The Audio File: 1865: Season 2

I'd had this blog for a few years, but it didn't truly take off in earnest until I started reviewing audio dramas. So, here we are, reviewing the second season of the audio drama that started it all for me. There's really no more preamble to be added, so let's get to it. We're taking a look at season two of 1865.

Season two of 1865 begins where season one ended. Ulysses S. Grant has been elected the eighteenth President of the United States. Grant proved himself on the battlefields of the American Civil War, and has become a national hero. However, Grant is about to face a whole new set of challenges. Challenges that he might not be totally prepared for. There are white supremacist insurgency groups spreading across the South. Of particular note is a new group calling themselves The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Grant must try his best to clean-up the mess that Andrew Johnson created, and preserve the legacy of Abraham Lincoln. Grant must guide America through the tumultuous Reconstruction era. However, Grant will be hounded by accusations of corruption within his administration. He will find that, sometimes, his greatest allies can be his worst enemies.

I had been eagerly awaiting this season ever since I finished season one of 1865. I was blown away with what Steve Walters and Erik Archilla, and their team of voice actors and producers, achieved in season one. As it turns out, 1865 was originally planned to only be a single season long. It does tell a complete story, and the last episode of season one does carry a strong note of finality. However, thanks to overwhelming fan support, the team decided to make a second season. It would pick up where season one ends, and follow the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant. So, here we are.

Season two of 1865 differs from season one in a few key aspects. Season one start with the main show, and then released a three-episode prequel miniseries afterwards. Season two, however, begins with a trio of prequel episodes before diving into the main show. This trio of episodes serves to bridge the gap between season one and season two. They have a framing device where Edwin Stanton is having dinner with Charles Dickens. Stanton is telling Dickens about the things that occurred during the final days of the Johnson administration. Believe it or not this is absolutely historically accurate. Charles Dickens took a trip to America, and he did indeed have dinner with Edwin Stanton. Dickens was less than impressed by what he found in America. To be fair, it's not like he thought too highly of Britain. Dickens' novels included scathing critiques of the British upper class, and brought attention to the abysmal conditions of the poor and working class.

It is during these flashbacks that we meet Edmund Cooper. He was appointed as Secretary of the Treasury by Andrew Johnson. He served as one of Johnson's closest political advisors. However, he didn't appear during season one due to time constraints. So, Steve and Erik had to retroactively weave Cooper into the season one plotline for the sake of the prequel episodes. Personally, I'd say they did a good job. We'd briefly seen Johnson dining and wining with various Southern elites. You could argue that Cooper just happened to be away doing other things during the various scenes we see in season one.

The theme of framing device in the prequel episodes is that Stanton knows he isn't going to be the hero of this particular story. This can be seen as the writers symbolically passing the torch to Ulysses S. Grant. Another way that season two differs is that it covers a much larger span of time than season one did. Season one, true to the show's title, stayed in the year 1865, barring the last two episodes. Season two, by contrast, spans all eight years of Grant's presidency. I'd assumed things would be more along the lines of season one, and that Stanton would at least get halfway through the season before dying. Instead, however, the first episode of the season proper ends with Stanton dying. I mean, I knew that this was coming. Season one ends with a reading of Stanton's obituary in 1868. Still, all the same, it was kind of shocking. It was in that moment it really became clear that Grant would be figuring things out largely on his own. Though, Stanton does briefly appear in a flashback set during the American Civil War.

Some might argue that the series title no longer makes sense, as season two is set after the year 1865. However, I'd argue that it still fits. Everything that happens in the season, and the series as a whole, is because of that fateful day in 1865. So, from a thematic perspective, it fits.

Season two also differs in that we go outside the halls of power. There are several episodes that include scenes set in South Carolina. So, we get to see how the Freedmen are doing under Reconstruction, and the opposition they face. This also gives the podcast an opportunity to shine a light on lesser-known historical figures. It is a sad, but true, fact that we just don't have a lot of primary sources about many of these black characters. We get to meet Jim Williams. He was the leader of a black militia who helped protect and enforce voting rights for blacks. He's a true American hero, but not one who is particularly well-known. Hopefully, he will become better known thanks to 1865.

