♪ welcome back, america. this concludes our special edition of life, liberty and levin. i hope these guests have given you a lot to think about but also offer hope and encouragement for the future. a fantastic new year. i'll see you next time on life, liberty and levin the ♪ ♪ ♪ >> thirteen street and broadway, downtown and had.

this is what abraham lincoln was assassinated. featuring his flag draped co coffin. >> everybody laying down their guns and dropping her arms. north dropping and there was a homecoming. >> man is it important, the second floor window we believe, 6-year-old teddy roosevelt in his grandfather's apartment, his family knew this to be historic moment he must be part of. the side of rushmore with our fallen president. as america was moving into the 20th century desperate for civil rights leaders to emerge to put the u.s. on, reconstruction truck. >> everyone trying to figure out how we build our community back, how we get out of the challenges of the civil war and come together. >> enter, booker t. washington, a man who not only grows up from

slavery but gave his people and institution that change the world forever. >> impact black people, it would uplift the whole country. >> all great movements are not possible out great partnerships. teddy and booker t, two friends, the right man at the right time to lead us through challenging times. >> we need this combination of people who are committed to the fundamental principles of this nation. >> story of tribes and sacrifices revealed as we discover together, the greatest partnership you've never heard about. ♪ ♪ if you want to tell the story of peter roosevelt, start at the beginning which for us means his birthplace at 28 east 20th

street in manhattan and who better to tell that story in this nation's premier historian who did a great book on theodore roosevelt. doug, great to see you. >> you wanted me to meet you here, why? >> you have to because new york was his lifeblood, he was born in 1858 which tells you a couple of years before the civil war and he grew up in a household where his mother, they were from georgia and his father from new york so he had a confederate mom and union dad, you sissy all of these squabbles, he lived in a divided household and as president he wanted to unify. >> i can't wait to tell this story because even though he was a family of wealth, his upbringing was anything but e easy. >> should we go inside? >> let's do it. ♪ in. >> born with every advantage a child can have, theodore roosevelt junior was raised in manhattan finest brownstones

while simultaneously looming through the country's darkest days. >> america civil war was supposed to be over in a few weeks. instead, the battle for equality in the fall of the union required every family in the nation to make difficult decisions including the roosevelt. >> funeral roosevelt in your to the compromise. his wife did not want them fighting for the unit so he did what? >> a lot of wealthy people did in the north, they pay. it was the only part of his father funeral roosevelt didn't like. he worshiped his dad, i'm not kidding you. dad was everything but the fact his dad didn't go serve stuck and he rectified that by becoming a rough rider and colonel in the american war. >> before teddy could become a war hero he had to combat one of the greatest challenges any.of the 19th century could endure.

>> when he was about four or five, it became clear he suffered from asthma. >> nowadays we think it is quite manageable. those days, it's of terrifying disease and furthermore, things were very nearsighted and nobody knew it so he had these adversities, some life-threatening. >> as a child he used to hear these stories of young teddy when he visited. roosevelt final home. >> he said the puny little kid will one day be on the side of the mountain of one of america's finest presidents, who would predict that? >> nobody. most people including his parents thought he would die. >> determined to see his eldest son recovery, you don't roosevelt senior who the discipline and rigor could heal his frail child. >> his father came to him and test looks on, you've got a great mind and terrible body. without a strong body, your mind won't drive so he started working out and eventually his

dad bought him all kinds of exercise equipment and he really got into it. >> this new strenuous life, young roosevelt engaged daily in extreme forms of sifting, rowing, hiking, climbing the horseback riding and even an avid boxer. these habits of physical this which the future president considered to be every citizen's patriotic duty would stick with him for the rest of his life. >> this sickly kid became an aggressive athlete in college and then becomes an officer in the military and war hero overcompensating for his use. >> integrate story for young people to read if you feel infirmed or sickly, his ability to build yourself physically as well as mentally. he believed the mind and body worked in sync and he was open to learning about anything. >> teddys transformation proved tim nothing was gained without artwork.

