1 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:05,040 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, Holly here. I wanted to let you in 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,640 Speaker 1: on a little something before we get started today. We've 3 00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:11,600 Speaker 1: been talking about our Morocco trip a lot lately because 4 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: it was amazing, and if it sounds to you like 5 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: something you might want to do, like you might want 6 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 1: to join us for a little adventure. I have great news. 7 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:24,239 Speaker 1: We are already set up and starting to take bookings 8 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: for next year's big adventure. This is going to be 9 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:32,479 Speaker 1: Octoberfest in the Alps, but not just Octoberfest. We're going 10 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: to visit Germany and the Czech Republic. The pacing is 11 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:39,240 Speaker 1: going to be a little less intense than our Morocco trip, 12 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:41,800 Speaker 1: so it will have some time that's a little more 13 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:44,200 Speaker 1: like downtime where you can really explore on your own. 14 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:46,839 Speaker 1: Some of these places are going to be big cities, 15 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 1: some of them are going to be small, storybook really 16 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 1: picturesque villages, and some of it will be out in 17 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: the countryside. So we're going to do three nights in Garmish, 18 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: which is outside of Munich, so we can go to 19 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 1: Munich and experience Octoberfest, but then have this really quiet, 20 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: beautiful village up in the mountains to really just enjoy 21 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: the picturesque views. We are also going to visit Cheske 22 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:17,480 Speaker 1: Krumlov in the Czech Republic, which is we're going to 23 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: be right in the center of town on these cobblestone streets. 24 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 1: It's going to be so incredibly sweet and charming, I 25 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 1: cannot wait. And then we are going to spend time 26 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:30,680 Speaker 1: several nights in Prague, which is going to be absolutely beautiful. 27 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,200 Speaker 1: These are not places that you just kind of like 28 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 1: go to and you know, spend the night and roll out. 29 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:42,480 Speaker 1: These are really going to be some picturesque surroundings, really 30 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:44,320 Speaker 1: really beautiful things. So you're going to get some of 31 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 1: the busy, fast paced stuff like Octoberfest, which is a 32 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:50,120 Speaker 1: very energetic time, but we're also going to have some quieter, 33 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: really kind of just more casual, slower, more relaxed things, 34 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: while also still taking in a whole lot of history. 35 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: So if that sounds it's really really good to you. 36 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: Get on over to Defined Destinations dot Com and they 37 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 1: are going to have the trip link right there ready 38 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:13,519 Speaker 1: for you on the home page. It's going to be 39 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 1: one of the tours that's listed and we hope that 40 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: you will join us. Welcome to stuff you missed in history. 41 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:31,919 Speaker 1: Class A production of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. 42 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. I, like 43 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: many of us, have been thinking about the wild times 44 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: we're living through. I don't know how you don't, but 45 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:44,760 Speaker 1: I've specifically been thinking about how it's discussed in the press, 46 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:49,079 Speaker 1: because that's often a matter of consternation. But that made 47 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:52,680 Speaker 1: me think about Joseph Medill because he was a powerhouse 48 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 1: in nineteenth century journalism, and he made no attempt to 49 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: conceal his bias when it came to political writing. Medill 50 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:03,800 Speaker 1: also had this really fascinating second career due to a 51 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: big and famous tragedy. So in addition to journalism, he 52 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: was also a politician. We're going to get into all 53 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 1: of that today because we're going to talk about Joseph Medill. 54 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 2: Joseph Medill was born on April sixth, eighteen twenty three, 55 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 2: in New Brunswick, Canada, just outside the town of Saint John. 56 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 2: The Medill family was traced as far back as the 57 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 2: sixteenth century French Huguenots who left France for Ireland. Joseph's parents, 58 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 2: William and Margaret, moved from Ulster to Canada in eighteen 59 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 2: nineteen as newlyweds, and Joseph was their first child. In 60 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 2: eighteen thirty two, the family moved to Masalon, Ohio. They 61 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 2: had been planning to move to Saint Louis, Missouri, but 62 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:52,040 Speaker 2: a cholera epidemic halted that journey in Ohio and they 63 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 2: just decided to stay there. They lived in Maslin for 64 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 2: several years and then moved to Pike Township. 65 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: William and Margaret Medil had five kids after Joseph, two 66 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: girls and three boys, and as William's health began to fail, 67 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: Joseph became the family patriarch. But he also wanted an education, 68 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: so while he worked in various jobs to bring in money, 69 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:17,600 Speaker 1: one day a week he walked nine miles to Canton, 70 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 1: Ohio to meet up with basically any teacher there who 71 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:24,840 Speaker 1: would help him, leading to this sort of patchwork, haphazard 72 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: but surprisingly thorough education. He did a lot of reading 73 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:32,280 Speaker 1: and study on his own. He was truly an autodidact, 74 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: and so then he would use these occasions where he 75 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: had a teacher in front of him to get clarity 76 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:40,479 Speaker 1: on any of the concepts that he struggled with. He 77 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: had hoped that he could eventually go to college, but 78 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:46,719 Speaker 1: the family's home burned down in eighteen forty four and 79 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:50,480 Speaker 1: all of their savings with it, so that was not 80 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:53,680 Speaker 1: going to happen. But he did gain enough knowledge through 81 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: his own self study to get a teaching job at 82 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:59,679 Speaker 1: a country school. But it turned out he hated teaching. 83 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 1: The wages were low and the demands were high. 84 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:05,679 Speaker 2: I don't know why. That really made me laugh, because 85 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 2: I read this already. I knew that was what you 86 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:08,720 Speaker 2: were going to say. 87 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 1: He wrote about it, and he says some very slurry 88 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:16,160 Speaker 1: and pejorative things about it, about how wages are calculated. 