stored at a corporation or government. >> on the communicators on c-span2. eastern,at 4:00 p.m. the warren commission, which investigated we will show it to our cvs special report from 1964 the details the findings of the warren commission. interviews with lee harvey all slots wife and mother -- oswald's wife and mother.

>> welcome to saint hall and american history tv. with help with their content -- from our partners we will explore minnesota's capital city. >> looking at his legacy through a 2014 lens can we can see how he was controversial but compelling. next we will visit the minnesota history center, and figure out what their exhibit can teach roles andbout gender economics. >> through the 1950's and 1970's the basic tenets of light did not change all that much. the most important thing was to give children opportunities to

artist their imagination. the riveroverlooking since historic fort snelling. iswill find out why it notably important to minnesota's history but national history as well. ♪ >> we are standing at the historic fort snelling. the fort really is the first foothold in the region for united states expansion.

during the early 1800s, you began to have this idea of spreading across the country, of the manifest destiny of the united states to spread from sea to shining sea. it is the god-given right of america to extend across north america. of course, that is problematic because there are other people who lived here first. the american indian nations. in this region, it was primarily the dakota and the ojibway. it is a foothold for future expansion. after the fort was established here, nothing was the same. relations between american indians and this region and the united states government began to change. by 1650, the first europeans are arriving in what would become minnesota, and they are arriving because of the fur trade. they are interested in exchanging furs with the dakotas and the ojibway.

they are exchanging furs for manufactured goods. the fur trade really establishes european presence in the region. it is because of the fur trade that they establish a fortress. they are interested in protecting the fur trade in the area after the war of 1812. the fur trade drives the economic interest in the region. the dakota had their comedy -- their economy in large part based on the fur trade in the 1700s and 1800s. when the fur trade begins to decline, that is when you see a shift in relations between the people. >> aim. fire. >> in 1851, the treaties were signed in which the dakotas ceded over 24 million acres of

the land to the united states. by the 1860's, you had divisions within the dakota community for those who want to acculturate and those who did not. you also had food shortages and those who wanted to maintain an additional way of life. shortages and you had increasing pressure from immigrants coming into the area. in 1862, a small group of dakota decided to declare war on the united states, and they began attacking civilians, trading posts, settlements. it was a six-week war. soldiers from fort snelling were sent to fight in that war. as a result, dakota treaties

were abrogated by the united states. the dakota were forced out of minnesota. fort snelling itself became an interment camp for dakota civilians who were awaiting deportation out of the state. over the winter of 1862 and 1863, between 1600 and 1700 dakota men, women, and children, primarily women and children, were held here. because of the living conditions and poor quarters, many died. there were acts of violence against people in the concentration camp. it was a horrible place for them. it was part of the u.s. effort to remove the dakota from minnesota. what is really tragically ironic is this place, which for many dakotas is seen as a place of the birth of their people, is also a place of their confinement in a concentration camp and expulsion and genocide. it's important when you think about the story and history of the region that you think beyond the wall of fort snelling. that is what we try to do here,

push people to think more about, what does it mean when all of these cultures come together? what perspectives do they have on these events? you can look at a single event from history from multiple perspectives and that helps us think about the world we live in today. how can we see things through someone else's eyes? you can look at the fort in multiple ways. you can look at it as the expansion of the united states and the pioneer spirit, moving west, conquering the wilderness, or you can look at it as a place of internment for the dakota that were here because of the u.s.-dakota war of 1862. you can look at it as the colonization of native lands by the united states government. there is also the story of african-americans, both free and enslaved. it was supposed to be a place free of slavery and you have the existence of slavery alongside free african-americans.

it is a wonderful way to explore the complexity of history and how events in the past, people's choices and decisions, shape the world we live in today. right now we are inside one of the first squad rooms and stone barracks. the stone barracks where the home for the enlisted men. several barracks were here for their quarters. these barracks were used from the 1820's all the way up through the civil war. today they are furnished like they would have been in the 1820's. you can see the equipment, uniform items, weaponry. all of these things would have been used here by soldiers in that early area during the 1830's. this would have been home to 12 men, 11 privates and one corporal. one thing people immediately notice is that there are only six beds. prior to the civil war, soldiers were required to sleep two

soldiers to a bed box. the army wants to maximize space and cut down on fuel power. the more people you can squeeze into small areas, the better for the army. this is not one of the original buildings. it was one of the original reconstructed buildings built from the 1960's and 1970's. it is built from the same specifications and materials, so, a soldier from the 1820's would recognize much of this as what he would have lived in. it was used all the way up through the civil war this way, the only difference being that in 1860 they would have added a different bunk on top. fort snelling was the rendezvous place for people during the civil war. 25,000 minnesotans served during the war. fort snelling was the portal for that.

at the end of the war, they had left the war and returned to civilian life at the fort. the garrison at the fort fluctuated quite a bit depending on the year you are looking at. in the 1820's, most estimates are around 500 people would have been here at the fort. that is about 350 soldiers and 150 free and enslaved people. that is a rough estimate. during the 1830's, the garrison went down to 80 people at one point. so, it fluctuated based on the goals of the army, whether they wanted to have a large garrison of troops here. in 1837, the seminole wars were being fought in florida and a number of troops were called off from here. during world war ii, the numbers skyrocketed. over 300,000 men and women has to fort snelling as they were inducted into military service. this was a very busy place

throughout its history. we're standing in front of the place that we believe that dred and harriet scott lived between 1836 and 1840. when they hear the story of the enslaved people that were here, many of them are very surprised. they may have heard of dred scott and high school history, but they did not know he lived here. they did not know that the institution of slavery existed this far north. it really surprises a lot of people. we hope that they came away not only learning about the stories of these people, but knowing that what happened at the fort impacted history. dred scott's experience at the fort provided for the legal case

when they sued for their freedom throughout the 1840's and 1850's. the case went all the way to the supreme court. because of the dred scott decision in 1857, it stated that dred and harriet did not have the right to sue in court because as african-americans they were not citizens of the united states and the missouri compromise, which limited where slavery could exist in the country, was unconstitutional because it prohibited people in the rights to property. and this time, slaves were considered property and not people. the dred scott decision furthered the divide between the north and south in the years prior to the civil war. one of the direct causes leading up to the rupture in the 1860's had its origin at fort snelling with dred scott. evidence about daily lives of the enslaved people at fort snelling was very scarce, but we