come from it. great new insights in many areas, some that are top of mind for me are in healthcare and, you know, other kinds of research and reaching under served populations in providing new insights in some of our more difficult to solve problems that we face in society. are there risks from big data, as well, i think that's true. i think you can take pieces and assemble them into a profile that may give sensitive insights into a consumer. you have benefits and you have some risks, what do you do then? monday night at 8:00 eastern on the communicators on c-span 2. >> next on american history tv. secretary of state john kerry and former secretaries of state kissinger, baker, albright and clinton, deliver remarks at a

ground breaking center. located at the state department. the museum is dedicated to demonstrating the importance of diplomacy of american history. this is about 50 minutes. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome under secretary of state patrick kennedy. former secretaries of statstate.

accompanied by the secretary of state john kerry. [applause] >> good afternoon. it is my great pleasure to welcome everyone here today for the ground breaking ceremony for the new united states diplomacy center. a state of the art museum and education resource that will illustrate the department of state's 225 year history of supporting our nation's national security efforts. i suspect that i was asked to officiate today because i might be the only remember of

secretary kerry's leadership team that has actually worked for every single secretary of state in attendance, beginning with secretary kissinger. [applause] >> as a career state department employee, i have the privilege of representing the multitudes of civil and foreign service employees, americans and host nationals who have carried out the vitally important work for diplomacy of our country. the men and women of the state department have done this with skill, dedication and in many cases uncommon bravery. two of those held in tehran are here with us today. bruce was the highest ranking officer and john a newly tenured one. their story will have a special place in the diplomacy center. the award winning design was created by the washington d.c.

based firm. once completed it will house the theater and a global classroom among many other interactive exhibits. diplomacy staff has acquired over 6,000 artifacts which will be on display in the center and online. i'm pleased that ambassador the chairman of the foundation is with us today. i would like to recognize the late ambassador steven lowe who was present at the creation of this effort and represented here today by his wife sue and son. without their vision and commitment to the diplomacy center we would not be having this groundbreaking ceremony

today. a heart-felt thanks to all of the private donors in the audience. finally, but certainly not least, the very special acknowledgment to the ambassador bagley. without her untiring efforts we would still be in the long-term planning stage. many can bear witness to her powers of persuasion which she exercises with the utmost diplomatic charm. thank you very much. [applause] it is now my pleasure to introduce ambassador elizabeth bagley senior advisor to the secretary of state for special initiatives. >> thank you, pat for that very generous and very diplomatic

introduction. it is indeed a wonderful mom to finally put shovels in the ground. you, pat, have been there since the inception of the project and it has made today's ground breaking possible. thank you for your leadership. [applause] >> in commemorating this historic day, i would first like to acknowledge secretary of state john kerry, whose boundless energy, perseverance and global statesmanship exemplifies the essence of diplomacy. [applause] >> despite grappling with daily international crises, your enthusiasm and steadfast support of the center has led to this very important, thank you. >> i wish to thank hillary

rodham clinton, who championed the concept of smart power. using all of the tools in our toolbox and establishing the office of global partnership initiatives. the u.s. diplomacy center is the perfect model for this visionary enterprise and i'm proud and honored to have served on your team. [applause] >> secretary baker, your tremendous generosity and commitment to the center from the very beginning has been an inspiration to me and everyone else. thank you for your leadership and your unwavering support. [applause] >> i would also like to thank former secretaries of estate henry kissinger and colin powell who have given their time and effort to promoting the center and to another former boss,

madeleine albright. i thank all of you as well. [applause] >> there are a number of people who have worked tirelessly to make the center possible. i know pat has mentioned them, but i will mention them again. i would like to acknowledge the lead leadership. your dedication to the cause and your unflagging support throughout these many years. in a special thanks. the u.s. diplomacy center staff led by cathy johnson for their ongoing advocacy, to the many individuals, foundations, corporations and foreign government partners have made this possible today. it will make it possible for the

american people, as well as visitors from around the world to learn about the history, the achievements and very vibrant work. all of this would not be possible without the diplomatic core who defend america's interests and promote our founding values. a renowned journalist spoke of diplomacy this way and i quote the crucial link in international exchange is the last three feet bridged by personal contact, one person talking to another. that's what our diplomats around the world do each and every day. engaging their adversaries, as well as their friends, diffusing conflict, forging international coalitions to combat terrorism and finally finding common ground in a path to peace.

