Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia

Matthew Skic from the Museum of the American Revolution and I talk about their exhibit Black Founders:  The Forten Family of Philadelphia .  9-year old James Forten heard the Declaration of Independence read in July of 1776, and never forgot its promise of liberty and equality.  At the age of 14 he signed aboard a privateer, was captured, taken to New York where a British officer offered to release him and send him to England.  He refused rather than betray his country.  Back in Philadelphia after the war he became a successful businessman--a sail maker--one of the wealthiest Black men in the country, and the chief benefactor of William Lloyd Garrison's newspaper The Liberator.  Join us to hear more about James Forten and his family's story--and for more on Forten, read Julie Winch's great book Gentleman of Color.

Transcript

WEBVTT
 
 00:00:01.290 --> 00:00:02.071
 Hello, everyone.
 
 00:00:02.310 --> 00:00:04.932
 Welcome to the Revolution 250 podcast.
 
 00:00:05.032 --> 00:00:05.911
 I am Bob Allison.
 
 00:00:05.952 --> 00:00:07.932
 I chair the Rev 250 Advisory Group.
 
 00:00:08.391 --> 00:00:10.413
 We are a consortium of 70
 
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 organizations in
 
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 Massachusetts looking at
 
 00:00:12.473 --> 00:00:13.333
 ways to commemorate the
 
 00:00:13.372 --> 00:00:15.034
 beginnings of American independence.
 
 00:00:15.694 --> 00:00:17.673
 And our guest today is Matthew Skick.
 
 00:00:17.774 --> 00:00:19.655
 And Matthew, welcome to the podcast,
 
 00:00:19.695 --> 00:00:20.054
 Matthew.
 
 00:00:21.094 --> 00:00:22.035
 Thank you for having me, Bob.
 
 00:00:22.835 --> 00:00:23.795
 And Matthew Skick is the
 
 00:00:23.856 --> 00:00:25.475
 curator of exhibitions at
 
 00:00:25.515 --> 00:00:26.635
 the Museum of the American
 
 00:00:26.696 --> 00:00:28.277
 Revolution in Philadelphia.
 
 00:00:28.336 --> 00:00:29.396
 Tremendous institution.
 
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 You've been there since the beginning.
 
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 Yes, I joined the staff in June of 2016.
 
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 And that previous summer in 2015,
 
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 I had interned for the museum.
 
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 So I got a chance to help
 
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 open the museum to the public in 2017.
 
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 It's really an exciting
 
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 opportunity to open
 
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 something new that's going
 
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 to tell these old stories,
 
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 but tell them in a new way.
 
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 Definitely.
 
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 And it's a lifelong passion
 
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 of mine to study the
 
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 American Revolution and to
 
 00:00:58.189 --> 00:00:59.570
 be able to open a national
 
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 scale institution dedicated
 
 00:01:01.453 --> 00:01:02.774
 to telling that story.
 
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 It's a once in a lifetime opportunity.
 
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 I'm so happy to be a part of it.
 
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 And you're just telling me
 
 00:01:08.983 --> 00:01:09.823
 you grew up near
 
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 Washington's Crossing in New Jersey.
 
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 That's right.
 
 00:01:12.811 --> 00:01:12.932
 Yeah,
 
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 about 10 minutes away from where
 
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 Washington crossed the
 
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 Delaware in central New Jersey.
 
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 And my first job as a
 
 00:01:20.993 --> 00:01:21.993
 teenager was as a
 
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 historical interpreter at
 
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 Washington Crossing State Park.
 
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 Good thing you stuck with it
 
 00:01:26.896 --> 00:01:27.975
 then through college and
 
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 through you got an M.A.
 
 00:01:29.355 --> 00:01:30.495
 at the University of
 
 00:01:30.536 --> 00:01:31.356
 Delaware in the winter.
 
 00:01:33.427 --> 00:01:33.647
 you know,
 
 00:01:33.686 --> 00:01:35.066
 doing material culture kinds of
 
 00:01:35.106 --> 00:01:37.468
 things to prepare your career in museums.
 
 00:01:37.867 --> 00:01:38.628
 Exactly right.
 
 00:01:38.867 --> 00:01:39.569
 Yep.
 
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 I wrote in,
 
 00:01:41.188 --> 00:01:42.149
 I remember writing in seventh
 
 00:01:42.168 --> 00:01:43.228
 grade that I wanted to be a
 
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 museum curator.
 
 00:01:45.010 --> 00:01:49.131
 And here I am now getting to do that.
 
 00:01:49.850 --> 00:01:52.792
 And I studied history down in Washington,
 
 00:01:52.811 --> 00:01:53.132
 D.C.
 
 00:01:53.171 --> 00:01:54.331
 at American University and
 
 00:01:54.371 --> 00:01:55.031
 then went to the University
 
 00:01:55.091 --> 00:01:56.612
 of Delaware to continue
 
 00:01:57.132 --> 00:01:59.253
 that path and then landed
 
 00:01:59.274 --> 00:01:59.993
 here at the museum.
 
 00:02:00.853 --> 00:02:01.034
 Great.
 
 00:02:01.587 --> 00:02:02.207
 And we're actually going to
 
 00:02:02.227 --> 00:02:03.969
 talk about one of the
 
 00:02:04.049 --> 00:02:05.070
 exhibits you've had up.
 
 00:02:05.090 --> 00:02:06.212
 You still have the virtual
 
 00:02:06.272 --> 00:02:07.674
 exhibit about one of these
 
 00:02:07.754 --> 00:02:10.177
 extraordinary figures in American history,
 
 00:02:10.217 --> 00:02:11.860
 James Fortin of Philadelphia.
 
 00:02:13.455 --> 00:02:13.716
 Right.
 
 00:02:14.056 --> 00:02:17.939
 So last year, in February of 2023,
 
 00:02:17.939 --> 00:02:19.762
 the Museum of the American
 
 00:02:19.782 --> 00:02:22.183
 Revolution opened up Black Founders,
 
 00:02:22.223 --> 00:02:24.205
 the Fortin Family of Philadelphia,
 
 00:02:24.725 --> 00:02:27.407
 which was the first major
 
 00:02:27.527 --> 00:02:29.210
 exhibit to tell the story
 
 00:02:29.650 --> 00:02:31.792
 of the Fortin family,
 
 00:02:31.872 --> 00:02:33.794
 a whole exhibit dedicated
 
 00:02:33.834 --> 00:02:34.875
 to telling that story.
 
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 And the focal point of the
 
 00:02:38.557 --> 00:02:40.719
 story is James Fortin,
 
 00:02:41.300 --> 00:02:44.984
 who as a young man,
 
 00:02:45.024 --> 00:02:46.665
 he grew up here in Philadelphia,
 
 00:02:46.725 --> 00:02:48.227
 part of the growing free
 
 00:02:48.287 --> 00:02:50.209
 black community in Philadelphia.
 
 00:02:51.237 --> 00:02:52.318
 And as a teenager,
 
 00:02:52.397 --> 00:02:53.419
 he signed up to serve
 
 00:02:53.459 --> 00:02:55.139
 aboard a privateer ship
 
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 fighting on behalf of the
 
 00:02:56.680 --> 00:02:57.580
 United States during the
 
 00:02:57.599 --> 00:02:58.520
 Revolutionary War.
 
 00:02:59.080 --> 00:02:59.941
 And then he went on to
 
 00:02:59.980 --> 00:03:02.542
 become a successful
 
 00:03:03.262 --> 00:03:05.201
 businessman here in Philadelphia,
 
 00:03:05.723 --> 00:03:08.022
 accumulated great wealth as a sail maker,
 
 00:03:08.383 --> 00:03:09.163
 became the wealthiest
 
 00:03:09.223 --> 00:03:11.183
 African-American person in
 
 00:03:11.223 --> 00:03:12.645
 the city and perhaps even
 
 00:03:12.664 --> 00:03:13.844
 the entire United States in
 
 00:03:13.865 --> 00:03:16.665
 the early 19th century and had
 
 00:03:17.925 --> 00:03:19.788
 eight children who survived to adulthood.
 
 00:03:20.187 --> 00:03:21.788
 And so we talked about not
 
 00:03:21.849 --> 00:03:22.669
 only James Fortin,
 
 00:03:22.710 --> 00:03:24.230
 but the generation of his
 
 00:03:24.290 --> 00:03:26.112
 children and also his grandchildren.
 
 00:03:26.133 --> 00:03:27.614
 So three generations of one
 
 00:03:27.674 --> 00:03:30.576
 family from 1776 to 1876.
 
 00:03:30.576 --> 00:03:35.080
 So it's a great way to look at,
 
 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:36.561
 use one family as a window
 
 00:03:36.580 --> 00:03:37.262
 through which to look at
 
 00:03:37.301 --> 00:03:38.663
 the first 100 years of the
 
 00:03:38.682 --> 00:03:40.585
 United States as an independent nation.
 
 00:03:41.885 --> 00:03:42.225
 It really is.
 
 00:03:42.286 --> 00:03:43.447
 And a lot of exciting things
 
 00:03:43.646 --> 00:03:44.448
 in the exhibit,
 
 00:03:44.487 --> 00:03:46.068
 but I think one of the favorites is
 
 00:03:46.521 --> 00:03:47.664
 the bible that is you were
 
 00:03:47.724 --> 00:03:49.688
 able to find or one of his
 
 00:03:49.729 --> 00:03:51.453
 descendants put on
 
 00:03:51.533 --> 00:03:53.076
 permanent like a gift to
 
 00:03:53.097 --> 00:03:55.241
 the museum of the fortin family bible
 
 00:03:56.290 --> 00:03:56.730
 That's right.
 
 00:03:56.811 --> 00:03:57.051
 Yeah,
 
 00:03:57.472 --> 00:04:00.253
 it was truly remarkable and very
 
 00:04:00.493 --> 00:04:01.275
 generous.
 
 00:04:01.935 --> 00:04:04.137
 And as we were doing a lot
 
 00:04:04.176 --> 00:04:05.777
 of the preparatory research
 
 00:04:06.519 --> 00:04:07.658
 for the exhibit,
 
 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:09.281
 we were working alongside
 
 00:04:09.341 --> 00:04:12.022
 James Fortin's biographer, Julie Winch.
 
 00:04:12.782 --> 00:04:14.383
 From UMass Boston.
 
 00:04:15.025 --> 00:04:16.586
 Exactly, UMass Boston.
 
 00:04:16.846 --> 00:04:16.946
 And
 
 00:04:18.322 --> 00:04:20.963
 She, after her book was published,
 
 00:04:21.004 --> 00:04:21.983
 A Gentleman of Color,
 
 00:04:22.004 --> 00:04:23.084
 The Life of James Fortin,
 
 00:04:23.105 --> 00:04:26.105
 that was about just over 20 years ago now,
 
 00:04:26.946 --> 00:04:29.947
 she was got in contact,
 
 00:04:30.846 --> 00:04:32.247
 was actually contacted by a
 
 00:04:32.747 --> 00:04:34.367
 direct descendant of James Fortin.
 
 00:04:34.387 --> 00:04:35.988
 In fact, his great, great, great,
 
 00:04:36.228 --> 00:04:40.009
 great grandson who lives out in Illinois,
 
 00:04:40.029 --> 00:04:41.391
 but is originally from Philadelphia.
 
 00:04:42.250 --> 00:04:42.771
 And he said,
 
 00:04:42.790 --> 00:04:45.353
 I have the Fortin family Bible.
 
 00:04:45.713 --> 00:04:48.475
 But and Julie kept in touch
 
 00:04:48.615 --> 00:04:51.175
 with Atwood Fortin Jacobs.
 
 00:04:51.216 --> 00:04:52.317
 He goes by Kip, though.
 
 00:04:53.137 --> 00:04:55.338
 And and then we rekindled
 
 00:04:55.379 --> 00:04:57.319
 that connection with him in
 
 00:04:57.600 --> 00:04:59.341
 anticipation of this exhibit.
 
 00:05:00.141 --> 00:05:00.822
 And so.
 
 00:05:01.721 --> 00:05:02.262
 Initially,
 
 00:05:02.923 --> 00:05:05.384
 Kip and his daughter Taylor put
 
 00:05:05.423 --> 00:05:08.964
 the Bible on loan to the museum,
 
 00:05:09.365 --> 00:05:11.206
 but then they decided in
 
 00:05:11.286 --> 00:05:13.788
 March of 2023 to donate it to the museum.
 
 00:05:13.867 --> 00:05:14.867
 And so it's now part of our
 
 00:05:14.908 --> 00:05:16.108
 collection and it's
 
 00:05:16.149 --> 00:05:18.430
 currently on display in our core exhibit.
 