89 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: But he basically lists out all the things he's expected 90 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 1: to do in a day, and all the students he's 91 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:24,159 Speaker 1: supposed to deal with, and all of their things that 92 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:26,040 Speaker 1: he's supposed to do one on one with them in 93 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 1: a classroom that has already left. He just hated it 94 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:31,599 Speaker 1: and cataloged everything about it he didn't like. 95 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 2: During this time, in addition to all that, Joseph met 96 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:38,920 Speaker 2: a young woman named Katherine Patrick who went by Kitty. 97 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 2: Kitty's father, James, was Irish, and her mother was also 98 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:46,400 Speaker 2: named Catherine, and she was descended from some of North 99 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:51,240 Speaker 2: America's early European colonists. Kitty's father was a county judge, 100 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 2: but he also served as editor of the local paper, 101 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:58,919 Speaker 2: the Tuscarawas Chronicle, and Joseph started spending time in the 102 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:03,080 Speaker 2: papers offices. He picked up various skills there, including the 103 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 2: mechanical part of running a paper, like typesetting and running 104 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 2: a press, but he also got his earliest taste of 105 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 2: journalism writing there. Still it doesn't seem like anything more 106 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 2: than a fun hobby, a way to stay close to 107 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:21,719 Speaker 2: the Patrick family, and soon Joseph got an apprenticeship with 108 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 2: a lawyer. 109 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: After two years as an apprentice, Joseph passed the bar 110 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:29,680 Speaker 1: and was ready to practice law, and he was able 111 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 1: to start a practice with a man named George mcelvain. 112 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:36,600 Speaker 1: This was a really important time in Medill's life because 113 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: he made a lot of professional connections that would be 114 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,840 Speaker 1: integral to his career down the road. Two of the 115 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: lawyers he became friends with in his early law career 116 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: were Sam and Chase and Edwin Stanton. Keep those names 117 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:51,479 Speaker 1: in mind are going to come up again later. And 118 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:53,800 Speaker 1: if you know about presidential history, you might already have 119 00:06:53,839 --> 00:06:56,920 Speaker 1: done the map there, But though these connections were important 120 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 1: to him, it also turned out that he didn't really 121 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:04,679 Speaker 1: like practicing law very much either. Journalism did still appeal 122 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: to him, though. In eighteen forty nine he quit law 123 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 1: and he purchased a newspaper in Koshockton, Ohio, called The 124 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 1: Kashocktin Whig, which he renamed the Kashocktan Republican. Madill positioned 125 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 1: the paper's content as constantly touting that the Whig Party 126 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 1: was on its way out and the then third party 127 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:29,240 Speaker 1: Republicans were the ones to get behind for anybody who 128 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: supported anti slavery legislation. I feel like this is a 129 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:35,360 Speaker 1: lot of what we talked about with Charles Sumner, but 130 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:38,360 Speaker 1: in a different part of the country. Yes. Uh. 131 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:41,920 Speaker 2: And this strategy worked. Soon not many people in Kashocktan 132 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:44,600 Speaker 2: identified as Whigs, and they had switched over to the 133 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:49,280 Speaker 2: Republican Party. After Kashockton, Medill decided to move to a 134 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:52,600 Speaker 2: bigger city to try his hand at another paper and 135 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:55,600 Speaker 2: if he could bending the political views of the area 136 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 2: to match his own. In eighteen fifty one, Madill made 137 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:01,960 Speaker 2: the move to Cleveland, Ohio to publish a paper there, 138 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 2: and this effort lasted longer than kashocktan did. 139 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:08,400 Speaker 1: He was there for four years. One of his first 140 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 1: moves politically was to back a Whig candidate named Winfield 141 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 1: Scott for president. So while he did think the Whigs 142 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,240 Speaker 1: were on the way out, he also knew that they 143 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 1: had the candidates that he was most interested in. Scott 144 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 1: performed very poorly in that presidential election, and the outcome 145 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 1: led Medill to conclude that the Whig Party had truly 146 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: no chance and that it should be disbanded completely. It 147 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,920 Speaker 1: was during this time that he meant another influential person 148 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:37,679 Speaker 1: in his life and a podcast frequent flyer. It's Horace Greeley, 149 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 1: who was heming the New York Tribune. 150 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:43,960 Speaker 2: Greeley hired Medill to write for him as a correspondent, 151 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 2: sending mostly political news from Clevelands to be printed in 152 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 2: the New York Tribune. Greeley wanted the New Republican Party 153 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,360 Speaker 2: to once again organize. It had existed during the eighteen 154 00:08:56,480 --> 00:09:01,079 Speaker 2: thirties but had disbanded. After debates among the people interested 155 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:03,720 Speaker 2: in the new party, it was decided that they would 156 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 2: simply go with a Republican, a name that Madell claimed 157 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:11,439 Speaker 2: credit for He was definitely a key player in Ohio 158 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:14,319 Speaker 2: in the effort to form a new party that aligned 159 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:18,440 Speaker 2: with the anti slavery ideology that could replace the flailing Wigs, 160 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 2: and he had very vehemently campaigned for the adoption of 161 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:25,320 Speaker 2: the Republican label for the party. 162 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:29,840 Speaker 1: Joseph married Kitty Patrick on September second, eighteen fifty two, 163 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:33,400 Speaker 1: and she became his partner in business to some degree 164 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:36,200 Speaker 1: as well as in life. Because she had grown up 165 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:38,959 Speaker 1: in a journalism family, she knew how to set type, 166 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: and she often did so for Joseph's paper, The Cleveland Leader. 167 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:46,360 Speaker 1: The couple welcomed their first daughter, Catherine, in the summer 168 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:47,480 Speaker 1: of eighteen fifty three. 169 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 2: Coming up, we will talk about a big move for Medill, 170 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:54,280 Speaker 2: and before we do, we will pause for a sponsor break. 