kind of a platform that was completely unanticipated. so i thought i ought not to squander that. so i ought to step up as not just as a citizen and as a journalist but as a father and a husband and a grandfather and if i see these things, i ought to write about them and try to start this dialogue, which if i'm trying to do with this book, about where we need to get to next. >> in his latest "the time of our lives," tom brokaw urges americans to redefine the american dream. and sunday live "in depth," your questions for the norm anchor of "nbc nightly news." he's written about the greatest generation, the 1960s, and today. "in depth," sunday at noon eastern on c-span2's "book tv." with congress on break we're featuring some of american history tv's weekend programs.

over the next few hours a look at the fight against slavery in the u.s. first, the life of abolitionist owen lovejoy who served in congress leading up to and during the civil war. then a discussion on the abolitionist and women's suffrage movements. later, the story of john willis menard, who was the first african-american elected to the u.s. congress. >> between 1971 and 1973, president rhythm are richard nation son secretly recorded nearly 4,000 hours of phone calls and meetings. >> always agree on the middle things. then you hold on the big one. hell, i've done this so often in conversations with people. i say, i will concede that, make them all feel good, then don't give them the big one. >> every saturday this month hear more of the nixon tapes including discussions with future presidents, key white house advisers, saturdays at 6:00 p.m. eastern. hear conversations with gerald ford, ronald reagan, and george

h.w. bush. in washington, d.c., listen at 90.1 fm. on xm, channel 119. at cspanradio.org. now a conversation on the abolitionist movement and the underground railroad. republican congressman owen lovejoy used his home in princeton, illinois, as a stop on the underground railroad. and as a house member, he introduced a bill to end slavery in the district of columbia. he served in congress from 1857 until his death in 1864. we'll hear from historian and author owen mulder at this event hosted by the u.s. capitol historical society.

>> okay, good morning. first of all, let me do a sound check. can i be heard? very good. well, welcome. good morning. i'm don kennen, a vice president of the united states capitol historical society. and it's my pleasure to welcome you to today's lecture observing african-american history month. we are pleased to be joined by the illinois state society of washington, d.c. and the knox college alumni association of washington, d.c. in presenting today's lecture. i especially want to acknowledge and thank rod ross for all of his assistance in planning the event. and rod, are you -- there he is. thank you very much, rod. i want to invite everyone to attend our second african-american month lecture at noon on wednesday, february

15th, in room 121 of the cannon house office building. you can find further information about this and other upcoming events at the back table or by going online to the society's website at www.uschs.org. later this year, the u.s. capitol historical society celebrates its 50th anniversary. we are proud to have survived for five decades as a nonprofit and nonpartisan educational organization on capitol hill. that's no mean achievement. but our 50 years of existence pales in comparison to the proud history of knox college of galesburg, illinois, which later this month celebrates its 175th anniversary. i'm pleased to introduce the

president of knox college who will in turn introduce today's speaker. teresa arn achat is the 19th president and the first woman president in the history of knox college. she came to knox college after a distinguished academic career at several institutions, including bucknell, harvard, the university of massachusetts, wellesley, gettysburg, and hobart and william smith colleges. professor arnaut. >> thank you very much. it is a great honor to join you today for this lecture by my wonderful knox college colleague, owen muelder. before introducing owen, i'd like to thank the u.s. capitol historical society, the illinois state society, the d.c.

knox club for their sponsorship of the event and also following in your footsteps thanking our alum rod ross, class of 1965, retired reference archivist at the national archives and records administration. of course, one never really retires from a devotion to the discovery and the preservation of our nation's storied past. thank you, rod, for your service in this very important effort that the societies join you in carrying out. one of the many gifts that -- well, yes, let's thank them all. [ applause ] thank you. most fitting. one of the many gifts that a liberal arts education gives its graduates is a lifelong respect for the power of historical perspectives, for the power of the historical imagination, for the inspiration that a meticulous examination of the historical record brings to the

present and to the future. i want to thank you all today for coming to be part of that important effort of discernment and inspiration. at knox, we are very proud of our abolitionist beginnings. we were founded as was noted earlier 175 years ago. our founders then imagined into being at a time when this was an heroic effort, a town on the prairie in galesburg, illinois, distinguished by the presence of a college, a college that would be open to all students of talent and promise irrespective of means, of race, of color or creed. to this day we honor those commitments in many ways on our prairie campus, including our exceptional lincoln studies center, home to two of the nation's most renowned lincoln scholars, rodney davis, and two-time lincoln prize winner douglas wilson.

