WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Andrew Jackson's Inauguration

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the Short Stuff. I'm Josh, and

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<v Speaker 1>there's Chuck and Jerry sitting in for Dave and this

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<v Speaker 1>is short Stuff, And Chuck, I have come to really

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<v Speaker 1>detest politics, in particular the American brand of zero sum

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<v Speaker 1>outrage politics that the entire nations have meshed in. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>are you trying not to think about it? Im?

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<v Speaker 2>Same?

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<v Speaker 1>Avoid politics as much as possible.

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<v Speaker 2>Same.

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<v Speaker 1>So let's get started about this political history story.

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<v Speaker 2>We're talking about Andrew Jackson and his first inauguration or

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<v Speaker 2>his inauguration brother. They used to hold these in March

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<v Speaker 2>and his was held in March fourth, eighteen twenty nine.

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<v Speaker 2>And what happened there at the Capitol was he gave

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<v Speaker 2>a speech and did his thing. And what you should

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<v Speaker 2>know about Andrew Jackson is he was a very populous president,

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<v Speaker 2>so I say, the very first one, and people loved him.

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<v Speaker 2>They were like, he's for the little people, and like,

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<v Speaker 2>we want to go meet this guy on an inauguration day.

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<v Speaker 2>So he said, that's a great idea. George Washington held

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<v Speaker 2>these levees at the White House, which has basically come

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<v Speaker 2>and meet the first family on inauguration day, and I'm

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<v Speaker 2>going to do the same big mistake.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, there's just basically a legend of Andrew Jackson's inauguration

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<v Speaker 1>in eighteen twenty nine that they basically tore the roof

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<v Speaker 1>off the White House they partied so hard there. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and he didn't. But that was the thing you mentioned.

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<v Speaker 1>He was a populis president. All of a sudden because

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<v Speaker 1>of him being a populist, and the people who supported him,

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<v Speaker 1>average everyday people who typically weren't into politics at all,

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<v Speaker 1>suddenly overran Washington, d C. In a very celebratory mood

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<v Speaker 1>because Andrew Jackson had beaten the Washington establishment, the elites,

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<v Speaker 1>John Quincy Adams, and now the people were truly represented

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<v Speaker 1>in the American government as far as they were concerned.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, but here's the thing. There are historians that say,

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<v Speaker 2>hold your water there. It may not have been as

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<v Speaker 2>well as everyone thinks. The's a guy named Daniel Feller

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<v Speaker 2>who was a history professor at ut Tennessee Covaals. I'll

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<v Speaker 2>even say that as a Georgia fan, and he was

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<v Speaker 2>the editor of the papers of Andrew Jackson, so he

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<v Speaker 2>knows a thing or two, and he's like, you know

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<v Speaker 2>what they talked about people, you know, wrecking the place

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<v Speaker 2>people coming there with muddy boots and turning over tables

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<v Speaker 2>and punch bowls. He said, take that with a grain

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<v Speaker 2>of salt, because all a lot of this stuff comes

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<v Speaker 2>from the account of this woman named Margaret Baird Smith,

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<v Speaker 2>who showed up like late to the party after this

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<v Speaker 2>stuff had evidently happened, heart tardy to the party, and

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<v Speaker 2>also did not like Andrew Jackson in his politics, so

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<v Speaker 2>probably had a pretty heavy slant on the chaos she described.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and this was I mean, she was a good

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<v Speaker 1>example of how the opposition to Andrew Jackson felt like

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<v Speaker 1>they felt like they owned DC and Andrew Jackson and

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<v Speaker 1>his supporters didn't really belong there, right, and yet because

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<v Speaker 1>Andrew Jackson had won the presidency and these like average

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<v Speaker 1>everyday people felt represented. Finally they they showed up. The

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<v Speaker 1>question is, like nobody's saying like that didn't happen. It's

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<v Speaker 1>the degree to which it happened. And Margaret Baird Smith's

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<v Speaker 1>letters to her daughter in particular are essentially like one

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<v Speaker 1>of a very few number of first hand accounts, and

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<v Speaker 1>she's she really did not like this, and pretty much

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<v Speaker 1>I guess blew it out of proportion. It is a

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<v Speaker 1>really good way to put it.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, she writes about the majesty of the people disappearing

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<v Speaker 2>and and a mob of people of you know, fighting

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<v Speaker 2>and scrambling and what a pity, what a pity?

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<v Speaker 1>Yes she said it twice. Yeah, yeah, And is this

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff works article?

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<v Speaker 2>This is a Dave Ruse shorty special.

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<v Speaker 1>I should have known because Dave mentions like you can

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<v Speaker 1>almost hear Margaret her pearls in this. So you said

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<v Speaker 1>she was targeted to the party. She showed up a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit after three. And the reason she didn't go

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<v Speaker 1>straight from the inauguration to the party is because she

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<v Speaker 1>heard that there were these large crowds. The estimate that

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<v Speaker 1>has been bandied about all these years later is that

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<v Speaker 1>there were twenty thousand people who showed up at the

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<v Speaker 1>White House. It's incredible to party. So I say we

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<v Speaker 1>take a break and we come back and talk about

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<v Speaker 1>what they say happened at this twenty thousand person strong

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<v Speaker 1>party at the White House.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's do it. Sweat shot shot, stop shot shot.

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<v Speaker 1>So we said, chuck before we broke that. There's about

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<v Speaker 1>twenty thousand people estimated to have been at the White

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<v Speaker 1>House for Andrew Jackson's inauguration. Levy that even Margaret Bayard

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<v Speaker 1>said Bayard Smith said that that was probably an exaggerated number. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>she did say that there were some crazy things going.

