68 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:17,840 Speaker 1: Congress and the rest of the country moved in the 69 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:21,279 Speaker 1: complete opposite direction when it came to authorizing the president's 70 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:24,560 Speaker 1: use of force against foreign enemies. All of a sudden, 71 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: they were all for it. Theodore Roosevelt was quoted as saying, 72 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:32,359 Speaker 1: a vote is like a rifle. Its usefulness depends on 73 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: the character of the user. The sentiment at the time 74 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 1: was that Ludlow had overestimated the characters of American voters, 75 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: But we'll never know for sure. The members of Congress 76 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:45,960 Speaker 1: who voted against it, well, they took aim and fired. 77 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:49,839 Speaker 1: It seems they thought democracy was too important to leave 78 00:04:49,880 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 1: in the hands of the American people. M Marriage changes people. 79 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,320 Speaker 1: For most it makes them more empathetic to the needs 80 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 1: of another person. Of course, not all fair so well, 81 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:16,920 Speaker 1: turning inward and harboring resentment as their needs go unmet. 82 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:21,279 Speaker 1: Georgie went in a different direction though. Born in Hampshire, England, 83 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: in two she got an early look at one marriage's 84 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 1: downfall when her own parents split up a few years 85 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:30,920 Speaker 1: after she was born. Georgie's mother, now separated from her 86 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:33,640 Speaker 1: alcoholic father, had to find a way to provide for 87 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 1: the two of them. At a time when women with 88 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 1: children did not often strike out on their own, Georgie 89 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:42,479 Speaker 1: and her mother didn't stay in one place for too 90 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 1: long and lived with family whenever they could. As she 91 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:48,800 Speaker 1: got older, Georgie started delving into the arts, taking a 92 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 1: keen interest in literature. Her friend Dorothy Shakespeare came from 93 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:57,040 Speaker 1: an artistic family, but sadly no relation to that other 94 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 1: Shakespeare guy, and Dorothy's mother, Olivia, was an accomplished novelist 95 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,120 Speaker 1: who held open salons where she would entertain up and 96 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 1: coming artists at the time. One such person who ran 97 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: in their circles was a man named William. He like Olivia, 98 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:13,839 Speaker 1: was a writer, and he took a liking to Georgie 99 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:18,200 Speaker 1: right away. Though their romance was unorthodox, after all, he 100 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:21,480 Speaker 1: was twenty seven years older than her, Georgie's mother had 101 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,800 Speaker 1: no qualms about their union. They married seven years later 102 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventeen, when Georgie was twenty five and William 103 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 1: was fifty two. It wasn't the happiest of ceremonies, though 104 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:35,159 Speaker 1: their marriage had gotten off to a rocky start, as 105 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:38,640 Speaker 1: Williams still harbored feelings for two other women. So on 106 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:41,960 Speaker 1: their honeymoon, Georgie, who now just went by George at 107 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:45,679 Speaker 1: her husband's request, tried to smooth things out. She wanted 108 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 1: to reassure him that he had made the right choice, 109 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 1: and asked for assistance from a third party, not a 110 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: therapist or a counselor, though, but a literal outside force. 111 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:57,719 Speaker 1: She sat at a desk with a pen and a 112 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: blank sheet of paper in front of her and let 113 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:05,840 Speaker 1: her paranormal companion do the rest. George's hands flew across 114 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:09,039 Speaker 1: the page, writing words she had no control over. When 115 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:11,440 Speaker 1: she regaled a friend with the story of her experience, 116 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 1: she claimed that her hand had been seized by a 117 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 1: superior power. When it was over, the message was clear 118 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:22,560 Speaker 1: William had made the right decision in marrying George. Her 119 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:25,960 Speaker 1: automatic writing sessions only grew more frequent from that point on, 120 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: and William recorded his observations of each one. He cataloged 121 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 1: her illegible scribblings over the course of three years. The 122 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 1: sessions ran for hours, several times a week, and not 123 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 1: only did they convince him to forget about the women 124 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 1: from his past, but they also somehow managed to get 125 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:47,240 Speaker 1: him to eat healthier too. Over the years, George generated 126 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 1: thousands of pages of automatic writing, which had turned William's 127 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: fascination with the occult into an obsession, and he channeled 128 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: that passion into a book of his own titled A Vision. 129 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:02,120 Speaker 1: It discussed such topic says, the soul, fate, and the 130 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:05,880 Speaker 1: intersection of morality and the divine. In it, he described 131 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: multiple dimensions shaped like funnels in the varying effects of 132 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:12,040 Speaker 1: the phases of the moon, all of which had been 133 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:15,640 Speaker 1: fueled by his wife's hard work, and like most men 134 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: of his era, William made sure that he got all 135 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: the credit. He published the first edition of A Vision 136 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:25,280 Speaker 1: in nineteen before following it up twelve years later with 137 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:29,240 Speaker 1: a revised version. But although Georgia's automatic writings were used 138 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:33,440 Speaker 1: verbatim throughout the book, William only ever listed himself as 139 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:37,319 Speaker 1: the author. It was unsurprising, as William had already made 140 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:39,880 Speaker 1: quite a name for himself with his own work, much 141 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 1: of which had been inspired by his wife's efforts. You see, 142 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 1: William was a poet, and he poured quite a bit 143 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:49,200 Speaker 1: of himself into his work. His love, his heartbreak, and 144 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,080 Speaker 1: his beliefs all found their way into such pieces as 145 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:57,439 Speaker 1: Leda and the Swan and Sailing to Byzantium. William Butler 146 00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: Yates changed the face of literature in the early twenty century. 147 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 1: But he couldn't have done any of it without the 148 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:06,440 Speaker 1: help of his wife, George. And although he never gave 149 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: her the credit she rightly deserved, he loved her. To Georgie, 150 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:15,520 Speaker 1: William was her brilliant husband, and to him, she was 151 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 1: a vision. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of 152 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:26,000 Speaker 1: the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 153 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 154 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:33,840 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manky 155 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:37,440 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff works. I make another award 156 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:41,040 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore which is a podcast, book series, 157 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:43,679 Speaker 1: and television show and you can learn all about it 158 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:47,320 Speaker 1: over at the world of Lore dot com. And until 159 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:49,319 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.