the most recent book together, "the lincoln douglas debates," has been hailed as the most complete record of those debates. instructive perhaps in this campaign year. the fifth of those debates i'm very proud to say was held in 1858 on the knox college campus. i'm delighted today to introduce yet another example of how knox college has served and been inspired by the past. owen muelder, class of 1965 -- '63, thank you very much. >> sorry. >> yes, can't read my own handwriting. owen has been the director of the new york city college galesburg colony underground railroad freedom center since 2004. he has lectured across the country on the anti-slavery movement. his first book "the underground railroad in western illinois,"

available in the back, describes the central role of the founders of knox college who were part of an important web of individuals across this country, fighters for freedom. it has been described as an essential text for understanding that struggle for freedom in the midwest. his second book entitled "theodore dwight weld and the american anti-slavery society" also recalls this important collective effort that brought many people together in small and sometimes unrecognized ways to make great and enormous changes which we celebrate this month. he will speak to us today about a distinguished 19th century member of this house who represented the proud state of illinois. i give you owen muelder, a true son of knox, class of 1963.

thank you. >> thank you, president amott. and of course, i would also like to thank the united states capitol historical society, the illinois state society of washington, d.c., and the knox college d.c. alumni club. in the early evening of november 7th, 1837, an ugly, drunken crowd of violence-prone anti-abolitionists gathered together in the city of alton, illinois. by 10:00 that night, they had turned into a crazed mob. a few hours earlier, this troop of troublemakers attacked people barricaded in a warehouse belonging to elijah p. lovejoy. the crowd had learned earlier that day that lovejoy had

received a new printing press that would make it possible, possible for him to resume the publication of his anti-slavery newspaper "the observer." lovejoy had moved across the river to illinois from st. louis in 1836, believing that he would be safer expressing his anti-slavery views in the free state of illinois, rather than the slave state of missouri, but alton was a pro-slavery community in a free state. its character was much different than the yankees owen lovejoy had grown up with and his brother elijah p. lovejoy had grown up with, in maine. lovejoy soon came to recognize, however, that there was real danger and he was courting very real problems for himself even in alton. he had written a letter earlier to his mother saying, "it is harder to fight valiantly for

the truth when i risk not only my own comfort, ease and reputation, and even life, but that of a beloved one as well. i have a family that is dependent upon me, and this is the bitterest ingredient to the cup of sorrow i am called to drink." lovejoy's abolitionist stance so outraged the majority of alton citizens that mobs had on three previous occasions stormed his newspaper office and destroyed his presses. on this moonlit night, however, lovejoy and his loyal group of friends, including his brother, owen, were determined not to let that happen again. when the mob made its first attack on the building that one man in the crowd was shot to death. the rioters retreated for a while and consumed more liquor. they regrouped and charged the warehouse again. this time, bringing with them flammable materials. the building was set on fire,

and when elijah lovejoy emerged from the structure, rifle in hand, he was shot down. as he lay dying, his brother, owen, swore that he would thereafter dedicate his life to the abolitionist cause. as word of elijah lovejoy's martyrdom spread across the nation, the anti-slavery cause in the united states was galvanized. few other events in the anti-struggle would trump in significance the murder of elijah p. lovejoy. scores of newspaper editorials across the north registered their outrage at what had occurred in alton. what was at stake, these newspapers said, was the assault on freedom of speech and freedom of the press. the death of lovejoy also brought about the fame of a very famous american abolitionist, wendell phillips, later known as

abolition's golden trumpet, later established his reputation as a famous anti-slavery orator, delivering a brilliantly crafted speech defending lovejoy's stand. shortly after the killing, owen lovejoy returned to east to help compile a publication about his brother's death, which was issued by the american anti-slavery society. he told abolitionist comrades there that elijah had done more by his death than living and unopposed he could have done in a century. the offices of the american anti-slavery society on nassau street in new york city remained owens' headquarters until his brother's memorial volume was released in the winter of 1838. owen lovejoy returned to illinois in the spring, where he attended the episcopal church convention in rushville. he then went to jacksonville where he hoped to be ordained as an episcopal minister, but the day before his ordination, the

bishop asked lovejoy to sign a pledge promising not to discuss the topic of abolitionism. lovejoy refused to accept the condition and so was not ordained. a few weeks later, however, following an anti-slavery rally in jacksonville, owen mounted a horse planning to ride to knox county. he had designs on finding a church that would accept him as their pastor, close to galesburg. galesburg had been founded, as president amott mentioned, by abolitionist george washington gale, who established the colony in northwestern illinois. the community and school immediately became an anti-slavery stronghold. the town eventually became the most noted abolitionist underground railroad community in downstate illinois. before owen lovejoy left jacksonville, however, a friend suggested to him that he head a bit farther north in illinois to princeton.