this is the mission of the u.s. diplomacy center and to honor our diplomats to tell their story and to hopeful inspire a new generation. thank you all for bringing us closer to bridging that last three feet and i will look forward to celebrating with you on opening day. thank you. [applause] >> it is now my honor to introduce the honorable henry a. kissinger. >> the organizers are anguishing

at this moment to see how long it will take me to place my first verb. ladies and gentlemen, it is a great privilege to be here with other secretaries of state. we share common experiences of the indefensible role of the united states in working for peace in the world. the privilege of working with the foreign service, the most distinguished group of public servants that i know. and we also know that we will never do anything more

challenging in our life than to serve these objectives. i would say all of us except one. but let me talk about diplomacy as a relationship. in foreign policy, we read about dramatic encounters between secretaries of state and diplomats, but the essence of diplomacy is to build permanent relationships. it is essential to create competence, so that when the difficult issues come up, and the close decisions have to be made, that it is a basis on

which the minds can meet. it is essential for diplomacy to deal with people before you need them so that they have faith in what you're saying when you do need them. it is imperative to outline the concept of what our country is trying to do, so as to prevent foreign policy from becoming a series of tactical issues. for all of these reasons, the diplomacy center is a great and imaginative idea. it is a privilege to be here for

this occasion. it is an honor to have been able to serve in this institution, to share the concerns of so many dedicated people, and to realize that every great achievement was a vision before it became a reality and it is a great privilege to see how this vision has turned into a reality. thank you very much. [applause] >> it is now my honor to introduce the honorable james a.

baker, iii, the 61st secretary of state. mr. secretary. >> thank you very much, pat. ladies and gentlemen, washington, of course, is blessed with museums and memorials that are dedicate todd a broad array of topics that have shaped the history of this great nation. museums of artnd the jewish holocaust and our news industry they are memorials that preserve the history of the brave men and women who fought in the two major wars and other major conflicts. there are testaments to george washington, thomas jefferson, to abraham lincoln and to other americans who helped make this nation great. until now, there hasn't been a center dedicated to one of the

most important aspects of our state. that's diplomacy and to the diplomats who practiced it over the centuries. since the days of our founding the united states has been blessed by diplomacy. it allowed us to strike the treaty of paris. diplomacy that made possible the louisiana purchase. diplomacy that formulated the marshall plan and made sure that the war ended with a wimper and not with a bang. throughout history our nation has been strengthened and protected through strong diplomatic alliances. it will tell the amazing story of the brave men and women who have served on the front lines of american diplomacy. the stories of all of them. although too often overlooked,

their tales of heroism are truly inspiring. when i was secretary of state, i knew i could count on my state department colleagues to respond with speed, and skill. to any challenge, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, even as the world shifted under their feet. the diplomacy center will capture this trademark quality in an exhibit entitled diplomacy is everywhere 24/7. the exhibit will emphasize a simple reality. no matter what political upheaval or crisis the world faces, diplomacy never seats. the american people will be hard at work managing an myriad of

problems. it will explain why diplomacy matters. it is extremely critical, because the people are afterall the ultimate arbiters of our foreign policy. during times like today, tensions rise in the far east and terrorism grows stronger, not weaker, diplomacy will play an important role in peacefully resolving many of the challenges that we face. as a result the better educated americans are about this nation's diplomacy. the more effectively we can engage. i look forward to returning to washington for the grand opening

of the u.s. diplomacy center. it will remind us of the great diplomats of our past and it will remind us as well of the importance of diplomacy in our future. thank you all for supporting this very important project. [applause] >> it is now my honor to introduce madeleine k. albright the 64th secretary of state. >> and the shortest secretary of state. thank you very much, undersecretary kennedy and ambassador bagley, and as i look out at the audience, there's so many friends and colleagues and so many of you that have

