so author stacy schiff, why are

we talking to you at the state department? largely because we have glorious newly refurbished rooms to celebrate any beautiful, opulboy of those rooms and the collection in its entirety to celebrate as well. and we are sitting in the bein s time. what is your connection to the state department's america's collection book? well, i'm here on franklin's because had written a book about ben franklin's years in, france, when he is essentially paving way for the american foreign service, he's really first foreign ambassador. and in the years that he spends in france, puts america on the map and as that is the genesis really of the department of state in the beginnings of, american foreign policy. i'm here in a way, as ben franklin's companion. and that, of course, is your book, the great improvised about ben franklin'sin france. you describe franklin as

combative, prideful,overbearing. does that make for a diplomat? no, i think is ben franklin, as heeaith his colleagues, a curious thing about franklin's years in france is that he essentially hits the ball out of the park on every front, except when dealing with hisw fellow commissioners in paris and especially john adams. and so those are adjectives that i think john adams would have quickly applied, franklin, where franklinnch court are concerned, he is subtle and supple and masterful and eloquent and immensely accommodating. and the most popular man in paris by a long shot was he america's first diplomat. he is he goes to france to the aid the war. basically the colonies have declared without any means of securing that independence. and so franklin, at the age of 70, is?+ dispatched on what sous like kind of a fool's errand sent to a monarchy to solicit aid for a nascent republic and

spends the first few years very secretively arranging for munitions to fight to fight the war signs. the first treaty of alliance with the french so that they will officially back the war and stays in paris long enough to negotiate the treaty of paris, which which ends the war 1783 and then only comes home two years later. so that really is the begi■bnnig of america's on the world stage at the outset, the colonies are in substantial, difficult for most europeans even to locate a map as large as real as was the island of corsica, to which. they were often compared at the time and. it's franklin who really defines america in the eyes of the world and establishes in the hallways of i was his role vital to winning the war of independence withoutno war in the sense that there would have been no means with which to wage a so there had been at the time of the declaration no■in colonies,n the colonies, and most of all, no money in the colonies with which to attempt to separate

it is because of franklin that. by the time of yorktown you end up with french munitions, french troops. uniforms and a french fleet who protect all of those men in battle, diplomacy often be full of intrigue. was there a lot of intrigue going on in paris in versailles, and back here in the states? there's always intrigue in congressn't need me to tell you that. but the intrigue, paris, is astonish showing, and franklin has to somehow figure out his way to make his way through these multiple layers of intrigue and bureaucracy while speaking the language that is not his first language. and without anyone really guide him. and moreover say without really instructions from congress multiple times because he can go six months without a letter from congress. so he's really trying to finesse his way through the levels of the french aristocracy through the halls of lci on his own, by

his. and fortunately for us, a master psychologist and he really figures out how to do this largely by being just immensely candid and kind with he meets. he's also interestingly a man of few words, which i, i would argue probably does make a great diplomat. i think we think of him as a very verbose character. but is he can be very tight lipped, very sort of carefully epigrammatic and otherwise slightly recessive, even in a crowd of people in france. that was astonishing. someone who didn't speak the time. so stacy schiff, we're talking about 1780, what was a like getting back from paris to states, etc.? at one point i think congress goes for a year hearing from ben franklin. they do wonder, is anyone still over there in paris representing? our interests. he will very often complain that six months go by without a letter from most of those dletters end up in london. so if you really want to read a full the full account, what's going back and forth between

between franklin and congress, you go to london to read it because they all of them intercepted by spies. and i should say that franklin's household is encircled by two sets of spies. there's the there's the french. there are the french informers who are being trailed about paris by the informers from great britain. and both of those sets of men are writing accounts back to their handlers about what franklin is doing. so there's enormous amount of material about what franklin's doing. it never made its way back to cowhat his relationship with los the 16th in the french revolution is just on the horizon at this point franklin neverening in france. one of the contributing factors the french revolution, in fact, is how much franklin has managed to extract from the french coffers for our revolution which leaves vesey with the relatively bankrupt. and that's one of the contributing factors to the ankly, this strain only blind to that he will have left france by that time. but in the course of those

