Consolation Prize

In this bonus holiday episode, a re-release from 2020, we explore the consular life of Joel Roberts Poinsett, everyone’s favorite holiday historical figure. Before he went to Mexico, where he “discovered” the flower that now bears his name, Poinsett went all over the world, including to South American as a consul. While he was there, he got involved in quite a lot of activities that didn’t really fit the consular program.

In this special bonus episode, we talk with a scholar who studies the history of the US consular service. We answer your questions like, What is a consul? What do they do? What makes them so interesting? Why should we care about consuls?

In this episode of Consolation Prize, we are exploring a consul’s involvement in a coup and a revolution. When the United States decided to construct a canal in Panama, the president of Nicaragua José Zelaya became upset. He believed the canal would be in his nation. Once it was clear it would not be, Zelaya began to turn his country away from the US. In response, the United States engineered a rebellion against Zelaya, and a president more favorable to American aims was installed. Not all Nicaraguans were happy with the new US-backed government and some rebelled. President Adolfo Díaz called on the United States to protect his government. Consul James Weldon Johnson, better known today for his work with the NAACP and as a songwriter, delayed this counter-rebellion long enough for more than 2,000 US Marines to land. But afterwards, Johnson began to reconsider his role in American nation-building in Latin America. This episode was produced by Jeanette Patrick and Abby Mullen. Show notes, including full transcript, available at consolationprize.rrchnm.org. Become a member of R2 Studios and support audio like this. Learn more at r2studios.org.

We go to Jerusalem to find out more about Selah Merrill, the longest-serving consul there before 1948. Despite his desire to be in Jerusalem, Merrill didn't like the city or the people he encountered. He positively hated Jews; he disdained the American tourists; and he picked fights with the American colonists. So why did he stay?

In this bonus episode, we learn about the much more recent history of women in the consular service, as Abby interviews Maura Harty, a career Foreign Service officer who concluded her career at the State Department in the role of Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs. Shownotes at consolationprize.rrchnm.org.

In this episode, we learn about Richard Waters. Waters served as the first consul from the United States to Zanzibar because the burgeoning trade of Salem merchants required some official oversight, but in order to be successful, he had to learn to navigate the world of Indian Ocean trade.

James Leander Cathcart and Richard O'Brien were uniquely suited to their jobs, from one point of view: they had spent a lot of time in the region they were consuls to--as captives of the ruler during the previous decade. Their struggles to do their jobs in the Barbary states was complicated by their inability to get along with each other, and in the end they couldn't accomplish the mission they'd been charged with: to make peace without payment with the Barbary states. Shownotes are at consolationprize.rrchnm.org.

Within a year of the end of the American Revolution, the United States sent a ship to China, where the government hoped Americans could start a robust (and lucrative) trade. Samuel Shaw was the supercargo on that first voyage of the Empress of China. On his next voyage to Canton, he went as the U.S. consul, charged with helping the United States gain a foothold in the China trade. On behalf of the United States, he had to make a good impression---all the while knowing that the United States might not make such a good trading partner. From the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, Consolation Prize is a podcast about the history of the United States in the world through the eyes of its consuls.