thank you very much. >> thank you. [applause] >> you are watching american history tv. onhours of programming american history every weekend on c-span three. forow us on twitter information on schedule, upcoming programs, and to keep the latest -- programs. >> throughout this month and early august, american history finalisits 1974 and the weeks of the nixon administration. this weekend, opening statements from the house judiciary committee. >> the selection of the president occupies a unique position within our political system. it is the one acting with the participates.

the result is binding upon all the states. the outcome is excepted. occupants stands as a symbol of national unity and commitment. judgment of the people is to be reversed, that symbols to be replaced through the action of elected representatives, it must be for substantial and not trivial offenses. >> watergate, 40 years later. sunday night at 8:00 eastern on american history tv on c-span three. long, american history tv is joining with our media partners to showcase the history of iowa's cattle city. -- capital city. oises.rning -- des m we continue now with our look at the history of des moines.

>> the first capitol building for the state of iowa would be in iowa city. the state became a state in 1846. the capital was in iowa city. in 1857.to des moines we chose it because of the central location. when we came here in 1857, the building was not built yet. we use the building across the street called the old rick capital -- brick capital. we used it as the city government well building this building. built from was 1871-1886. hasas dedicated in 1874 and been in use since then.

this is the highest point in the morning. -- des moines. it is where the glaciers stopped. it was given to the state of people. the purpose was to build the capital here. the dome is the most noticeable part. there's not a location where you do not notice the dome rising up. we are the only capitol that has five domes. the largest is to 75 feet tall. 75 feet tall. see 219 inside, you feet. as is common with a lot of domes, you have an interior and

exterior wall. that is so you can decorate the interior area. there is a lot of empty space in the dome. the gilding will last a long time. i know that is difficult for people to understand. that thin layer of gold will last a long. -- last so long. but it is more durable than anything we could put up there. we could paint the dome, but it be painted need to every year or two. the gold will last 30 years. it is more economical to cover the dome with gold. we could leave it copper, which is what the other four domes are covered with. underneath the gold, there is copper. but the copper oxidizes. the green runs onto the stone of the capitol building. it is very destructive. it helps to preserve the stone to covered with gold.

you have doing it is very striking -- you have to admit it is very striking. the first time the gold was put on the dome, we spent the $500 including labor. thehe time we got to 1999, cost had risen to $482,000. 160,000 paid for the gold and the rest for the labor. we are in the senate chamber on the second floor. it occupies the south quarter of the capitol building. we have 50 senators in iowa. each is elected to serve a four-year term. we have a part-time legislature here in iowa. that means they are hearing the capitol building working for

months of the year. when their work is done, they go back to wherever they live in the state. almost all of them go back to work at their regular jobs. we have senators who are veterinarians, doctors. insuranceork for an company or bank. anything you can imagine doing for ages living, our elected officials do. you have republicans on one side of the aisle, democrats on the other side. if we have more than 25 of either, they would fall over to the opposite side of the aisle. right now we have a democratic majority in our senate. the democrats have the majority here by just a couple of votes. they would sit here on the left side of the chamber. the republicans would sit on the e of theide -- sid chamber.

the furnishings are original furnishings. the room has seen very little changes through the years. it is one of the few places that the decorative painting was never painted over. when you look at the ceiling, you are looking at a ceiling painted in 1883. it has never been painted over. it was done by an artist who did a lot of bills -- work in our building. did the senate chamber, the house of representatives, the law library. all his work is gone now. it was either painted over or destroyed by the fire. this is the only original work we have im. -- by him. you're also looking at original gas chandeliers converted to a z. when the capitol building was built -- converted to electricity. the capitol building was built, it did not have electricity. when the building was converted,

we took the gas chandeliers down and threw them away. are original gas chandeliers. they way i've hundred pounds we 500 poundsigh 500 poundsy weigh each. we elect the entire house of representatives every time we have an election. every member must run for reelection. in the house chamber, a lot of similarities to the senate. they are here at the same time of year and talking about the same bills. dear pay decent amount of money senators and representatives make approximately $25,000 per year y pay the same amount of money.