years, it is in his best inpossible with the court of los the 16th, the the great meeting betwee is theent the colonies are finally officially and franklin appears the king for the first time in a brown velvet suit representing the united province is of north america, as we are then called, and thanks the king for all he has for the country and the king louis xvi basically says, i hope this treaty be in the interests of both of us. and franklin then sort of ad libs, a lovely about if if all the monarchies governed by the sentiments in yo heart sire republics would never be formed. which seems like a strange thing to come out of his mouth. he's very closely observed, the other diplomats. everyone is in all of the fact that the french have entered into this alliance with this unproved power. they know nothing about the americas. why have they done this? purely enmity. great britain and franklin remains for those next years very much in the good of the

court. you mentioned all the spies were the brits aware of everything that franklin was doing in versailles. every much everything that happens ins is known the week in london. because in franklin's household is a secretary who is a spy. and every tuesday the aforementioned spy would take would make copies of franklin's correspondence right drive them to the to thtreasury gardens in into a bottle under a tree. from there they would be delivered posthaste to. so london has ansç exceedingood idea of what's happening on franklin's end and and he has a sense of that he operates as if as he puts it, even his valet might be a spy. he just assumes everyone so how? through an extraordinary amount of candor about what he's doing and. as i said, by a ceai secrecy, bs putting his cards on the table, except when forced to. what was franklin's back here he

sent by the americans because he's the perfect man for the job, he has a better understanding of europe than any other american. he's nearly 16 years in london. prior the revolution, he's crossed the ocean seven times. no other american has this much familiarity with europes he cand with suspicion for that very reason. he's a little too worldly. he's a little too european. then by the time h■s ck from france, he's almost a little too french. in france, however, he's practically a walking statue. liberty. he is the ideal himself, as thee tamer of lightning, the man who has somehow found out the secrets of the electricity. so in this role, they see him as a sort of backwoods philosopher and a great man of science, and he is the to beat all celebrities when arrives in france to the point where he can barely walk through the streets without being accosted mobs. we have a statue dfof the marin.

is there a benjamin franklin statue in paris? there is? a huge statue of benjamin franklin in paris. and franklin in paris. there's not an avenue franklin in london. what, if any, did ben franklin play in creating the us department of state? what by? the time he comes back? thomas jefferson replacehim jer on the fact that he has succeeded rather than replaced ben franklin. because, as jefferson puts it, no one could possibly replace ■ahim. and it's really jefferson who begins to craft a foreign policy for a new nation. so in way that is the launching part, i would say, state. your book, the great improvization, is being turned into a miniseries. tell us about iight part apple . it will air, i believe, beginning around april in the role of ben franklin.

is douglas lzj■ m like franklin than ben franklin? and it was filmed in precise sally, those hallways down, which ben an himself walked complaining the cold marble floors for all of those years that he was weekly paying visits to versailles to see louis the 16th to finesse the aid for the war. so it was really filmed exactly where it where it all happened. everyone in the series who was french in real life, all the the entire french cast is played by french actors and the americans, americans. so it's an extraordinary bond by national and, really. i think in my thoroughly unbiased opinion, really thrilling. were you part of the filming. absolutely not. did you had so did you attend? i did. was allowed to spend a day, few days on the set, which was was extraordinary. were they true to the book? it's very true to the book. it's very true to the history. i think a part of the history

that we tend to forget, i think we prefer think of the revolution as been the work of general washington. we forget there is this foreign involvement, foreign support, without which we not have had a revolution and that then to reinsert that chapter into. the story, i think, is vitally n(■wreally puts it front and center and gives you a sense really the odds. at one point franklin is in paris talking about george wat, i think washington is commanding an army of 14,000 men. i mean, these dire times where franklin is really sending all of the aidaris that was necessary to fight. how did the money actually get across the atlantic ocean? well, the money comes in terms ofions and largely so. it really comes in in of the material that was required. and franklin gets, these of laundry lists of everything the army needs. and it's everything from blankets to thimbles. so he's running around with a wi■th a cast of confederates

trying fill those orders. and then initially secretly trying to ship those things back to the colonies. would ben franklin be described as a good human being? oh, i would a hard time naming a more benevolent person thought more of the common than the others. he's he's someone who, strangely interested in himself and deeply interested in how to better the world in which we live. i mean, this is a man of a hospital, ay a fire company, an insurance company. then a library, the number of civic institutes ones that he founds in this attempt to make himself useful, as he always to put it. and what was his age this time? he's 70 when he goes and, he comes back eight and a half years lat, henk leaves that he will probably not return. there's a real sense of this is the of my life and i hope to make it a ñ■e■qusing last act ae