equality later would come to admire in another great leader. however, before the able-bodied man become an icon, he had to heal a wound he never could have anticipated. a broken heart. >> funeral roosevelt was in albany when he got a telegram from his brother that mom is burning up with fever in new york city so he scurried out of albany to the train, got in to manhattan, brandon to the house on valentine's day and what up and down floors looking for his mother and they both died within hours of each other and the darkness hit him. the roosevelt family had a history of depression so famously put the x in the diary, the little baby would be his sister and tr took the train

from new york city to where he dropped them off in the middle of dakota territory. ♪ >> hence the legend of teddy roosevelt takes off. >> it wasn't until he went out west that he saw a different view of what an american is and he saw that with the cowboys, the black cowboys and. >> tr used to say i found in the west, the north screwed up with too much industrialization, the south had the curse of slavery, the west of the mississippi river was the new. the west became a big part of his life. >> roosevelt love for wildlife and great outdoors would become one of the most defining characteristics before the public fell in love with the conservationist they were first introduced to the warrior.

every 15, 1898 the uss maine battleship exploded of ann arbor killing for the 250 officers, many work with to blame a colonial empire who committed violations against the freedom seeking president of cuba. although tr had become an established writer, a beloved police commissioner and recently appointed assistant secretary of the navy and 40-year-old man years to avenge what he considered dirty act of treachery. >> everybody thought he was crazy, why would he do this? he at patriotism in his blood and one of the extra night things went the famous charge went up to san juan heights, the only did he charge once but three times. roughriders did not have he was the only person on a horse, a lot of observers and newspapers, higher level, not one that he

would make it up the hill. only the densest of spanish soldiers wouldn't know the guy on the horse and bullet went all around and people were killed next him but a good luck and he was. >> all the history finally remember roosevelt and his rough riders lieutenant colonel was quick to complement the bravery of the buffalo soldiers who fought under his command. known for their ferocity and tenacity, the old regiment which consisted of civil war veterans and ex- slaves were some of the first soldiers to fight side-by-side with their fellow white compatriots. after the battle of san juan hill was over, roosevelt declared no one can tell whether it was roughriders or blackman of the ninth calvary who came forward with the greater courage to offer their lives in the service of their country. back in new york, the reward of

their hometown hero by electing him governor of new york. 1899. two years later, the grateful nations selected tr is the vice president of the united states but as happened with much of his life, a tragedy would lead teddy toward his destiny. september 14, 1901, president william mckinley was assassinated. now a battle tested roosevelt needed to once again overgrow a rapid transformation to serve his beloved country. coming up, we visit groundbreaking institute, immersed ourselves in the story of the honorable booker t. washington former slave who through his head, handed part of lifted himself from the worst circumstances imaginable and later, two great men forged a partnership that may impact on the civil rights movement. ♪

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oyster bay and sagamore hill, booker t. washington last house. check this out, it's beautiful overlooking, it's 110 years old, almost exactly as he left and whatever you think of this

behind me is dramatically different from how booker t. washington grew up. ♪ booker t born into slavery on a virginia plantation in 1856. unlike teddy, young booker grew up in a cold from a file cabinet and without a father. as a child, he dreamed of requiring an education but seemingly eternal punishment preventing him from learning how to read and write. all this changed on one fateful day sending alongside his fellow slaves, 9-year-old booker watched a stranger addressing union attire read aloud the emancipation proclamation. >> after the reading we were all free. my mother standing by my side, cleaned over and kissed her children while tears of joy ran down her cheeks. this was the moment she had been praying for. >> after the feeling of freedom and ecstasy and knowing at liberty, there is a responsibly to chart their own destiny and

for booker tease mom and her husband washington ferguson, it meant heading out to west virginia starting the backbreaking work of working in the salt mines. >> he was early on top how to be self-sufficient and a good worker. he's a man who has set goals in his life that he wants, i do not want to have to work in the salt mines. i want to accomplish something with my life. >> to achieve this, booker knew he needed mentors. one of them was missus ruffner from automatic homeowner to become in upkeep in order to avoid the mind. rather than present strict habits, the young man embraced strictures of loneliness, promptness and honesty. these will become the essence of booker's philosophy. he knew without an education his dreams would be simply that -- dreams.

