[inaudible conversations]. And when we get to q a at the tiller because we are audio recording and cspan for book tv is filming as well. We really like to have your questions and there. We will have a signing at this table and if you could just leave your chairs where they ar are, we have a couple more readings today would be fantastic. Today we are excited to welcome robert plumb here to celebrate his book, for a bit the better angels. And to come to National Prominence during the civil war to document tell the conflict left openings for women to assume roles usually held by men to show the depth of their passion and commitment. Segments tireless work of the underground railroad traces from massachusetts to Clerk Position in washington where she began the work that led to her establishing the American Red Cross. Chronicles held. Beecher stowe and abolitionism. And to write Uncle Toms Cabin. While julia ward was inspired by battle hymn of the republic. And also to demonstrate the patriotism to advocate for a national day of thanksgiving. Plumb is the author of your brother in arms come in has written for Montgomery County historical society, the Washington Post and magazine among others. Please join me to welcome to politics and prose robert c plumb. [applause] thank you very much for that kind and warm introduction i feel like if you are a minute musician and you are invited to play at Carnegie Hall if you are invited to talk here it is wonderful. Especially for me because this part one this book was released on march 1st it is womens History Month but also coincides with the 100th anniversary of the signing of the amendment giving the women the right to vote i want to talk about a guide early in the 20th century so they never got a chance to vote for what they did during the course of the American Civil War pave the way for suffrage that came later. What im going to do today is give you a snapshot of who these five women were in them brief passages for one from the book to flesh out the things that occurred. And then i will sum it up to talk about what i think are the ten most critical characteristics these women possess that allowed them to do the things that they did during the war. It was tough enough but the fact they were women gave them an additional hurdle that they all overcame not once did the fact they were women deter them from what they did in fact it just gave them more energy. The books title comes from Abraham Lincoln first inaugural speech which he delivered coincidentally 1861 so in terms of what would happen it would tear the country apart but he also said we have to rely on those better angels of our country to bring the country back together. And then to ensure the union succeeded. The five women very briefly, Harriet Tubman who took her role in the antebellum. She freed herself they call it self liberation but then she came back it can and again to free the enslaved people. Most people agree there are 70 or 80 people she freed extraordinary by anyones imagination. Harriet Beecher Stowe was a writer but not until she wrote Uncle Toms Cabin that she blew open the whole story of slavery not only with facts and figures and information but a compelling narrative to bring alive the characters of the book some very a favorable and some not so favorable it hit the bookshelves of america just like nothing had ever been done in the past that sold over 100,000 copies the first week it was out it started off as a serial in a magazine and got such popularity over the year it was turned into a book 1852. The next person i want to talk about Julia Ward Howe is a poet in the early 18 sixties she came to washington with her husband who was a piece of work himself not shy talking about his ability to do great things and then was in the back seat while he was off doing things with the Sanitary Commission which was an early version of the red cross she went across the potomac and watch the Union Soldiers parade into their military things and on the way back they were surrounded and she was struck by two things not much older than her own children and when they started to sing it was john browns body. It was an arousing marching tuned but and the minister from massachusetts. And said you know we could do a better job writing something than that. And then went back to the hotel. And then to start writing a poem on scraps of paper. And then made a few tweets but basically it would be the battle hymn of the republic. And the first of the next one in harpers weekly it took off. Soldiers were singing and its finally bringing to the forefront what the union cause was about to some extent bringing it back together. When she talked about dying to set men free, suddenly the whole purpose took on a whole told with the emancipation proclamation sent off on a new track. The next person i want to talk to very briefly as clara barton we tend to think of her as a nurse and she did do nursing duties but i think her real strength was her ability to get medical supplies that were sorely needed into the field with they were needed the most. I think she was a medical logistics genius that doesnt have the ring as nursing but it is true. When she took a wagon train of medical supplies the doctors on the field were binding wounds with the cornhusker of a nearby cornfield. They ran out of bandages and then nearby farmhouse with sheets she was in the right place at the right time and said my places just behind they can then meaning right where the action is. So the