 00:05:19.689 --> 00:05:22.151
 But what's great about this
 
 00:05:22.190 --> 00:05:24.971
 particular Bible is that in
 
 00:05:25.011 --> 00:05:25.951
 the middle of it, it has,
 
 00:05:26.190 --> 00:05:27.591
 like many other Bibles,
 
 00:05:28.012 --> 00:05:30.031
 family records pages.
 
 00:05:30.411 --> 00:05:32.273
 So listing out births, deaths,
 
 00:05:32.413 --> 00:05:35.333
 and marriages for seven
 
 00:05:35.372 --> 00:05:36.593
 generations of the family.
 
 00:05:37.454 --> 00:05:40.353
 And in some cases,
 
 00:05:40.533 --> 00:05:41.995
 this is the only place
 
 00:05:42.035 --> 00:05:43.014
 where that genealogical
 
 00:05:43.055 --> 00:05:44.035
 information is written down.
 
 00:05:45.838 --> 00:05:48.399
 And so it's a real treasure
 
 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:50.800
 for Philadelphia,
 
 00:05:51.321 --> 00:05:53.262
 especially African-American
 
 00:05:53.302 --> 00:05:55.603
 history in this city and
 
 00:05:55.803 --> 00:05:56.504
 connected to such a
 
 00:05:56.564 --> 00:05:58.384
 prominent Black family of
 
 00:05:58.425 --> 00:05:59.586
 the early 19th century.
 
 00:06:00.987 --> 00:06:01.887
 It's truly remarkable.
 
 00:06:02.666 --> 00:06:03.088
 It really is.
 
 00:06:03.848 --> 00:06:05.228
 We're talking with Matthew Skick,
 
 00:06:05.288 --> 00:06:06.670
 the curator of exhibitions
 
 00:06:06.730 --> 00:06:07.430
 at the Museum of the
 
 00:06:07.449 --> 00:06:09.211
 American Revolution in Philadelphia,
 
 00:06:09.230 --> 00:06:11.192
 and we're talking about their exhibit,
 
 00:06:11.252 --> 00:06:12.233
 Black Founders,
 
 00:06:12.312 --> 00:06:14.413
 the Fortin Family of Philadelphia.
 
 00:06:15.048 --> 00:06:16.269
 And James Fortner said he's
 
 00:06:16.329 --> 00:06:17.411
 born in Philadelphia and
 
 00:06:17.451 --> 00:06:19.394
 he's about nine years old in 1776.
 
 00:06:19.394 --> 00:06:22.235
 And he hears the Declaration
 
 00:06:22.255 --> 00:06:23.278
 of Independence read
 
 00:06:23.338 --> 00:06:24.639
 outside Independence Hall
 
 00:06:24.678 --> 00:06:25.699
 in July of 1776.
 
 00:06:25.699 --> 00:06:28.622
 And this makes a great impression on him.
 
 00:06:29.956 --> 00:06:30.516
 It sure does.
 
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 And this is a story that he
 
 00:06:31.576 --> 00:06:32.598
 would continue to tell
 
 00:06:32.637 --> 00:06:33.778
 throughout his life to say
 
 00:06:33.817 --> 00:06:35.439
 that he was there for that
 
 00:06:35.499 --> 00:06:38.360
 day on July 8th, 1776,
 
 00:06:38.360 --> 00:06:39.221
 during the first public
 
 00:06:39.281 --> 00:06:40.341
 reading of the Declaration
 
 00:06:40.382 --> 00:06:41.101
 of Independence.
 
 00:06:41.521 --> 00:06:42.122
 Like you said, Bob,
 
 00:06:42.142 --> 00:06:43.843
 he's just nine years old at the time.
 
 00:06:44.783 --> 00:06:48.146
 And this Declaration of
 
 00:06:48.185 --> 00:06:49.146
 Independence is something
 
 00:06:49.187 --> 00:06:50.908
 that he would quote and
 
 00:06:51.247 --> 00:06:53.048
 reference in his later
 
 00:06:53.129 --> 00:06:54.689
 writings when he is on the
 
 00:06:54.769 --> 00:06:57.391
 rise as an abolitionist leader, a
 
 00:06:59.632 --> 00:07:00.754
 equal rights leader,
 
 00:07:01.154 --> 00:07:03.798
 a civil rights leader in Philadelphia.
 
 00:07:04.298 --> 00:07:05.519
 And when he sort of enters
 
 00:07:05.579 --> 00:07:08.004
 the more national stage
 
 00:07:08.925 --> 00:07:11.028
 through his writings in the
 
 00:07:11.067 --> 00:07:11.908
 early 19th century,
 
 00:07:11.928 --> 00:07:14.012
 he's frequently quoting the
 
 00:07:14.052 --> 00:07:15.353
 Declaration of Independence
 
 00:07:16.053 --> 00:07:17.355
 and referring to it and
 
 00:07:17.394 --> 00:07:18.716
 saying that this is what
 
 00:07:18.735 --> 00:07:20.038
 the United States needs to
 
 00:07:20.077 --> 00:07:23.519
 live up to and adhere to.
 
 00:07:23.560 --> 00:07:24.821
 These are the founding ideals.
 
 00:07:25.922 --> 00:07:26.523
 And that's one of the
 
 00:07:26.543 --> 00:07:27.262
 reasons why we called the
 
 00:07:27.302 --> 00:07:28.564
 exhibit Black Founders.
 
 00:07:28.785 --> 00:07:29.725
 James Fortin is trying to
 
 00:07:29.805 --> 00:07:32.708
 encourage the United States
 
 00:07:32.767 --> 00:07:35.850
 to increase and enhance and
 
 00:07:36.011 --> 00:07:37.112
 strengthen its commitment
 
 00:07:37.192 --> 00:07:39.273
 to its founding ideals,
 
 00:07:39.814 --> 00:07:40.814
 ideals that James Fortin
 
 00:07:41.115 --> 00:07:42.415
 fought for as a teenager.
 
 00:07:42.435 --> 00:07:43.396
 Right.
 
 00:07:43.874 --> 00:07:44.053
 Right.
 
 00:07:44.374 --> 00:07:44.514
 Yeah.
 
 00:07:44.535 --> 00:07:45.355
 So then when he's 14,
 
 00:07:45.355 --> 00:07:47.257
 he enlists aboard a privateer,
 
 00:07:47.297 --> 00:07:49.358
 the Royal Lewis or Royal Louis.
 
 00:07:49.737 --> 00:07:50.598
 Yes, exactly.
 
 00:07:50.658 --> 00:07:52.360
 Named for King Louis XVI,
 
 00:07:52.500 --> 00:07:54.661
 the new ally of the United States.
 
 00:07:56.002 --> 00:07:58.524
 And this privateer vessel
 
 00:07:59.365 --> 00:08:00.745
 was a purpose built vessel
 
 00:08:00.805 --> 00:08:02.206
 for privateering made here
 
 00:08:02.226 --> 00:08:02.588
 in Philadelphia,
 
 00:08:02.608 --> 00:08:03.709
 built here in Philadelphia.
 
 00:08:04.428 --> 00:08:07.391
 Its captain was Stephen Decatur,
 
 00:08:07.651 --> 00:08:08.612
 the father of the more
 
 00:08:08.632 --> 00:08:10.052
 famous Stephen Decatur.
 
 00:08:10.833 --> 00:08:15.016
 And Stephen Decatur commanded that vessel.
 
 00:08:15.516 --> 00:08:18.038
 And in the summer of 1781,
 
 00:08:18.038 --> 00:08:18.939
 when he took command,
 
 00:08:19.158 --> 00:08:21.240
 James Fortin was one of the
 
 00:08:21.259 --> 00:08:22.680
 youngest members of the crew,
 
 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:24.341
 but one of about 20 or so
 
 00:08:25.442 --> 00:08:27.084
 black sailors aboard the ship.
 
 00:08:28.045 --> 00:08:29.745
 And the first voyage that
 
 00:08:29.786 --> 00:08:31.226
 the Royal Lewis goes on in
 
 00:08:31.247 --> 00:08:32.227
 the late summer of 1781 is
 
 00:08:32.248 --> 00:08:32.748
 pretty successful.
 
 00:08:34.548 --> 00:08:35.889
 They tow in some British
 
 00:08:35.970 --> 00:08:38.231
 prizes back to Philadelphia.
 
 00:08:39.293 --> 00:08:43.355
 They auction off those prizes.
 
 00:08:43.657 --> 00:08:45.677
 And so the crew earns money
 
 00:08:45.778 --> 00:08:46.759
 from those captures.
 
 00:08:47.779 --> 00:08:49.682
 And then the Royal Lewis
 
 00:08:49.701 --> 00:08:52.364
 goes on its second voyage,
 
 00:08:53.203 --> 00:08:55.566
 but it falls quickly into British hands.
 
 00:08:55.645 --> 00:08:58.229
 It's captured by a superior vessel called
 
 00:08:58.869 --> 00:08:59.710
 the Amphion,
 
 00:08:59.789 --> 00:09:03.614
 and based on the logbook of the Amphion,
 
 00:09:03.653 --> 00:09:05.916
 the HMS Amphion,
 
 00:09:07.096 --> 00:09:08.418
 that capture was made just
 
 00:09:08.499 --> 00:09:10.660
 off the coast of Virginia
 
 00:09:11.182 --> 00:09:14.221
 in October of 1781.
 
 00:09:14.221 --> 00:09:16.043
 This is right around the time of Yorktown.
 
 00:09:16.384 --> 00:09:17.125
 Exactly right.
 
 00:09:17.245 --> 00:09:17.465
 Yeah.
 
 00:09:17.524 --> 00:09:18.405
 So there's a lot of things
 
 00:09:18.446 --> 00:09:19.788
 going on in that area.
 
 00:09:20.168 --> 00:09:22.350
 And there's a lot of French
 
 00:09:22.490 --> 00:09:24.572
 and British naval activity going on.
 
 00:09:24.611 --> 00:09:26.354
 And the Royal Lewis sort of
 
 00:09:26.833 --> 00:09:27.634
 falls into that.
 
 00:09:29.015 --> 00:09:30.538
 And they're captured.
 
 00:09:31.158 --> 00:09:33.859
 The crew and the ship are
 
 00:09:33.918 --> 00:09:35.419
 brought up to New York, of course,
 
 00:09:35.460 --> 00:09:37.279
 which is occupied by the British,
 
 00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:39.240
 their headquarters in North America.
 
 00:09:40.201 --> 00:09:42.442
 And James Fortin and his
 
 00:09:42.522 --> 00:09:45.822
 crewmates are put aboard the prison ship,
 
 00:09:45.883 --> 00:09:47.803
 the Jersey, in New York Harbor.
 
 00:09:48.825 --> 00:09:50.465
 Notorious prison ship Jersey.
 
 00:09:50.985 --> 00:09:51.566
 Exactly.
 
 00:09:51.966 --> 00:09:53.586
 And James Fortin spent seven
 
 00:09:53.625 --> 00:09:55.687
 months aboard that prison ship.
 
 00:09:56.006 --> 00:09:57.368
 He's released in 1782.
 
 00:09:59.126 --> 00:10:00.467
 Now, he had an opportunity,
 
 00:10:00.548 --> 00:10:01.869
 according to tradition,
 
 00:10:02.109 --> 00:10:03.509
 of not having to stay
 
 00:10:03.629 --> 00:10:05.071
 aboard the prison ship.
 
 00:10:05.551 --> 00:10:06.091
 Is that right?
 
 00:10:06.812 --> 00:10:07.371
 That's right.
 
 00:10:07.511 --> 00:10:10.014
 And this is a story that was
 
 00:10:10.114 --> 00:10:17.399
 shared just after James Fortin's death,
 
 00:10:17.798 --> 00:10:19.340
 just before the mid-19th century,
 
 00:10:19.419 --> 00:10:20.561
 by Robert Purvis.
 
 00:10:20.620 --> 00:10:23.163
 That's James Fortin's son-in-law.
 
 00:10:24.062 --> 00:10:25.663
 who worked closely with his
 
 00:10:25.845 --> 00:10:28.005
 father-in-law as an abolitionist.
 
 00:10:28.826 --> 00:10:30.988
 And Robert Purvis shared the
 
 00:10:31.129 --> 00:10:32.350
 story that James Fortin
 
 00:10:32.370 --> 00:10:35.511
 would tell him that before
 
 00:10:35.991 --> 00:10:37.953
 Fortin was put aboard the prison ship,
 
 00:10:38.514 --> 00:10:41.897
 the captain of the Amphion, John Baisley,
 
 00:10:42.616 --> 00:10:46.019
 offered Fortin the opportunity to travel.
 