sails. and then by 85, he's not certain if he should come back. he hesitates. he's very happy in france. obviously, he's ridiculously celebrated in france. he's warned that he might not be met with so exalted a welcome he were to come home. he is as puts it, among people whom i love and, who love me very comfortable in france the british had occupied and plundered his home so he knows he's coming a to a difficult situation and he's he's crossed ocean more times than he was comfortable. he did he did not know that he would sur cro gets on board shio return in 1785 and immediately feels 20 years younger than he's felt in ages. what was it like to cross the ays brutal. franklin had swore never to do it again. several passages previous this it could take months and you often landed as was his case in 1776 not in the port to which you were headed. so for example, he was headettlh

was hundreds of miles away, and has to sort of figure out how to make his way from to paris, from there. so it's a it's a it's a complicated and somewhat dangerous crossing on, which the affair was quite brutal. and the weather was particularly brutal. is somebody in his entourage who doesn't get the credit that he or she deserves? well, i think he doesn't get the credit because the whole french ething that i think we're somewhat reluctant to admit to at times, putting america back into the into the greater context of the world, these years, i think, doesn't come naturally with him. go his two grandsons, one of them is seven and he gets shipped off to school in switzerland and the other is a teenager and franklin enlists as his secretary and this is his loyalist sons■ takes with him. and in a way temple his is his lifeline to the people of paris because temple is able to givehf

paris, which franklin himself can't exactly frequent. temple doesn't amount to what andfather had hoped he might amount to, but a huge he's a huge source of assistance. while franklin there and otherwise i think i would just say that the triumvirate who negotiate peace john adams, john jay and franklin get deserve the credit we could possibly hope to give them. and would you say that john jay and john adams and ben franklin agreed on the goals initially? not at all for different reasons. adams and john jay are very to make a peace without the involvement of the french franklin because of his years at versailles has very very close relaon the french minister whom he has promised that he will never negotiate without the involvement of france in negotiating a kind of without ■■9the vosu■dlv and. ultimately, john jay and john adams will prevail over franklin and the pieces negotiated any conference with the french the task of explaining that

afterward will fall to franklin who has to make a somewhat humiliating trip to versailles to explain what he has with the assistancef his colleagues just done so. stacy schiff, as we mentioned, we're here in the ben franklin room at the department of state. there is a tab here, the treaty of paris table. what is? that it's this modest desk which if you look at it closely, you realize is the beating heart of american history. because is it it is the desk at which we think john adams john jay and ben franklin signed the treaty of paris establishing this country in paris. in 1783. it was essentially a broughtn be british negotiators who very keen keep the americans from going to say i insisted that they meet at his apartmentsfrent that the american negotiators and the other side signed the desk signed the papers at that

desk and has found its way through miraculous means here to the state department. now, you mentioned that franklin spent 17 years in london prior to going paris, did he maintain relationships with the british after he went to franklin is still a very close with his friends in london with his friends everywhere in great britain. in fact, and maintains a correspondence with him through these years with some them there is a real you can see franklin kind of at his at his most acidic with th>e's a real sense of how could you have done this to us you could have avoided this conflict so easily you surely don't think we're going to back down. i mean, there's a real sense of ha back that no one has really taken the americans seriously. and with others there's a continually kind of charming correspondence through twhich 'e to negotiate the peace to have relationships in place to make that kind of settlement ssible the first overture that is made about let us

perhaps discuss a peace treaty, this war has gone on long enough will come to him through the friend of had forged, those years prove enormously beneficial from a diplomatic point of view as well. from a personal point of■ú view, 1785 was this franklin returns to philadelphia was it his last act? it was the most important of his life, in his view. it was, in his estimation, most taxing act of his life. i think you could probably call it his america. and this from a man who made many who left such a huge imprint, america and the next five years are largely franklin in hislory. but as i said slightly suspect for his involvement with europe he has about him sort of the perfume of a foreign court in some way and there's to whethers account books for example were always held to the highest while he was in france. stacey schiff is the author of this book. it's called a great improviser,

and she is also contributor to the state department's americas collection. we appreciate you joining us here in the franklin room at state department. thanks so much. and now on american history tv, we'd like to welcome you to the us depart of state and washington, d.c. and introduce hart. she is the director and curator of the diplomatic reception rooms here at the state departnt. virginia hart what are we going to see? well, it extraordinary collection upstairs on the eighth floor. would you like to join me? i would. you become the curator of this collection? we're about to see? well, i've been here many years, and it's it's never dull moment. and every day is full of surprise discovery. and what is your background. well, i haveent history and then also decorative