least well known of those i have mentioned is sarah hale back in the mid 18 hundreds was famous because she was the successful editor of a womens magazine first the womens journal and also also of attracting american writers and she paid them back in those days that ran up the copyright lose one laws that were pretty loose. Using her magazine as the launching platform. Believing that they needed to be educated in colleges and then to establish the college and also raised money for the Mount Vernon Ladies Association and then to fall in great disrepair. Womans advocate but also very much its the only one i was talking about board in the 17 hundreds right after washington took office and had an older version of what was appropriate in the way of womens rights. I would like to read some sections of the book and then follow that with my listing of characteristics that allow them to do the things that they do and did. Starting with Harriet Tubman who across the masondixon line into pennsylvania and freedom after an arduous journey alone. Accomplish with courage and skill later admitted to her biographers i found i had crossed the line i looked at my hands to see if i was the same person there was such a glory over everything the sun came like gold through the trees and over the fields i felt like i was in heaven to continue that the freedom was not without apprehension and finished it by saying i crossed the line i was free but there was no one to welcome you to the land of freedom i was a stranger in a strange land. And in the concept of a technique what she used to guide her runaway slaves took advantage of the timbered area areas, estuaries and swamps making up the escape route with tiger marsh and creeks these help to provide cover for small bands of runaways to north and freedom she made use of these natural features and traveled primarily at night by the stars and reported she could tell time by the stars and find her way by natural signs as well as any hunter. Along with her knowledge of nature to have an ingenious mind she was also willing to use force if called for and routinely carried a pistol with her and prepared to use it against any slave catchers or runaway that would be forced to reveal the escape routes. She was ready to really sacrifice a reluctant runaway because they would tell the tales there are no recorded instances of having fired her firearm but it gives that indication so the next person to talk about is harriet Beecher Stowe the novel Uncle Toms Cabin took on slavery the detailed human stories of suffering and to earn the sympathy depending on the roles of the narrative with those southern proponents were spared what she based on the belief that slavery was evil and only evil and with that biblical justification and an Uncle Toms Cabin. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow never so literary as this. And then bombarded the press that it was filled with distortions and exaggerations and outright lies that they were atypical of normal behavior among slaveholders rather than counter these objections he employed a different strategy with that credibility of characters the veracity of the scenes described in the body of law that existed to protect the institution of slavery and it appeared under a ponderous title to present the original fax the documents upon which the story was founded with corroborative statements its hard to put that on a tshirt. [laughter] but the point got across. And then to support her case with facts and examples of real people with the proslavery journalist and those newspaper classified to offer rewards for runaway slaves in the court of Public Opinion stowe confounded her critics with the facts and the data and the documented examples of cruelty and human malfeasance the real reality that enslaved humans out into the open to the determined 41 yearold mother who was outraged at how fellow human beings are being treated in a nation founded of all men being created equal. The power of Uncle Toms Cabin to change Public Opinion the true nature of slavery is indisputable Abraham Lincoln was reported to say when he first met harriet Beecher Stowe so you are the little old woman who wrote the book that made this great war. The next is julia how motivation in time of war represents a combination of circumstances the civil war was no exception victories on the battlefield with that visionary effective leadership for those that fight in the citizens that support them in the early stages of the war 1861 with few exceptions was a time when Union Victories were rare and morale was at the nader the sense of purpose was rekindled by the emancipation proclamation and Julia Ward Howe is moving at them and in 1863. And then to turn the corner for the union victory. And then in the hunting words to sell for the trumpet and men before the seat and then to answer. At the next person we would like to talk about and then pursue that desire to take an active role barton approached head of the quartermaster depot calling him and the austere office and initially rebuffed her but they persisted to announce there were three warehouses of supplies ready to go and that passionate plea to deliver to cause them to relent and argue with the facts. And then that passage by vote to union depot. And then to pass for the Surgeon General and then to travel to that area to distribute the supplies the task complete returning to washington to accumulate more supplies. Following the success of the second battle of manassas under