171 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:06,720 Speaker 1: After several years in Cleveland and with a new family, 172 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,960 Speaker 1: Medill felt ready to take on an even bigger challenge 173 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:14,600 Speaker 1: as a newspaperman. Horace Greeley had encouraged him in this idea, 174 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:18,120 Speaker 1: and Madill set his sights on Chicago, although it actually 175 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:20,560 Speaker 1: took some coaxing to get him interested in the city. 176 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 1: At the time, Chicago was still very young and it 177 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 1: was finding its identity. Chicago was founded in eighteen thirty seven, 178 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:31,320 Speaker 1: and then just ten years later, in eighteen forty seven, 179 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 1: the Chicago Tribune was founded by James Kelly, Joseph Casey Forrest, 180 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:40,760 Speaker 1: and John E. Wheeler. But the paper didn't do especially well, 181 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:43,760 Speaker 1: and eight years into its run it was really close 182 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: to declaring bankruptcy. The Tribune had changed hands in number 183 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:51,320 Speaker 1: of times, and one of its owners in the eighteen fifties, 184 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:55,719 Speaker 1: J D. Webster, extended an invitation to Medill to visit Chicago. 185 00:10:56,640 --> 00:10:59,520 Speaker 1: That invitation was followed by an offer to become the 186 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:04,480 Speaker 1: Struggle Papers editor. Initially, Medill did not want this job. 187 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:08,119 Speaker 1: He was busy with his work at home in Cleveland 188 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:09,720 Speaker 1: and his family was growing. 189 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:13,840 Speaker 2: But Greeley really nudged him, and also introduced him to 190 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:16,600 Speaker 2: somebody who would be part of his business going forward. 191 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:21,080 Speaker 2: That was former physician Charles Ray, who had quit medical 192 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:24,600 Speaker 2: practice to promote anti slavery messaging through his own paper. 193 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:29,240 Speaker 2: Greeley thought that together these two men could really do 194 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:32,920 Speaker 2: great things in Chicago, and after meetings, so did Medill 195 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:36,520 Speaker 2: and Ray. Medill did not take the offer of editor, 196 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:40,199 Speaker 2: though he and Ray joined forces and purchased a controlling 197 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:44,640 Speaker 2: interest in the Chicago Tribune, they were not the sole owners. 198 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 2: Two of Medill's Cleveland associates, Alfred Cows and John Vaughn, 199 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:54,319 Speaker 2: also bought in, and two existing owners, Webster and Timothy Wright, 200 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:56,960 Speaker 2: also stayed. They were part of this new purchase deal. 201 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:00,800 Speaker 2: In the new arrangement, Medill owned owned a third of 202 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:04,040 Speaker 2: the paper and which is the largest share, and Ray 203 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:04,800 Speaker 2: owned a quarter. 204 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:07,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, he still did become editor, but not an editor 205 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,680 Speaker 1: for hire. He wanted to work for himself and with 206 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:13,840 Speaker 1: Madill at the helm, the Chicago Tribune turned around, and 207 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: it did so really rapidly. Within months, subscriber numbers had doubled, 208 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:21,480 Speaker 1: and it was due to the very decisive editorial leadership 209 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:25,200 Speaker 1: that he provided. He drove the tone of the writing 210 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:28,800 Speaker 1: for the Tribune, and the paper increasingly featured hard news 211 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:32,640 Speaker 1: with a political bent. Medill was able to pour all 212 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:35,400 Speaker 1: of his time and energy into the paper because Kitty 213 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:38,880 Speaker 1: and the children were back in Cleveland. Initially, they didn't 214 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:41,840 Speaker 1: join Joseph until after his first year, when the family 215 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 1: moved to Washington Boulevard near Union Park. And as the 216 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:49,720 Speaker 1: paper was growing, one specific person walked into the paper's 217 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:53,760 Speaker 1: offices to subscribe, and that person would change Joseph Minil's 218 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:58,840 Speaker 1: life Forever. That person was Abraham Lincoln. At that point, 219 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 1: Lincoln was practicing law in Springfield after having finished his 220 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:06,680 Speaker 1: term in the US House of Representatives. He stated while 221 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 1: at the Tribune's office that he was subscribing because of 222 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:14,880 Speaker 1: the papers changed leadership. Medill and Lincoln struck up a friendship, 223 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:17,760 Speaker 1: and the lawyer stopped by the paper's offices to chat 224 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:21,480 Speaker 1: any time he was in the city. This friendship also 225 00:13:21,559 --> 00:13:25,680 Speaker 1: became a political alliance, as Medill backed Abraham Lincoln as 226 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:30,360 Speaker 1: a politician in his paper. Medill had become even more 227 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:34,040 Speaker 1: interested in politics as he matured, and rather than hire 228 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:37,200 Speaker 1: a new reporter or trust a member of his staff, 229 00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: he became the Chicago Tribune's Washington correspondent, traveling to the 230 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,120 Speaker 1: Capitol to dig up any story he could. But he 231 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:47,200 Speaker 1: didn't only travel to the Capitol. 232 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:52,080 Speaker 2: He was also present at the first Illinois State Republican Convention. 233 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 2: The convention was held in Bloomington, Illinois, which was about 234 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:00,200 Speaker 2: one hundred and thirty five miles southwest of Chicago. This 235 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:04,720 Speaker 2: convention was the site of Lincoln's famous Lost speech, which 236 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 2: was said to have been so compelling that all of 237 00:14:08,559 --> 00:14:11,959 Speaker 2: the reporters in attendance failed to take notes on it. 238 00:14:12,679 --> 00:14:16,240 Speaker 2: Medil himself admitted to being carried away by Lincoln's anti 239 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 2: slavery address. The speech is often described as having been radical, 240 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:25,080 Speaker 2: so radical that Medill believed that a statesman was glad 241 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:27,240 Speaker 2: that it had not been recorded by any of the 242 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 2: attending journalists. Medil wrote of it quote, he got up 243 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:34,520 Speaker 2: as his name was called, and came forward with a 244 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:38,360 Speaker 2: giraffe like lope. He never walked straight like other men, 245 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 2: and stood in front of the pulpit. And after he 246 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:45,160 Speaker 2: had spoken a few sentences, the delegates shouted to him 247 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:48,120 Speaker 2: to get into the pulpit. He did so, and there 248 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 2: finished his speech. It is the regret of my life 249 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:54,720 Speaker 2: that this speech of Lincoln's was not preserved. It was 250 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:58,000 Speaker 2: easily his greatest, and very likely