he set sites on agriculture institute in virginia. >> he gets to hampton and he's a mess. >> they didn't want him there but he was insistent at the end, that is the perseverance and he says okay, i want to have the opportunity so he's assigned a classroom and he doesn't doesn't immaculate the mark why? he told him how to clean. >> he knew if i'm going to succeed, i have to do it the right way. that is the key. >> at first, they thought they acquired a hard-working janitor. as such, the school have been given one of the brightest students. now known as booker t. washington, for every student needed elastin, would become a teacher, this position hampton institute founder recognized the young man's exceptional talent. 1881 armstrong received a request from the governor of

alabama asking for hampton's finest white teacher to lead a new revolutionary black institute. >> armstrong said about the perfect guy for you. he's young, energetic but he can do the job so they go up there and say okay, we'll take it and see how it turns out. >> tuskegee university. this is where booker t began his quest to become president of this institution. it wasn't nearly as nice, this was 3500 students. the original building was about a mile down the road in a leaky roof and no students, no teachers and no funding. he had to change that in ten days. july 4, 1881 month 25-year-old did just got. ♪ >> he founded tuskegee on the same principles he learned from hampton and i was on the head, the hand and the heart. the head being academics he knew

that was foremost important from former slaves and descendents. the heart was character strength and service the hand was hard work. when he got to tuskegee, he went into the earl districts to discover their needs and what he saw surprised even him, they were not only able to read and write but some didn't even know how to use a toothbrush. >> he realized fiscal has not been built. all he sees us poverty and booker t. washington says i can make this better and within ten days he's cut across as schoolteaching an old dilapidated building. nancy but a building he could start with and start the school with. >> all the students learn the fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic, booker t. washington insisted you just student learn a straight.

to him community is nothing without men and women capable of being hired to serve the needs of the people. >> he had a vision for what's possible, how trades could be beneficial and he realized the population working with, these were most formally enslaved or appearance of being enslaved so askew was already there, you know how to get rid of the skill, we will combine skill. >> in the beginning he had 30 students. within ten years the institute requiring a staggered 100 acres of land and admitted hundreds of prospective students and recruited the nation's top mines to leave the campus including the now famous agriculturalists george washington carver. his success, it's fonda knew what work needed to be done. >> i knew that in a large degree we were experimenting testing whether or not it was possible for negroes to build up and

control affairs of the large education is sufficient. i knew if we failed, it would injure the whole race director to forms of bondage. there's physical bondage and recognize the other bondage was slavery of an ignorant. >> how to force life convinced society with segregated bathrooms, restaurants, water fountains that his school and his students were a worthy investment? simple, tuskegee institute mean a spokesman. little did he know by becoming his institute great from the advocate, he would simultaneously become one of the most admired americans of all time. coming up, we share the story of how a former slave speech uplifted a deeply segregated south and how this phenomena of the eye of another trailblazer who thought to change his nation for the better. ♪

welcome to fox news live, i am marianne, israel intensifying military campaign against hamas. the idf says it's expanding ground operation of the northern and southern parts of gaza, the announcement comes same date israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu talk to president biden by phone. we are told they discussed

objectives and phasing of the work for president biden to compress for cease-fire. calls for deposit biden continue to grow better for humanitarian groups. a manhunt is underway for the suspect to open fire inside central florida mall packed with holy shoppers. it happened this afternoon at the paddock mall in ocala. a member called in a woman injured. investigators believe the shooting was targeted and not an active shooter situation. i am marianne, back to one nation. ♪ >> as you always associate the last home of teddy roosevelt with the former president, he will always go to booker t. washington with this place known as the oaks. after all, tuskegee architects designed it, it's beautiful. these are tuskegee bricks.