 00:10:46.360 --> 00:10:49.802
 come to England and, um, live with the,
 
 00:10:49.903 --> 00:10:52.163
 the Baisley family because, um,
 
 00:10:52.705 --> 00:10:55.265
 John Baisley's son sort of, uh,
 
 00:10:55.606 --> 00:10:57.187
 struck up a relationship
 
 00:10:57.227 --> 00:10:58.729
 with James Fortin aboard
 
 00:10:58.769 --> 00:11:00.730
 because Baisley's son was a,
 
 00:11:00.850 --> 00:11:02.572
 like sort of a cabin boy aboard the ship,
 
 00:11:03.331 --> 00:11:04.633
 uh, an officer's servant,
 
 00:11:05.013 --> 00:11:06.173
 maybe serving his father.
 
 00:11:06.193 --> 00:11:07.774
 And Fortin was sort of
 
 00:11:07.815 --> 00:11:09.917
 distracting the young, young, uh,
 
 00:11:10.037 --> 00:11:10.898
 captain's son.
 
 00:11:11.697 --> 00:11:13.619
 And, um, and so, um,
 
 00:11:14.621 --> 00:11:15.623
 Fortin actually turned down
 
 00:11:15.663 --> 00:11:17.245
 that opportunity to go to England.
 
 00:11:18.666 --> 00:11:20.989
 And according to Robert Purvis,
 
 00:11:21.408 --> 00:11:22.671
 Fortin said that he would
 
 00:11:22.730 --> 00:11:26.195
 not turn his back on the
 
 00:11:26.375 --> 00:11:27.375
 country he was fighting for.
 
 00:11:27.395 --> 00:11:27.456
 And
 
 00:11:30.359 --> 00:11:31.559
 So then he goes aboard the
 
 00:11:31.580 --> 00:11:34.563
 prison ship and Fortin has
 
 00:11:34.644 --> 00:11:37.427
 another opportunity to get
 
 00:11:37.466 --> 00:11:39.328
 away from the situation he's in.
 
 00:11:39.948 --> 00:11:42.231
 And that's when an American
 
 00:11:42.331 --> 00:11:44.033
 officer is being exchanged
 
 00:11:44.094 --> 00:11:45.235
 and that officer has a sea
 
 00:11:45.274 --> 00:11:46.937
 chest with him and Fortin
 
 00:11:46.956 --> 00:11:48.317
 can fit in that sea chest.
 
 00:11:49.570 --> 00:11:50.049
 But instead,
 
 00:11:50.090 --> 00:11:53.951
 he gives his place up to a
 
 00:11:54.490 --> 00:11:56.371
 young man named Daniel Bruton,
 
 00:11:56.432 --> 00:11:58.832
 who is also a teenager from Philadelphia.
 
 00:11:59.253 --> 00:12:00.173
 But he was a bit sickly
 
 00:12:00.373 --> 00:12:02.214
 aboard the aboard the prison ship.
 
 00:12:02.693 --> 00:12:04.053
 So Fortin gives his place up
 
 00:12:04.134 --> 00:12:05.975
 to Daniel Bruton, a young,
 
 00:12:06.154 --> 00:12:07.075
 young white sailor.
 
 00:12:07.774 --> 00:12:08.774
 And Bruton makes it
 
 00:12:08.835 --> 00:12:10.916
 successfully out of the jersey.
 
 00:12:11.556 --> 00:12:13.376
 and makes it back to Philadelphia.
 
 00:12:13.437 --> 00:12:14.937
 And Bruton and Fortin later
 
 00:12:15.018 --> 00:12:17.678
 reconnect later in life in Philadelphia,
 
 00:12:18.359 --> 00:12:19.899
 and Bruton vouches for what
 
 00:12:19.980 --> 00:12:21.280
 James Fortin did for him
 
 00:12:21.620 --> 00:12:22.541
 when they were just teenagers.
 
 00:12:22.721 --> 00:12:24.062
 Imagine those decisions that
 
 00:12:24.101 --> 00:12:24.961
 these young men were making.
 
 00:12:24.981 --> 00:12:25.363
 Really.
 
 00:12:25.942 --> 00:12:26.182
 Really.
 
 00:12:26.222 --> 00:12:27.903
 I mean, not to go to England,
 
 00:12:27.984 --> 00:12:29.063
 where your life certainly
 
 00:12:29.104 --> 00:12:29.745
 would be different,
 
 00:12:29.764 --> 00:12:30.504
 better than being on a
 
 00:12:30.565 --> 00:12:31.384
 prison ship and then
 
 00:12:31.465 --> 00:12:32.785
 letting someone else go in
 
 00:12:32.806 --> 00:12:35.866
 your place in this sea chest to escape.
 
 00:12:36.567 --> 00:12:36.807
 Right.
 
 00:12:37.268 --> 00:12:38.629
 Fortin doesn't know what he's doing.
 
 00:12:40.134 --> 00:12:40.293
 Yeah,
 
 00:12:40.313 --> 00:12:41.134
 Fortin doesn't know what those
 
 00:12:41.215 --> 00:12:41.914
 outcomes are going to be.
 
 00:12:41.975 --> 00:12:44.015
 What's his future going to truly hold?
 
 00:12:44.456 --> 00:12:46.376
 Right.
 
 00:12:46.397 --> 00:12:47.658
 We're talking with Matthew Skick,
 
 00:12:47.697 --> 00:12:48.999
 the curator of exhibitions
 
 00:12:49.058 --> 00:12:50.899
 at the Museum of the American Revolution,
 
 00:12:50.919 --> 00:12:52.059
 and we're talking about their exhibit,
 
 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:53.701
 which is still online.
 
 00:12:53.740 --> 00:12:56.062
 You can see the exhibit online.
 
 00:12:56.123 --> 00:12:57.482
 The Black Founders,
 
 00:12:57.543 --> 00:12:59.283
 the Fortin Family of Philadelphia.
 
 00:12:59.663 --> 00:13:01.885
 So James Fortin, at the age of,
 
 00:13:02.525 --> 00:13:03.285
 what is he now, about 16, 17,
 
 00:13:03.285 --> 00:13:04.567
 has been a prisoner of war.
 
 00:13:06.690 --> 00:13:07.913
 And then the war ends.
 
 00:13:08.153 --> 00:13:09.538
 And so he makes his way.
 
 00:13:09.557 --> 00:13:10.460
 How does he make his way
 
 00:13:10.500 --> 00:13:12.085
 back to Philadelphia from New York?
 
 00:13:12.789 --> 00:13:14.831
 Well, when he's released from the Jersey,
 
 00:13:14.890 --> 00:13:16.111
 he actually walks all the
 
 00:13:16.172 --> 00:13:19.413
 way back from New York to Philadelphia,
 
 00:13:20.154 --> 00:13:21.556
 walks across New Jersey.
 
 00:13:22.035 --> 00:13:22.976
 There's a story that he
 
 00:13:23.017 --> 00:13:25.477
 received some assistance in Trenton,
 
 00:13:25.518 --> 00:13:26.239
 New Jersey,
 
 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:29.100
 but about 100 miles that he
 
 00:13:29.140 --> 00:13:30.682
 journeys back and he comes
 
 00:13:30.741 --> 00:13:32.743
 back home to his mother and his sister.
 
 00:13:33.102 --> 00:13:36.885
 His father had died in about 1773,
 
 00:13:36.885 --> 00:13:37.745
 but he comes back home to
 
 00:13:37.785 --> 00:13:38.547
 his mother and sister,
 
 00:13:38.586 --> 00:13:40.427
 who I bet were just shocked to see him.
 
 00:13:40.947 --> 00:13:41.889
 That he was still alive.
 
 00:13:41.908 --> 00:13:42.208
 Oh, right.
 
 00:13:42.408 --> 00:13:44.169
 Oh, yeah.
 
 00:13:44.330 --> 00:13:44.951
 But yeah,
 
 00:13:45.291 --> 00:13:48.572
 he makes it back and continues to
 
 00:13:48.613 --> 00:13:49.633
 live in Philadelphia.
 
 00:13:49.653 --> 00:13:52.274
 He briefly travels with some
 
 00:13:52.294 --> 00:13:54.275
 family members to England
 
 00:13:54.375 --> 00:13:54.976
 on a brief voyage,
 
 00:13:55.017 --> 00:13:55.716
 but comes back to
 
 00:13:55.756 --> 00:13:56.977
 Philadelphia after that.
 
 00:13:58.357 --> 00:13:59.318
 And then he apprentices
 
 00:13:59.379 --> 00:14:02.580
 himself to his father's old boss,
 
 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:03.240
 actually.
 
 00:14:03.301 --> 00:14:04.801
 And that's a white sailmaker
 
 00:14:04.841 --> 00:14:05.981
 named Robert Bridges,
 
 00:14:06.942 --> 00:14:09.082
 a prominent sailmaker in Philadelphia.
 
 00:14:09.903 --> 00:14:12.764
 And James Fortin works his
 
 00:14:12.804 --> 00:14:14.206
 way up the ladder of that
 
 00:14:14.905 --> 00:14:16.647
 sailmaking company and
 
 00:14:16.687 --> 00:14:19.067
 becomes the foreman of Bridges' shop,
 
 00:14:19.288 --> 00:14:21.149
 which included a workforce
 
 00:14:21.188 --> 00:14:22.149
 of about 30 men.
 
 00:14:22.230 --> 00:14:23.671
 It was an integrated workforce.
 
 00:14:24.811 --> 00:14:26.971
 But now as sort of his right hand man,
 
 00:14:27.032 --> 00:14:28.091
 Robert Bridges appoints a
 
 00:14:28.131 --> 00:14:30.832
 young African-American man, James Fortin,
 
 00:14:30.852 --> 00:14:31.633
 to be the foreman.
 
 00:14:33.754 --> 00:14:36.014
 And this is an amazing,
 
 00:14:36.654 --> 00:14:37.774
 really amazing story.
 
 00:14:38.575 --> 00:14:42.155
 And when Robert Bridges is
 
 00:14:42.235 --> 00:14:43.417
 thinking about what's next
 
 00:14:43.456 --> 00:14:45.456
 for his own life and he's
 
 00:14:45.476 --> 00:14:46.557
 thinking about retirement,
 
 00:14:47.197 --> 00:14:48.837
 he wants his own sons to do
 
 00:14:48.878 --> 00:14:50.219
 better than working with their hands.
 
 00:14:50.259 --> 00:14:50.999
 He wants them to be
 
 00:14:51.259 --> 00:14:53.620
 merchants or doctors or lawyers.
 
 00:14:54.500 --> 00:14:54.860
 Oftentimes,
 
 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:57.202
 usually those opportunities are
 
 00:14:57.283 --> 00:15:01.986
 denied for African-Americans at the time.
 
 00:15:02.567 --> 00:15:05.269
 But James Fortin is given
 
 00:15:05.289 --> 00:15:06.230
 the opportunity to take
 
 00:15:06.331 --> 00:15:07.030
 over the business.
 
 00:15:07.091 --> 00:15:07.871
 And he takes that
 
 00:15:07.912 --> 00:15:09.474
 opportunity from Bridges
 
 00:15:10.134 --> 00:15:11.615
 and leads that sail making
 
 00:15:11.654 --> 00:15:12.655
 business from 1798 until
 
 00:15:12.655 --> 00:15:12.976
 1842 when he dies.
 
 00:15:12.996 --> 00:15:13.897
 So almost 45 years.
 
 00:15:13.917 --> 00:15:13.998
 Wow.
 
 00:15:18.792 --> 00:15:20.494
 Wow, that is a long career.
 
 00:15:20.573 --> 00:15:21.134
 And in that time,
 
 00:15:21.153 --> 00:15:22.835
 he becomes very successful
 
 00:15:22.895 --> 00:15:24.836
 with the sale making business.
 
 00:15:24.856 --> 00:15:25.778
 You had some sale making
 
 00:15:25.837 --> 00:15:26.899
 tools in your exhibit,
 
 00:15:26.918 --> 00:15:28.039
 which was kind of neat to see.
 
 00:15:28.700 --> 00:15:30.440
 the tools in the trade.
 
 00:15:31.140 --> 00:15:31.280
 Yeah,
 
 00:15:31.301 --> 00:15:35.221
 we tried to give visitors a sense of
 
 00:15:35.701 --> 00:15:37.182
 the sale making trade and
 
 00:15:37.282 --> 00:15:38.642
 what Fortin would have been
 
 00:15:38.682 --> 00:15:40.302
 doing on a daily basis
 
 00:15:40.403 --> 00:15:41.842
 alongside his workers.
 