it was the first 251 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:01,160 Speaker 2: of the series of events which made him pres I 252 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:05,960 Speaker 2: have often tried to reproduce it from memory. Incidentally, there 253 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 2: is a version of the lost speech that was published 254 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:13,120 Speaker 2: in McClure's magazine in eighteen ninety six, using the notes 255 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:16,440 Speaker 2: that were made by Henry Clay Whitney, and while there 256 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,680 Speaker 2: have been some debates about its accuracy in the century 257 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:23,360 Speaker 2: plus since then, it's mostly choked up to having the 258 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:27,720 Speaker 2: spirit of Lincoln's words but not really being accurate as 259 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:31,320 Speaker 2: to how he conveyed that message. Yeah, and there's been 260 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:34,880 Speaker 2: back and forth allegedly, and I didn't find if there 261 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:37,360 Speaker 2: was a letter to back this up, but allegedly at 262 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:39,760 Speaker 2: one point Madill was like, yes, this was the speech 263 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:41,400 Speaker 2: as I remember it, and then later was. 264 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 1: Like not really. 265 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:42,640 Speaker 2: Uh. 266 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 1: If you happen upon that, know that it's not considered 267 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:52,000 Speaker 1: the true version of Lincoln's speech. When Lincoln decided to 268 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:55,160 Speaker 1: run for US Senate in eighteen fifty eight, Madill used 269 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:58,560 Speaker 1: the Tribune to support that run, but there was also 270 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:01,360 Speaker 1: a crisis at the Tribune during that time, when its 271 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:05,120 Speaker 1: finances faltered in the wake of an economic panic. To 272 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:08,160 Speaker 1: save the paper, Medill agreed to merge it with another 273 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:11,000 Speaker 1: paper known as The Democratic Press, which was run by 274 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:15,560 Speaker 1: John L. Scripps, Barton Spears, and William Bross. The paper 275 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:18,840 Speaker 1: ran as the Chicago Press and Tribune before going through 276 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 1: a couple more name changes and then landing once again 277 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:23,720 Speaker 1: it being the Chicago Tribune. 278 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:28,360 Speaker 2: When Lincoln ran for president, the Tribune again back to him, 279 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 2: even going so far as to keep him in the 280 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:33,720 Speaker 2: loop on information they got as the campaign played out, 281 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:37,920 Speaker 2: so that he could address that information if needed. Medill 282 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:41,440 Speaker 2: was also very active in the Republican Party and used 283 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:45,840 Speaker 2: his influence to help Lincoln's run, starting with the nomination 284 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 2: and going right through to election day. There was no 285 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:53,520 Speaker 2: way to claim the Tribune was unbiased in the news coverage. 286 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:57,320 Speaker 2: The coverage of political events and editorials were always slanted 287 00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 2: very heavily in favor of a Lincoln president. Modern scholars 288 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:05,600 Speaker 2: have underlined the importance of Medill's efforts as a powerful 289 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:08,880 Speaker 2: publisher in the outcome of the November eighteen sixty election. 290 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:12,720 Speaker 1: But as the US was a powder keg of division. 291 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:17,720 Speaker 1: Even after Lincoln handily won that election, Medill was back 292 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:22,240 Speaker 1: to Washington to cover the ongoing conflict. He didn't especially 293 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:25,280 Speaker 1: like being in DC, but the Tribune had a policy 294 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:28,040 Speaker 1: that if the nation was in crisis, there would always 295 00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:31,840 Speaker 1: be a correspondent in the Capitol. As the Confederate States 296 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:36,200 Speaker 1: announced their secession, Medill reported on it. We mentioned earlier 297 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:39,000 Speaker 1: that Sam and Chase and Edwin Stanton had become friends 298 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:42,560 Speaker 1: with Medill when they were all young lawyers. Sam and Chase, 299 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:45,680 Speaker 1: who had hoped to win the Party nomination that Lincoln received, 300 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:49,160 Speaker 1: was tapped by the new administration to be Secretary of Treasury, 301 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:53,800 Speaker 1: and Edwin Stanton became Secretary of War. So in addition 302 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:56,920 Speaker 1: to being friends with the President, Medill also had other 303 00:17:57,040 --> 00:18:00,280 Speaker 1: contacts high in the government to get information when the 304 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:04,360 Speaker 1: commander in chief was busy. Though Medill and Lincoln sometimes 305 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:08,760 Speaker 1: had disagreements about how the President was handling aspects of 306 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:13,280 Speaker 1: the war, Medill never wavered publicly, and the Tribune always 307 00:18:13,359 --> 00:18:16,960 Speaker 1: back to Lincoln. One point of contention was the President 308 00:18:17,119 --> 00:18:20,920 Speaker 1: asking the paper to be vocal and calling for volunteers 309 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:25,080 Speaker 1: for military service. According to Medill, when he pushed back 310 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:28,479 Speaker 1: at the president, Lincoln told him, quote, you called for 311 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:31,760 Speaker 1: war until we had it. Now you come here begging 312 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:34,560 Speaker 1: to be let off from the call for men which 313 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:37,840 Speaker 1: I have made to carry out the war you have demanded, 314 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:42,920 Speaker 1: and you, Medill, are acting like a coward. The President 315 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:46,520 Speaker 1: reminded Medil of how much influence his paper had in 316 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:49,840 Speaker 1: creating the division that had led to the war. Medil 317 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:52,879 Speaker 1: backed off and did as he was asked. Men from 318 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:56,360 Speaker 1: Medill's family and employees of the paper volunteered and were 319 00:18:56,400 --> 00:19:00,840 Speaker 1: killed in action. When Lincoln was assassinated shortly after the 320 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 1: South surrender. Madill was emotionally shell shocked. 321 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:07,440 Speaker 2: The nation had lost its president, but he had also 322 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,879 Speaker 2: lost a close friend as well as the political collaborator. 323 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 1: In the mid eighteen sixties. After the war, Medill found 324 00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 1: himself doing well financially. War had actually been great for 325 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:21,720 Speaker 1: the newspaper industry, but he had lost some of his 326 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:24,840 Speaker 1: power at the paper as various alliances had formed in 327 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:28,000 Speaker 1: its leadership structure that kind of left Joseph Medill on 328 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:31,240 Speaker 1: the outside. He had ruled the paper with a very 329 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:35,159 Speaker 1: firm hand, and the pressure he applied had eventually fractured 330 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:38,760 Speaker 1: things among the staff and the leadership. While he still 331 00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:41,120 Speaker 1: held twenty percent of the paper at this point, after 332 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:45,359 Speaker 1: its various reorgs, he decided to focus on politics instead 333 00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:48,479 Speaker 1: of journalism, and he stepped down from the editor position. 