Retropolis: The presidential inauguration that made everyone sick
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 18 January 2025
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this special episode of “Post Reports,” columnist Petula Dvorak reads her first installment of The Post’s revealing history column, Retropolis.
James Buchanan barely won the presidency. The nation was roiling in the debate over slavery. So when Buchanan became gravely ill before his inaugural address, it wasn’t a stretch to suspect an assassination attempt. The presidential entourage all stayed at the posh National Hotel on Capitol Hill and they fell ill, too. It hit more than 400 guests of the hotel and more than 30 died. It became known as the mysterious National Hotel Disease and confounded Washington for months.
The piece was reported, written and read by Petula Dvorak. Audio production and original music by Bishop Sand.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi there, I'm Petula Dvorak, the new columnist for Ritropolis, a corner of the Washington Post |
| 0:05.9 | where we re-examine history. I'm here in the Post reports feed this weekend to give you a taste |
| 0:11.9 | of what you can expect from the written column. We're relaunching Ritropolis with a mystery that plagued |
| 0:18.2 | a U.S. presidential inauguration a long time ago. But first, if you've |
| 0:23.6 | never heard of Ritropolis, here's what you should know. We are on a mission to look at past |
| 0:28.6 | decisions, norms, and policies, and hold leaders and us accountable today. And we do it in |
| 0:35.9 | way somber, serious, but also a little delightful. We don't want to be |
| 0:40.6 | just the retropolis for old guys obsessed with World War II. We want our nation's history to be for |
| 0:46.1 | everyone. So I hope you'll join me and my excellent colleagues and editors as we dive in and learn. |
| 0:52.5 | You can find our work at Washington Post.com slash retropolis |
| 0:56.3 | and on TikTok, Instagram, and other social media. |
| 1:02.9 | Let's head into this with the words of William Faulkner in mind. |
| 1:07.3 | The past is never dead. |
| 1:09.1 | It's not even the past. |
| 1:13.1 | All right, so here we go. I'm going to read you my inaugural column, pun completely intended. |
| 1:21.6 | The inaugural parade of 1857, on a March day that was surprisingly warm, celebrated President-elect James Buchanan |
| 1:30.2 | with something new to Washington parades. Floats. There was the goddess of Liberty car, |
| 1:36.5 | drawn by six horses, complete with a woman dressed as a goddess and a 50-foot flagpole. |
| 1:42.5 | Then a massive replica of the frigate USS Constitution, |
| 1:46.7 | built at the Washington Navy Yard rolled down Pennsylvania Avenue with sailors dangling from the ship's |
| 1:52.6 | foe rigging. But Buchanan, smiling tightly amid all the pomp, was hiding a roiling sickness. |
| 2:00.4 | He was staying at Washington's posh national hotel, |
... |
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