the congregationalist minister in that community had very poor health at the time. the community was looking for a new minister. lovejoy decided to go to princeton and that decision put into motion a series of events that culminated in owen lovejoy becoming the most famous underground railroad operator in illinois, indeed one of the most famous operators across the north. when lovejoy arrived in princeton, he was initially made the temporary minister of the ham shire colony congregational church. but within a year, he was appointed as the regular pastor at a salary of $600 a year, which was a rather good salary for a minister in those days in illinois. when he arrived in princeton he was introduced to a handful of people who were tied to the anti-slavery cause, particularly

the bryant brothers, john, arthur and cyrus, another brother of theirs was famous american poet, william cullen bryant, who at that time resided in the east, of course. lovejoy was also introduced to other bureau county residents who were actively involved with the underground railroad, the holbrooks, smiths and pinkertons. lovejoy wasted no time proclaiming his anti-slavery views, but his abolitionist advocacy was unenthusiastically received by the majority of his parishioners. in fact, he was warned to stop speaking against slavery or possibly face violent consequences. but gradually, due primarily to lovejoy's persistence, many of the people in bureau county changed their minds about the institution of slavery. by the mid 1840s, princeton became one of the most important underground railroad stops in the state. there were four primary underground railroad routes through illinois. all of them twisted and

zig-zaged and sometimes made hairpin turns in order to confuse pursuers. one ugrr route traced the course of the rock river. this line proceeded from the cities of rock island and moline on the mississippi river, moved towards erie, sterling and dixon where the rock river turns north toward wisconsin. a second route left southern illinois, starting in cairo. this route split apart in chester, illinois. one leg moved through the middle of the state towards jacksonville, springfield and havana. it usually swept east of peoria, through taswell and woodford counties and eventually turned toward chicago. the other leg of the cairo line after separating at chester ushered fugitives toward alton and followed the course of the illinois river northward. a third route followed the same basic course along the illinois river out of st. louis, but oftentimes moved well away from the river to remote underground

railroad outposts. the fourth escape route, the so-called quincy line, carried freedom-seekers through western illinois from quincy to galesburg to princeton, but along this line, there were numerous satellite stations on farms and in rural hamlets, in and close to places like menden, mccomb, farmington, canton, tulon, and geneceo. the quincy line through western illinois possessed ideal conditions that helped runaway slaves escape through this region. each of four rivers, the lemoyne, spoon, edwards and green, provided natural water courses for fugitives to follow. if escaping slaves stayed close to the river or their tributaries, all freedom-seekers needed to do was move against the current of the water and they would ultimately be heading in a northerly direction. a second geographical feature of

much of northern illinois and iowa was the existence of tall prairie grass, the tallest prairie grass in the world grew there, still does in our backyard, a little patch, big, blue stem which stood as high as six, six and a half and in some summers as high as seven feet. by midsummer and well into the fall, fugitive slaves literally disappeared inside this grass. three distinctive prairie ranges dominated the landscape of western illinois. the bushnell prairie, the carthage prairie, and the enormous hancock prairie that started in adams county and ranged into and through 11 counties of western illinois. fugitive slaves heading out of the slave state of missouri crossed into these illinois counties, taking advantage of the numerous underground stations that operated inside

the grassy region in the 1830s, '40s, '50s and '60s. slaves working on barges and steamboats as deckhands, barbers, cooks, maids, valets and waiters, also fled from these river crafts. if they'd leave, they'd have a decent chance of escaping safely. this is not to suggest that fugitive slaves were home free once they arrived in western illinois. many freedom-seekers never made contact with underground railroad agents. these fugitives made their way to freedom alone, depending on their own wit, guile, and sheer determination. still others were tracked down and returned to bondage. slave owners hired detectives or full-time slave trackers to go after escapees. many trackers used what were called negro dogs, specifically trained to hunt down runaway slaves. these vicious dogs could tear a slave to pieces if not restrained.

bounty hunters were also quick to turn in a runaway slave for handsome rewards. owen lovejoy, unlike most underground railroad operators, was remarkably open about his ugrr involvement. lovejoy made virtually no attempt to hide what he was up to. in addition, lovejoy advocated the use of violent tactics. one of his daughters, ida, recalled that in the late 1850s when a group of runaway slaves pulled up to the lovejoy homestead, lovejoy asked them if they had any weapons. they said they only had clubs. he told them not to hesitate to use them. one of his daughters, ida, said that her grandmother asked owen lovejoy later that day if that had been good advice, and she remembered her father saying, vehemently, "yes, i am sure."