334 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:53,040 Speaker 1: He did continue to write articles for publication, though, but 335 00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:56,280 Speaker 1: he became more deeply involved in the Republican Party and 336 00:19:56,359 --> 00:19:59,240 Speaker 1: he became part of the Illinois Constitutional Committee. 337 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:02,840 Speaker 2: We are about to get into the catastrophic event that 338 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:07,280 Speaker 2: has led historians to describe Medill as a phoenix, but 339 00:20:07,359 --> 00:20:10,200 Speaker 2: first we will hear from the sponsors that keep Stuffuinus 340 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 2: and history class going. 341 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:25,040 Speaker 1: On October ninth, eighteen seventy one, the Great Chicago Fire 342 00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:30,240 Speaker 1: devastated the city. When Medill awoke around midnight, the fire 343 00:20:30,359 --> 00:20:33,480 Speaker 1: was blazing, and he immediately went to the Tribune's offices. 344 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:35,760 Speaker 1: He went out on the roof with some of the 345 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:38,080 Speaker 1: men from the paper with a telescope to watch the 346 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:42,560 Speaker 1: blaze spread, only to discover that their building was catching sparks. 347 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:45,439 Speaker 1: All of the men on the roof hustled to stamp 348 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 1: out the flames when the sparks hit the roof and 349 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:51,640 Speaker 1: caught fire in the very dry night. Medill also made 350 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:54,320 Speaker 1: sure they ran an account of that harrowing night of 351 00:20:54,359 --> 00:20:57,359 Speaker 1: trying to keep the building safe, but then the ground 352 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:01,280 Speaker 1: floor started to catch and despite trying to continue working, 353 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:04,600 Speaker 1: that staff sounds like they stayed till the very bitter end, 354 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:07,639 Speaker 1: but eventually the entire staff did have to evacuate. 355 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:12,320 Speaker 2: Madill was still deeply dedicated to the paper that he loved. 356 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:16,479 Speaker 2: He immediately started to rebuild in rented offices and with 357 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:21,359 Speaker 2: scrounged printing equipment. Madill wrote two editorials that ran on 358 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:24,840 Speaker 2: October eleventh and twelfth that were both very moving and 359 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 2: took a positive tone. The second began, quote all is 360 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:32,960 Speaker 2: not lost. Though four hundred million dollars worth of property 361 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:37,080 Speaker 2: has been destroyed, Chicago still exists. She was not a 362 00:21:37,119 --> 00:21:40,840 Speaker 2: mere collection of stone and bricks and lumber. Those were 363 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:44,560 Speaker 2: but evidence of the power which produced these things. They 364 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:49,199 Speaker 2: were but the external proof of the high courage, unconquerable energy, 365 00:21:49,359 --> 00:21:53,880 Speaker 2: strong faith, and relentless perseverance which have built up here 366 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 2: a commercial metropolis. 367 00:21:56,520 --> 00:22:00,440 Speaker 1: The fire created a whole new chapter of Medill's life. 368 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 1: He became an iconic figure of the city around the 369 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:06,880 Speaker 1: globe as his words were reprinted, and soon a new 370 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:10,639 Speaker 1: political party called the Union fire Proof Party formed and 371 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:14,159 Speaker 1: nominated him as their candidate for mayor of Chicago in 372 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,400 Speaker 1: an election that was scheduled to directly follow the tragedy. 373 00:22:18,119 --> 00:22:21,360 Speaker 1: So four weeks after the fire, Joseph Medill was elected 374 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:24,280 Speaker 1: mayor of Chicago, while the city was still reeling from 375 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:25,880 Speaker 1: the blaze and its aftermath. 376 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:29,440 Speaker 2: His inaugural speech was quite something, and we're going to 377 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:33,440 Speaker 2: quote a lot of it. Unsurprisingly, he talked about the 378 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:36,800 Speaker 2: fire a lot, outlining just how devastating it had been 379 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:39,679 Speaker 2: to the city. Quote, I have been called to the 380 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:44,080 Speaker 2: head of the city government under extraordinary circumstances. A few 381 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:48,600 Speaker 2: weeks ago, our fair city, reposing in fancied security, received 382 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:52,080 Speaker 2: a fearfully tragic visitation from fire, which in a few 383 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:57,560 Speaker 2: brief but awful hours, reduced a large portion thereof to ashes, senders, 384 00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:02,440 Speaker 2: and smoke, consuming one grit division, leaving but a fragment 385 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:05,720 Speaker 2: of another, and inflicting an ugly wound on the third. 386 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:08,720 Speaker 2: In a single night and day, one hundred and twenty 387 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,920 Speaker 2: five thousand of our people were expelled from their homes 388 00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:16,200 Speaker 2: and compelled to flee for their lives into the streets, commons, 389 00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:20,399 Speaker 2: or lake to avoid perishing in the flames. Many lost 390 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 2: their lives from heat, suffocation, or falling walls. How many 391 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:28,280 Speaker 2: may never be known, and the multitudes who escaped were 392 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:31,400 Speaker 2: fained to seek shelter and food at the hand of charity. 393 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 2: The greater part of our citizens not burned out of 394 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:43,680 Speaker 2: their homes, lost their stores, shops, offices, stocks of goods, implements, books, accounts, papers, bouchers, 395 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:48,159 Speaker 2: business or situations. And it is difficult to find any 396 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:52,880 Speaker 2: citizen who has not suffered directly by that fearful conflagration 397 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:57,159 Speaker 2: of the total property in Chicago created by labor and 398 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:01,560 Speaker 2: capital existing on the eighth of October, more than half 399 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:05,560 Speaker 2: perished on the ninth. The money value of the property 400 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:11,439 Speaker 2: thus suddenly annihilated is impossible accurately to ascertain, but it 401 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:15,320 Speaker 2: can hardly fall short of one hundred and fifty millions 402 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:18,959 Speaker 2: of dollars, a comparatively small part of which will be 403 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:23,679 Speaker 2: reimbursed by insurance companies. Such a tremendous loss cannot befall 404 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:29,920 Speaker 2: the people at large without seriously affecting their municipal affairs. 