Jim's wife, Rose, is also a significant character. She provides eyewitness testimony that the Ku Klux Klan is real, and helps convince Grant that he needs to commit troops to combat the Klan. Rose is voiced by Kelly Jenrette. She has had role on shows such as Grandfathered, The Handmaid's Tale, and the live-action adaption of the audio drama Limetown.

People often complain about how partisan modern news media has gotten. 1865, however, shows that this is nothing new. If anything, things were even more partisan in the 19th Century. You had Republican newspapers and Democrat newspapers that would report things in wildly reinforce the ways. For example, the Democrat papers claim that the Ku Klux Klan wasn't real, and that it was just a boogeyman that the Republicans invented. In other words, they claimed that the Klan was Fake News.

In other characters, we get to meet Joseph Rainey, the first black man elected to the House of Representatives. Specifically, he served as a representative for South Carolina. For reference, South Carolina was the very first state to secede from the Union, and kickstarted the Civil War. That's one of the many reasons why it was so important that Reconstruction go well. White Southerners, if left to their own devices, were not going to let blacks vote or run for office. Rainey is played by Sydney Harcourt, who starred in the hit musical Hamilton as Phillip Schuyler.

I also enjoyed getting to meet Ely Parker. He served alongside Grant during the Civil War, and Grant later appointed him Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Parker was Native American, specifically, a member of the Seneca, one of the six tribes of the Haudenosaunee people. Parker was the first Native American to be appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs. His struggles to help the indigenous peoples is a reminder that blacks weren't the only minorities fighting for their rights during the 19th Century.

Let's talk a bit about Grant himself. Ulysses S. Grant is most famous for his time as general in the Union army during the American Civil War. He was an absolute genius on the battlefield, and lead the Union to numerous victories. In fact, Grant was the one who Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia surrendered to after the Battle of Appomattox in 1865. This earned Grant the nickname The Hero of Appomattox. He was also known as Unconditional Surrender Grant. Confederates, and Confederate sympathizers, called him Grant the Butcher. They claimed this was because of how many people died under his command, and tried to paint him as a heartless monster. However, far more people died under the command of Robert E. Lee. Despite this, Lee is hardly ever painted as a butcher.

While we're on the subject, I should note that Lee encouraged his men to hunt down escaped slaves. He also encouraged them to go on raids against Free Blacks, so that they could be sold into slavery. Grant was a far superior general to Lee. To give on example among many, during the Battle of Vicksburg, ever man under Lee's command was either killed or captured. By contrast, Grant made it through the entire battle without losing a single man. Grant also felt an immense amount of guilt over the soldiers who died under his command. He struggled with alcoholism throughout his presidency. Pro-Confederate historians often used this to paint him as a worthless drunk. However, modern historians generally agree that Grant suffered from untreated PTSD, and used alcohol as a coping mechanism.

Ulysses S. Grant is played by James Black. He portrays Grant as personable and friendly, but also capable of being firm when he needs to be. He also portrays Grant as a bit reserved and soft-spoken. You get the impression that Grant is still haunted by his experience during the war. He's far less bombastic than Jeremy Schwartz was with his depiction of Edwin Stanton. This does help underscore how Grant is going to be a very different protagonist than Stanton was.

Erik and Steve took a very warts and all approach when it came to writing Ulysses S. Grant. They do acknowledge that Grant did a lot of good things that he doesn't get nearly enough praise for. It was during Grant's presidency that the Ku Klux Klan was founded. Grant spearheaded congressional investigation into Klan activity throughout the South. He then mobilized federal troops to take direct and decisive action against the Klan. It is thanks to Grant that the first incantation of the Ku Klux Klan was almost completely obliterated. Grant also fought to keep Reconstruction going, and to ensure that the rights of the Freedmen were protected. He did spend a good chunk of his presidency trying to fix the mess Andrew Johnson created.