 00:15:43.102 --> 00:15:46.464
 There are just a few paper
 
 00:15:46.663 --> 00:15:48.205
 remnants of his business.
 
 00:15:48.225 --> 00:15:50.024
 They're receipts of James
 
 00:15:50.065 --> 00:15:50.845
 Fortin's work that he's
 
 00:15:50.884 --> 00:15:52.245
 doing that we were able to put on view,
 
 00:15:52.326 --> 00:15:53.326
 original receipts.
 
 00:15:53.865 --> 00:15:56.528
 But we also recreated a
 
 00:15:57.589 --> 00:16:00.091
 portion of what James
 
 00:16:00.110 --> 00:16:01.171
 Forten's sail loft might
 
 00:16:01.191 --> 00:16:01.871
 have looked like.
 
 00:16:02.672 --> 00:16:04.453
 And this was a hands-on
 
 00:16:04.614 --> 00:16:07.395
 activity space facilitated
 
 00:16:07.456 --> 00:16:09.356
 by our talented educators
 
 00:16:09.636 --> 00:16:10.538
 here at the museum.
 
 00:16:11.138 --> 00:16:12.158
 And so you could try your
 
 00:16:12.198 --> 00:16:13.340
 hand at some stitching.
 
 00:16:13.379 --> 00:16:16.802
 You could feel sailcloth sit
 
 00:16:16.861 --> 00:16:18.003
 at a sailmaker's bench.
 
 00:16:18.563 --> 00:16:21.285
 And adjacent to that was a display case
 
 00:16:22.591 --> 00:16:23.432
 And you can see this in the
 
 00:16:23.511 --> 00:16:25.232
 online exhibit of original
 
 00:16:25.293 --> 00:16:26.332
 sailmaking tools,
 
 00:16:26.753 --> 00:16:27.874
 not James Fortin's tools,
 
 00:16:27.933 --> 00:16:29.173
 but tools of the period.
 
 00:16:29.614 --> 00:16:30.315
 And these are actually
 
 00:16:30.735 --> 00:16:33.134
 recovered from a shipwreck
 
 00:16:34.076 --> 00:16:35.456
 called the HMS DeBrock,
 
 00:16:35.495 --> 00:16:37.277
 which sank in 1798.
 
 00:16:37.277 --> 00:16:38.076
 Just happens to be the same
 
 00:16:38.116 --> 00:16:39.037
 year that James Fortin took
 
 00:16:39.057 --> 00:16:40.197
 over the sailmaking business.
 
 00:16:41.998 --> 00:16:43.337
 And so they're of the period.
 
 00:16:43.357 --> 00:16:46.078
 So it was neat to be able to
 
 00:16:46.379 --> 00:16:48.999
 have the documents, the replica tools,
 
 00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:50.580
 and then the original tools
 
 00:16:50.779 --> 00:16:52.179
 all working together to
 
 00:16:52.220 --> 00:16:53.080
 interpret that story.
 
 00:16:56.301 --> 00:16:56.760
 Interesting.
 
 00:16:57.061 --> 00:16:58.400
 We're talking with Matthew Skick,
 
 00:16:58.441 --> 00:16:59.721
 the curator of exhibitions
 
 00:16:59.780 --> 00:17:01.562
 at the Museum of the American Revolution,
 
 00:17:02.121 --> 00:17:02.961
 and talking about their
 
 00:17:03.022 --> 00:17:04.281
 exhibit on Black Pounders,
 
 00:17:04.321 --> 00:17:06.123
 the Fortin family of Philadelphia.
 
 00:17:06.143 --> 00:17:08.022
 And cell making was really essential to
 
 00:17:08.580 --> 00:17:10.082
 this maritime economy.
 
 00:17:10.142 --> 00:17:11.021
 So you can see what an
 
 00:17:11.082 --> 00:17:12.162
 important thing this is
 
 00:17:12.201 --> 00:17:14.083
 that James Fortin's engaged
 
 00:17:14.143 --> 00:17:16.663
 in then for almost half a century.
 
 00:17:16.763 --> 00:17:17.203
 And again,
 
 00:17:17.243 --> 00:17:18.824
 his father had been a sailmaker
 
 00:17:18.884 --> 00:17:20.825
 before him, and he inherits this business,
 
 00:17:20.884 --> 00:17:21.904
 or he takes over the
 
 00:17:21.944 --> 00:17:23.586
 business from Robert Bridges,
 
 00:17:23.645 --> 00:17:26.086
 which is a great story of
 
 00:17:26.227 --> 00:17:28.186
 someone going into this
 
 00:17:28.267 --> 00:17:29.387
 business and running it
 
 00:17:29.488 --> 00:17:31.909
 successfully for such a
 
 00:17:31.969 --> 00:17:33.269
 long period of time during
 
 00:17:33.288 --> 00:17:34.789
 this period of great transition.
 
 00:17:36.505 --> 00:17:37.246
 And again, as he said,
 
 00:17:37.266 --> 00:17:38.445
 he becomes very successful.
 
 00:17:38.826 --> 00:17:40.748
 And then he is also very
 
 00:17:40.788 --> 00:17:42.308
 much involved in some of
 
 00:17:42.368 --> 00:17:44.131
 the emerging political movements.
 
 00:17:44.211 --> 00:17:45.391
 I didn't realize until I
 
 00:17:45.971 --> 00:17:47.333
 looked through the exhibit
 
 00:17:47.413 --> 00:17:50.494
 that he was one of the real
 
 00:17:51.516 --> 00:17:52.836
 backers of William Lloyd
 
 00:17:52.856 --> 00:17:54.837
 Garrison's newspaper, The Liberator,
 
 00:17:54.877 --> 00:17:55.057
 in the 1830s.
 
 00:17:56.576 --> 00:17:57.036
 Exactly.
 
 00:17:57.516 --> 00:17:59.017
 It's a little known fact
 
 00:17:59.096 --> 00:18:01.436
 about Fortin and the
 
 00:18:01.477 --> 00:18:03.157
 history of the Liberator.
 
 00:18:04.097 --> 00:18:06.118
 Despite being separated by a
 
 00:18:06.378 --> 00:18:08.519
 generation in terms of
 
 00:18:08.578 --> 00:18:09.599
 years and their age,
 
 00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:11.319
 James Fortin and William
 
 00:18:11.339 --> 00:18:14.260
 Lloyd Garrison struck up a friendship,
 
 00:18:14.961 --> 00:18:16.362
 which led to...
 
 00:18:18.041 --> 00:18:19.623
 a lot of correspondence between the two.
 
 00:18:20.143 --> 00:18:22.984
 And when you are looking for,
 
 00:18:23.065 --> 00:18:24.085
 and as I was doing,
 
 00:18:24.105 --> 00:18:25.726
 trying to find where are
 
 00:18:25.865 --> 00:18:26.727
 all of James Fortin's
 
 00:18:26.807 --> 00:18:28.106
 papers and his writings and
 
 00:18:28.327 --> 00:18:28.928
 that sort of thing,
 
 00:18:30.108 --> 00:18:31.568
 you realize that the
 
 00:18:31.669 --> 00:18:33.170
 largest grouping of James
 
 00:18:33.230 --> 00:18:34.431
 Fortin's writings,
 
 00:18:34.730 --> 00:18:35.550
 his letters that he's writing,
 
 00:18:35.932 --> 00:18:36.672
 is in the William Lloyd
 
 00:18:36.692 --> 00:18:37.571
 Garrison papers at the
 
 00:18:37.612 --> 00:18:38.893
 Boston Public Library.
 
 00:18:40.213 --> 00:18:42.855
 And so looking through that
 
 00:18:42.914 --> 00:18:44.516
 correspondence between
 
 00:18:44.536 --> 00:18:45.777
 Garrison and Fortin,
 
 00:18:47.116 --> 00:18:48.317
 it's pretty revealing about
 
 00:18:48.417 --> 00:18:49.557
 what James Fortin was doing
 
 00:18:49.577 --> 00:18:51.759
 to help kickstart the Liberator,
 
 00:18:51.878 --> 00:18:52.919
 which was William Lloyd
 
 00:18:52.939 --> 00:18:54.319
 Garrison's idea to create a
 
 00:18:54.400 --> 00:18:56.480
 national scale abolitionist
 
 00:18:56.519 --> 00:19:00.501
 newspaper that wouldn't hold back,
 
 00:19:00.541 --> 00:19:03.883
 that was going to be targeting people,
 
 00:19:03.942 --> 00:19:06.182
 would be extremely critical
 
 00:19:06.542 --> 00:19:08.403
 of the expansion of slavery
 
 00:19:08.423 --> 00:19:09.364
 in the United States.
 
 00:19:10.105 --> 00:19:10.224
 And
 
 00:19:11.625 --> 00:19:12.065
 Fortin,
 
 00:19:12.425 --> 00:19:13.865
 there's a wonderful letter where
 
 00:19:13.905 --> 00:19:15.126
 Fortin is kind of wishing
 
 00:19:16.107 --> 00:19:17.367
 William Lloyd Garrison well
 
 00:19:17.428 --> 00:19:18.169
 and hoping that this
 
 00:19:19.169 --> 00:19:20.450
 newspaper can be a voice to
 
 00:19:20.490 --> 00:19:21.570
 the abolitionist movement.
 
 00:19:22.111 --> 00:19:25.553
 But Fortin is also trying to
 
 00:19:25.792 --> 00:19:26.452
 secure the first
 
 00:19:26.492 --> 00:19:27.614
 subscriptions for that
 
 00:19:27.653 --> 00:19:29.414
 newspaper here in Philadelphia.
 
 00:19:30.188 --> 00:19:31.528
 literally knocking on doors
 
 00:19:31.868 --> 00:19:33.809
 in the Black community,
 
 00:19:34.210 --> 00:19:35.550
 in the abolitionist
 
 00:19:35.570 --> 00:19:36.971
 community here in the city,
 
 00:19:37.731 --> 00:19:39.573
 and is one of the first
 
 00:19:39.633 --> 00:19:41.673
 financial backers of the
 
 00:19:41.713 --> 00:19:43.535
 Liberator to help kickstart
 
 00:19:43.595 --> 00:19:45.076
 it for Garrison.
 
 00:19:45.115 --> 00:19:46.876
 It becomes extremely successful.
 
 00:19:47.678 --> 00:19:50.138
 And from the perspective of
 
 00:19:50.459 --> 00:19:52.599
 many slave owners and
 
 00:19:52.660 --> 00:19:54.101
 supporters of slavery in
 
 00:19:54.121 --> 00:19:56.721
 the United States, in their eyes,
 
 00:19:56.741 --> 00:19:58.303
 it's sort of a demon because it's...
 
 00:19:59.824 --> 00:20:00.183
 In their eyes,
 
 00:20:00.263 --> 00:20:01.045
 it's sort of inciting
 
 00:20:01.105 --> 00:20:04.988
 rebellion and that sort of thing.
 
 00:20:06.549 --> 00:20:06.970
 Even so,
 
 00:20:07.009 --> 00:20:09.251
 when the Nat Turner revolt happens,
 
 00:20:10.952 --> 00:20:12.615
 Fortin and Garrison
 
 00:20:12.694 --> 00:20:14.375
 correspond about that.
 
 00:20:15.297 --> 00:20:17.058
 And Garrison is seen as this
 
 00:20:17.459 --> 00:20:20.421
 instigator of revolts like this.
 
 00:20:20.540 --> 00:20:22.083
 And Fortin, in some cases,
 
 00:20:22.143 --> 00:20:24.223
 is seen as an instigator too.
 
 00:20:24.924 --> 00:20:27.027
 But there's a really amazing letter
 
 00:20:27.507 --> 00:20:28.586
 that James Fortin writes to
 
 00:20:28.606 --> 00:20:32.228
 Garrison that fall after the revolt,
 
 00:20:32.407 --> 00:20:34.088
 news of the revolt is spreading.
 
 00:20:34.689 --> 00:20:35.368
 And he says,
 
 00:20:36.229 --> 00:20:38.528
 every day there's a new effort
 
 00:20:38.588 --> 00:20:41.410
 for liberty, either at home or abroad.
 
 00:20:42.250 --> 00:20:44.590
 And what he says to Garrison is, onward,
 
 00:20:44.891 --> 00:20:46.730
 onward is indeed the watchword.
 
 00:20:48.192 --> 00:20:49.711
 Just an incredible letter.
 
 00:20:50.311 --> 00:20:52.673
 He's very forward thinking, you know,
 
 00:20:52.893 --> 00:20:53.913
 in his efforts.
 