405 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:34,640 Speaker 2: In a move that was unusual and surprisingly transparent, as 406 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:38,760 Speaker 2: his inauguration speech continued, he listed out the hard numbers 407 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:41,560 Speaker 2: of the city's debt, and it almost starts to read 408 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:44,240 Speaker 2: like a meeting agenda for a corporation rather than a 409 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:48,480 Speaker 2: mayoral inauguration address. He stated that as of December first, 410 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:52,760 Speaker 2: eighteen seventy one, the city had fourteen million, one hundred 411 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:56,080 Speaker 2: three thousand dollars in bonded debt, and then he broke 412 00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:59,080 Speaker 2: that down by line item, and then he added in 413 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:02,359 Speaker 2: the city's flowed debt, and he stated that the expenses 414 00:25:02,359 --> 00:25:04,080 Speaker 2: for the city to run for the rest of the 415 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,080 Speaker 2: year were going to be about one million, one hundred 416 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:10,680 Speaker 2: and forty one thousand dollars and sharing all of these 417 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:14,240 Speaker 2: numbers was a way to establish an expectations management for 418 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:18,800 Speaker 2: the city. Madill really wanted his constituents to understand what 419 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:22,000 Speaker 2: their taxes were going to, particularly at a time when 420 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:24,840 Speaker 2: so much recovery had to be done following the fire. 421 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:30,040 Speaker 2: He was particularly troubled by the way city expenses were handled, 422 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:33,240 Speaker 2: even in good times, and he said so, quote from 423 00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:36,240 Speaker 2: time immemorial, it has been the practice of the municipal 424 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:40,280 Speaker 2: government to anticipate its revenues from nine to twelve months 425 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:45,440 Speaker 2: before they are received, a practice which I unqualifiedly condemn 426 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:49,320 Speaker 2: as imprudent and improper, in which I trust will be 427 00:25:49,359 --> 00:25:53,000 Speaker 2: reformed at an early date. The city taxes are collected 428 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:55,359 Speaker 2: in the spring, but as fast as they are paid 429 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:59,320 Speaker 2: in they are needed for the liquidation of floating debt 430 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:03,240 Speaker 2: and accumulation claims, and when these are settled and receded 431 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:07,040 Speaker 2: for the year's taxes are exhausted, and for the residue 432 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:10,440 Speaker 2: of the fiscal year. The government is supported by borrowing 433 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:15,520 Speaker 2: from special funds or the banks, by issuing certificates of indebtedness, 434 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:20,080 Speaker 2: or resorting to other financial devices. This is all wrong. 435 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:24,199 Speaker 2: There should always be in the treasury a sufficiently large 436 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:29,520 Speaker 2: balance to meet current expenses. He explained that this practice 437 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:32,440 Speaker 2: didn't account for disasters, and that it was what put 438 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:35,560 Speaker 2: the city in a very bad financial position following the fire, 439 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:39,240 Speaker 2: noting that if the state had not given them assistance, 440 00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:43,200 Speaker 2: the next two years of city expenses would be impossible 441 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:47,359 Speaker 2: to fund. He also included the hard numbers regarding the 442 00:26:47,359 --> 00:26:49,679 Speaker 2: state's relief and where that was going. 443 00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:54,040 Speaker 1: This was a very long speech. Madill was really trying 444 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:56,320 Speaker 1: to be straight with the city about what was going 445 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 1: to happen in the following years, and to that end 446 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:03,200 Speaker 1: he was comprehensive. He noted that things like adding, widening, 447 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,560 Speaker 1: or extending streets were just not going to happen for 448 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:09,120 Speaker 1: a while, telling those assembled quote, there are no funds 449 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:11,439 Speaker 1: in the treasury now, nor likely to be for a 450 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:14,720 Speaker 1: long time, with which to pay for street extensions or 451 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:18,280 Speaker 1: widenings or pavings, and the city is prohibited from borrowing 452 00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:21,640 Speaker 1: money and adding to the municipal debt for these or 453 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:25,160 Speaker 1: any other purposes. It will be all the city can 454 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:28,760 Speaker 1: possibly do to keep the present improved streets in repair 455 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:31,600 Speaker 1: and clean all the streets in this widespread city. 456 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:36,719 Speaker 2: His plan to aid the city financially was retrenchment, cutting 457 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:40,919 Speaker 2: back on expenditures wherever possible, and his words, quote, there 458 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:43,919 Speaker 2: is nothing that will afford such financial relief to the 459 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:48,320 Speaker 2: city at this time as retrenchment. It is our surest resource, 460 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:51,000 Speaker 2: and better than any credit. We can draw upon it 461 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:54,679 Speaker 2: to a remarkable extent. When we borrow, we must repay 462 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:57,639 Speaker 2: with interest. But when we save an expense, there is 463 00:27:57,680 --> 00:28:01,600 Speaker 2: no debt created, and neither princes or interest to provide 464 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:05,040 Speaker 2: for the fire fiend came like a thief in the 465 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:08,760 Speaker 2: night and caught our municipal government living in excess of 466 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:13,800 Speaker 2: its income, with a loose discipline in some departments, inefficiency 467 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:17,960 Speaker 2: in others, and extravagance in all. He mentioned that every 468 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:21,240 Speaker 2: city department needed to be assessed and overhauled to see 469 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:24,880 Speaker 2: where the money was being spent unnecessarily, and he said 470 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:27,679 Speaker 2: that he felt quote a multitude of expenses can be 471 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:32,840 Speaker 2: lopped off without detriment to the public interests. That included 472 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:35,720 Speaker 2: cutting city employees that were in roles where there just 473 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:38,240 Speaker 2: wasn't enough work to keep them busy, and he thought 474 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:40,680 Speaker 2: that would save half a million dollars right off the top, 475 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:44,840 Speaker 2: and some of this waste within departments he was confident 476 00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:48,480 Speaker 2: was tied to corruption, as quote the disparate, vicious and 477 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:52,320 Speaker 2: criminal classes were placed on the city payrolls, and sinecure 478 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:56,400 Speaker 2: offices for satellites were created by the thousand. But he 479 00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:58,280 Speaker 2: also thought that it was going to be easy to 480 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:02,880 Speaker 2: identify these corrupt players government because quote rascality sooner or 481 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:07,560 Speaker 2: later oversteps all bounds of shame, neglects to cover its tracks, 482 00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:11,560 Speaker 2: and suddenly stands exposed and confounded by an indignant and 483 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:12,760 Speaker 2: plundered community. 