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<v Speaker 2>On though, Yeah, bloody noses several thousand dollars worth of

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<v Speaker 2>worth of glassware broken. But here's the thing, Like again,

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<v Speaker 2>some historians think she might have been exaggerating because she

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<v Speaker 2>was just maybe a pear clutcher and didn't like Jackson.

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<v Speaker 2>There was a senator from Massachusetts named Daniel Webster who

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<v Speaker 2>was not a fan of Jackson as well. But he

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<v Speaker 2>wrote all about this day and he didn't mention like

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<v Speaker 2>all this chaos going on. He said, you know, people

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<v Speaker 2>have come five hundred miles to see General Jackson. They

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<v Speaker 2>really seem to think the country is rescued from some

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<v Speaker 2>dreadful danger. And he also said a lot of people

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<v Speaker 2>were also there to like aspiring political politicos, I guess,

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<v Speaker 2>trying to maybe get a job or get some influence.

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<v Speaker 2>So he wrote pretty good depth about this and he

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<v Speaker 2>never mentioned like, you know, a party where people were

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<v Speaker 2>getting in fights and muddy boots and turning over tables.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it was like he didn't mention that it was

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<v Speaker 1>it turned into the infield of the Kentucky Derby. Right, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>that is really significant because he was there. And to

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<v Speaker 1>not mention like that people were just going berserk partying

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<v Speaker 1>at the White House and trashing the place. I think

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<v Speaker 1>that to me says volumes about it that it either

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<v Speaker 1>was did it happened a little bit, but it was

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<v Speaker 1>so insignificant that what shouldn't even think it was worth mentioning,

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<v Speaker 1>or that the whole thing was basically made up.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, I get the feeling it wasn't completely

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<v Speaker 2>made up. I bet it got a little wild. And

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<v Speaker 2>there are also people that say, like, you know, it

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<v Speaker 2>sounds like there were probably people that maybe stood on

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<v Speaker 2>tables and chairs to get a better look, and like

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<v Speaker 2>maybe a table breaks when you're doing that. But she

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<v Speaker 2>made it sound like they just trashed the place, right.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, exactly, and that not only did they trash the

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<v Speaker 1>place they were It wasn't just that there were twenty

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<v Speaker 1>thousand people or however many people were there that they

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<v Speaker 1>were just rowdy. She was basically trying to portray them

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<v Speaker 1>as again, people who didn't belong in Washington, let alone

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<v Speaker 1>the White House. And look, you can't even you can't

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<v Speaker 1>you can't take these supporters of Andrew Jackson anywhere. Look

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<v Speaker 1>at what they did. They rushed people carrying out the

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<v Speaker 1>punch bowls to get punch and free cake, and yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>they elbowed each other. It was like a Black Friday

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<v Speaker 1>sale essentially, is what Margaret Smith was describing, and again

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<v Speaker 1>just painting people in a very unflattering light. The problem

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<v Speaker 1>is that was a letter to her daughter, right, so

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<v Speaker 1>if her daughter was misled, or maybe she was even

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<v Speaker 1>trying to entertain her daughter, who knows, it would be

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<v Speaker 1>one thing. Historians would probably still have found those letters

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<v Speaker 1>and be talking about it. But the reason why it

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<v Speaker 1>became such a well known thing is that the press

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<v Speaker 1>picked that up too, and exactly like happens today, that

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<v Speaker 1>exaggeration was run with to outrage people who were opponents

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<v Speaker 1>of Andrew Jackson, because that completely satisfied their opinion of

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<v Speaker 1>those people.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, here's a bit from the New York Spectator that

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<v Speaker 2>was pretty colorful. Here was the corpulent epicure grunting and

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<v Speaker 2>sweating for breath, the dandy wishing he had no toes,

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<v Speaker 2>the tight laced miss fearing her person might receive some

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<v Speaker 2>permanently deforming impulse, the miser hunting for his pocketbook, the

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<v Speaker 2>courtier looking for his watch, and the office seeker in

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<v Speaker 2>an agony to reach the president.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, what does that even mean? I don't know the

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<v Speaker 1>part about the dandy wishing he had no toes. I

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<v Speaker 1>looked high and low for what that meant.

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<v Speaker 2>Maybe because they were getting stepped on so much. Maybe

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<v Speaker 2>that's the only thing I could think of that made

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<v Speaker 2>any sense.

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<v Speaker 1>The one I came up with is that maybe it

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<v Speaker 1>was in fashion to have small feet.

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<v Speaker 2>Maybe I know that the dandy has no toes. This

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<v Speaker 2>is a pretty great record.

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<v Speaker 1>Title, yeah, for sure, one of the best deep cut. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so the I guess. In nineteen seventy eight, the Tennessee

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<v Speaker 1>Historical Society, they rolled up their sleeves and they're like,

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<v Speaker 1>let's get to the bottom of this. And from their

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<v Speaker 1>research they actually said they said they considered it sheer bedlam. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>But they turned up another account from a senator named

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<v Speaker 1>James Hamilton of South Carolina who was a supporter of

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<v Speaker 1>Jackson's and even he said that this was a he

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<v Speaker 1>called it a regular saturnalia. But he also said that

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<v Speaker 1>most of the damage was minimal. So somewhere in between there, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and Margaret Bayard Smith's account. It was probably the truth,

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<v Speaker 1>and yeah, I think it was Daniel Webster, who's probably

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<v Speaker 1>the most reliable.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I agree, but who knows. It's a fun story.

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<v Speaker 1>It is a fun story, and we love fun history stories.

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<v Speaker 1>And I guess Chuck short Stuff is out correct.

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