The Last Senator To Be Expelled (1862)
This Day in Esoteric Political History
Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia
4.6 • 982 Ratings
🗓️ 11 February 2025
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It's February 11th. This day in 1862, the U.S. Senate has expelled Indiana Senator Jesse David Bright for colluding with the Confederacy.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Bright remained in the senate, even after secession, and how his deep sympathies with the South were ultimately exposed.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from Radiotopia. |
| 0:07.2 | My name is Jody Avergan. |
| 0:10.4 | This day, February 5, 1862, Senator Jesse David Bright becomes the only senator from a northern state to be expelled for being a Confederate sympathizer. |
| 0:20.6 | Listeners, I'm going to give |
| 0:21.5 | you five seconds to guess what State Bright is from. Take a moment. What state? How many of you |
| 0:28.1 | guessed or knew Indiana? Well, he is from Indiana. We have Jesse David Bright of Indiana. |
| 0:32.8 | By all reports, a pretty corrupt guy, a rival of Charles Sumner, a bit of an over-top character, |
| 0:38.5 | and a loyal Democrat in the run-up to the Civil War. And then, after the Southern States |
| 0:43.6 | secede and the Civil War breaks up, there he is in the Northern Senate, now the most senior |
| 0:48.5 | Democrat, and to put it lightly, a Confederate sympathizer, maybe, as we'll discuss, |
| 0:53.1 | a Confederate collaborator, |
| 0:55.0 | which is the thing that does lead to his expulsion. So let's talk about Jesse David Bright, |
| 0:59.2 | this larger question of northern political sympathy for the Southern cause. Should we be |
| 1:03.7 | surprised maybe that Bright was the only senator expelled as the war broke out? Here to discuss, |
| 1:09.0 | as always, Nicole Hammer of Vanderbilt and Kelly Carter Jackson of |
| 1:12.7 | Wellesley. |
| 1:13.3 | Hello there. |
| 1:13.9 | Native Hoosier, Nicole Hemmer, who, I know. |
| 1:16.7 | I didn't want to. |
| 1:17.5 | I didn't want to print it all on you. |
| 1:20.1 | Protest. |
| 1:20.7 | This is the topic we're covering from Indiana. |
... |
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