Episode 418
Monroe Edwards
Wed, 2018-Jun-27 00:54 UTC
Length - 2:50
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.
The featured article for Wednesday, 27 June 2018 is Monroe Edwards.
Monroe Edwards (1808 – January 27, 1847) was an American slave trader, forger, and convicted criminal who was the subject of a well-publicized trial and conviction in 1842. Originally from Kentucky, Edwards moved to New Orleans then settled in Texas. He smuggled slaves into Brazil in 1832 and used the proceeds to purchase land in Texas. In 1836 he was again smuggling slaves, this time into Texas. After attempting to swindle his partner out of the profits of the venture, partly with forged documents, Edwards was forced to flee the Republic of Texas to the United States. He then tried to scam money out of various abolitionists in the United States and the United Kingdom, partly with forged letters of introduction. He traveled to the United Kingdom, but his schemes were mainly unsuccessful and he returned to the United States in mid-1841.
Edwards' largest swindle involved forged letters from cotton brokers in New Orleans, which he used to secure bank drafts for large sums that he then cashed. His fabrications caught up with him and he was arrested and tried for the forgeries in June 1842. Convicted partly because his distinctive good looks made him memorable and easily recognizable, and partly from making the same spelling errors in his fakes, Edwards was sentenced to 10 years in prison and died in 1847 while incarcerated. Several sensational accounts of his offenses and trial were published after his death, and he was mentioned in Herman Melville's 1853 short story "Bartleby, the Scrivener".
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:54 UTC on Wednesday, 27 June 2018.
For the full current version of the article, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroe_Edwards.
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