first came the dams. up on the clinch at the head of the river we build norristown. a build burrier to hold river in flood times and release water for navigation in the water season. next came wheeler then guntiswheel, a series of great barriers who are eventually turn tennessee into a lake of fresh water pools, locked and dammed, regulated and controlled down >> you cannot plan for water unless you plan for land. the cut over mountains, the

eroded hills, the gull yid fields, the ccc working with the forest service and agricultural experts have started to put the warm fields and hill sides back together. black walnut and pine, roots for the cut over and burned hill sides. roots to hold the water in the ground. black walnut and pine for the new forest reserves. soil conservation men that worked out crop systems with the farmers of the valley. crops to conserve and enrich the top soil so that the day a million acres of land in the tennessee valley are saying instead of speeding the water off the ground. but you cannot plan for water and land unless you plan for people. down in the valley, the farm security administration has built the model agricultural community living in homes they

themselves built paying on long term rates, they will have a chance to share in the wealth of the valley. more important, the farm security administration has loaned thousands of dollars to farmers in the valley. farmers who were caught by years of depression and in need of only a stake to be self-sufficient. and where there's water, there's power. where there's water for flood control and water for navigation, there's water for power.

>> the farmers of the valley cut off from years of the advantages of urban live. power to the cities and factories, west virginia and north carolina, tennessee and mississippi. georgia and alabama, power to make a new tennessee valley for a new generation. power enough to make the new river work. ♪ ♪

>> you can view this and all other real america programs at cspan.org. enter real america in the search engine. >> coming up on american history tv programs from our archival film series real america. next a nasa documentary detailing the first mission to land two men on the moon. as followed by the story of the construction of the hoover dam. in an hour a 1960 interview with he herbert hoover and that's all ahead on american history tv here on cspan 3. ahead here on 3. this labor this labor day on the cspan networks on cs parks n at 5:30 eastern on education department

summit on bullying in schools. 8:00, bill nye the science guy and ken ham debate evolution. on cspan 2's book tv, 7:00 eastern congressman james clibern talks about his life in the jim crow south to his leadership, at 8:30 her book price of fame about play write and diplomat, on cspan 3's american history tv at 7:15 eastern time looks at documents at the 1964 tonkan insipped inct

led to the vietnam war. find our television schedule at cspan.org and let us know what you think about the programs you're watching. call us at 202-262-3400. on twitter use the #c 123 or e-mail us at comments at cspan.org. join the cspan conversation. like us on facebook. follow us on twitter. comments sc each week american history tv's real america brings you archival films that help tell the story of the 20th century. 45 years ago on july 20th, 1969, as millions around the world watched on live television, neil armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon. next a half hour nasa documentary conicling the apollo 11 mission from lift-off to

splash down. >> we copy you down eagle. >> houston, the eagle has landed. >> roger tranquility we copy you on the ground. you got a bunch of guys that were about to turn blue. we're breathing again. >> we're getting a picture on the tv. there's a great deal of contrast. currently it's upside down but can he can make out a fair amount of detail. okay. neil we can see you coming down the latter now. >> sunday july 20th, 1969, around the world nearly a billion people watched this moment on television as the first man from earth prepared to set foot on the moon.

>> the surface appears to be very, very fine grained as you get close to it. it's almost like a powder. it's very fine. i'm going to step off now. that's one small step for man, one giant leap for man kind. >> i believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. >> all that we have accomplished in space, all that we may have accomplish in days and years to come, we stand ready to share it for the benefit of all man kind. as we explore the reaches of

space, let us go to the new worlds together. not as new worlds to be conquered but as a new adventure to be shared. >> since the earliest time, man has imagined this moment, the moment when his fellow man would make the first journey to the moon. now the time had come. in the 6th decade of the 20th century, the ancient dream was to become a reality. the flight of apollo 11 was the culmination of many years of planning, working, building and testing. thousands people had contributed toward this day of accomplishment. the great saturn 5 rocket and the complex apollo space craft had been assembled together and moved to the launchpad. the equipment and techniques and personnel had been proved in

earlier missions and now they were ready. the astronauts chosen for this mission had flown it many times in simulatored. they had all been in space before and had trained carefully and well. now they too were ready. astronaut michael collins would pilot the command module. astronaut aldrin junior would pilot the lunar module. astronaut neil armstrong would serve as mission commander. armstrong would be the first man to step up on the moon. july 16th, the day had come. the moon awaited the men rose early, ate breakfast and dressed

in their space suits. other astronauts that made this journey to the launchpad but never with such anticipation. july 16th, 9:32 a.m. --

three hours later, the apollo command module moves forward to extract the lunar module from the third stage of the launch vehicle. both are moving than more than 17 thousand mi 17,000 miles an ed together thea

quarter million miles through space to earth's neighbor. during the three day journey to the moon, the astronauts kept busy, check lists, navigation and observation, house keeping. they must work in a weightless environment, keeping their space craft and themselves in good condition. data must be collected and reported, experiments must be per forformed including photogr inside and outside of the space craft. because of the film speed these actions appear faster than they actually were.

july 19th, apollo 11 slows down and goes into orbit around the moon. the bright blue planet of earth now lies 238,000 miles beyond the lunar horizon. astronauts armstrong and aldrin now in the lunar module separate from the command module. astronaut collins remains behind. preparation for the lunar module decent to the moon now begins.