in may of 1843, lovejoy was indicted in bureau county for helping two fugitive slaves, nancy and agnes, make their way to freedom. the trial did not start until october. however, during the spring and throughout the summer, the case received widespread attention both regionally and across the state. lovejoy during the summer self-confidently inserted an advertisement in the chicago newspaper "the western citizen" an anti-slavery publication. it read, "notice of the canada line of stages cheap, cheap." the subscriber would respectfully inform the ladies and gentlemen of color of the south who wished to travel north for the benefit of their condition or an excursion of pleasure to the falls of niagara, the above line of stages will be in action an

efficient operation during the summer. passengers will be carried all the way through for nothing. for further particulars, inquire of the subscriber at his residence at princeton, bureau county, signed owen lovejoy, general agent." when the case finally came before the court, witnesses for the state testified that lovejoy used his house to help runaway slaves. one witness told the jury that he had seen the slave nancy with lovejoy in his rig and that lovejoy told him that she was an escaped slave, but lovejoy's lawyer, during cross-examination, made the point that nancy's owner had brought her into illinois from missouri, that once she arrived in the free state of illinois, she was no longer a slave. on october 7th, judge caton instructed the jury on the strict language of illinois law. he explained that "if a slave master voluntarily brought a slave within the state, the slave became free."

the judge went on to say that if any illinois residents harbored such a person, the individual who aided the fugitive slave had not committed an offense against illinois law. the jury must have been won over by both lovejoy's lawyer and the judge's presentation, for when the trial ended, lovejoy was acquitted. the most famous underground railroad story associated with owen lovejoy unfolded in the late 1840s. a fugitive slave by the name of john buckner had escaped from missouri and taken up residence as a farmhand on the property of enos matson. the farm was close to princeton. the fugitive buckner, like many other runaway slaves, decided to stay with someone who would employ him until he could accumulate enough money to make his way to canada. in 1849, buckner was mowing in matson's meadow when two men, one of whom was his former

owner, approached buckner with guns pulled. after buckner was apprehended the slave catcher was marched toward princeton, the slave tracker's plan to take him to the illinois river where they could transport him down the river to st. louis by boat. a friend of lovejoy's, hensdale phelps, saw them on the road. phelps took a shortcut to lovejoy's house and told him what was going on. lovejoy immediately went to a justice of the peace and got a warrant for the two slave trackers to be arrested for rioting. when buckner and the two men arrived in princeton, the sheriff put the two missouri slave trackers under arrest, and a court hearing was hastily called. as the proceeding got under way, a group of pro-slavery men brought a wagon to the courthouse. one of these men, a tavern owner, rushed into the court waving another warrant calling for buckner's arrest. the sheriff ordered the man to

leave the building. shouting, pushing, scuffling broke out. and during this melee, somebody cut buckner loose and he was hustled out of the building. a hired man who worked for lovejoy put buckner on a horse and told him to head off to lovejoy's homestead. the crowd rushed out of the courthouse, quickly moved towards lovejoy's house, and when owen lovejoy arrived he calmly shut the gate to the property and started to deliver an anti-slavery lecture. while lovejoy was speaking, a rioter on horseback bolted from the barn and people yelled, "there goes john! there goes john!" the pro-slavery people in the crowd immediately went after the rider. lovejoy continued to give his speech. shortly thereafter, a horse-drawn carriage left the barn. sitting next to the driver was an individual covered by a sun bonnet. lovejoy went on with his speech, the driver and buckner, who had been camouflaged, escaped in another direction. we do not have enough time to

relate all of the accounts and stories about lovejoy's underground railroad activities. but let me present one last story which lovejoy himself discussed on the floor of congress. he had been accused of buying a ticket for an elderly slave and putting him on a railroad passenger car to chicago. by the mid 1850s, the old chicago burlington and quincy railroad had been built and track extended all the way from chicago to the mississippi river. western illinois underground railroad conductors started putting fugitive slaves on real trains headed for lake michigan, as soon as the railroad line was completed. toward the end of one of lovejoy's speeches on the house floor, he alluded to this episode. and toward the end of his remarks he said, "a single word as to the charge of negro stealing. anyone who chooses may transform himself into a bloodhound, i

will never do this. owen lovejoy lives in princeton, illinois, three-quarters of a mile east of the village, and he aids every fugitive slave that comes to his door. thou invisible demon of slavery, i bid you defiance in the name of my god." i should turn now to a discussion of owen lovejoy's political career. in the 1840s, lovejoy joined that wing of the anti-slavery cause that wanted to take the abolitionist movement in a political direction. he supported the liberty party in 1840 and 1844, and in 1848 he backed the efforts of the free soil party, a vastly expanded version of the liberty party. in the '48 election lovejoy was an unsuccessful candidate for congress on the free soil ticket. in 1854, he was elected to the illinois state legislature. now by thame