senators and representatives make approximately $25,000 per year. differentchamber is if you look at the design in the room. that is because we had a fire at this end of the building. the fire was in january of 1904. we were changing from gaslight to electric lights. electricians had been hired to run electrical lines through the building. they were working inside by candlelight. workf the workmen left the area and left a candle burning. that is how the fire started. the ceiling in this room collapsed. we had to rebuild the ceiling. when we did that, we didn't try to make it look like it had looked before. we built a new ceiling because we needed to use the room. because of this, it looks different than the rest of the building. differentind a very

design to read in the senate chamber, a lot of color and here, there are neutral colors. also a lot of goldleaf. it was very popular at that time. that is the only explanation i can give you. the areas we done after the fire contained goldleaf. the same thin layer we found on the outside of our dome. apply the same way. it has to be done by hand. it is glued onto the service, both outside and inside. we are in the law library on the second floor of the capitol building. the west side of the building now. the law library takes up the whole west side of the capitol from the second and third floors. it contains about 100,000 lawbooks. is open to the public. any but he is allowed to come here and use the books.

you have to be a lawyer or elected official if you want to check a book out. the five different levels are lined by iron railings. the staircases are the only access to the levels. accessible to are the librarians. the general public would tell the library with a need, and the librarian -- what they need, and the librarian would get it for them. we have a original tile floors. the ceiling has been restored to look like what it looked like in the 1880's. chandeliers are reproduction lights. that was done in the 1990's and early 2000's. we did a lot of restoration work here in the capitol. when they were building the wastol, this room designed to be only half as tall

as it is now. the commissioners in charge of building the building traveled to michigan. look at the library and said, tear out the ceiling in place. we want you library to go to stories tall rather than just we want the library to go to bank stories -- we went to library to be two stories rather than one. evidence of what this building was designed after in michigan is gone now. we do have a remarkable special collection here in the law library. we have a collection of old english law. that you would not find in most libraries throughout the world. the law librarians are very proud of that collection. we also have an original card

catalog here in the library. that is how we found the books in the library. most of us 50 years old loss -- plus remember using the card catalog. now it is done by computer. but the card catalog will stay in the room. it is not updated any longer, but it would have been here originally. the library is organized by the harvard system. organizingystems for legal libraries. we use the harvard system. that's why the librarians are so crucial. they are the only ones who know exactly where the books are located. the with the card catalog, computer system, when you come in this library, that system does not help you locate a book. you are at the mercy of the librarians to tell them what you want.

♪ we are in the rotunda on the second floor of the capitol. you will see the large mural westward. the pioneersolize as they moved from civilization into the wilderness in the west. it was done in 1905. the mural is 40 feet long and 14 feet height -- high. you will notice to the left-hand side of the painting, you see a desolate area. that represents the prairie. the unknown. on the rights of the narrow, you will notice you are looking at plowed fields, rented crops. crops.ted and there are faces pasted -- a

painte into the stalks of corn. dthose represent the man who would come after the pioneers. the woman in the center, the model for that person was named jessica. she was one of those unbelievable success stories that came out of iowa. it would be like an iowa girl going and becoming the most famous model in the world. of her.what became she modeled for tons of artist. girl.s a beautiful fordid a great deal modeling when she was young. she would have been in her teens. if you're really look at the commit it to memory, if you ever go to wisconsin, in their general assembly

chamber, they have a large mural. you will go that is her. he used her again and again. person.a very famous she died when she was, i want to andlate 40's, early 50's, she died penniless. i hope they walk away with an appreciation for the beauty of the building. we have a beautiful capitol building. not just architecturally, but the decoration the rate i hope they walk away if they sense -- but the decoration. i hope they walk away with the sense the building is being used what it was intended for. it is still the seat of government for iowa. it is a functional, useful building. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> throughout the weekend,

american history tv is featuring des moines, iowa. learn more about des moines. you were watching american history tv, >> each week, american history tv sits in on a lecture with one of the nation's college professors. you can watch the lecture every saturday evening at 8:00 p.m. and midnight eastern. next, monmouth college history professor stacy cordery and her students discuss the ideals and goals that drove feminists and the women's liberation movement in the late 1960's and early 1970's. the class examines several essays published by feminist writers at that time to explore underpinningsal of the movement. monmouth college is in illinois. this class is about an hour. >> how are we doing? good?