participated in what is america's great gift, our diplomacy and i'm delighted to be here. i served as secretary of state at a time when america was working to articulate a new foreign policy strategy that after the cold war would reflect what our position was. we all are unbelievably, as you will listen to us, very clear, about how honor and grateful we were to serve as secretary of state, and to sit behind that sign that said the united states. i speak for henry and myself as two immigrants who made it. i think there's no way to really capture what it is like to represent this amazing country. we knew, at the time of the end of the cold war, that it wouldn't be possible to leverage

our strength and solve every crisis. we did take the lead in the most pressing issues. the core values such as democracy and dignity an robust civil societies. i devoted a considerable amount of energy to strengthsen our efforts and ensuring our relation with weapons. america does have a duty to engage on issues essential to the peace and prosperity of all global citizens, and i was very proud to listen to president obama today in estonia really saying how we had to defend our allies and our values. the promotion still rings true today and they are featured in one of the centers main exhibits entitled diplomacy is our

mission and this exhibit will showcase the heart and soul of diplomacy, work we do to encourage peace and prosperity and democracy and development through examples that illustrate our tireless efforts on good governance, energy, the environment and gender equality. in other words, the usdc will present the state department as an operational organization. our people are not stuck in offices or forts, they are out in the field every day participating in preconstruction teams, meeting with activists and doing hands-on work, so through the usdc, the american public will be able to see what its government is doing around the world and how it connects with what happens here at home. the concept of the museum was originally proposed to me while i was secretary of state. and i just thought it was a no-brainer to think we needed to do this, and we hired a museum

curator to renovate an exhibit space. it was viewable only to employees and other cleared visitors to the building. we thought why are we keeping these amazing artifacts to ourselves, we should be sharing them with the public and using them to inform visitors about the fundamental role that the state department has played and continues to play around the world. i immediately said that this was great, that it would be a museum and an education center that would do exactly that. this day has been a long time in the making, i believe that what we started in 1999 was one of the best initiatives we took. i applaud everybody that has been involved with this and i think that it really is time to share what diplomacy has achieved and is achieving every day for americans. it is a story that deserves to

be told and the u.s. diplomacy center to tell it. as a professor, i will get my students over here to watch and do the simulation. i'm delighted and very honored to have been there when we started this project and i will there when it is over. thank you very much. [applause] >> it is now my honor to introduce the honorable colin powell the 65th secretary of state. [applause] >> thank you, patrick, and thank you, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure to be with you this afternoon on this memorable occasion. another memorable occasion was my first day as of secretary of state, i was sitting my office and one of the senior members of

the staff came in and closed the door and said, i have to ask you something. a lot of confusion in the building. what's wrong? what do we call you? do we call you general or mr. secretary? i said by all means, it is mr. secretary, now, drop and give me 10. [laughter] >> they almost did, i had to stop them, you know. another question i have always gotten for many, many years now, has to do with the connection between my time as chairman and my time as secretary of state. the leadership challenge, was it the same? and the answer is two different organizations, two different cultures, two different histories, two different but complementary jobs that the military and the state department do, one thing they have in common, they are manned by volunteers, they are manned

by people in our foreign service and in our civil service and forest service nationals, people who volunteer to serve their nation, both in the military and in the department of state. they want to have a vision, they want to have a purpose, why are we doing this, how does this serve the interest of the american people, how does this serve the interest of freedom of democracy around the world, how do we help the world? they want to be taken care of. they want to make sure they get all of the resources needed to get the job done. above all, both of these, soldiers and statesman, want to make sure that they are serving the country to the best of their arment. they are people with courage and people of competence, they want to make sure that the american people are safe and bring safety to the people in the world as we possibly can.