arts. and so i've been here a very long time 17 years, if you can believe. well let's go up and see the collection. so there was this museum open to the public. that we're about to see? yes, we're open forso we are onf the state. virginia hart. where are we? oh, we're in the diplomatic reception rooms at the department of state in the harr. and what is up here? what are we going to see? well, we have 42 rooms that comprise the diplomatic reception rooms. were designed in the 1960s, seventies and eighties by american classical architects. and the rooms are filled with an extraordinary but little known museum collection i'll be showing you today. and what are they used for? well, we honor dignitaries and diplomats are brought to this space. and in these rooms, they see

american artistry and craftsmanship from the century up until their 21st century. how long have these been here? well, they first opened in 1961, but they were very different when they first opened. they modern, sparse spaces and spoke little. our nation's history and its founding and its importance in art. now, you put together a book to show all showcase of this art america's collection. what is it? well, it's collection and our first, in over 20 years. and we brought scholarship and new voices to the table to help userpret this national treasure for audiences so that they can all enjoy it. well, let's go where we're going first. right. this. we are looking at a patriotic image from 1876. it was willard and. he painted it for the

philadelphia centennial celebration. now, when you went there, you could see thewas 8 to 10 feet. and you also purchase for $2 a print. and that print was made from this size piece, which was a study. that's a rather image that we're looking at. and it didn't occur until 1876. well, it's it's something we're very proud of, because it speaks to a moment that americans felt so very proud of their■/ history and how far they had come since the revolution. who was archibald willard? what can you tell us about him? well, you certainly an american painter, but also one who was very innovative and able to take everyonen image and then mass could take it home with them. and this came his imagination, correct? so. one other thing we wanted to see in thiwell i want to show you ts

traveling desk. this belonged to john quincy adams. this is a traveling desk. it is. and so when you open up this box, suddenly it creates a slanted surface. so you can write and draft all of your letters. now, this one is interesting because john quincy adams signed and it 70 in 96. and what was he doing in 1796? he wasn't president and he wasn't in the house of . he was an ambassador. he was serving over in holland. and the year he had met louisa kathe herron, who would become his wife and first lady and first lady. so they corresponded on this on this desk righ here. how did it get to this department's collection? absolutely. so everything you see here is a gift to the ameran people. whether it came from a family

who had acquired and owned these wonderful treasurers and decided to place them here at the departme, gave money and then allowed us, in this case to acquire it at auction. so if people are coming in to the musm le to see what we're seeing here? yes, absolutely. very much so. what's next on the. well, let me showso now what rus the gallery and what would it be used besides being a museum? well, we have some of our most important pieces here in the collection, including this set of chinese export made for the american market. ■!.$d this? oh, well, we know the person who earned it. his name was benjamin. lead him. he was a dry goods merchant in philadelphia, and he orders a seice. and when he ordered it. he got multiple pieces. as you can see, it's a trimmed statement and it's really quite beautiful it's that's the pattern. and you can always tell if it's you because of four quadrants

that surround central emblem in this case a what's importance g chinese porcelain in this collection? well, it reminds us that when tt thing that we did as a nation was to send ship to china to establish direct trade for the first time. and certainly, these are the wonderful things t americans brought back and enjoyed in their homes. you've got a couple of portraits down i want to look at. yevery regal. isn't she beautiful? so this is the work of john ngleton copley, an american portrait artist. and john adams would say of him that he was the best painter there ever was. and certainly his skill was in the colonies. frances moultrie saw her. you see, sad for john singleton and again in 1778. but by that time, their lives

have changed. they both left the united states, great britain, a tever . and if you look at her riding habit, you could see chose a side in the revolution. that's why. she didn't come back from england. yes yes. this iconic washington. yes oh, absolutely. this is by stuart. and he is in london, dublin at the time. and in 40 finitely, was even briefly imprisoned. he wrote to his friends, i expect to make a fortune by washinon. and what he meant by that was that he had letters of introduction from john j. and with those letters of introduction washington, agreed to sit for him three times in 1795 and 96, the painting that originated from one of those sittings he had promised to martha washington, but keptake s washington over his lifetime. and that provided artist with a