484 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 1: Toward the end of. 485 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:18,000 Speaker 2: The speech, he talked about taking steps to ensure that 486 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:20,840 Speaker 2: a fire like the one they had just experienced couldn't 487 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:24,480 Speaker 2: happen again. He attributed the disaster to the fact that 488 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:28,200 Speaker 2: Chicago sits quote on the lake border of a boundless 489 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:33,320 Speaker 2: prairie swept continually by high winds. He mentioned that while 490 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:36,680 Speaker 2: only a few thousand brick and stone structures stood in 491 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:39,400 Speaker 2: the city at the time, there were more than sixty 492 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:43,120 Speaker 2: thousand built out of pine, and stated that quote for 493 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:48,160 Speaker 2: miles square there was little bit pine structures, pine sidewalks, 494 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 2: pine planing mills, manufactures of pine, and pine lumber yards. 495 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:57,240 Speaker 2: He very clearly wanted to reform the city's construction methods 496 00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:01,960 Speaker 2: to brick, stone, iron, concrete, and slate and away from pine, 497 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:05,520 Speaker 2: telling his listeners quote, if we rebuild the city with 498 00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:09,520 Speaker 2: this dangerous material, we have a moral certainty at no 499 00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:14,680 Speaker 2: distant day of a recurrence of the late catastrophe. He 500 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:18,040 Speaker 2: proposed that there should be no wooden building erected in 501 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:22,200 Speaker 2: Chicago going forward, with the exception of very temporary structures, 502 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:25,520 Speaker 2: and that the city's elected officials needed to develop a 503 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:29,320 Speaker 2: well thought out fire ordinance and to develop a robust 504 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:32,160 Speaker 2: system of supplying water to fires. 505 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:36,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, not too long before all of this, the city 506 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:39,840 Speaker 1: of Chicago had actually raised itself up to make space 507 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:44,320 Speaker 1: for things like sewage lines and other infrastructure items, and 508 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:47,080 Speaker 1: in doing so they had used a lot of pine. 509 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:49,320 Speaker 1: So in addition to the buildings, there was just like 510 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:53,120 Speaker 1: a lot of infrastructure that depended on a very flammable wood. 511 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:57,280 Speaker 1: And all of this proposed reform, he believed, was what 512 00:30:57,320 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 1: the voters wanted, saying quote, if I comprehend the meaning 513 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:04,480 Speaker 1: of the recent municipal election, one of its chief purposes 514 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:07,880 Speaker 1: was to secure the reforms and economies which I have named, 515 00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:11,520 Speaker 1: and the people will be bitterly disappointed and indignant if 516 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:13,120 Speaker 1: they are not fairly carried out. 517 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:16,760 Speaker 2: He wanted to talk about more things, but recognized he 518 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:19,960 Speaker 2: had already talked too long, stating, quote, there are other 519 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:23,080 Speaker 2: important subjects to which I would call your attention, where 520 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:26,680 Speaker 2: this communication not already too long. But I found it 521 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:30,560 Speaker 2: impossible to discuss the extraordinary condition of things in which 522 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:33,479 Speaker 2: the fire has placed the city government in the brief 523 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:37,040 Speaker 2: space usually occupied by a mayor's inaugural. 524 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:40,880 Speaker 1: That speech, as you just heard, noted a lot of 525 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:43,800 Speaker 1: things that Madill wanted to happen, and he ended up 526 00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:46,680 Speaker 1: taking emergency powers to enact most of it. He had 527 00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:49,640 Speaker 1: basically kind of done some wheeling and dealing in government 528 00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:53,400 Speaker 1: for the mayor's role to be expanded, and in the 529 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:55,920 Speaker 1: early part of his term, for roughly the first year, 530 00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:58,800 Speaker 1: he was able to use those expanded powers to enact 531 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:03,080 Speaker 1: a lot of financial ROAs with no real resistance. He 532 00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:05,320 Speaker 1: made a lot of improvements to the city, and he's 533 00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:07,960 Speaker 1: credited with the speed with which it bounced back after 534 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:11,880 Speaker 1: the fire. He raised and estimated five million dollars for 535 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:16,120 Speaker 1: Chicago's rebuilding efforts, including one thousand dollars that came directly 536 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:21,040 Speaker 1: from President Grant's personal fund. In eighteen seventy two, Madill 537 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:24,240 Speaker 1: turned his energies to the establishment of a public library 538 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:26,360 Speaker 1: for Chicago's citizens. 539 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:32,400 Speaker 2: But as his term continued, conflicts arose. One problem was 540 00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:35,479 Speaker 2: that he tended to appoint his friends from his vast 541 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:39,040 Speaker 2: network of political connections to various roles in the government. 542 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:44,320 Speaker 2: While these men were usually experienced, they were probably capable, 543 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:48,479 Speaker 2: they often did not come from or represent the people 544 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:53,480 Speaker 2: of the districts where they worked. They were all white Protestants. 545 00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:55,560 Speaker 2: That meant that a lot of people in the city 546 00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:00,360 Speaker 2: were being represented by people who just didn't understand their 547 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:04,320 Speaker 2: lives that were making decisions about their neighborhoods. Immigrants got 548 00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:06,920 Speaker 2: very little representation in the government. 549 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:08,560 Speaker 1: If you've remember. 550 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:13,200 Speaker 2: Any of our other episodes about nineteenth century Chicago had 551 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:17,680 Speaker 2: very large immigrant population, a lot of racial diversity as 552 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:21,320 Speaker 2: people moved north from the South, freed people moving north, 553 00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:24,440 Speaker 2: and that just was not what the city government looked 554 00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:27,000 Speaker 2: like at all. Yeah, none of those people had anyone 555 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:30,640 Speaker 2: to really represent them. The stress of the job of mayor, 556 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:34,800 Speaker 2: as people shifted from unilateral support to challenging his decisions, 557 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:38,480 Speaker 2: took a toll on Medill's health. The final three and 558 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:41,200 Speaker 2: a half months of his mayoral term were served by 559 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:45,040 Speaker 2: Chicago City Council member Lester lagrant Bond, who. 560 00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:48,480 Speaker 1: Was appointed by Medill. Joseph went on a trip to 561 00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:52,160 Speaker 1: Europe to rest at the behest of his doctor. Although 562 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:54,240 Speaker 1: he finished on a leave of absence and at that 563 00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:57,840 Speaker 1: point not everybody was a fan, Madill was still offered 564 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:00,520 Speaker 1: a lot of high profile positions with the the US 565 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:04,560 Speaker 1: government in the years following his trip, but he wanted 566 00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:07,840 Speaker 1: to go back to journalism. When Medill