if you go out this building the first memorial vietnam war and then the korean war memorialnd then the world war ii memorial. in the distance you'll see marine memorialnd the navy memorial further up the mall and all sorts of recognition to the men i was able to serve with as chairman of the joints chief of staff. you'll never seeing anything until this program that pays tribute to the men and women of the department of state. all of the others included who do such a great job for this department. what do they do? we do everything to prevent wars

or stop wars or bring conflict to an end. we help after wars to rebuild societies and economies. we have treaties that reduce arms or bring a peaceful level of action to different parts of the world. showing ourselves as a successful nation and demonstrating our value system. we execute trade negotiations and treaties which benefit us, we focus on human rights, on the environment, we talk to friends and adversaries and we work with adversaries to make sure they do not become enemies, this is vital work, this is work that's the best interest of the nation.

my favorite foreign service people is a young in his or her first tour in some office, that person who comes up and asks for help and says i want to go to america. it is that young person in their first tour who paves the way and gives the face of the american people to the people wanting to know more about america and wanting to come here. we should be so proud of what these men and women have done over the years. it is only fitting, proper, and timely they get this kind of recognition through the u.s. diplomacy center. where we can demonstrate all they have done and let it take its rightful place among the memorials and monuments

throughout this city. i express my thanks to all who have worked so hard on this. i express my thanks to those who have contributed and put all of their energy and goes into this center. i also look forward to coming back when we open this place and i can be one of the first ones through the door. thank you very much. [applaus [applause] >> it is now my honor to introduce hillary rodham clinton. [applause] >> welcome to all of you, and i think on what of myself and all

of our colleagues, we are so grateful to you. especially those who have been carrying the mission of the center for so many years, since 1999, and those of you who have supported this mission. by your very generous contributions to the creation of the very first united states diplomacy center. it is wonderful to see under secretary kennedy, i think he's a time traveller, because i've never been at an event with him, where he has not served with everyone there. but his unflappable professionalism and council is something that we have all very much benefitted from. i also want to thank ambassador

b bagley. many of you have experienced first hand elizabeth's ability to take on a mission. that's why i encouraged her to take on this center and launch this campaign to enlist the private sector and i'm very grateful to her for this extraordinary success. it is wonderful being here with all of my colleagues, and particularly, secretary kerry. none of this would be possible without secretary kerry's leadership and we all thank you very much, mr. skrecretary, for that. the diplomacy center as i think you have heard from each of my colleagues, a labor of love for all of us. now henry kissinger has written the book on diplomacy. i'm sure he'll have another book

out just in time for the opening of the center, he's got one coming out this fall, so henry, get started on the next one, so that we can appreciate that. jim baker has been the real champion of this center and its realization. jim, it is wonderful, once again, being with you and susan, and thank you for the championing of this center and for your very strong words of support. as madeleine said, she was present at the creation of the diplomacy center. i was looking to see what pin she was wearing, whether it was an optimistic pin or a pessimistic pin, it is appropriate. i thank her for conceiving of this idea. and colin powell, who has been in this unique position, really

only general marshal because he served as both secretary of defense and secretary of state, anything comparable to colin powell's service, it brings a very unique perspective we heard here just earlier. i thank all of them for their insights and their extraordinary commitment to our country. we're here, in large measure, to honor all of those who have served from the very beginning. even before the treaty of paris, which might not have been possible without good american diplomatic american effort. keeping the french involved on our side and staving off some of the other challenges that came our way. right now, nearly 70,000 diplomats and development experts are serving around the world. you've heard briefly about some of the exhibits that will shine a spotlight on the crucial work

of diplomacy and development. and it will also highlight how that work has changed from benjamin franklin to john kerry and beyond. that's an important part of the mission of the center. because we want people, who come to this center, to understand what diplomacy is all about. what it has accomplished, but also how it has evolved. it is clear in today's world that we communicate differently, we have a lot of ways of understanding what is happening in other parts of the world, but nothing substitutes for the professionals who are there to assist every secretary of state, every president, in understanding what the back story is, what's happening sort of below the service, to try to break through for those peace treaties or for those break-throughs in trade or human rights. for the united states, that