on this pathway right here. some of those powerful people in the world were photographed with the president of the university. his goal when people saw the oaks west to see the power and cutting edge up usually ability at this university. indoor plumbing, electricity, that was his image, exactly what he got. >> tuskegee in particular becomes a place where politicians want to go. mckinley, grover cleveland, william taft and testing wrote teddy roosevelt. what does it mean? >> you have a black male born into slavery who rose to the level where he becomes an advisor of three presidents. he was a genius, able to prove the american dream is possible. that's what catapulted him into the national stage because he said if we work together we can have our differences, i recognize you have a difference and i have a different but

progress is mutual. >> the notion are message was first heard 1895 cotton states international exposition in atlanta. looking to not only advanced his institute but the perception of his race, booker t. washington became the first african-american male to address a crowd as diverse as his country. northerners, placed southerners and plaques from every corner of the nation stood together to witness the power of what became known as the atlantic comp compromise. >> is goal was to figure out how i can have a shared conversation between all of these groups. it's an opportunity for him to say to almost who were controlled tuskegee has something to offer. me and my people have something to offer and you can see it by the products we have, washington is bringing the trade. it wasn't made for anybody. he was saying let me tell you about work in alabama, a lot of activists from the rockefellers

two sisters, j.p. morgan these were people with big ideas who saw washington was doing a big idea. >> he's a genius at fundraising, booker t. washington, give money and help education in the south, education, education, education. that's what booker t. washington was about and so was peter roosevelt. secondary to their reformist instincts and shared belief literacy was the key to success. >> by the time he was inaugurated as president of the united states, washington became national figure with publication of his autobiography. remarkably, up from slavery, held the record as the highest selling memoir by an african-american until malcolm x released his autobiography more than 50 years later. of from slavery washington famously declared. >> i have learned that success

is to be measured, not so much by the position one has reached in life but the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed. >> undergone a very different but nevertheless painful childhood, president roosevelt that buyer focus brilliance and tenacity. >> in the. when he was president, booker t. washington was the martin luther king figure. booker t. washington draw crowds but he just admired good wri writing, booker t. washington wrote many books and essays and speeches peter roosevelt five. the republican party is the party of lincoln and much of what tena roosevelt does is because of we could emancipate the slaves with the proclamation, i can do all sorts of things using presidential power. >> is a leader of the free world, tr wasted little time allowing himself with his fellow

helpmate man. >> he was made special advisor to the president and he helped the president and hbc news around the country will all the probably attention booker t. washington true to the pres president. >> in addition to helping raise funds just state university, washington advice roosevelt on groundbreaking federal appointments. this included the first african-american female postmaster, as opposition from critics but teddy refused to kneel to their bigotry. >> if you read the letters, advising people back-and-forth, when you read that knowing when he was born, 1859, what are your thoughts? it must give you a sense of

pride. >> it's extraordinary he's able to have a review about people. a much more open view and a lot of people of his time. >> he drank the tuskegee board and did speak at tuskegee and you say i love the idea of having seen it and i love it even more, he was impressed with the idea of a trade and academics. >> people right and tuskegee is a remarkable place. the fact that he went tuskegee and took the time to do that is impressive. he wanted everybody to be an american. roosevelt believed in respect and would never disrespect the person by the color but before that period of time when he was president in 1901 to 1909, he was seen as progressive on race issues. >> decades of further segregation and division, the turn-of-the-century was shaping up to become rejuvenation of equality abraham lincoln and frederick douglass probably

fought for. unfortunately, president theodore roosevelt's greatest civil rights accomplishment would hinder his glorious new partnership. >> you recognize this building behind me. when we come back, out a dinner between the president's family and a good friend come up tooney critique, turned into a national firestorm. ager 's in