and his family 567 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:11,000 Speaker 1: got back to the US after a full year abroad, 568 00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:13,680 Speaker 1: Joseph was a man with a mission, and that mission 569 00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:17,520 Speaker 1: was to get his paper back. He had acquired some 570 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:20,239 Speaker 1: additional stock here and there, but not enough to get 571 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:25,600 Speaker 1: a controlling interest. He borrowed a staggering three hundred thousand 572 00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:30,000 Speaker 1: dollars from Marshall Field to purchase six hundred additional shares 573 00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:33,280 Speaker 1: of stock, which tipped him over a thousand shares total, 574 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:37,360 Speaker 1: which was enough to control the publication. He reinstalled himself 575 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:39,800 Speaker 1: as editor, and he stayed in that job until the 576 00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:43,319 Speaker 1: day he died. This also marks a shift in his 577 00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:46,640 Speaker 1: political use of the paper. While he had taken a 578 00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:50,440 Speaker 1: fairly progressive and liberal stance when it came to Lincoln's presidency, 579 00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:53,799 Speaker 1: and specifically the issue of slavery when it came to 580 00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:57,080 Speaker 1: labor and government management. In these later years, he was 581 00:34:57,120 --> 00:35:01,000 Speaker 1: a lot more conservative after his time in office. Just 582 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:03,560 Speaker 1: as he had used the paper to promote Lincoln's agenda, 583 00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:07,839 Speaker 1: he started using it as an anti union outlet once 584 00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:12,239 Speaker 1: he was the controlling shareholder. In late eighteen ninety eight, 585 00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:15,759 Speaker 1: Medill's doctor told him he needed to spend winters in 586 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:19,480 Speaker 1: a drier climate than could happen in Chicago, so he 587 00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:23,160 Speaker 1: traveled to San Antonio, Texas. It was there that he 588 00:35:23,239 --> 00:35:27,640 Speaker 1: died on March sixteenth, eighteen ninety nine. Kitty had died 589 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:32,239 Speaker 1: five years earlier. Medill's doctor released a statement that ran 590 00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:34,680 Speaker 1: in the papers, saying that he had been in good 591 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:38,920 Speaker 1: health overall until near the very end. His cause of 592 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:43,240 Speaker 1: death was heart failure. He was reportedly awake and lucid 593 00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:45,520 Speaker 1: until the very end of his life, and his last 594 00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:48,640 Speaker 1: words have been reported as what's the news this morning. 595 00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:54,720 Speaker 1: Medill's journalism legacy continued in his family. Three of his grandchildren, 596 00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:59,360 Speaker 1: Robert R. McCormick, Joseph Patterson, and Eleanor Patterson, all became 597 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:03,960 Speaker 1: publishers of high profile newspapers. Robert worked in the same 598 00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:07,200 Speaker 1: role as his grandfather at the helm of the Chicago Tribune. 599 00:36:08,239 --> 00:36:11,040 Speaker 1: He might be a future episode. That Tribune got much 600 00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:14,279 Speaker 1: more conservative under his leadership, and in nineteen twenty one, 601 00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:18,359 Speaker 1: the Middle School of Journalism was dedicated at Northwestern University. 602 00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:22,040 Speaker 1: Do you have some listener mail before we close out 603 00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:25,160 Speaker 1: the episode? Oh? I do, and it delights me utterly. 604 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:26,120 Speaker 2: Uh. 605 00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:28,839 Speaker 1: This is from our listener, Catherine. I feel like this 606 00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:32,359 Speaker 1: is a day of Catherine's in this episode. Catherine writes, Hi, Holly, 607 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:36,120 Speaker 1: and Tracy. After the episode featuring Rebecca Raccoon, I wanted 608 00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:38,560 Speaker 1: to write in with this story. I work at an 609 00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:41,160 Speaker 1: animal shelter, and many years ago we were able to 610 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:45,319 Speaker 1: move operations to a beautiful new building. Shortly after we 611 00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:47,640 Speaker 1: opened our new building to the public, I was walking 612 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:50,839 Speaker 1: through the lobby and saw a woman looking lost and confused. 613 00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:53,120 Speaker 1: When I approached her to ask if I could help 614 00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:56,839 Speaker 1: her find something, she very excitedly asked me, yes, where 615 00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:59,920 Speaker 1: are your raccoons. I was so confused that I was 616 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:03,040 Speaker 1: completely silent for about thirty seconds, and then it finally 617 00:37:03,080 --> 00:37:05,560 Speaker 1: clicked and I asked her if she was looking for 618 00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:08,839 Speaker 1: a raccoon to adopt. She told me yes, and I 619 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:11,760 Speaker 1: informed her that that is not legal in our state. 620 00:37:12,239 --> 00:37:14,520 Speaker 1: She was so sad. I felt a little bad for 621 00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:17,799 Speaker 1: spoiling her dreams of raccoon ownership, although I do love 622 00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:20,200 Speaker 1: that she wanted to go the adopt, don't shop route. 623 00:37:20,800 --> 00:37:23,000 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for the wonderful podcast. I love 624 00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:25,440 Speaker 1: learning new things every week for pet tax I have 625 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:28,600 Speaker 1: attached a photo of my two cats, both adopted from 626 00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:31,360 Speaker 1: my work. Sputnik is the big gray boy and the 627 00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:34,640 Speaker 1: Torti is Pocket, who is actually a rare male tourty. 628 00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:40,319 Speaker 1: Thanks again for the wonderful episode, Catherine. These babies are 629 00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:43,319 Speaker 1: so cute. I love a solid gray cat that's like 630 00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:46,120 Speaker 1: one of the many cats of my heart. And yes, 631 00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:49,120 Speaker 1: male tourty is very rare. If you have a male tourty, 632 00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:53,040 Speaker 1: I think they are always sterile, like they could never 633 00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:57,920 Speaker 1: have offspring. But they are both utterly gorgeous creatures, so pretty. 634 00:37:58,120 --> 00:38:01,799 Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, I want to kiss those faith so much. 635 00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:07,719 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for this note, Catherine. I appreciate 636 00:38:07,719 --> 00:38:10,839 Speaker 1: that people want to want raccoons. They're cute. I feel 637 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:13,239 Speaker 1: like after Guardians of the Galaxy, a lot of people 638 00:38:13,280 --> 00:38:17,200 Speaker 1: wanted to pet raccoon, but they usually can't talk. Just FYI, 639 00:38:19,880 --> 00:38:22,680 Speaker 1: you would like to write to us and share your 640 00:38:22,719 --> 00:38:25,960 Speaker 1: stories of odd animal adoption dreams, or whatever it is 641 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:27,920 Speaker 1: you'd like to talk about. You can do so at 642 00:38:28,040 --> 00:38:32,239 Speaker 1: History podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. You can also subscribe 643 00:38:32,280 --> 00:38:34,719 Speaker 1: on the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to your 644 00:38:34,719 --> 00:38:37,319 Speaker 1: favorite podcasts. 645 00:38:41,280 --> 00:38:44,360 Speaker 2: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 646 00:38:44,719 --> 00:38:49,319 Speaker 2: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 647 00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:53,000 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.