steady income and a revenue. is this the dollar bill painting. this is without those letters. introduction from john j. george washington have sat for this portrait. gilbert's stuart being as talented as he was, would have been recognized here in america. so this is john quincy adams room nam for secretaries of state who became president and who is this? this is john quincy adams and this is a likeness that was done in 1816 when he was an american foreign minister in england. and this is after he had served president before before he had served as president. he would come back and become secretary of state. and then after, of course, president. i don't think i've ever seen that image of john quincy adams. it's one of my favorite. when i thinkams, of course, i on adams. and the role he had in his son's

life. and of course, people would come up to john and they would say, well, you must be so proud. your son and john adams would say he a mother, too. so i to think of him asn of abi. there is a resemblance to abigail and there is. well, one of the treasures that is in this room is right here. what is this? this is the desk on which the treaty of paris was signed, which ended the american signed it. well, if we look, we can see john adams. benjamin franklin and john jay. is that the original of paris that we're looking at? this is a copy. but the desk is real. the desk is the absolute that everyonened. now this desk was also used in a new miniseries. yes. executive produced by author stacyand we were certainly inted

in this series because it explores a life of benjamin franklin inaris right at the time that he became a diplomat and some extraordinary things brought france into the american clear advantage. to get this desk over to paris. mm hmm. what. what did that entail? oh, it was extraordinary. with something like a national treasure. certainly, we. we the job very seriously. but we wanted so nationally forr people to know that we haven't it's failed to be seen here at the department state. virginia hart this is a french was signed over in paris or not? it's a british maid and it belonged to the british commissioner who had this in his apartment, the time of the signing. what did you want to show us in this room? i want to show important painting that we have. this2h is a o an original that is now. it went to tour by benjamin west, but it's a familiar

subject. and here if you take a look you see standing john j. henry lawrence john adams benjamin franklin and his grandson william temple franklin.commissioners. but as you can see, it's unfinished. now, the british commissioners would have sat for the portrait except when it pasd. and so the artist take his likeness. and so frustrated benjamin watt gave up series and it remains to this day. i want to ask you about one more thing. the declaration of independence. is this an original? it is a copy of the original and it is a when does a state from would you say this copy? it dates from 1823. john quincy adams is secretary of state. and we are just about to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of, the declaration of independence. and he reescommissioning a coppe engraving. so he'll hire william stone,

who's here in washington, d.c. anwilliagl■bm stone will take te next three years, copying declaration backwards into a copper plate. backwards, backwards. now, 200 copies are made and william stone asks for a copy for himself. so there are only 201 copies that exist now. they were given to john adams. they were given to thomas and also with mark lafayette. and the rest stayed here. what's interesting is that the original that declaration that we see today is so faded that you miss much so when you actuak of what is the declaration in our we're actually thinking of this print right here. and this is something john quincy adams as secretary of state said, let's do this. absolutely. now, this is a obviously a very beautiful room. i understand that it was one of secretary colin powell's

favorite rooms. oh, it was he was so, so supportive of this museum. and there would be times in meetings he would say, well, let's go upstairs. and he would take people on tours through these rooms and just describe these wonderful moments of aspired us as americans. let's our tour. d3wonderful. well, we're leaving the john quincy adams room, which was one of secretary powell's favorite rooms. and we're entering into the jefferson room, which i understand is one of secretary blinken's favorite rooms. absolutely. he this space forings and event. now virginia hart, this has a feel of monticello in here. so this was designed by the american classical arctect edward mason jones, who went back to monticello, incorporated some of jefferson's original design conceptions in this room. yes, here he is. this was a copy of the original,

which was in 1832,3ú following well, after jefferson's death. and to create the likeness, french artist borrowed a likeness from■'■w mark lafayettd created a statue and certainly that is provided us with this copy that we have here and the ■eoriginal the us capitol and 's holding it looks like the declaration of independence. absolutely. there we go. a couple of portraits of jefferson. i want to ask you again, this one seems almost a primitive style. oh, well, this is the work of charles peale and it dates to 1791 when thomas jefferson was serving as secretary of state. now, charles wilson but prior te served in our revolution and brought his paints onto the battlefield and afterwards went on t establish america's first museum. one other jefferson portrait want to ask you about this is a

copy done by gilbert stuart. he was the original artist. the artist of this one is william thorton, who is better known as the architect of the at commission. jefferson was secretary of state. kind of roman it is. it's based on roman cameo and it is neoclassical and was jefferson's favorite portrait of himself, his lifetime. before we leave this room, there'co above. the doors. yes. so here we have john paul jones and george washington. andthat we have the head of the navy and the head the army. so you've indicated that ahe afr secretaries state who become president. but now we're about to go in to the ben franklin. yes. how es well he was the father of the american service. and important to our diplomatic history.