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ready roosevelt just getting news to the reins of power after assassination of william mckinley so he's here the white house the gets word booker t. washington and his good friend is in town so he does what everyone would do and invite them to share with his family and they will lead to a 11:00 at night. it seemed like the right thing to do is the big deal, and is phallic meeting with. that's now 20 years ago. they were ready to accept it. >> the first time in the history of the country a black man was invited to dine with the

president of the united states. he had some hesitation about doing it because booker t's way of operating is under the radar. >> upon hearing the invitation, washington wrote this with the following reply. >> my dear mr. president. i shall be very glad to accept your invitation for dinner this evening at 7:30 p.m. yours very truly, booker t. washington. >> this is an rsvp quote with controversy. >> my god did holy hell break loose after that dinner. the south went haywire, they thought it was too much of a civil rights advance because of the president can invite but critique, that means white southerners are supposed to be invited back into their home for dinner and for arch segregationists, that was a nonstarter. >> cartoonist lampoon the dinner as barbaric. leaders from across the

political aisle thought washington as a negro leader acted out of place and elected president acted with disregard towards his fellow race. there was an assassin are to travel to tuskegee to silence the school's beloved visionary. both men paid a political price. >> it did set both of them back and begs the question as to what the value of those symbolic gestures is what the price. >> they had a commencement at harvard, booker t. washington brought an honorary degree in the president stated talking to a lot of people think that's because of what happened earlier at the white house. >> roosevelt didn't want to be photographed with booker t. washington and for 1901, he was elected because mckinley was killed so 1904, he had a run on his own. he's not going to run on a photograph of him with booker t. washington and roosevelt wasn't somebody who talked about race

as his main interest, it happened to be he never cared for the jim crow system because this was democrats. the southwest democratic and he's a republican so there were differences on how they look at somebody like booker t. washington to determine what party you were. >> ultimately roosevelt distanced himself from becoming a civil rights it could happen. unfortunately ideological retreat will become far more painful than simply skipping his ceremonial photo up. >> during his presidency made two major wrongs. one was where he sided with the army to discharge the entire troops buffalo soldiers who'd gotten into it in brownsville, texas. totally unclear what happened and it's an interesting question as to why he did this because

it's so obviously unfair. >> the night of august 13, 1906, a white bartender and police officers were shot in brownsville, texas. angered by unprovoked bollards, the townspeople blames the all-black 25th infantry unit stationed near the town. all of these men were part of the legendary buffalo soldiers. graduates white superior officers declared their boys were innocent of all charges. however, despite no credible evidence and unit featuring six medal of honor recipients, roosevelt made an egregious plunder. >> basically what he did is say he won't tell me who it is, i will fire you all. we assume the whole unit is guilty and you will be dishonorably discharged and ruined lives and lost her monkeys were innocent people, clearly unfair correct the situation could not get worse, roosevelt champion of these men can only abandon the soldiers in

their time of need, he forever tarnished their reputation. injustice being done, the president trusted advisor begged him to reconsider. >> booker t. washington said mr. president, my advice? exonerates these guys, they are innocent and he went against her and the black community at the time hit it. >> he lost the black community basically as a result. this was not racism, he said and i believe it, if it was a white group, he would have done it, too. the problem was tr didn't understand military discipline my he studied deeply how the romans did it and the spartans did it and in those cultures, disciplining the entire group for the actions of one man was common practice. >> i think that's what got him but he got stubborn about it and