 00:20:53.972 --> 00:20:54.492
 Yes, he is.
 
 00:20:55.970 --> 00:20:56.109
 Yeah.
 
 00:20:56.309 --> 00:20:57.109
 And he also had a
 
 00:20:57.150 --> 00:20:58.471
 relationship with Paul Cuffee,
 
 00:20:58.490 --> 00:21:00.750
 who was a mariner from Nantucket,
 
 00:21:00.810 --> 00:21:01.510
 New Bedford.
 
 00:21:01.791 --> 00:21:05.231
 And Cuffee, he's a whaler.
 
 00:21:05.272 --> 00:21:05.992
 And I wonder if you want to
 
 00:21:06.012 --> 00:21:07.593
 talk about that relationship, Matthew.
 
 00:21:08.292 --> 00:21:08.532
 Yes.
 
 00:21:08.752 --> 00:21:09.094
 Yeah.
 
 00:21:09.233 --> 00:21:10.953
 And another active
 
 00:21:11.013 --> 00:21:12.413
 correspondence that Fortin
 
 00:21:12.433 --> 00:21:14.714
 has is with Cuffee.
 
 00:21:15.315 --> 00:21:18.195
 And so it was
 
 00:21:18.672 --> 00:21:22.798
 Because of Cuffee's work and owning a ship,
 
 00:21:23.180 --> 00:21:23.901
 a merchant ship,
 
 00:21:24.481 --> 00:21:25.963
 it's coming into Philadelphia.
 
 00:21:28.826 --> 00:21:30.027
 the correspondence that
 
 00:21:30.507 --> 00:21:32.126
 Cuffee and Fortin have
 
 00:21:32.887 --> 00:21:35.269
 really clues us into, in this case,
 
 00:21:35.388 --> 00:21:36.849
 Fortin is the younger of
 
 00:21:36.869 --> 00:21:39.330
 the person in this relationship now.
 
 00:21:40.070 --> 00:21:41.592
 And he's learning a lot from
 
 00:21:41.692 --> 00:21:42.531
 Paul Cuffee and his
 
 00:21:42.592 --> 00:21:44.133
 experience in New England,
 
 00:21:44.673 --> 00:21:46.973
 his experience as a merchant,
 
 00:21:47.513 --> 00:21:48.755
 as a successful business owner,
 
 00:21:48.795 --> 00:21:49.295
 essentially.
 
 00:21:49.315 --> 00:21:53.176
 And what Cuffee is also
 
 00:21:54.076 --> 00:21:55.498
 discussing with Fortin is
 
 00:21:55.557 --> 00:21:56.897
 the idea that would become
 
 00:21:56.917 --> 00:21:57.979
 known as colonization.
 
 00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:02.202
 And that is people of
 
 00:22:02.282 --> 00:22:03.305
 African descent in the
 
 00:22:03.325 --> 00:22:07.891
 United States who may be be
 
 00:22:07.951 --> 00:22:10.032
 enslaved or or free,
 
 00:22:10.493 --> 00:22:12.836
 but actually moving them to
 
 00:22:13.417 --> 00:22:14.558
 colonies in Africa.
 
 00:22:15.180 --> 00:22:16.641
 or the Caribbean to separate
 
 00:22:16.681 --> 00:22:17.261
 them from the white
 
 00:22:17.301 --> 00:22:18.423
 population of the United States.
 
 00:22:18.482 --> 00:22:20.344
 And initially Cuffee and
 
 00:22:20.443 --> 00:22:22.365
 Fortin are supportive of
 
 00:22:22.405 --> 00:22:24.207
 this effort due to the
 
 00:22:24.307 --> 00:22:27.549
 racial prejudice and the expanding, uh,
 
 00:22:27.730 --> 00:22:29.412
 slavery, uh, in the United States.
 
 00:22:30.372 --> 00:22:32.314
 Um, and, uh,
 
 00:22:32.453 --> 00:22:34.154
 Cuffee is very influential in
 
 00:22:34.415 --> 00:22:35.997
 Fortin's thinking about that.
 
 00:22:37.157 --> 00:22:37.218
 Um,
 
 00:22:37.748 --> 00:22:40.409
 But Fortin has a change of
 
 00:22:40.489 --> 00:22:41.650
 mind that happens in the
 
 00:22:41.670 --> 00:22:44.510
 18-teens in which the
 
 00:22:44.631 --> 00:22:45.692
 American Colonization
 
 00:22:45.731 --> 00:22:47.071
 Society is on the rise.
 
 00:22:48.093 --> 00:22:50.713
 Fortin is influenced by the
 
 00:22:51.374 --> 00:22:53.015
 Black population of Philadelphia,
 
 00:22:53.055 --> 00:22:53.914
 who's very much against
 
 00:22:53.974 --> 00:22:55.415
 this idea of colonization.
 
 00:22:55.875 --> 00:22:56.875
 Why should we be forced to
 
 00:22:56.915 --> 00:22:58.636
 leave the country we fought to create?
 
 00:22:59.397 --> 00:23:01.478
 And Fortin started writing that,
 
 00:23:01.617 --> 00:23:03.919
 and he became an opponent
 
 00:23:03.960 --> 00:23:04.680
 of colonization.
 
 00:23:05.509 --> 00:23:07.810
 This is well after Cuffee had passed away.
 
 00:23:08.731 --> 00:23:10.153
 But what's also interesting
 
 00:23:10.173 --> 00:23:12.433
 is that Fortin's business
 
 00:23:13.054 --> 00:23:15.335
 is supporting Cuffee as well.
 
 00:23:15.355 --> 00:23:16.536
 There's a receipt in Paul
 
 00:23:16.576 --> 00:23:17.817
 Cuffee's papers at the New
 
 00:23:17.856 --> 00:23:19.357
 Bedford Free Public Library
 
 00:23:19.377 --> 00:23:22.739
 in Massachusetts that is a
 
 00:23:22.838 --> 00:23:24.420
 receipt documenting that
 
 00:23:24.500 --> 00:23:25.861
 James Fortin's sailmaking
 
 00:23:25.921 --> 00:23:28.122
 shop was repairing sails
 
 00:23:28.301 --> 00:23:30.703
 for Paul Cuffee's ship, the Traveler.
 
 00:23:31.584 --> 00:23:33.224
 So we had that on display in
 
 00:23:33.244 --> 00:23:33.944
 the exhibit as well,
 
 00:23:33.984 --> 00:23:34.766
 that original receipt.
 
 00:23:36.963 --> 00:23:40.105
 That's an interesting relationship.
 
 00:23:40.125 --> 00:23:40.787
 You really found some
 
 00:23:40.807 --> 00:23:42.409
 interesting things for this exhibit.
 
 00:23:42.429 --> 00:23:44.329
 You had a model made of the
 
 00:23:44.450 --> 00:23:48.114
 Royal Lewis and yet another ship model,
 
 00:23:48.394 --> 00:23:49.275
 too, on display.
 
 00:23:49.295 --> 00:23:51.737
 I mean, it was really good visually,
 
 00:23:51.876 --> 00:23:52.738
 the things you had,
 
 00:23:53.258 --> 00:23:54.278
 as well as some documents
 
 00:23:54.298 --> 00:23:56.000
 you had borrowed from the United Kingdom.
 
 00:23:56.933 --> 00:23:57.413
 Exactly.
 
 00:23:57.453 --> 00:23:59.395
 That was among my favorite
 
 00:23:59.415 --> 00:24:01.396
 things in the exhibit was that ship model,
 
 00:24:01.436 --> 00:24:04.858
 which was a scale model of
 
 00:24:04.898 --> 00:24:05.779
 the Royal Lewis.
 
 00:24:06.921 --> 00:24:09.182
 We were able to work with a
 
 00:24:09.521 --> 00:24:10.583
 ship model builder who's
 
 00:24:10.643 --> 00:24:12.605
 extremely talented named Rex Stewart.
 
 00:24:12.644 --> 00:24:14.045
 He's based in Albany, New York.
 
 00:24:15.365 --> 00:24:16.926
 And that ship model is now
 
 00:24:17.027 --> 00:24:18.327
 on display in our core
 
 00:24:18.367 --> 00:24:19.548
 exhibit at the museum.
 
 00:24:19.969 --> 00:24:21.711
 So it lives on in that way.
 
 00:24:22.290 --> 00:24:23.551
 But the ship model itself
 
 00:24:24.132 --> 00:24:26.012
 helped to bring to life, in a way,
 
 00:24:27.114 --> 00:24:28.834
 the documents that we had on
 
 00:24:29.273 --> 00:24:30.855
 display adjacent to that.
 
 00:24:31.335 --> 00:24:33.355
 And that was the original
 
 00:24:33.714 --> 00:24:34.976
 letter of mark for the
 
 00:24:35.016 --> 00:24:37.236
 Royal Lewis that was issued
 
 00:24:37.276 --> 00:24:38.615
 by the Continental Congress
 
 00:24:38.915 --> 00:24:41.136
 in July of 1781 to Captain
 
 00:24:41.176 --> 00:24:41.997
 Stephen Decatur.
 
 00:24:43.037 --> 00:24:44.777
 And that came to the exhibit
 
 00:24:44.916 --> 00:24:45.657
 all the way from the
 
 00:24:45.698 --> 00:24:47.178
 National Archives of the United Kingdom.
 
 00:24:47.978 --> 00:24:49.258
 So why was it there?
 
 00:24:49.397 --> 00:24:51.159
 Because it was captured.
 
 00:24:51.239 --> 00:24:52.679
 Right, exactly.
 
 00:24:52.919 --> 00:24:53.378
 Exactly.
 
 00:24:53.996 --> 00:24:55.196
 It was in the Board of
 
 00:24:55.297 --> 00:24:57.358
 Admiralty papers at the
 
 00:24:57.798 --> 00:24:59.701
 National Archives of the
 
 00:24:59.780 --> 00:25:01.782
 United Kingdom over in Kew.
 
 00:25:02.743 --> 00:25:04.164
 And this is the first time
 
 00:25:04.184 --> 00:25:05.066
 that that letter of marque
 
 00:25:05.125 --> 00:25:07.268
 is back in the United States since 1781.
 
 00:25:07.268 --> 00:25:08.909
 So just think about that.
 
 00:25:08.929 --> 00:25:09.430
 Isn't that cool?
 
 00:25:10.351 --> 00:25:10.770
 That's great.
 
 00:25:11.392 --> 00:25:11.892
 That's great.
 
 00:25:12.392 --> 00:25:13.113
 And then you also
 
 00:25:13.534 --> 00:25:14.795
 commissioned Don Troiani to
 
 00:25:14.815 --> 00:25:16.016
 do a painting.
 
 00:25:16.036 --> 00:25:17.076
 There's one of the other
 
 00:25:17.116 --> 00:25:18.337
 seminal events in America.
 
 00:25:19.266 --> 00:25:21.088
 Horton's life was a boy was
 
 00:25:21.189 --> 00:25:22.811
 seeing the Rhode Island
 
 00:25:22.852 --> 00:25:24.654
 regiment marching through Philadelphia.
 
 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:26.079
 Exactly.
 
 00:25:26.099 --> 00:25:26.319
 Yep.
 
 00:25:26.740 --> 00:25:29.421
 And so this is on September 2nd, 1781.
 
 00:25:29.800 --> 00:25:32.261
 This is the brief period when,
 
 00:25:32.362 --> 00:25:34.001
 in which James Fortin is
 
 00:25:34.061 --> 00:25:35.042
 just about to leave for the
 
 00:25:35.143 --> 00:25:37.323
 second voyage of the Royal Lewis.
 
 00:25:37.343 --> 00:25:38.584
 So it's that in-between
 
 00:25:38.624 --> 00:25:39.564
 period of the first voyage
 
 00:25:39.604 --> 00:25:40.403
 and the second voyage.
 
 00:25:40.943 --> 00:25:41.844
 And it just happens to be
 
 00:25:41.884 --> 00:25:45.684
 his 15th birthday, September 2nd, 1781.
 
 00:25:45.684 --> 00:25:47.645
 And George Washington's army
 
 00:25:48.006 --> 00:25:51.207
 marching down from New Jersey and,
 
 00:25:51.988 --> 00:25:55.273
 and New York down through Philadelphia,
 
 00:25:55.334 --> 00:25:58.057
 passes through the city on that day,
 
 00:25:58.640 --> 00:26:00.082
 and James Fortin is there.
 
 00:26:01.146 --> 00:26:02.508
 And he is among the
 
 00:26:02.788 --> 00:26:03.848
 thousands of people that
 
 00:26:03.888 --> 00:26:06.250
 turn out to watch the army march through.
 