this looks like a ballroom. what's itfor? well, we again have reception and seated dinners and all forms of events you could imagine. this is where we welcomed leaders from around the world to, this room here for our state luncheons. what inspired this room? oh, well, it was a classical architecture in great of the type that franklin would have seen during his london years. tell us about this carpet. classical carpet that draws inspiration from franklin's life in these vignettes. now,out here. oh, yes. one of the best. virginia hart we just left the 18th century. you've got modern virginia. you've got arlington cemetery and the l mansion. more of arlington, the airport and the modern world here. this is a fantastic.

washington d.c. what is this terrace used for. well, is it's a vital part of the work do on the interior to, open up the doors and allow people to leave the 18th century and walk into something that has a very modern feel anddenly we are in the nation's capital. now, the state department building itself built 1950s. it was planned the95 of the wo'e done to our collection has been to the interior of the building, allowing people to walk to the space and suddenly explore. since the 1961 architecture of this building here. and you really do experience. but this this terrace was renovated during the secretary clinton, too, correct? absolutely. what is this wall here? this is the wall of the secretaries of statethink we'lls that are familiar, secretaries who have gone on to become president, like thomas jefferson, james madison, james

monroe, john quincy adams. and the list certainly goes on. and then, of course, the more recent secretaries of state clinton, rice, powell, albright, yes, kissinger. we're just past. so well speaking presidents who, as secretary of state, i think our next stop is in monroe. it is. let's go. great. now, virginia hart, this is one of the smaller rooms we've been at? yes, absolutely this is one of the private rooms for the secretary of state. so this is off the tour. it at this point. how does the secretary use room? well, it's a holding room and he'll gather here before proceeding to another area to make remarks. and this is the monroe room. oh, it is. for this portrait by thomas aiello and thomas aiello, one of the great american portrait

artists, the 19th century. and he was also known to flatter his subjects. so if you to have your portrait done, you would probably want solely your artist. now, we want to remind our viewers about the book america's collection that just came out because i'm seeing something that reminds me of that. well, they are a pair of vases that made in paris for the american market and americans absolutely lov■ded porcelain. in fact some of our first presidents would go to france to choose their service for their dining room table and remind us about amica'america's is is our. the first one in 20 years. and we are so excited that is finally out that at all t museu. absolutely including some of the pieces we have here. that's with eagles. why glesit's an interesting timd you think of after the revolution, americans began to

symbols, not merely in their ideas and in their writings, but rather in their interiors. and here we have a couple examples of furniture, furnishings. now we're going to one final stop. what this? this is the madison dining room named afteres madison. absolutely. and it's a working room. it is. we have dinners, luncheons in this space. who uses room? well, our secretary of state. and where he or she sat in the. and always with the view of this small mantel cck right beh's thn that have here at the department of state all of the time pieces and clocks that you've seen up until this point are period. and yet they don't keep accurate time. so we've made one concession a modern clock to sure everyone knows. stay on schedule. he, he or she knows what time it is. absolutely. what's above it? this is a was done by an italian

artist named sarasate. now, roger, he planned a fully bust, but he was working in alabang after which was torn, was he would ride. and we know today they were inclusions so when he got to the finishing phases, it broke cleanly. in half the artist was disappeared, but he sent it to madison and it was in their home montpelier for many years. so virginia hart 'n a lot of the reception rooms area, most of it open to the. if somebody wants to tour much of that. well we're reopening tours in 2024. you can information at sple to e and visit. how many diplomats would you say come through here? how many days a week is the space business? it is a happening place. we are busy all the time. what's your impression that you want diplomats to leave with

after seeing the diplomatic rooms? well, i think kerry said it best in our book that america exceptional, not because we say we are, but because our nation does exceptional things and rooms that they are a gift of the american people, that they are maintained by gifts is really and i think what makes these rooms so special. virginia hart director and curator of the diplomatic reception rooms here at the rtment state. we appreciate your time. and we also want to point once again the new book put out by the state department. america's collection, the art and architecture of the diplomatic rooms of the u.s. of state. thank for being with us on c-span.