didn't change. >> roosevelt stubbornness extended beyond presidency. the now former commander-in-chief was displeased with how his handpicked successor, president howard taft running the nation seeking reelection at any cost, tr created controversial third-party. roosevelt one endorsement in particular could change the tide of the election. >> the timing critique may have led roosevelt down with bitterness because it when he decided to run against taft, he never got booker t. washington endorsement, it would have meant a lot. >> it was an unfortunate time and it was serious. >> ultimately the election of 1912 would be the downfall of both men despite beating taft in the popular vote, the roosevelt lost by a wide margin to the newly elected democratic candidate woodrow wilson. as a result, booker t. washington lost in the white house. roosevelt and washington's dinner although controversial, a breakthrough segregated nation

needed. symbolically, it displayed intelligence and dignity had no color. together, these kindred spirits forged a partnership that paved the way for older civil rights heroes of our future. >> the time had come outline all forms of segregation. >> it's clear this nation has come a long way. >> i, barack obama do solemnly swear. >> but there is still work to do. >> coming up, we examine the controversy that plagues our two heroes and alongside prestigious guests will explore how thega public should remember these twh pioneers.

teddy roosevelt on horseback at work provided. that's a statue not going anywhere. this is where he lived. down the road, sagamore hill, a place he calls home but it seems every time there's a cultural clash here in america, we take it out on iconic figures. think about teddy roosevelt in manhattan, his statue was boxed and shipped out in front of the museum of natural history, a museum family found in the doctors president under five. booker t. washington under scrutiny because of his conservative views.

♪ >> i was on a panel in buffalo, new york and there was a person on the panel who was a known actor, writer, director and he shouted out booker t. washington just want the people to be slaves, continue to be slaves and i was thinking that so far from the truth, what he wanted them to do was take what they learned in slavery and perfected and be excellent at it. >> today's experts want younger america how the philosophy of another influence of what the government the boys, the founder of the naacp actively opposed washington's atlantic copyrights which he believed that blacks should submit their segregated scientists in society. the sentiment lives on through washington's motor critics. >> absence of opportunity is present, you can't have expectations, you got to provide the means and that's what booker

t said. what he left was books and good ideas, i'm not trying to discredit it but it bothers me we face more emphasis on rhetorical problem versus people like booker t could have gone to the north and become the darling of abolitionist and if a prosperous double free life but instead he planted himself there and spent the rest of his life trying to confront the tension between not offending whites so they burn the school down at the same time recruit enough supporters to act as a foil against those racist. >> if one had any doubt about the accomplishment of booker t. washington, they would not need to look any further than the institution he found the.

>> we would not be the same country without booker t. washington. george washington carver is acknowledged at the same level of doctor washington because he created the infrastructure to do? work that made it possible to save the american economy without doctor washington, it's not the same america. >> a century ago presidency of theodore roosevelt on booker t. washington to dine at the white house was taken as an outreach. america today is a world away from cruel prideful bigotry at the time looking at these two figures, what are the two icons do in america? are unique or that? >> the white house meeting, you can't over exaggerate how important it was, a dominant talk of the land in villa the republican party to signal to

roosevelt we were committed to be the party that embraced our black brothers and sisters. [chanting] >> what do you think they think of americans? >> they were not like the anger we have toward each other, they wouldn't like this divide, civil war was about divide, there was hope of healing the country and they were such patriotic americans i believe think still believe that adjacent to come. >> america should never be defined by slavery, america is a story of redemption and second chances. i tell people, none of us want to be defined by the worst we did as a young person in the country shouldn't either. the biggest problem we face in america today, we don't have race problem, we have a grace problem. >> i share my final thoughts regarding two of the final men i

ever had the privilege of studying.

first and foremost report have the right leaders at the right time, are forced washington of war, president george washington of peace and that's why i'm a motion all over this great country for him, the best known washington monument when america was part of it 100 years later, we can put us back together combined with douglas to make sure we always stayed together in the past hour you've seen, i hope, 26 president teddy roosevelt combined with booker t. washington to pick up where lincoln and douglas f. who's going to be the one for this moment at this time in american history move this great country forward? one thing for certain, who will be on the lookout ready to bring it to you. thank you watching teddy and booker t, i am brian kilmeade. ♪