 00:26:06.911 --> 00:26:07.811
 Little do these people know
 
 00:26:07.832 --> 00:26:09.373
 that they're going to go
 
 00:26:09.553 --> 00:26:10.353
 and fight the siege of
 
 00:26:10.393 --> 00:26:13.095
 Yorktown later that fall.
 
 00:26:14.096 --> 00:26:16.958
 And so what stands out in
 
 00:26:17.298 --> 00:26:18.699
 James Fortin's mind is
 
 00:26:18.818 --> 00:26:22.040
 seeing men of African descent,
 
 00:26:22.422 --> 00:26:23.903
 Native American men in the
 
 00:26:23.942 --> 00:26:25.344
 ranks of the Continental Army.
 
 00:26:25.364 --> 00:26:25.564
 Right.
 
 00:26:26.124 --> 00:26:26.944
 some of which are in
 
 00:26:27.085 --> 00:26:29.067
 integrated regiments from
 
 00:26:29.667 --> 00:26:31.630
 New England and the Mid-Atlantic.
 
 00:26:32.510 --> 00:26:34.814
 But also he points out in
 
 00:26:34.834 --> 00:26:36.055
 some of his writings later
 
 00:26:36.214 --> 00:26:37.136
 on that he remembered
 
 00:26:37.277 --> 00:26:38.939
 seeing one of the New
 
 00:26:38.979 --> 00:26:41.741
 England regiments that had full companies
 
 00:26:42.643 --> 00:26:45.345
 of soldiers of color.
 
 00:26:46.266 --> 00:26:50.209
 And this is a reference to
 
 00:26:50.249 --> 00:26:51.390
 the Rhode Island regiment,
 
 00:26:51.971 --> 00:26:54.152
 which was a consolidation
 
 00:26:54.192 --> 00:26:55.252
 of the first and second
 
 00:26:55.292 --> 00:26:56.273
 Rhode Island regiments.
 
 00:26:57.035 --> 00:26:58.276
 And this New Rhode Island
 
 00:26:58.316 --> 00:27:01.077
 regiment had two full
 
 00:27:01.117 --> 00:27:03.220
 companies of enlisted men
 
 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:05.422
 of African and Native
 
 00:27:05.461 --> 00:27:08.163
 American descent led by white officers.
 
 00:27:09.204 --> 00:27:12.367
 And in one letter to William
 
 00:27:12.407 --> 00:27:13.690
 Lloyd Garrison later in life,
 
 00:27:13.789 --> 00:27:15.932
 James Fortin conveys this memory.
 
 00:27:16.833 --> 00:27:17.452
 And he says,
 
 00:27:17.512 --> 00:27:19.454
 I well remembered well
 
 00:27:19.515 --> 00:27:20.695
 remember when Washington's
 
 00:27:20.737 --> 00:27:21.798
 army marched through
 
 00:27:21.857 --> 00:27:23.839
 Philadelphia and he saw
 
 00:27:24.259 --> 00:27:25.401
 this regiment that had
 
 00:27:25.441 --> 00:27:27.583
 these companies of of of
 
 00:27:27.663 --> 00:27:28.523
 black men and Native
 
 00:27:28.564 --> 00:27:29.964
 American men marching along.
 
 00:27:30.645 --> 00:27:31.768
 And he remembered that these
 
 00:27:31.827 --> 00:27:33.810
 were as brave men as ever fought.
 
 00:27:34.270 --> 00:27:35.732
 So that gave title to a
 
 00:27:35.752 --> 00:27:36.554
 painting that we
 
 00:27:36.594 --> 00:27:38.277
 commissioned by Don Troiani
 
 00:27:38.297 --> 00:27:39.578
 to recreate this moment,
 
 00:27:39.598 --> 00:27:41.181
 15-year-old James Fortin
 
 00:27:41.601 --> 00:27:43.483
 standing near the facade of
 
 00:27:43.523 --> 00:27:44.325
 Independence Hall.
 
 00:27:45.256 --> 00:27:46.797
 watching the Rhode Island March,
 
 00:27:46.836 --> 00:27:47.777
 Rhode Island Regiment march
 
 00:27:47.817 --> 00:27:49.298
 down Chestnut Street.
 
 00:27:50.278 --> 00:27:51.618
 So pretty moving painting
 
 00:27:51.638 --> 00:27:52.599
 that's part of the museum's
 
 00:27:52.640 --> 00:27:53.519
 collection now.
 
 00:27:54.221 --> 00:27:54.840
 And we were able to
 
 00:27:54.881 --> 00:27:56.461
 commission it with funding
 
 00:27:56.521 --> 00:27:57.902
 from the Washington
 
 00:27:58.323 --> 00:27:59.403
 Rochambeau Revolutionary
 
 00:27:59.423 --> 00:28:00.824
 Route National Historic
 
 00:28:00.903 --> 00:28:03.565
 Trail Park Service.
 
 00:28:04.625 --> 00:28:05.026
 That's great.
 
 00:28:05.246 --> 00:28:06.386
 We're talking with Matthew Skagg.
 
 00:28:06.446 --> 00:28:07.426
 It's great that you have all
 
 00:28:07.467 --> 00:28:08.167
 of these events that
 
 00:28:08.208 --> 00:28:09.067
 happened really right
 
 00:28:09.107 --> 00:28:10.648
 around where the museum is
 
 00:28:11.169 --> 00:28:11.788
 on the streets.
 
 00:28:12.490 --> 00:28:12.630
 Right.
 
 00:28:13.644 --> 00:28:14.404
 It's, yeah,
 
 00:28:14.424 --> 00:28:15.766
 the Army marched right past
 
 00:28:15.786 --> 00:28:17.105
 where the museum is today.
 
 00:28:17.125 --> 00:28:17.326
 You know,
 
 00:28:17.346 --> 00:28:18.247
 we're right in the heart of
 
 00:28:18.287 --> 00:28:19.487
 historic Philadelphia,
 
 00:28:20.366 --> 00:28:22.008
 two blocks away from Independence Hall,
 
 00:28:22.048 --> 00:28:23.647
 a block away from Carpenter's Hall.
 
 00:28:24.167 --> 00:28:25.628
 So when visitors come to
 
 00:28:25.709 --> 00:28:27.088
 Philadelphia and they want
 
 00:28:27.388 --> 00:28:28.569
 this rich and dynamic
 
 00:28:28.630 --> 00:28:31.451
 experience in encountering
 
 00:28:31.490 --> 00:28:33.351
 the American Revolution here in the city,
 
 00:28:33.871 --> 00:28:34.852
 you can come to the Museum
 
 00:28:34.872 --> 00:28:35.711
 of the American Revolution.
 
 00:28:35.751 --> 00:28:36.632
 It sort of ties these
 
 00:28:36.672 --> 00:28:38.012
 historic sites together in
 
 00:28:38.053 --> 00:28:40.673
 a way to tell the story of
 
 00:28:41.114 --> 00:28:41.673
 the revolution.
 
 00:28:44.008 --> 00:28:44.588
 Yes, it does.
 
 00:28:45.548 --> 00:28:47.611
 And you said that Fortin,
 
 00:28:48.291 --> 00:28:49.692
 from the beginning of the museum,
 
 00:28:49.732 --> 00:28:51.615
 you've made him one of the
 
 00:28:51.815 --> 00:28:52.996
 focal points because he
 
 00:28:53.036 --> 00:28:54.718
 does have this story that
 
 00:28:55.157 --> 00:28:56.259
 captivates particularly
 
 00:28:56.278 --> 00:28:56.980
 young people from
 
 00:28:57.019 --> 00:28:58.821
 Philadelphia coming into the museum.
 
 00:28:59.884 --> 00:29:00.503
 Exactly right.
 
 00:29:00.544 --> 00:29:02.223
 Yeah, it's a local story.
 
 00:29:02.565 --> 00:29:04.025
 He's a Philadelphian, which is great.
 
 00:29:04.865 --> 00:29:07.365
 He grew up in the neighborhood, basically.
 
 00:29:08.526 --> 00:29:10.586
 And then in one of the most
 
 00:29:10.645 --> 00:29:12.066
 popular parts of our core
 
 00:29:12.125 --> 00:29:14.606
 exhibit at the museum is
 
 00:29:15.507 --> 00:29:17.307
 the bow or the front half
 
 00:29:17.827 --> 00:29:19.607
 of a privateer vessel that
 
 00:29:19.627 --> 00:29:20.627
 you can go aboard.
 
 00:29:22.127 --> 00:29:23.689
 And it's a great spot for
 
 00:29:23.749 --> 00:29:24.469
 our school tours.
 
 00:29:25.388 --> 00:29:27.690
 and other student groups that come.
 
 00:29:28.309 --> 00:29:29.730
 And oftentimes our educators
 
 00:29:29.769 --> 00:29:31.349
 are sharing the story of
 
 00:29:31.450 --> 00:29:33.131
 James Fortin aboard that
 
 00:29:33.191 --> 00:29:35.530
 ship because they're talking to, you know,
 
 00:29:35.570 --> 00:29:36.691
 fourth and fifth graders or
 
 00:29:36.730 --> 00:29:38.031
 middle schoolers, high schoolers,
 
 00:29:38.352 --> 00:29:39.451
 some of whom are very close
 
 00:29:39.471 --> 00:29:40.711
 in age to what Fortin was
 
 00:29:40.852 --> 00:29:42.172
 when he was on that ship.
 
 00:29:42.511 --> 00:29:43.593
 Because he was 15 when he
 
 00:29:43.613 --> 00:29:44.593
 was aboard that ship.
 
 00:29:44.712 --> 00:29:45.053
 Exactly.
 
 00:29:45.073 --> 00:29:45.353
 Yeah.
 
 00:29:45.472 --> 00:29:47.252
 He joins at 14 and serves
 
 00:29:47.492 --> 00:29:48.794
 into his 15th year.
 
 00:29:49.054 --> 00:29:49.653
 And, um,
 
 00:29:50.413 --> 00:29:54.115
 And so he is approximately their age.
 
 00:29:54.256 --> 00:29:55.155
 And, you know,
 
 00:29:55.736 --> 00:29:57.317
 we encourage students to
 
 00:29:57.376 --> 00:29:59.057
 kind of put themselves in
 
 00:29:59.377 --> 00:30:00.979
 his shoes and imagine being
 
 00:30:01.019 --> 00:30:02.098
 in that situation.
 
 00:30:02.959 --> 00:30:04.000
 It's tough to imagine.
 
 00:30:04.700 --> 00:30:08.701
 And but we can build
 
 00:30:08.761 --> 00:30:10.923
 historical empathy in that way.
 
 00:30:11.923 --> 00:30:13.285
 By sharing a story like
 
 00:30:13.345 --> 00:30:15.467
 Fortin's and also to share
 
 00:30:15.508 --> 00:30:17.009
 that these were real people
 
 00:30:17.249 --> 00:30:18.411
 making real decisions.
 
 00:30:18.750 --> 00:30:21.173
 It just happened nearly 250 years ago.
 
 00:30:22.654 --> 00:30:24.056
 But these were decisions
 
 00:30:24.096 --> 00:30:25.337
 that weren't just impacting
 
 00:30:25.377 --> 00:30:26.019
 their own lives,
 
 00:30:26.058 --> 00:30:27.160
 but impacting others like
 
 00:30:27.819 --> 00:30:29.962
 Fortin's effort to let
 
 00:30:30.022 --> 00:30:31.084
 Daniel Bruton go in that
 
 00:30:31.163 --> 00:30:32.585
 sea chest instead of himself.
 
 00:30:33.685 --> 00:30:34.846
 It's a selfless act,
 
 00:30:35.247 --> 00:30:36.787
 an act of courage and bravery.
 
 00:30:37.988 --> 00:30:40.607
 So these are, you know, longstanding and,
 
 00:30:40.647 --> 00:30:40.928
 you know,
 
 00:30:41.229 --> 00:30:43.009
 still relevant decisions to
 
 00:30:43.328 --> 00:30:44.549
 helping students understand
 
 00:30:44.890 --> 00:30:45.910
 their own decision making
 
 00:30:45.950 --> 00:30:46.690
 in their daily lives.
 
 00:30:46.710 --> 00:30:47.691
 Right.
 
 00:30:47.711 --> 00:30:47.851
 Right.
 
 00:30:48.570 --> 00:30:49.891
 This is these choices that
 
 00:30:49.951 --> 00:30:50.771
 people are making.
 