the leadership of robert e. Lee to launch an invasion resulting from manassas was even more convinced needed on the battlefield and had to be in place to be effective so that anonymous but reliable source let the confederates move into maryland in 1862 and quickly approached and then to venture to Harpers Ferry where she anticipated the casualties would be set in on sunday september 14 she and her assistant cornelius well loaded the wagon the army provided with crucial materials. And then the loan teamster. When sharpsburg maryland. It with an impending sense of going and then the oppressive human flesh as human beings and animals. And at the very brink of a major battle and to hope to help and the battle unfolded over the next 24 hours. And with horrifying casualties on both sides and to work with her on the battlefield to call her the angel the battlefield. So sarah hale the least known of what one of the five im talking about the formation of Constitutional Government to participate and in that inspiring celebration of the communal feast to have a strong motivation but then it fell into disuse so more than those that followed in the later years the great men who know more more thor south to American Family and for the campaign for national day of thanksgiving so in 1863 he sat down to write the american president s this was reflected in the letter and didnt know that her youngest daughter had died suddenly the previous day. And those two key governors and evokes the support of her friend. And that with this proclamation. And with that presentation of the case and to issue a proclamation and as a last thursday of november is a day of thanksgiving. And with the signature and the ambiguous proclamation. And then together under lincolns leadership. And finally i would just like to comment briefly on the qualities these women had an americans both men and women face daunting odds but women confronted the additional hurdle of century old stereotypes thousands upon thousands of women experience more personal or indirectly during the for your duration. Daily routines turned upside down and property of goods destroyed to play a crucial role in the war effort in the north and the south for a few of the five better angels before and during and after the war breaking acknowledge being the right place at the right time can sometimes play a crucial role to achieve success powerful defining characteristics that these five women apart from others and then to discuss the founders of the United States benefit from contemplating the example to study their character with the unique characteristics what are those pivotal characteristics of the five angels demonstrated and how did their response when they were stacked against them is ten critical characteristics the way they could set themselves apart and then to help them successfully navigate the treacherous of the American Civil War so sitting on the edge of your seat to what we to do this coming week and that persistence and courage on the battlefield. And then raise her five children without marrying or depending on any other person. And then assertiveness and resourcefulness compassion and discipline and sovereignty the nations are sovereign but these women were sovereign free from external control and had autonomy we would like to conclude with a quotation from clara barton of what you have just heard from these women and then to be fresh in her mind and also had enough time to think of the context of that war if i were to speak of for it would not be to show you the glories of the armys that the mystery they have their tracks into toss the breeze someone must follow closely in their steps and to shelter themselves with no thought of pride or glory and hearts breaking with pity with hands and blood this is the side which history never shows. I hope this addresses some of her concerns of being lost to history. [applause] questions . How long did it take you to write the book . Number two, what were your sources and what was the most interesting and unexpected thing you discovered . They will tell you is not just the writing with the researching. And the dilemma the nonfiction writers how Much Research do i do before its not necessary . With both research and writing with three and a half and four years. What are my sources . I read every book i could get my hands on about those five women and they dont have much as particularly sarah hale. And all the locations where these women conducted their efforts and ive been to Harriet Tubmans location in the Eastern Shore and ive been to Harriet Tubmans home in the early 19 hundreds and then to be very influential how i prepared this book and what struck me and what was most amazing is that all thes woman are mythological and they all had real flaws. Clara barton had the entrepreneurial problem and started the red cross but didnt want to take her hands off at like the entrepreneur who started the company reaching Great Success but never once anyone to take over. That was a flaw and will pull her reagan was great friends but that senator wilson would approve of. But that is enough said that they were human beings. And you have been fascinated by these women that they are all notable but at any point have you considered others and those robbers on runnersup . There are many other women who had lesser accomplishments in those extraordinary things over a long period of time i couldnt find anyone else with that longevity. My wife is always told me three is too few and for