>> the command module assumes the new name, columbia. the lunar module will be called the eagle. from columbia michael collins camera sees bright rays of the sun reflecting from the surface of the eagle. in this strange metallic bird rides the ancient and endless dream of all of mankind. the command pilot can see detail which his camera cannot record. p(xú pads of the lunar module are fully extended and locked in place. the eagle is poised and prepared for its decent to the lunar surface.

the moon landing craft rocket engine fires to slow it down and to place it on the pathway to the landing site in the sea of tranquility. there is tension and caution as the eagle flies lower. warning lights blink on as the commuter tries to keep up with command data but the status remains go. >> eagle we got you now. it's looking good, over. >> roger, copy. >> eagle, houston, plus 18. you're a go to continue. you are a go to continue power decent. >> altitude now 21,000 feet.

looking very good. >> velocity 12 -- per second. >> roger we got you. we're going at alarm. >> good radar data. we're now in the approach phase. everything looking good. >> altitude 42 -- >> houston you're go for landing, over. >> good for landing 3,000 feet. >> altitude 1,600. 1,400 feet still looking very good. 33 degrees. down to 19. 1,201. we're go. >> altitude velocity late. 15 forward. 200 feet, 4 1/2 down, 5 1/2 down. 60 seconds.

lights on. down 2 1/2. forward. forward. 40 feet down 2 1/2. picking up some depth. four, forward. drifting to the right a little. okay. engine stopped. >> we copy you down eagle. >> tranquility base. the eagle has landed. >> through the window of the eagle, armstrong and aldrin see what no human eyes have ever seen before. their space craft casts a long shadow across the undisturbed dust of centuries.

seven hours after landing after careful preparations for later ascent were completed, armstrong opens the eagle hatch and begins his climb down to the surface. the first footsteps on this strange new world must be taken cautiously. the moon has only 1/6th the gravity of earth.

the nature of its surface is still unknown. >> i'm going to step off now. >> that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> once on the surface, armstrong scoops up a small sample of lunar dust and rock, precautioning against the possibility of an emergency take off. according to plan, astronaut aldrin ascend from the vehicle. his equipment would way 333 pounds on earth, here they way about 6 pounds.

♪ for a brief moment the first men on the moon stand and look at the stark, lonely landscape around them, an experience which no one before them can share. but there is much to be done in the limited time in which they can stand on this airless, cloudless satellite of earth. this sheet of metal foil traps and holds particles from the sun, the solar wind or barrage

of solar energy which constantly strikes the moon's surface. results of this experiment will be taken back to earth to reveal new secrets to anxious scientists. an american flag is left behind on the moon, together with medals honoring american and vote spacemen who lost their lives in earlier space tests and a small disk carrying messages of goodwill from 73 nations on earth. a plaque on the lunar module reads here men from planet earth first set upon the moon july 1969 a.d. he came in peace for all mankind. through a specially made division camera viewers in many

nations on earth were able to watch the astronauts as they walked and worked on the moon. despite the bulky space suits and backpacks containing oxygen the "apollo 11" crew found they could easily move about the surface. because there is no wind or rain on the moon, these foot prints will remain for centuries. in addition to collecting rock and soil samples, the explorers leave behind a seismonitor. it will leave behind information on lunar moments.

a 100 prism laser reflect swror will help man measure the exact distance of earth to moon to an accuracy of six inches. these were the first of many experiments which will be taken to the moon to provide man continuing and increation knowledge about the moon]c-?ux. vastness of space beyond. after two hours and 31 minutes the first lunar explorers had completed their research on the moon. a night of rest in the lunar module, countdown preparations and they were ready to come

home. >> tranquillity base, houston. guidance recommendation. you're cleared for takeoff. >> roger, we understand. seven, six, five. >> beautiful. >> very quiet ride. >> thousand feet high, 80 feet per second vertical rise. >> eagle, houston, looking good. all green. >> right down u.s. 1. >> houston, right down the track, everything is great. >> horizontal velocity

approaching 2,500 feet per second. >> roger. >> some 2100 miles to go. >> july 21st, "the eagle" and it's two man crew lifted off perfectly and rendevoued to dock with the mother ship "columbia." >> while armstrong and aldrin explored the moon, astronaut collins kept a long and lonely vigil in the "columbia." the approaching eagle was a welcomed sight.

later the three men would share their reflections on this adventure with the world. >> i believe that from the early space flight we demonstrated potential to carry out this type of a mission and, again, it was a matter of time before this was accomplished. >> it's a technical triumph for this country to said what it was going to do a number of years ago and then by golly do it. >> the relative ease which we were able to carry out our mission which, of course, came after a very efficient and logical sequence of flights, i think this demonstrated that we were certainly on the right track when we took this commitment to go to the moon. >> i just see it as a beginning, a beginning of a new age.

once again the bright blue planet of earth rises over the lunar horizon. for those who had witnessed man's landing in the sea of tranquillity the moon would never again appear quite the same.