 00:30:50.811 --> 00:30:52.311
 We're talking with Matthew Stick,
 
 00:30:52.392 --> 00:30:53.952
 the curator of exhibitions
 
 00:30:53.992 --> 00:30:54.692
 at the Museum of the
 
 00:30:54.712 --> 00:30:57.153
 American Revolution in Philadelphia.
 
 00:30:58.771 --> 00:30:59.532
 Let's talk about,
 
 00:30:59.593 --> 00:31:01.054
 you just opened a new
 
 00:31:01.114 --> 00:31:02.695
 exhibit on Washington's tent,
 
 00:31:02.756 --> 00:31:03.936
 and that's been kind of the
 
 00:31:03.977 --> 00:31:05.377
 centerpiece of the museum
 
 00:31:05.518 --> 00:31:06.398
 since the beginning.
 
 00:31:06.558 --> 00:31:08.141
 And what other exhibits do
 
 00:31:08.181 --> 00:31:10.363
 we have in the offing for the museum?
 
 00:31:11.413 --> 00:31:12.674
 Yeah, so Witness to Revolution,
 
 00:31:12.694 --> 00:31:13.755
 The Unlikely Travels of
 
 00:31:13.815 --> 00:31:14.734
 Washington's Tent just
 
 00:31:14.855 --> 00:31:17.395
 opened in February of 2024.
 
 00:31:17.395 --> 00:31:18.297
 And that's an exhibit that
 
 00:31:18.336 --> 00:31:19.356
 tells the story of how
 
 00:31:19.557 --> 00:31:20.337
 George Washington's
 
 00:31:20.377 --> 00:31:21.698
 headquarters tent got from
 
 00:31:21.718 --> 00:31:23.159
 the Revolutionary War to
 
 00:31:23.199 --> 00:31:24.679
 the Museum of the American Revolution.
 
 00:31:24.699 --> 00:31:26.779
 So our award-winning tent
 
 00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:28.441
 theater experience is...
 
 00:31:30.602 --> 00:31:32.102
 just the tip of the iceberg
 
 00:31:32.221 --> 00:31:33.803
 of that really compelling story.
 
 00:31:34.182 --> 00:31:35.943
 It's a dramatic way of sharing it,
 
 00:31:36.003 --> 00:31:37.424
 but a lot was left on the
 
 00:31:37.565 --> 00:31:38.904
 cutting room floor to share
 
 00:31:38.965 --> 00:31:40.405
 how that tent survived over
 
 00:31:40.425 --> 00:31:42.106
 the past nearly 250 years.
 
 00:31:42.567 --> 00:31:43.667
 So this exhibit is bringing
 
 00:31:43.708 --> 00:31:46.028
 that story to the forefront.
 
 00:31:46.628 --> 00:31:47.730
 And the tent, of course,
 
 00:31:47.769 --> 00:31:49.490
 is still on display here at the museum.
 
 00:31:50.290 --> 00:31:51.892
 And next year- You also have
 
 00:31:51.912 --> 00:31:52.652
 a replica tent.
 
 00:31:53.334 --> 00:31:53.855
 Exactly.
 
 00:31:53.894 --> 00:31:54.295
 Yep.
 
 00:31:54.394 --> 00:31:56.057
 We just actually just had
 
 00:31:56.096 --> 00:31:57.857
 that replica tent down at
 
 00:31:57.897 --> 00:31:58.818
 Mount Vernon for their
 
 00:31:58.858 --> 00:32:00.039
 Revolutionary War weekend.
 
 00:32:00.701 --> 00:32:03.163
 But this is a hand-sewn
 
 00:32:03.202 --> 00:32:03.943
 replica of George
 
 00:32:03.983 --> 00:32:06.526
 Washington's Sleeping in Office marquee,
 
 00:32:06.685 --> 00:32:07.547
 the original of which we
 
 00:32:07.586 --> 00:32:08.567
 have in our collection,
 
 00:32:08.948 --> 00:32:10.028
 and his Dining Marquee,
 
 00:32:10.088 --> 00:32:11.351
 which is in the Smithsonian
 
 00:32:11.391 --> 00:32:12.412
 Institution's collection.
 
 00:32:12.991 --> 00:32:14.113
 And so this is a traveling
 
 00:32:14.212 --> 00:32:16.015
 outreach program where
 
 00:32:16.816 --> 00:32:19.458
 visitors get to engage in
 
 00:32:19.478 --> 00:32:20.598
 some experiential learning
 
 00:32:20.900 --> 00:32:22.661
 and go inside Washington's
 
 00:32:23.142 --> 00:32:26.164
 tentage and kind of imagine
 
 00:32:26.184 --> 00:32:26.744
 what it might have been
 
 00:32:26.765 --> 00:32:27.986
 like for General Washington
 
 00:32:28.386 --> 00:32:29.227
 in some of the complex
 
 00:32:29.267 --> 00:32:30.167
 decision making that he's
 
 00:32:30.208 --> 00:32:32.990
 doing on his level as commander in chief.
 
 00:32:33.151 --> 00:32:37.836
 And so what else is in the offering,
 
 00:32:37.875 --> 00:32:38.175
 Matthew?
 
 00:32:39.058 --> 00:32:39.278
 Yeah,
 
 00:32:39.298 --> 00:32:42.883
 coming up in 2025 after Witness to
 
 00:32:42.942 --> 00:32:44.404
 Revolution closes,
 
 00:32:45.425 --> 00:32:47.027
 in connection with the
 
 00:32:47.307 --> 00:32:48.669
 250th anniversary of the
 
 00:32:48.808 --> 00:32:50.171
 beginning of the Revolutionary War,
 
 00:32:50.230 --> 00:32:52.232
 of course, that Lexington conquered,
 
 00:32:52.673 --> 00:32:54.595
 we're opening an exhibit on April 19th,
 
 00:32:54.595 --> 00:32:56.718
 2025 called Banners of Liberty,
 
 00:32:57.198 --> 00:32:58.219
 which is bringing together
 
 00:32:58.278 --> 00:32:59.621
 about a dozen original
 
 00:33:00.161 --> 00:33:01.741
 flags from the Revolutionary War.
 
 00:33:02.762 --> 00:33:03.462
 In many cases,
 
 00:33:03.502 --> 00:33:04.223
 the first time that these
 
 00:33:04.263 --> 00:33:05.244
 flags have been together in
 
 00:33:05.424 --> 00:33:06.305
 one room where you get to
 
 00:33:06.384 --> 00:33:08.527
 see them all there.
 
 00:33:08.547 --> 00:33:10.788
 So that'll be open April
 
 00:33:11.009 --> 00:33:16.412
 19th through the summer of 2025.
 
 00:33:16.412 --> 00:33:17.873
 And then in the fall of 2025,
 
 00:33:17.873 --> 00:33:21.194
 we open up our major
 
 00:33:21.316 --> 00:33:22.977
 exhibit on the Declaration
 
 00:33:22.997 --> 00:33:24.637
 of Independence called the
 
 00:33:24.698 --> 00:33:25.858
 Declaration's Journey.
 
 00:33:25.878 --> 00:33:26.398
 And
 
 00:33:26.715 --> 00:33:28.676
 And this is the museum's the
 
 00:33:28.717 --> 00:33:29.297
 heart and soul of the
 
 00:33:29.336 --> 00:33:33.698
 museum's 250th 2026 project.
 
 00:33:35.098 --> 00:33:36.378
 And this is an exhibit
 
 00:33:36.419 --> 00:33:38.079
 that's exploring the global
 
 00:33:38.119 --> 00:33:39.259
 history of the Declaration
 
 00:33:39.279 --> 00:33:41.221
 of Independence and really
 
 00:33:41.480 --> 00:33:43.201
 considering the Declaration
 
 00:33:43.241 --> 00:33:44.221
 of Independence as
 
 00:33:44.501 --> 00:33:46.823
 Philadelphia's greatest export.
 
 00:33:48.128 --> 00:33:51.692
 and how other nations around
 
 00:33:51.731 --> 00:33:54.053
 the world have not only
 
 00:33:55.713 --> 00:33:56.835
 sought inspiration from the
 
 00:33:56.855 --> 00:33:57.914
 Declaration of Independence,
 
 00:33:58.295 --> 00:33:59.675
 but also encouraged the
 
 00:33:59.855 --> 00:34:04.358
 United States to expand its
 
 00:34:04.439 --> 00:34:07.721
 promise of equality and its
 
 00:34:07.840 --> 00:34:08.822
 efforts for independence
 
 00:34:11.583 --> 00:34:12.603
 Here in the United States
 
 00:34:13.505 --> 00:34:14.726
 and then also how other
 
 00:34:14.766 --> 00:34:16.248
 nations have declared their
 
 00:34:16.367 --> 00:34:18.170
 independence over the past
 
 00:34:18.170 --> 00:34:19.771
 250 years as a result of
 
 00:34:20.413 --> 00:34:22.335
 this new kind of genre of document,
 
 00:34:22.355 --> 00:34:23.695
 a declaration of independence.
 
 00:34:25.338 --> 00:34:27.480
 And so we'll be exploring
 
 00:34:27.960 --> 00:34:31.164
 ideas and stories that are connected to.
 
 00:34:32.545 --> 00:34:33.724
 the Haitian Revolution,
 
 00:34:33.744 --> 00:34:37.385
 the women's rights movements,
 
 00:34:38.065 --> 00:34:39.447
 and the Seneca Falls
 
 00:34:39.527 --> 00:34:41.286
 Convention will be
 
 00:34:41.907 --> 00:34:45.527
 discussing Gandhi's efforts
 
 00:34:45.688 --> 00:34:47.028
 for independence for India
 
 00:34:48.009 --> 00:34:49.048
 and also South American
 
 00:34:49.088 --> 00:34:50.088
 independence movements of
 
 00:34:50.108 --> 00:34:51.110
 the 19th century.
 
 00:34:51.130 --> 00:34:51.730
 Right.
 
 00:34:52.329 --> 00:34:54.010
 as well as one of the most
 
 00:34:54.210 --> 00:34:58.050
 famous references to the
 
 00:34:58.070 --> 00:34:59.090
 Declaration of Independence,
 
 00:34:59.110 --> 00:34:59.990
 and that's Martin Luther
 
 00:35:00.010 --> 00:35:01.152
 King's I Have a Dream speech.
 
 00:35:01.251 --> 00:35:04.152
 So he'll be bringing
 
 00:35:04.172 --> 00:35:05.211
 together documents and
 
 00:35:05.271 --> 00:35:07.032
 artifacts to tell this kind
 
 00:35:07.072 --> 00:35:08.652
 of global story of the
 
 00:35:08.693 --> 00:35:09.853
 Declaration of Independence.
 
 00:35:10.873 --> 00:35:11.373
 It's amazing.
 
 00:35:11.813 --> 00:35:12.032
 Now,
 
 00:35:13.134 --> 00:35:14.233
 would you have imagined when you were
 
 00:35:14.253 --> 00:35:15.054
 back in school thinking,
 
 00:35:15.094 --> 00:35:16.813
 I'd like to be a museum curator one day,
 
 00:35:16.853 --> 00:35:17.753
 that you'd be working with
 
 00:35:18.034 --> 00:35:18.974
 Washington's Tent,
 
 00:35:19.034 --> 00:35:20.994
 the Declaration of Independence, the
 
 00:35:21.576 --> 00:35:22.739
 Story of James Wharton.
 
 00:35:22.780 --> 00:35:22.980
 I mean,
 
 00:35:23.000 --> 00:35:24.744
 you have these tremendous
 
 00:35:24.826 --> 00:35:26.469
 touchstones of history that
 
 00:35:26.530 --> 00:35:28.737
 you're able to present to the rest of us.
 
 00:35:30.115 --> 00:35:32.157
 I maybe dreamed about it,
 
 00:35:32.197 --> 00:35:33.657
 but never thought it could be reality.
 
 00:35:33.717 --> 00:35:35.257
 But here we are.
 
 00:35:35.398 --> 00:35:36.657
 I have to pinch myself every
 
 00:35:36.677 --> 00:35:38.898
 day when I get to do this kind of work.
 
 00:35:39.298 --> 00:35:41.300
 It's really a dream come true.
 
 00:35:41.699 --> 00:35:43.800
 And I get to work with great
 
 00:35:43.840 --> 00:35:44.940
 colleagues here at the
 
 00:35:44.960 --> 00:35:49.722
 museum and who share that
 
 00:35:49.822 --> 00:35:52.483
 similar passion for this
 
 00:35:52.543 --> 00:35:55.965
 time period and encouraging people
 
 00:35:56.864 --> 00:35:58.507
 more and more Americans and
 
 00:35:58.626 --> 00:36:00.309
 international visitors to
 
 00:36:00.349 --> 00:36:02.130
 realize that the American
 
 00:36:02.371 --> 00:36:03.692
 Revolution is not just
 
 00:36:03.931 --> 00:36:07.715
 eight years from 1775 to 1783.
 