However, Erik and Steve don't gloss over Grant's flaws and shortcomings either. Grant is depicted as, at heart, a good man. He sees the best in people, and wants to do right by everyone. However, this good will dipped into flat-out naivety on several occasions. It severed Grant well as a general, but it made him terrible at playing the game of politics. Grant seemed almost incapable of even considering that his closest allies could be doing shady things in his name. Many of his closest allies got involved in crooked backroom deals. Grant refused to even consider that his friends had committed the crimes, even when a mountain of evidence was starring him in the face. 

Grant also chose not to run for a third term. That might not sound bad, but Grant was pretty much the only thing keeping Reconstruction going by the end of his presidency. Remember, the South had been granted amnesty by Johnson. So, former Confederates, including members of the Klan, were opposing Reconstruction from within Congress.

Many blacks feared that, if Grant didn't run, the next president would end Reconstruction. Rather unfortunately, this is exactly what happened. Rutherford B. Hayes was a milquetoast candidate who nominated mostly so that Republicans could appease the Democrats. Naturally, the number one item on the agenda was an end of Reconstruction. White Southerners gained full control of the South, and implemented Jim Crow laws. The Freedmen were stripped of the gains, such as they were, they'd been able to make under Reconstruction. Equality became a dream deferred.

Why didn't Grant run for a third term? Well, he could have, but most presidents followed the precedent set by George Washington of not running for more than two terms. There was no official rule making it so, but it was kind of an unspoken rule. FDR was the first president to serve for more than two terms, and Republicans made damn sure that the two-term limit became law after he died. So, Grants view was, essentially, "I'm sorry, but rules are rules. Who am I to challenge Washington's precedent?" This ties back into what I said about him being a bit too honorable for his own good.

Now, in fairness to Grant, and as previously noted, he was dealing with the mess Johnson created. However, even if everything had gone right, I'm not sure that Reconstruction would have been able to last much longer than it did. Most Northerners opposed slavery on philosophical grounds. However, that didn't mean they believed that blacks ought to be equal members of society. They also weren't keen on their tax dollars being used to fund Reconstruction. The point is, the will to do a proper Reconstruction just wasn't there. Even in the absolute best-case scenario, things might not have been too different from how it happened in our world.

In fact, the end of Reconstruction, and its aftermath, was pretty similar to the recent pulling out of American forces from Afghanistan. It's a little strange that the 1865 Twitter account didn't pounce on the and draw parallels like it usually does. Maybe it was considered in bad taste or too soon?

The season ends with a reading of Grant's obituary, just as last season ending with Stanton's obituary. Fittingly enough, Grant's obituary is read by Jeremy Schwartz. The obituary gives Grant is due for all that he accomplished, but also emphasizes his short comings. The general tone can be summarized as "You accomplished a lot, but you could have done so much more. Why didn't you fight harder?"

And that was season two of 1865. It was exactly what I was expecting. I expected it to be absolutely fantastic, and it did not disappoint. The team has tentative plans for a third season. It will focus on John Mercer Langston, and how he became the first black man elected to the Virginia State Legislature. You might remember Langston from season one and two, where he is the head of the Freedmen's Bureau. Now, we don't know for sure if season three will happen. Then again, that's what they said about season two, and yet here we are. The main hurdle with season three will be scheduling. John Mercer Langston is played by William Jackson Harper. He's most famous as Chidi from The Good Place. So, obviously, recording would have to take Mr. Harper's busy schedule into account.

Still, you never know. Big things have been happening for the 1865 crew. Erik Archilla testified at his old high school when it was debating changing its name. It used to be called Robert E. Lee High School, but now has changed its name to Tyler Legacy High School. Though, the deciding factor was when numerous student athletes, in particular, a member of the track team, threatened to boycott unless the name changed. Still, glad to see Erik helped out, even if in a small way. In other developments, 1865 executive producer Lindsay Graham was on The History Channel. He was one of the talking heads on a recent episode of The Engineering That Built the World. I really enjoy the That Built series; The Food That Built America, The Machines That Built America, The Toys That Built America, etc. Good to see that The History Channel is still making quality historical documentaries that don't involve aliens or conspiracy theories. And good that Lindsay is taking part in such things.

Well, there you have it. Season two of 1865 was just as amazing as we all imagined it would be. Give it a listen if you haven't already. I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.