Part One: Rebecca Felton: The First Female Senator (was also a pro-lynching activist)
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome back to Behind the Bastards, a podcast where we tell you everything you don't know about the very worst people in all of history. And we have quite a special episode for everybody this week. And to tell that special episode, we have a special guest, the great Samantha McVeigh, host of Stuff Your Mom Never Told You and the podcast and the book, Stuff Your Mom Never Told You, I should say. Samantha, welcome to the show.
Hey, hey.
I don't know.
Hey, either way.
You added a your to that. You did. Yeah, I did. I was going to let it go. Stuff Mom never told you. Jesus.
Stuff Mom never told you.
Close enough. It's early morning for me, you know?
It's 1.13 p.m., friends.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, I haven't slept in days. It's 4 o'clock in my time, so. Yeah. There you go.
Speaking of friends. Hi, Sam.
Hi. Mm-hmm. How is everybody? I'm good, Sam. I wanted to know, do you know anything about the first female senator?
No.
First, not that. See, now I'm confused because I remember the pantsuit senator, which we do talk about. And I have to go back to my book.
This is the technical first female senator, right? This is the lady who was technically the first female senator. She didn't actually do the job of a senator, really. But she was an activist who kind of got it as an award late in life after women got the vote because she was also a major suffragette activist. Her name was Rebecca Felton. And she was technically the first female U.S. senator. Now, That all sounds great, right? That doesn't sound like the subject for a Behind the Bastards episode. Unfortunately, Rebecca wasn't just a suffragette, right? She wasn't just someone who was an activist for that. She was an activist for a lot of things, including lynching.
Yeah, I was going to say she was racist, wasn't she?
She was super racist.
She grew up on a plantation, racist. Georgia? Georgia.
Oh, this is a Georgia story. the actual first senator i was thinking about was a black woman but maybe i'm wrong i don't i don't know the elected first senator off the top of my head right now i read about her when i was doing the research for this but i'm i'm i'm purely focusing on the the monster technically claims the term because she fits for our purposes here on behind the bastards right i'm so excited to talk about racists i love talking about racists this is one of my favorite hobbies let's go all right
This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.
Hey, Portlandia fans.
Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here.
The dream of the 90s is alive in podcast form.
We're launching Podlandia AO Rewatch, our brand new podcast where we revisit every episode of Portlandia together, breaking down sketches, going deep on our iconic characters, and pulling back the curtain on how it all got made.
And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guest stars, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Kreisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more.
Kyle is going for it here. You fully improvised not just words, but a song, a melody.
Who was Rebecca Felton and why is she called the first female U.S. senator?
Well, I thought you were all going to write a song.
I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia AO Rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your girl, Sam Jay.
And we're the hosts of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from Together and iHeart Women's Sports. We're breaking down the biggest headlines. Naomi Osaka showing out. Shout outs to you, Naomi. The viral moments. I've been obsessed with Kashawn Rock's boxing journey. She looks good. Her combos are swift. And the stories everyone's talking about across women's sports. Because everyone watches women's sports.
Listen to Everyone Watches Women's Sports on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm Nick Turturro. You probably know me from NYPD Blue, The Longest Yard, or Spike Lee's Black Klansman. And on my new podcast, Delivering Happiness with Nick Turturro, I deliver pizza to a new guest.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–3:00
2
Who was Rebecca Felton and why is she called the first female U.S. senator?
3:00–18:22
3
What was Rebecca Felton’s family background and how did the Latimer plantation shape her upbringing?
18:22–32:43
4
How did the Yazoo land fraud and Trail of Tears influence Felton’s family's move to Georgia?
32:43–55:10
5
How did slavery and daily plantation life appear in Felton’s childhood recollections?
55:10–1:07:44