 00:36:07.715 --> 00:36:09.157
 That's the Revolutionary War.
 
 00:36:09.697 --> 00:36:10.938
 The Revolutionary War is one
 
 00:36:11.099 --> 00:36:12.840
 aspect of the American Revolution,
 
 00:36:13.121 --> 00:36:14.782
 one part of it, a dramatic part of it,
 
 00:36:15.063 --> 00:36:16.103
 the beginning of it, really.
 
 00:36:16.603 --> 00:36:19.025
 But the American Revolution is ongoing.
 
 00:36:19.445 --> 00:36:21.045
 It's really kind of
 
 00:36:21.585 --> 00:36:24.266
 encouraging and fostering
 
 00:36:24.425 --> 00:36:28.007
 the ideas of liberty and
 
 00:36:28.047 --> 00:36:30.786
 equality for more and more
 
 00:36:30.806 --> 00:36:31.547
 people every day.
 
 00:36:31.568 --> 00:36:33.967
 That's great.
 
 00:36:34.148 --> 00:36:35.869
 We've been talking with Matthew Skick,
 
 00:36:35.909 --> 00:36:37.208
 the curator of exhibitions
 
 00:36:37.268 --> 00:36:39.349
 at the Museum of the American Revolution.
 
 00:36:40.289 --> 00:36:41.150
 And your exhibits,
 
 00:36:41.190 --> 00:36:42.489
 like the James Wharton exhibit,
 
 00:36:42.550 --> 00:36:43.931
 you have an online
 
 00:36:43.990 --> 00:36:45.510
 component where we can continue
 
 00:36:46.201 --> 00:36:47.041
 watching them if you don't
 
 00:36:47.061 --> 00:36:48.643
 have a chance to come to the museum,
 
 00:36:48.663 --> 00:36:50.083
 although of course people
 
 00:36:50.103 --> 00:36:50.983
 are encouraged to get to
 
 00:36:51.003 --> 00:36:52.806
 the museum to see the
 
 00:36:52.965 --> 00:36:54.387
 Witness to Revolution and
 
 00:36:54.447 --> 00:36:55.927
 the Declaration's Journey
 
 00:36:55.967 --> 00:36:56.967
 and these other exhibits
 
 00:36:57.007 --> 00:36:58.509
 that you have in the offing
 
 00:36:58.528 --> 00:36:59.929
 as well as your permanent exhibit.
 
 00:37:00.851 --> 00:37:01.751
 Anything else?
 
 00:37:01.851 --> 00:37:03.193
 I feel like we could be here all day,
 
 00:37:03.233 --> 00:37:03.612
 Matthew,
 
 00:37:03.672 --> 00:37:04.914
 talking about what's going on in
 
 00:37:05.353 --> 00:37:06.695
 your museum and in the
 
 00:37:06.735 --> 00:37:07.936
 revolution that you cover.
 
 00:37:08.735 --> 00:37:09.536
 Anything else we should
 
 00:37:09.577 --> 00:37:10.757
 mention before we let you go?
 
 00:37:11.836 --> 00:37:13.637
 Well, just as a note about that,
 
 00:37:13.757 --> 00:37:15.639
 those 360 degree virtual
 
 00:37:15.699 --> 00:37:17.079
 tours of those exhibits,
 
 00:37:17.119 --> 00:37:18.041
 they're really great ways
 
 00:37:18.081 --> 00:37:19.041
 to encounter it.
 
 00:37:19.081 --> 00:37:20.802
 If you encounter the stories
 
 00:37:20.842 --> 00:37:23.304
 that we share with just a
 
 00:37:23.364 --> 00:37:24.023
 click of your mouse,
 
 00:37:24.063 --> 00:37:25.085
 you can explore it as if
 
 00:37:25.105 --> 00:37:26.085
 you're in the room.
 
 00:37:26.166 --> 00:37:27.365
 But if you're able to make
 
 00:37:27.385 --> 00:37:28.047
 it to Philadelphia,
 
 00:37:28.067 --> 00:37:29.007
 I do encourage you to come.
 
 00:37:30.467 --> 00:37:31.389
 The James Wharton exhibit
 
 00:37:31.429 --> 00:37:32.710
 also has music because his
 
 00:37:32.769 --> 00:37:35.490
 daughter wrote something
 
 00:37:35.510 --> 00:37:36.952
 that becomes an abolitionist hymn,
 
 00:37:37.112 --> 00:37:38.273
 an abolitionist anthem.
 
 00:37:38.981 --> 00:37:39.461
 Exactly.
 
 00:37:39.481 --> 00:37:39.802
 Yeah,
 
 00:37:39.822 --> 00:37:41.903
 that is what's called The Grave of
 
 00:37:41.943 --> 00:37:42.384
 the Slave.
 
 00:37:42.423 --> 00:37:45.965
 It's a poem written by Sarah Fortin,
 
 00:37:46.106 --> 00:37:47.226
 one of James Fortin's daughters.
 
 00:37:47.286 --> 00:37:49.909
 It was extremely talented poet.
 
 00:37:50.969 --> 00:37:52.710
 She was a member with her
 
 00:37:52.750 --> 00:37:54.851
 mother and sisters of the
 
 00:37:54.911 --> 00:37:56.452
 Philadelphia Female
 
 00:37:56.552 --> 00:37:57.972
 Anti-Slavery Society
 
 00:37:59.353 --> 00:38:01.135
 alongside Lucretia Mott, for example.
 
 00:38:01.896 --> 00:38:01.996
 And
 
 00:38:03.956 --> 00:38:05.278
 One of the Fortin family's
 
 00:38:05.418 --> 00:38:08.503
 friends was the very famous
 
 00:38:08.704 --> 00:38:11.847
 in his day and talented band leader,
 
 00:38:12.668 --> 00:38:13.690
 African-American band leader,
 
 00:38:15.592 --> 00:38:16.594
 Francis Johnson,
 
 00:38:17.096 --> 00:38:18.657
 who actually set Sarah
 
 00:38:18.697 --> 00:38:20.480
 Fortin's poem to music.
 
 00:38:21.101 --> 00:38:22.021
 And it became sort of an
 
 00:38:22.121 --> 00:38:24.262
 abolitionist anthem in a way.
 
 00:38:24.802 --> 00:38:26.583
 It was talking about how an
 
 00:38:26.643 --> 00:38:27.945
 enslaved person,
 
 00:38:28.405 --> 00:38:30.365
 it's actually quite a solemn tune,
 
 00:38:30.405 --> 00:38:31.306
 but it's talking about how
 
 00:38:31.326 --> 00:38:32.947
 an enslaved person can only
 
 00:38:33.027 --> 00:38:35.788
 find freedom in death when they die,
 
 00:38:36.849 --> 00:38:38.369
 unless they're freed in another way.
 
 00:38:38.969 --> 00:38:40.971
 But so many enslaved people,
 
 00:38:41.431 --> 00:38:43.271
 millions of enslaved people
 
 00:38:43.331 --> 00:38:44.652
 by the mid-19th century are
 
 00:38:45.233 --> 00:38:45.753
 are, are,
 
 00:38:45.954 --> 00:38:48.815
 are really not able to live their
 
 00:38:48.896 --> 00:38:50.777
 lives in the way that they,
 
 00:38:50.876 --> 00:38:51.898
 they want to be.
 
 00:38:51.938 --> 00:38:52.739
 And the only way they can
 
 00:38:52.778 --> 00:38:54.360
 find freedom is in, is in death.
 
 00:38:54.420 --> 00:38:56.822
 It's a very solemn poem,
 
 00:38:56.882 --> 00:38:57.782
 but it's getting to the,
 
 00:38:57.983 --> 00:39:00.204
 pointing to the fact that the, the, the,
 
 00:39:00.244 --> 00:39:00.344
 the,
 
 00:39:00.563 --> 00:39:03.867
 the horrors of slavery that James
 
 00:39:03.927 --> 00:39:05.228
 Fortin was never enslaved.
 
 00:39:05.268 --> 00:39:06.708
 His children were never enslaved.
 
 00:39:07.228 --> 00:39:08.750
 They never took that for granted.
 
 00:39:08.809 --> 00:39:10.711
 They instead are channeling their wealth,
 
 00:39:10.771 --> 00:39:11.311
 their talents,
 
 00:39:11.331 --> 00:39:12.193
 their efforts to try and
 
 00:39:12.293 --> 00:39:13.634
 end slavery in the United States.
 
 00:39:14.556 --> 00:39:15.557
 It's a great story.
 
 00:39:15.577 --> 00:39:16.838
 So thank you very much, Matthew,
 
 00:39:16.858 --> 00:39:17.559
 for joining us.
 
 00:39:18.059 --> 00:39:20.300
 And I encourage folks to
 
 00:39:20.780 --> 00:39:22.161
 check out your website or
 
 00:39:22.342 --> 00:39:23.661
 and visit the museum if you can.
 
 00:39:23.681 --> 00:39:25.143
 Matthew Skick is the curator
 
 00:39:25.163 --> 00:39:26.164
 of exhibitions at the
 
 00:39:26.184 --> 00:39:27.204
 Museum of the American
 
 00:39:27.244 --> 00:39:28.784
 Revolution in Philadelphia.
 
 00:39:29.985 --> 00:39:31.266
 And so thank you for joining us.
 
 00:39:31.646 --> 00:39:32.206
 Thank you, Bob.
 
 00:39:32.226 --> 00:39:33.088
 Appreciate it.
 
 00:39:34.184 --> 00:39:36.304
 Also thank Jonathan Lane, our producer,
 
 00:39:36.405 --> 00:39:37.525
 the man behind the curtain,
 
 00:39:37.626 --> 00:39:39.186
 as well as our listeners
 
 00:39:39.206 --> 00:39:41.668
 around the country, around the world.
 
 00:39:41.748 --> 00:39:43.050
 And every week I thank folks
 
 00:39:43.070 --> 00:39:44.331
 who are tuning in regularly.
 
 00:39:44.391 --> 00:39:45.831
 And if you are in one of these places,
 
 00:39:46.291 --> 00:39:47.672
 send Jonathan Lane an email,
 
 00:39:47.733 --> 00:39:49.713
 jlane at revolution250.org,
 
 00:39:49.733 --> 00:39:51.094
 and I'll send you some of
 
 00:39:51.175 --> 00:39:52.516
 our Rev 250 swag.
 
 00:39:52.536 --> 00:39:53.597
 We have playing cards,
 
 00:39:53.637 --> 00:39:55.137
 we have refrigerator magnets,
 
 00:39:55.197 --> 00:39:56.059
 we have scarves.
 
 00:39:56.639 --> 00:39:57.719
 I never know what else
 
 00:39:57.780 --> 00:39:58.639
 Jonathan is going to come
 
 00:39:58.699 --> 00:40:00.362
 up with to have for the
 
 00:40:00.422 --> 00:40:02.202
 revolutionary symbols, um,
 
 00:40:03.518 --> 00:40:06.101
 circulating among folks.
 
 00:40:06.121 --> 00:40:07.882
 So Jonathan Wayne, thank you.
 
 00:40:07.981 --> 00:40:08.541
 And this week,
 
 00:40:08.641 --> 00:40:11.204
 friends in Philadelphia and in Denver,
 
 00:40:11.403 --> 00:40:13.784
 Long Beach, and Sebastopol, California,
 
 00:40:14.306 --> 00:40:15.626
 Colchester and Vernon in
 
 00:40:15.646 --> 00:40:16.606
 the state of Connecticut,
 
 00:40:17.407 --> 00:40:19.768
 Escanaba and Detroit in Michigan,
 
 00:40:20.528 --> 00:40:21.710
 Short Hills, New Jersey,
 
 00:40:21.989 --> 00:40:25.472
 Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and Wynanskill,
 
 00:40:25.532 --> 00:40:28.233
 New York, and here in Massachusetts,
 
 00:40:28.293 --> 00:40:30.315
 the town of Arlington, formerly Monotony.
 
 00:40:30.355 --> 00:40:31.096
 So thank you all for
 
 00:40:31.135 --> 00:40:32.817
 listening in those places and places
 
 00:40:33.297 --> 00:40:34.201
 between and beyond,
 
 00:40:34.240 --> 00:40:35.244
 and now we will be piped
 
 00:40:35.606 --> 00:40:37.012
 out on the road to Boston.