means we do have to build strong relationships, not only with governments, but also with publics. i think this has been one of the major changes in the last decades. i kid in my book about how it would have been so difficult for henry to sneak away from pakistan to china when everybody in the world has a cell phone. you have to think differently about how to achieve the same goals. how to convince others to work together on behalf of a world of peace, prosperity and progress. so 21st century state craft is harnessing new technologies, public/private partnerships. we built a division to amplify our messaging from twitter, facebook, flicker and beyond. more than 2.6 million twitter

followers followed 201 official feeds. we're developing their own facebook pages and their own twitter account, they were going on local television, they were engaging in every way they could imagine. they were meeting people in what we call civil society, but which are communities activists, volunteers, students, labor leaders, religious leaders and we do encourage more such contacts. that will be the message of the center's exhibit entitled "diplomacy is connecting people". i think the visitors, particularly young people, will be able to interact in realtime with the department's social media feeds. learning about cultural and educational exchange programs. standing at the podium and engaging with the media.

we hope that will encourage some to consider a career in diplomacy. so today we take a major step ford, we still need some help and i would be remiss and elizabeth would never forgive me if i didn't mention that. this center sends an important and indispensable message that diplomacy and development are at the heart of america's leadership and that leadership remains absolutely essential for everything we hope to see happen in the world, not just for our country and for americans, but for people everywhere. thank you very much. [applause]

>> it is now my honor to introduce the 68th and current secretary of state mr. john kerry. [applause] >> i'm the only one that knew that secret here. thank you, pat kennedy. >> ladies and gentlemen, and members of the diplomatic core, thank you so much for being with us here today. the entire state department usdc team, many who have been working for this day for about 15 years, to the diplomacy center fou foundation and the many private

sector partners, you know who you are, it is your generosity that has brought us to this point, we are grateful for that. so today we get to break ground on groundbreaking american diplomacy. both colin and jim talked about array of monuments around the city to those who served and given their lives in wars. those that are part of the diplomatic core understand there's the same challenge for those who pack up their kids and go away, in many cases on unaccompanied tours, people who work long hours, and extraordinary risks and in

particular more so in today's world. we commit to telling the story of power that comes not from the belly of b-52, but from the force of diplomacy, and it is a force. diplomacy that ends wars, save lives, resolves frozen conflicts, opens markets, creates jobs, brings dignity and respect to lives all around the world. spreads freedom, lifts up millions of people, who get the touch opportunity for the first time. witnessing what we witnessed in tunisia where a fruit vendor saw none of that opportunity and chose to self-emulate himself, reminds us of the power that brings us together and which we will celebrate in this center.

i'm very privileged to be here with 56, 61, 64, 67, and 65. [laughter] >> and i'm extraordinarily grateful to our profile office for arranging them in chronological order so i could almost get it right. hillary clinton, my immediate predecessor, and we served in the senate together. in fact, i was privileged to work in one way or the other, we worked together on a number of different issues. but hillary clinton came to the state department to rebuild alliances and restore our place in the world at a time where people were questioning it and to help to make an opening in burma and across so many miles breathe new life into old

partnerships and gave meaning to every corner of the globe. colin powell, revered still, by everyone i've met in the state department and outside of it who is retired. legendary stories told of the secretary who picked up the phone to tap the talent. a man who knew war so well that he valued diplomacy so much more. whose exhaustive personal engagement after the 9-11 attacks was essential in uniting a coalition of allies. madeleine albright continues to inspire american diplomats wherever they serve. james baker, a tough texas poker

player, and deal maker extraordinaire, which i can attest to because he negotiated the debate rules for george w. bush and me. we're still talking to each other. [laughter] >> that's diplomacy. actually my campaign folks were caught in a squabble with the bush folks, which is not unusual, and jim baker and vernon jordan got together and had a great lunch and perhaps a martini, it took them a half hour, the rules were done and they say good-bye and they were friends. he made the lonely decision to check the third rail of american foreign diplomacy and plunge into the peace process at a time when there was very little support it and has worked to