you cannot have an even number so i focused on five. But it turned out was with the five most notable people if you have thoughts about the south and what i want to do is draw attention to the trouble. And then eventually to lecture. But they were doers and then to accomplish those things and not that thats not an important thing but i was struck by what accomplishment and i use that word deliberately. Did these women know each other or interact with each other . Or were there and to help them accomplish what they did that were complementary instead of the roadblocks to help them do what they did. They did not know each others sarah hale ran an incredibly successful magazine she ran some of harriet beechers those pieces with that corresponding and clara barton and barton both served and pro wagner in South Carolina know where can i found find they cross paths to have a conversation about that. Will that didnt just happen. So yes, two of the women after she freed herself she married much later in life and all for Harriet Tubman. And harriet Beecher Stowe had an understanding husband was a theology instructor and helped her a number of times in fact said you are not mrs. Calvin stowe you are harriet Beecher Stowe and he encouraged her to use that and was a tyrant. He was no help at all he was a hindrance it was very resentful and try to the for every chance he had and got no help. And very good to make that context. And with those local congressmen. And to have a good rapport. And then to run them over. And then to go off but she had these three warehouses full of things it was hard to argue with. But sarah hale at age 39 never married again. The only person was to the man who eventually bought her book, magazine and was supportive and helpful along the way she could of went to another book and another publisher who was just as supportive. Thats basically what it was. Thank you. You already answered my question but i will pursue that and then to focus on this for perfectly good reason but i am wondering are you aware of any women in the south who have made the grade so a cursory any woman in the south of the abolitionist either in print or wherever to be up against tremendous odds and so the question is are you aware of any women in the south and in particular and abolitionist to spoke out. And in particular and abolitionist to spoke out. Wrote a book about the abolitionist daughter and its a work of fiction if it was based on any facts. And with a fairly extensive look at what was happening. It sounds like your next book. [laughter] first of all your timing is perfect with the International Womens day tomorrow. Bravo. I have a question. If you started your research on this book is this what you envisioned or did it evolve as you dug into your research . Is hard for most to say at the beginning this is what i envisioned at the end i hoped it would turn out this way but there were fits and starts along the way. And then to come together. And then to drop to a timeline on a regular basis and make that contribution and that it is chronological. Its not that hard. But then to focus to put the spotlight on the women because i was so intrigued because they just coming up again and again what is the story . And when the women in the audience and what happened to this young man that wrote the letters after the war . What did he suffer . That is the story. That is hemingways mentor and muse said there is nothing as interesting as this americans civil war. So just step back. Thank you. So the article in the atlantic and then the solidstate to still show things like discrimination and racism so typically it is no longer there so how do you see changes to make it more human to others. I wish i was equipped to answer but certainly risking the impediment of slavery and it went a long way we have to work out those whether black people or asian. And that more tolerance will come over time. But then that to be enslaved has been removed. So then after several months. Bed i confess right up front yankee born and raised in the north but not until i came south and i was in the service i saw different. And not in a positive way. Yes sir. And with those positive characteristics if you look at the main negative characteristic so that negative characteristic is if you flip them over they become positive they are very adamant about what they wanted to do. Clara barton pulled rank she wasnt afraid to tell somebody that she knew senator wilson and she would use his office. And clara barton when she built this wagon train from antietam to pass the train that had guns and ammunitions. So like to jump ahead i have some medical supplies. So wait here so she got up and off they went and then disobeyed the powers that be didnt follow instructions. So clara barton again as time went on with the American Red Cross to become a thorn in the side of the people in a logical and organized way and then leave everything that had to be done administratively during a disaster. And Harriet Tubman a wonderful woman. And then maybe better financial control . And to have a very good mentor who lives in auburn and in their respect was very ambivalent. Thank you. [applause] spee5 after consulting with members of the attending physician the house will not return for legislative work next week instead they will continue to hold brief pro forma sessions every three days. Bipartisan negotiations continue a different options for building remotely in committees and on the house floor. And then to saw of