build a global commission from saddam hussein to desert storm. henry kissinger, the man, who we have heard literally wrote the book on diplomacy. the secretary's whose exploits gave us the vocabulary of modern diplomacy, shuttle diplomacy and strategic patience. it has been an invaluable gift to every secretary that sat in that office ever since the day that henry left it. join me in thanking five of our six former secretary of states. [applause]

they all look so great, it makes me, i'm sort of thinking 2016. okay. so we're here obviously, and i'll be very brief to salute diplomacy and to break ground on the first ever museum to tell the really remarkable story of american diplomats who have been daring in breaking new ground themselves from the earliest days from jefferson and franklin, as i have just talked about some of their exploits. as we celebrate a greatest generation of diplomacy, it is time to focus on what they will say about the next generation. will we allow our country's foreign policy debate to be

stolen by false choice between force without diplomacy or diplomacy without force? or succumb to the easy appeals of those who promise americans that the united states can step aside or that we can afford to think of active leadership not as a strategic imperative for america but as a mere favor that we do for other countries. we have seen these moments before. oppositions to wilson's league of nations. deep-seeded reluctance in congress to pass the marshal plan to win the peace. cashing in a peace dividend after the berlin wall fell to pull inwards when the cold hard post cold war truth was that a more complex world needed

america more than ever than the bipolar world that had preceded it. we have been here before. we're living in a world smaller and more interconnected than ever before. to an era where power lives in hierarchies to where power lives in networks. formed and created by people under the age of 30. now we are wrestling with the fact that those hierarchies are unsettled. mobile devices represent a lot more than your ability to put a picture on facebook or instagram. but are instead powerful, powerful new instruments of change that make hierarchies uncomfortable, because you can communicates with everybody all of the time. anywhere, at any time. and we now see young people

across the globe, who see the opportunity that other people have, and i run into this, my colleague, the former secretaries each of them commented about these changes that exist today. it is as real as ever for the destruction of isil to the opportunity and the freedom of the civilized world. that's what this center will be about. one thing every diplomat here today knows is that on that battleground american leadership and engagement should not be up for debate in the first place, iraq, syria, ukraine, gaza, south sudan, libya, north korea, just to name a few. i'm not saying that we can or should do any of it alone, that's not proposition, but the world, i think most people here

understand will not do it without us. i can tell you for certain most of the world does not lie awake at night worrying about america's presence. they tell me that they worry about what would happen in our absence. so as we write the next chapter of american diplomatic history, as we think about how tomorrow's diplomats will fill the exhibit halls of this museum. we have to remember engagement and leadership are the american dna. it is doing the difficult work that makes america's values real in the world which ultimately defines us as a country. i pick up on colin's comment about that person behind the window. when i travel abroad and i have an opportunity like my predecessors did to have a me and greet with our embassy personnel. i tell everybody that they are all ambassadors, every single one of them, particularly the

people behind that window, they may be the only american somebody walking into that consulate ever meets and the impress they have from our country will come from that young service officer. >> i think this center will remind us, all of us here, as it should, as each of these former secretaries do with their presence here today, that we're an exceptional nation, not because we say we are, but because we do exceptional things. and today we celebrate a tradition of american diplomacy that has done that those exceptional things, that has brought us to this important moment and today we will all commit to keep that tradition strong. thank you. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, the secretaries will now proceed to the construction site outside for the groundbreaking. the audience is welcome, after a discrete pause, to travel outside in the heat or you can watch the shovels that will appear on the screen here behind me. me. thank you all very much. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

there will be great. sites in many areas. research reaching underserved populations in providing new insight in some of our more difficult to solve problems that we face in society.

are there risks from the data? i think that is true. i think you can take previously separate pieces of information and assemble the mental profile that may give insights to the consumer. all these benefits and you have risk. what do you do then? >> monday night at eight :00 eastern on the communicators on c-span two. >> next on american history tv, author stephen davis discusses the fall of atlanta. he highlights four who had an and unionthe campaign leaders. union -- this to hour and 15 minute event took place at the lovett school in atlanta.